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Category: Education

  • MIL-Evening Report: The Queensland melioidosis outbreak is still growing. What’s keeping this deadly mud bug active?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University

    ap-studio/Shutterstock

    The outbreak of the deadly “mud bug” melioidosis in north Queensland has not yet abated since it began at the start of this year.

    So far there have been 221 cases and 31 deaths from the disease in 2025. This encompasses a 400% increase in cases in Cairns and a 600% increase in Townsville compared to the average over previous years.

    Fortunately, case numbers have begun to drop. Queensland Health reports new cases weekly, and in the most recent reporting period – up to May 6 – seven new cases were recorded, down from a peak of 29 cases in the week to February 16.

    However, people are still contracting and dying from this disease. So what’s keeping it active in Queensland, and are there any promising vaccines on the horizon?

    What is melioidosis?

    Melioidosis is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei which lives in soil, mud and groundwater, usually not causing any harm. But B. pseudomallei can cause disease in humans and animals if it enters the skin via a cut. Or it can be inhaled in water droplets and enter the lungs.

    The disease generally takes one to four weeks to establish itself, meaning people don’t develop symptoms immediately after they’ve been exposed.

    Melioidosis most commonly presents as pneumonia. However chronic skin infections, called cutaneous infections, occur in 10–20% of cases. Melioidosis can also lead to blood infections.

    Symptoms of the pneumonia form include fever, headache, difficulty breathing, muscle pain, chest pain and confusion.

    We don’t understand cutaneous infections as well as we do lung infections with melioidosis. Cutaneous infections are also less responsive to standard antibiotic treatments due to the nature of the chronic wound. For example, the bacteria can form a slimy layer called a biofilm. This can help the bacteria produce proteins which can block the antibiotics from working.

    Melioidosis occurs most commonly in tropical areas, such as Thailand. But it’s also regarded as endemic in northern Australia, occurring in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Nonetheless, the scale of the current outbreak in north Queensland is highly unusual.

    Anyone can contract melioidosis, but certain medical conditions can increase a person’s risk. These include diabetes, liver, kidney or lung disease, cancer, or other conditions which might compromise the patient’s immune system.

    During the current Queensland outbreak 95% of cases have been in people with risk factors such as diabetes or lung disease.

    How is melioidosis spreading in Queensland?

    Melioidosis increases during periods of high rainfall and flooding, and this has been the case in the current outbreak. However, patterns have begun to emerge suggesting the bacterium may now be spreading in other ways.

    Experts have suggested that while the Townsville cases can be explained by flooding and correlate to high levels of rainfall, the Cairns cases do not match with this explanation.

    One suggestion is that the construction of the Bruce Highway upgrade south of Cairns has caused an increase in cases due to clay soil particles becoming airborne during construction.

    It’s not an entirely new idea. The movement of soil during highway construction and urban expansion has been investigated as a potential mode of transmission during previous spikes of melioidosis cases in far north Queensland.

    The infrastructure body responsible for the upgrade has pledged to follow expert health advice as investigations continue.

    Could B. pseudomallei be evolving and becoming more deadly?

    This potential change in how the disease is spreading, and the increased number of cases and deaths, might indicate the organism is evolving to spread more easily and become more deadly. Genome analysis is ongoing to determine this.

    Notably, bacteria found in the environment can acquire genes from other bacteria in soil and water. This may give them enhanced abilities to survive in unfavourable conditions and be more resilient to changes in their natural habitat, as well as potentially infect human hosts more effectively.

    In a warming climate with increased rainfall, the bacterium behind melioidosis is likely to be a prime candidate for this kind of change.

    Melioidosis is caused by the bacterium B. pseudomallei.
    TheBlueHydrangea/Shutterstock

    How about treatments and protection?

    There’s currently only one way to treat melioidosis, which involves receiving intravenous antibiotics in hospital for several weeks, followed by up to six months of oral antibiotics.

    Against a backdrop of urgent calls for more research and increased public awareness around melioidosis, there may be hope on the horizon.

    Researchers at the University of California have developed a vaccine which produces a protein that mimics the proteins in B. pseudomallei, leading to an immune response against this bacterium. The vaccine has been successful in mouse models and will continue to a further animal trial, which, if successful, will lead to human trials.

    It seems melioidosis is a problem that’s not going away.

    If you live in an affected region such as tropical Queensland or the NT, limit exposure to mud and water as much as possible. If you’re spending time in muddy areas, use appropriate personal protective equipment such as gloves and boots. You can also protect yourself by covering any open wounds and wearing a respirator if you’re working closely with water.

    Monitor for symptoms and see a doctor if you feel unwell. More information is also available from Queensland Health.

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

    – ref. The Queensland melioidosis outbreak is still growing. What’s keeping this deadly mud bug active? – https://theconversation.com/the-queensland-melioidosis-outbreak-is-still-growing-whats-keeping-this-deadly-mud-bug-active-256794

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: For making stars, it’s not just how much gas a galaxy has that matters – it’s where it’s hiding

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Catinella, Professor and Senior Principal Research Fellow, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), The University of Western Australia

    One of the galaxies mapped by WALLABY: the red shade shows the atomic hydrogen gas content of the galaxy, overlaid on an optical image showing the stars. Much of it is typically found beyond the stellar disk (thin white line), where star formation takes place. Legacy Surveys / D. Lang (Perimeter Institute) / T. Westmeier

    Galaxies are often described as vast star factories, churning out new suns from clouds of gas. For decades, astronomers have assumed that the more raw material a galaxy holds, the more stars it should be able to make.

    But our latest study, published this month in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA), challenges that assumption. We found that when it comes to forming stars, it’s not just the amount of gas in a galaxy that matters – it’s where that gas is located.

    Getting the ingredients in the right place

    Our research is part of one of the largest efforts to map atomic hydrogen gas in nearby galaxies. This huge project is called the WALLABY survey (or the Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind Survey).

    Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and the basic building block of stars. But surprisingly, a large fraction of this gas in galaxies lies far from where stars actually form – out in the faint outer regions, well beyond the bright stellar disk.

    Think of atomic hydrogen as the flour in a cake recipe. It’s the essential ingredient for making stars. But what really matters for the recipe is not how much flour there is in the bag, but how much ends up in the mixing bowl.

    In the same way, to understand how stars form, we need to focus on the gas that’s in the right place. In a galaxy, that means within the stellar disk, where it can actually be used.

    A closer look

    Until now, most measurements of atomic hydrogen in galaxies have focused on their total gas content, without showing where that gas is located. That’s because earlier observations – especially those made with single-dish radio telescopes – couldn’t detect where in a galaxy hydrogen gas was located.

    However, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope in Western Australia has a very wide field of view and moderate resolution. This means astronomers can use it to efficiently map the hydrogen gas across large areas of the sky and within individual galaxies.

    Using the ASKAP telescope, the WALLABY survey should eventually detect more than 200,000 galaxies and provide detailed hydrogen maps for many thousands of them.

    A puzzle resolved

    Our study, led by PhD student Seona Lee, draws on hydrogen maps for around 1,000 galaxies. This is an unprecedented sample size for this kind of analysis.

    The results reveal a clear trend. The amount of star formation is much more closely linked to the amount of hydrogen gas within the stellar disk than the gas farther out. That outer gas, even when it is plentiful, appears to play little immediate role in fuelling new stars.

    This helps explain a long-standing puzzle – why some galaxies with large gas reservoirs form relatively few stars. It turns out much of their gas may be sitting idle in the galactic outskirts, too far from the regions where stars actually form.

    In short, measuring the total gas content of a galaxy doesn’t give the full picture. To understand star formation, we need to zoom in – not just total up the ingredients, but see where they’re actually being used.

    Parts of this research were supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D), through project number CE170100013.

    – ref. For making stars, it’s not just how much gas a galaxy has that matters – it’s where it’s hiding – https://theconversation.com/for-making-stars-its-not-just-how-much-gas-a-galaxy-has-that-matters-its-where-its-hiding-257011

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Polis Takes Action to Strengthen Colorado’s Workforce, Help More Coloradans Connect to Skills

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, Governor Polis signed an Executive Order directing Colorado’s state agencies to work together with the Department of Education to help more post-high school learners access needed credentials. The Governor was joined by Department of Higher Education executive director Dr. Angie Paccione, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment executive director Joe Barela, Office of Economic Development and International Trade executive director Eve Lieberman, Colorado Department of Regulatory Affairs executive director Patty Salazar, and leaders from the Colorado Department of Education. 

    “Colorado is a national leader in helping students and workers develop needed skills to enter the job market with credentials and build a successful career. We’ve broken down barriers to apprenticeships, made it free to attend community college for in-demand credentials, and created new ways to help Coloradans succeed. This Executive Order builds on that work by ensuring our state meets learners and earners where they are and helps Coloradans get a meaningful job. We’re asking how our state agencies and operations can better support Coloradans throughout successful lives and careers,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    The Executive Order directs the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the Colorado Department of Higher Education, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade to work with the Governor’s Office and the Department of Education to develop recommendations to: 

    • Seamlessly integrate postsecondary education, skills attainment, and training strategies to improve the flexibility and permeability of the system;
    • Future-proof talent development by investigating and scaling strategies that help the postsecondary education and workforce development strategies be more adaptive and efficient;
    • Improve the ability for learners, employers, community members, and State agencies to navigate the postsecondary talent development system;
    • Increase postsecondary credential attainment, particularly for the students who historically have not connected to postsecondary education or training within six years of high school graduation; and
    • Reduce bureaucratic barriers to cross-functional education and training. 

    These recommendations are due by December 1, 2025. Read the Governor’s Executive Order. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kugler, Commencement Remarks

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Stefano, and before I say anything else, congratulations to the Class of 2025!1 My family is here today, so let me acknowledge my husband Ignacio, my daughter Miri, my son Danny, and my parents who are watching from elsewhere. I start with family because I know it takes a village! So, I want to acknowledge the enormous accomplishment by the graduates and also by their families and friends who supported them through this journey. Let’s give all of them a big round of applause! I also want to thank the leaders of Berkeley’s economics program for giving me the privilege of returning here, as a graduate of this program, to be a part of what is, in fact, my very first economics commencement ceremony here at Berkeley.
    On a similar spring afternoon in 1997, when my classmates were walking across this stage, I was across the country, hurrying to finish my dissertation at the Brookings Institution and preparing to start my first job as an economist. I would have loved to be here, as you are, and I praise you for taking the time to share with your classmates, friends, and family this moment of recognition for the huge achievement today represents. But somehow, at the time of my graduation, I felt the need to get on with earning a living and moving forward with my life, as I am sure many of you are eager to do also.
    So, you can understand that this is a very special—and also a little strange— moment for me because it feels, in a way, like I am celebrating my own graduation 28 years later! I think it is also an unusual situation for all of you to listen to this speaker who was once where you are today. It is unusual because standing at this podium now is not just the person I have become in the decades since leaving Berkeley. Standing beside me, very close by today, is also the young woman I was in 1997, who was too busy to attend her own graduation. You will be hearing at times from both of us today, and we may even exchange a few words with each other.
    This sounds a little like that Aubrey Plaza movie you may have seen last year, in which a young woman gets advice from her older self. Unfortunately, unlike Aubrey Plaza’s character, I cannot help my younger version through the many challenges that she will face, and let me tell you, there were many challenges indeed, and yet here I am! Nevertheless, because of my proximity, today, to that younger self, I hope I can see the world a little more through your eyes, when I try to offer some words of wisdom. I know, I know, commencement speakers are expected to provide wisdom and advice. But really, today, I would like to mainly tell you that the wisdom and also the conviction of my younger self are what allowed me to navigate the challenges along the way. So, trust yourselves!
    As I have indicated, the younger version of me was quite impatient to get her professional life started and try to make a mark in the world. The older me would say, “Take your time, figure out who you are, who you will become! Life is long, and among other things, life teaches you to have patience to work for big goals.” There is merit to this advice, of course, but today I am thinking about how I felt when I was in your shoes, and I am thinking that one of the underappreciated gifts of younger people is, in fact, impatience. I will say more about this, but if you take a look around at all the many urgent challenges we face here in the U.S. and the world, many of which depend on the powerful tool of economics and its potential to make people’s lives better, then I would certainly say that some impatience is, indeed, very much what we need.
    I speak of economics as a tool because that is all that it is. It is not a philosophy, a value system, or a religion, although I acknowledge that some in our profession might treat it that way. Economics can’t answer all the questions we face in our lives. Economics can’t tell us how to treat each other, or what kind of world we should strive to create, but it is a means to those ends.
    And even the answers that economics can provide are always evolving, as our understanding of economic behavior and phenomena evolves. What we understand in economics has evolved in the years since I left Berkeley, and it will continue to evolve. While this understanding does change over time, I think of it as changing like the California landscape changes. Some towns and cities grow, some decline, and there is the occasional earthquake to shake things up. But the landmarks that guide us in economics—the Golden Gate, the Sierra Nevada—they have been standing for a while now, and I believe they will continue to stand for a long time to come.
    Using these landmarks, these foundational and time-tested insights, economics can indeed be a powerful tool. But it is a tool, only to the extent, like any other tool, that it is useful. A brilliant insight, if not applied, or tested, or employed for some useful purpose, is like the gadget you pick up at the hardware store and never use. It is just taking up space in the toolbox. When economics reveals how to use resources efficiently, how to raise production and income and lower costs, these insights are only useful if they are applied—if they win in the marketplace of ideas.
    As you embark on your careers as economists, and the myriad ways in which you can employ the knowledge and skills you have acquired, one cause that I hope you all will embrace is actively participating in this marketplace of ideas. I hope you do, because, from the level of the individual household to the loftiest decisions of business leaders and government, employing the foundational insights of economics is the difference between prosperity and the utterly avoidable lack of prosperity.
    It is tempting to think that time-tested and broadly accepted ideas are permanent. In fact, the debate has never ended on many foundational ideas of economics, some of which can seem counterintuitive to people. These are ideas that must be fought for, because, as I said, to lose that fight is to go backward and accept less prosperity.
    Among the aspirations that each of you hold as you leave the Greek theater today, I hope that you will use what you have learned at Berkeley to be part of this fight. I would go further and argue that, along with the diplomas that you are receiving today, you will also carry with you a special responsibility to promote these principles and use them to promote greater prosperity for all. I am not shy in saying that economists have such a responsibility, nor in saying that the learning you have acquired qualifies you to be an active participant in these debates. I believe your expertise matters, because, in the cacophony of opinions, and trolling, and disinformation that seems to crowd ever more into the marketplace of ideas each year, I cling to the idea that expertise still matters. In his book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, Jonathan Rauch argues that, just as important as America’s written Constitution is an unwritten one, based on a widespread agreement on what is true and what is not true. Knowledge, he writes, as it is added to and preserved over time, is a special glue, that Gorilla clear and precise super glue, that helps to hold society together and settle many conflicts. Expertise matters as the basis for that knowledge. When your expertise as economists is absent, when your voices are absent from the debate, knowledge suffers, and we are all poorer because of it.
    Let me pause for a moment because I am hearing from my younger self just now that these commencement remarks are maybe getting a little heavy. I can understand how she feels. Think about how things looked in 1997. The Cold War was over! The tech boom was just taking off, which meant that Oakland was still affordable. Honestly, in hindsight life back then sounds a lot less complicated than it seems today. My first job was at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain, and my second was at a large public university, the University of Houston. I had some research ideas, mostly in the area of labor economics, and I found some great collaborators, and I was off to the races. Today, I realize that colleges and universities are facing challenges like never before, which means that the prospect of trying to make a career in academia is much less certain.
    Public service is another traditional destination for economists, and I have been very fortunate to be able to move forward in my career as an academic, while taking time out on three occasions to work in Washington—as chief economist at the Department of Labor, as the U.S. executive director at the World Bank, and now as a governor at the Federal Reserve Board. By contrast, it is, of course, to put it mildly, a very challenging time to be thinking about starting a career in public service, at least at the federal level.
    I can stand here today and lament the new challenges faced by you and by many others in the Class of 2025. I am a mom, and my kids are also facing new circumstances. But I also look back sometimes and wonder how I got here. And this is another case where I believe the 27-year-old me had more wisdom than I do. If she were crossing this stage today, with you, facing these undeniable challenges, I do not think she would be discouraged. She would stubbornly say: “I love economic research; I will find a way to become an academic.” If you told her about the challenges facing colleges and universities, she would say that it is simply unthinkable that America would not support the greatest post-secondary educational system in the world. And if you told her that a pendulum swing in opinion might limit opportunities in public service, she might say: “If the purpose of life is helping others, (and I think it is) then public service will be valued, and it is something I must do, and that I will do.”
    I think if you had told the 27-year-old me that she could not achieve these things, which she dreamed of, she would stubbornly refuse to accept it. And of course, this is the way that humankind eventually solves most big problems. More than anything else, it is stubborn determination, which I hope is in good supply among you already, and which I encourage you to cultivate. You have already, of course, one of the greatest assets that anyone can have to make a career in economics, which is an education from one of the greatest universities in the world—the University of California, Berkeley. When I attended here, I had the privilege of taking classes with four winners of the Nobel Prize, and many people tell me that, if anything, the faculty is even stronger today. In my recent work at the Fed, I have had occasion to cite research by six current faculty members in public speeches. You have learned from the best, and with your energy, expertise, impatience, and stubborn determination, I know that nothing will stop you! Whatever you choose to do, I hope you will make use of what you have learned at Berkeley to be an active part of that marketplace of ideas. Go forth from here and make the world a brighter and better place. Go seize the day as you head out Sather Gate! Congratulations, again, Class of 2025, and thank you.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Fish Fund Steering Committee advances work on Call for Proposals, welcomes new members

    Source: World Trade Organization

    The agreement on next steps brings the Steering Committee closer to opening its first Call for Proposals. The Fund will receive funding requests for project grants that will support developing and least developed country (LDC) members to implement the Agreement provided they have ratified it.

    The Committee welcomed Barbados, The Gambia, Haiti, Mauritius, Peru, the Philippines, Seychelles, and Sierra Leone as new members to represent beneficiary members while acknowledging the contributions of Djibouti, Fiji, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Peru, Saint Lucia, and Senegal, who served on the Committee since January 2024.

    Donor representatives to the Fish Fund will rotate at a later stage. Both donors and beneficiaries may rotate their delegates at any time, provided that at least two LDC members remain on the Committee. All Steering Committee members are required to serve a minimum term of one year.

    Eligible and interested members will be able to submit calls for proposals when 101 WTO members have deposited their instruments of ratification. Currently, 99 WTO members have deposited their instruments. After the Call for Proposals is launched, the Secretariat of the Fish Fund will receive proposals for a period of approximately three months, after which all applications will be reviewed and submitted to the Steering Committee.

    Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard said:

    “It is a pleasure to open today’s meeting and see the tremendous progress made as we near entry into force. Everyone’s hard work – donors, beneficiaries, and partners – has paid off.

    The Fund is ready to support the members that have deposited their instruments of ratification and, in so doing, committed to a more environmentally and economically sustainable future and healthier oceans.”

    The Steering Committee also approved the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Framework for the Fish Fund, a key tool to support the effective implementation of future projects.

    Known as the Fish Fund, the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Funding Mechanism was established under Article 7 of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which was adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022. Developing and LDC members that have ratified the Agreement are eligible to submit projects supporting implementation of the Agreement. The Fish Fund will operate in cooperation with relevant international organizations, such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Bank.

    This was the Steering Committee’s fifth meeting since the Fish Fund became ready to accept voluntary contributions from WTO members in November 2022. The contributing members thus far are Australia, Canada, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

    A total of 111 ratifications from WTO members are needed for the Agreement to enter into force. So far,99 instruments of acceptance of the Agreement have been received. The full list is available here.

    More information on the Fish Fund is available here.

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  • MIL-OSI Economics: Members discuss possible cotton breakthrough ahead of MC14, World Cotton Day 2025

    Source: WTO

    Headline: Members discuss possible cotton breakthrough ahead of MC14, World Cotton Day 2025

    Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam, who chaired the 43rd Round of Consultations of the Director-General’s Consultative Framework Mechanism for Cotton (DGCFMC), drew members’ attention to the latest meeting of the Steering Committee of the “Partenariat pour le Coton” initiative, which built on a series of national consultations held last year in the Cotton 4+ countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Côte d’Ivoire).
    The meeting took place at the headquarters of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Cairo on 28-29 April. Important suggestions were made regarding advancing the cotton development agenda in the C-4+ countries, and there was productive discussion on available financing options, including concrete proposals to support the cotton-textile-clothing value chain.
    DDG Paugam stressed that, while it has been projected that US$ 5 billion could be unlocked over the next 10 years under the framework of the “Partenariat pour le Coton”, this would require the C-4+ to act as the driving force and to adopt a regional approach to attract and sustain investment.
    A study published in June 2024 highlights the potential of processing 25 per cent of C4+ cotton locally. Although this would require an investment of around US$ 5 billion in facilities and workforce training, it could create 500,000 jobs, especially for women and youth, and would significantly enhance value addition within the region.
    Acknowledging previous concerns about implementation, transparency, and commitment to the Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance, DDG Paugam called for a dedicated meeting with donors to explore ways to enhance the effectiveness and impact of this tool. The Evolving Table contains project updates by a number of WTO members and by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
    Chad, the FAO and the International Trade Centre (ITC) jointly announced that the 2025 World Cotton Day will take place on 7 October in Rome, which will coincide with the 80th anniversary of the FAO. The event aims to boost visibility and promote investment in African cotton through the work of the “Partenariat pour le Coton”, as well as to encourage discussion of climate challenges to cotton.
    Afreximbank reiterated the importance of a harmonized project submission template for standardization, transparency, collaboration and monitoring of C4+ cotton projects and proposed joint financing initiatives, shared knowledge platforms, capacity-building, risk mitigation strategies and policy advocacy.
    Members took the floor to share their experiences of activities within the framework of South-South cooperation. They also expressed support for the cotton industry, focusing on job creation, economic diversification, de-risking investments, tailored cooperation, regional strategies and enabling environments. Delegations also discussed industrialization, global value chain integration, investment clarity and progress on regional development projects in the context of the cotton industry.
    On emerging challenges, members learned about the latest developments in cotton-producing countries, as well as new challenges facing the cotton sector in C-4+ countries. The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) shared a presentation about water use in cotton cultivation, which explained that it is a misconception that cotton – a semi-desert crop – requires large quantities of water for cultivation. Nevertheless, ICAC cautioned that climate change is affecting rainfall patterns, and that this is a matter of concern for cotton cultivation.
    The DGCFMC also outlined key next steps. A technical online seminar on second-hand and recycling of clothing by Côte d’Ivoire is scheduled for 19 June. Other members were encouraged to coordinate with the WTO Secretariat to propose similar initiatives. A harmonized “Partenariat pour le Coton” project submission template will be created to enable C-4+ countries to present priority projects at an upcoming technical workshop. The WTO will support monitoring, evaluation and engagement with development agencies. Meanwhile, FIFA’s Football for Schools programme will encourage the use of C-4+ cotton for apparel, to produce T-shirts and polo shirts in West Africa and distribute these items globally by the end of 2025.
    In conclusion, DDG Paugam underscored the need to sustain and build on the current momentum surrounding cotton, especially given that MC14 is approaching. Progress made, consolidated synergies and promising prospects ahead call for redoubling efforts, he said.
    Ambassador Hussain, who facilitated the discussion on addressing the trade aspects of cotton, gave an update on his consultations with members on the way forward for agriculture negotiations, focusing on cotton.
    He noted that the C-4+ countries and other members had stressed the importance of cotton within the agricultural negotiations, and that members had highlighted the need to make significant progress on this issue at MC14, as this would resonate positively in Africa and benefit the WTO as a whole.
    The C-4+ Group also suggested the possibility of decoupling cotton negotiations from the broader agriculture package to facilitate reaching a standalone decision on cotton at MC14. The Group, along with several other developing members, emphasized the importance of adhering to past ministerial decisions and called for progress to be made to reduce cotton-specific trade-distorting domestic support.
    Ambassador Hussain urged members to engage actively in open dialogue, express their concerns clearly, and work together to bridge differences. He proposed to convene a “cotton quad plus” meeting in the coming weeks to facilitate honest and concrete discussions. The “cotton quad plus” forum involves the C-4+ countries and several major cotton players, including Australia, China, Brazil, the European Union, India, Pakistan and the United States.
    The ICAC also provided an overview of the global cotton market for the 2024-25 season, forecasting a production increase of approximately 7 per cent compared to the previous season. World cotton consumption is anticipated to rise by 2 per cent in 2024-25, although trade projections have been revised downward to 9.45 million tonnes for the 2024-25 season. This adjustment reflects a decrease from the previous forecast of 9.94 million tonnes, as reported in April 2024. The ICAC also presented findings from a recent analysis on specialty cotton, which grows annually and currently accounts for about 31 per cent of total global cotton lint production. Specialty cotton, as defined by the ICAC, includes any long or extra-long staple varieties, as well as cotton from specific identity programmes encompassing various certification initiatives worldwide, such as “Better Cotton” and “Cotton Made in Africa”.
    The International Trade Centre (ITC) provided an update on the ITC Cotton Portal, a joint initiative with the WTO to consolidate cotton-related information. The portal, launched at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in 2017, features three main modules: trade statistics, market information and learning. The ITC reported that the portal has around 3,000-4,000 users annually. Planned improvements include the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), additional languages, and better data on e-commerce and logistics.
    The ITC Cotton Portal aggregates cotton-related information from the ICAC, ITC and WTO, as well as other sources. For instance, it features a live data feed from ICAC on cotton production, as well as direct links to essential tools that facilitate cotton trade, such as the Export Potential Map.
    The C-4+ agreed concerning the relevance of this tool in contributing to a more efficient cotton trading system by improving transparency and accessibility of trade-related information relevant for cotton producers, traders and policymakers. They called for more training to raise awareness of the platform in Africa and to increase its utilization, as this could help governments in making informed policy decisions. The ITC and the WTO expressed their readiness to pursue discussions with the C-4+ concerning ways to make the portal more accessible and as relevant as possible in developing economies, and especially in Africa.
    The WTO Secretariat introduced a revised background paper compiling all cotton-related information available at the WTO, including members’ notifications, replies to a questionnaire on cotton policy developments and information on tariff and non-tariff measures.
    As part of Cotton Day at the WTO members attended  the opening of an exhibition featuring a data visualization structure that consolidated and presented information on cotton-related activities, telling the story of cotton through interactive maps, infographics, images and dynamic graphics. The exhibition concluded with a reception hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) at WTO headquarters.

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  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Public health risk from the presence of asbestos in public buildings in Greece – E-001913/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001913/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Galato Alexandraki (ECR)

    Despite the extraction and use of asbestos having been banned in the EU for almost 25 years, thousands of public buildings containing this dangerous material are still in use in Greece, as confirmed by recent incidents. Recently, asbestos was found in the Faculty of Philosophy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, while shortly afterwards chrysotile (‘white’ asbestos) was found in a primary school in Rhodes. According to claims from students and teachers, the existence of asbestos is discovered by chance, without prior systematic checks, while removal is carried out piecemeal, putting the health of pupils, students and employees at ongoing risk.

    At the same time, there are still reports of hundreds of public buildings with asbestos in ceilings, insulation or tiles, while removal procedures seem to be delayed due to lack of funding and planning, and this constitutes a serious shortcoming in prevention in public health matters.

    In view of the above:

    • 1.How and by when should asbestos be completely removed from public buildings in Greece in accordance with EU directives? Has this been checked by the Commission?
    • 2.Are there financial tools and technical support from the EU that can be used to accelerate the control and replacement procedures?

    Submitted: 13.5.2025

    Last updated: 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Societe Generale_ Combined General Meeting and Board of Directors dated 20 May 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    COMBINED GENERAL MEETING AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS DATED 20 MAY 2025

    Press release

    Paris, 20 May 2025

    Combined General Meeting

    The General Meeting of shareholders of Societe Generale was held on 20 May 2025 at CNIT Forest, 2, Place de la Défense, 92092 Puteaux and was chaired by Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi.

    Quorum was established at 64,34% (vs 55.61% in 2024):

    • 687 shareholders participated by attending the General Meeting in person at the place where it was held on 20 May 2025;
    • 1,057 shareholders were represented at the General Meeting by a person other than the Chairman;
    • 13,140 shareholders voted online;
    • 2,400 shareholders voted by post;
    • 8,767 shareholders, including 2,500 online, representing 1.07% of the share capital, gave proxy to the Chairman;
    • A total of 26 051 shareholders were present or represented and participated in the vote.

    The agenda item, with no vote, was an opportunity to present and discuss with shareholders the Group’s climate strategy and social and environmental responsibility.

    In addition, 9 shareholders sent 56 written questions prior to the General Meeting. The answers were made public before the General Meeting on the institutional website.

    All the resolutions put forward by the Board of Directors were adopted, in particular:

    • The 2024 annual company accounts and annual consolidated accounts;
    • The dividend per share was set at EUR 1.09. It shall traded ex-dividend on 26 May 2025 and will be paid from 28 May 2025;
    • The renewal of two independent directors for 4 years: Mr. William Connelly and Mr. Henri Poupart-Lafarge;
    • The appointment of two independent directors for 4 years: Mr. Olivier Klein and Mrs. Ingrid-Helen Arnold;
    • The renewal of Mr. Sébastien Wetter’s mandate as Director representing the employee shareholders;
    • The compensation policy for the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Chief Executive Officers and the Directors;
    • The components composing the total compensation and the benefits of any kind paid or awarded for the 2024 financial year to the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer and the Deputy Chief Executive Officers;
    • The authorisation granted to the Board of Directors to purchase ordinary shares of the Company was renewed for 18 months up to 10% of the share capital;
    • The authorisation for capital increases, enabling the issue of shares in favour of employees under a company or group saving plan, was renewed for 26 months;
    • The amendments to the Articles of Association to take account of the entry into force of the “Loi Attractivité” (no. 2024-537 dated 13 June 2024).

    The detailed voting result is available this day on the Company’s website in the item “Annual General Meeting”.

    Board of Directors

    Following the renewals and appointments of directors, the Board of Directors is composed of 15 directors, including (i) 2 directors re-elected by the employees in March 2024 and (ii) 1 director representing employee shareholders appointed by the General Meeting and one non-voting director.

    Accordingly, the Board of Directors is composed as follows:

    • Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Chairman;
    • Mr. Slawomir Krupa, Director;
    • Mrs. Ingrid-Helen Arnold, Director;
    • Mr. William Connelly, Director;
    • Mr. Jérôme Contamine, Director;
    • Mrs. Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, Director;
    • Mrs. Diane Côté, Director;
    • Mrs. Ulrika Ekman, Director;
    • Mrs. France Houssaye, Director elected by employees;
    • Mr. Olivier Klein, Director;
    • Mrs. Annette Messemer, Director;
    • Mr. Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Director;
    • Mr Johan Praud, Director elected by employees;
    • Mr. Benoît de Ruffray, Director;
    • Mr. Sébastien Wetter, Director representing employees shareholders;
    • Mr. Jean-Bernard Lévy, Non-voting Director (“censeur”).

    The Board of Directors is made up of 41,7% women (5/12) and 91,7% independent directors (11/12) if we exclude from the calculations the three directors representing the employees in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article L. 225-23 of the Commercial Code, paragraph 2 of Article L. 225-27 of the Commercial Code and the AFEP-MEDEF code. In order to ensure compliance with a forthcoming legislative change scheduled for mid-2026, the Board of Directors has already decided, for the General Meeting of May 2026, that shareholders will be invited to replace a man director, whose term of office will expire, by a woman director.

    The Board of Directors held after the General Meeting has decided that, as of 20 May 2025, the Board committees will be composed as follows:

    • Audit and Internal Control Committee: Mr. Jérôme Contamine (chairman), Mrs. Diane Côté, Mrs. Ulrika Ekman, Mr. Olivier Klein and Mr. Sébastien Wetter;
    • Risk Committee: Mr. William Connelly (chairman), Mrs. Ingrid-Helen Arnold, Mrs. Béatrice Cossa Dumurgier, Mrs. Diane Côté, Mrs. Ulrika Ekman, Mr. Olivier Klein and Mrs. Annette Messemer;
    • Compensation Committee: Mrs. Annette Messemer (chairwoman), Mr. Jerome Contamine, Mr. Benoit de Ruffray and Mrs. France Houssaye;
    • Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee: Mr. Henri Poupart-Lafarge (chairman), Mr. William Connelly, Mme Diane Côté and Mr. Benoit de Ruffray.

    Biographies

    Mr. William Connelly is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington (US). He began his career in 1980 at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he worked for 10 years, before joining Baring Brothers from 1990 to 1995. He then held various executive positions within ING Group NV from 1995 until he became a member of The Management Board, where he was responsible for Wholesale Banking from 2011 to 2016. He was also the CEO of ING Real Estate from 2009 to 2015. In addition to his mandate as an independent director of Societe Generale since 2017, he currently is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amadeus IT Group and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aegon until the second half of 2025. He also served as an independent director of Singular Bank from February 2019 to April 2023. During its session on 10 April 2025, the Societe Generale Board of Directors selected William Connelly for the Chairmanship as of the General Meeting which will be held on 27 May 2026. He will succeed Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who has been Chairman since 2015, and will have completed his third term.

    Mr. Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Graduate of École polytechnique, the École nationale des ponts et chaussées and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He began his career in 1992 at the World Bank in Washington D.C. before moving to the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance in 1994. He joined Alstom in 1998 as Head of Investor Relations and was in charge of Management Control. In 2000, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Transmission and Distribution at Alstom, a position he held until 2004. He was Chief Financial Officer of Alstom from 2004 until 2010 and became President of Alstom Grid from 2010 to 2011. On 4 July 2011, he became Chairman of Alstom Transport, before being appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in February 2016, a position he held until June 2024. Since then, he has been Chief Executive Officer and Director of Alstom.

    Mr. Olivier Klein, Graduated from the Panthéon‑Sorbonne University in 1978 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, from the National School of Statistics and Economic Administration (ENSAE) in 1980, and from HEC’s graduate course in Finance in 1985. He began his career at the BFCE in 1985 and served as manager of the Foreign Exchange and Rate Risk Management Advisory Department, then as Director of the BFCE’s Investment Bank, and finally as Regional Director of its corporate bank. He joined the Caisse d’Epargne group in 1998 and was Chairman of the Executive Board of the Caisse d’Epargne Ile‑de‑France Ouest from 2000 to 2007 and then of the Caisse d’Epargne Rhône‑Alpes from 2007 to 2009. In January 2010, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Banking and Insurance of the BPCE group until September 2012. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the BRED group from October 2012 to May 2023. He was a Member of the Supervisory Board of BPCE and its Risk Committee between 2019 and May 2023. He is Chief Executive Officer of Lazard Frères Banque SA and Managing Partner since September 2023. Since 1986, He is teaching macroeconomics and monetary policy at HEC. He is a director of Rexécode since 2018.

    Mrs. Ingrid-Helen Arnold, Graduated from the University of Applied Sciences Ludwigshafen in 1997 with a master’s degree in economics. She began her career at SAP SE in 1996, where she held various responsibilities related to innovation and digital transformation. In 2014, she was appointed Chief Information Officer and Business
    Processes and extended Member of the SAPExecutiveCommittee. From 2016 to April 2021, she was President of SAP Business Data Network group in Palo Alto (United States) and SAP SE Walldorf (Germany). In 2021, she joined the Südzucker group as Chief Digital Officer and Information tehcnology and member of the Group’s Executive Committee. She is Chief Executive Officer of KAKO GmbH since June 2024. She was a member of the Supervisory Board and a member of the Heineken group Audit Committee from 2019 to 2023. She is a member of the TUI group Supervisory Board since 2020.

    Mr. Sébastien Wetter holds a Master degree in Fundamental Physics and graduated from the Lyons Business School (EM Lyon). He began his career at Societe Generale in 1997 in the Strategy and Marketing Division of Societe Generale’s retail bank. Working in the Group’s Organisation Consulting Department from 2002, he performed a range of roles in the Corporate & Investment Banking arm and helped roll out the Group-wide participatory Innovation programme. As of the end of 2005, he joined the Commodities Market Department as Chief Operating Officer holding a global remit, before becoming Head of Business Development in 2008. From 2010 until 2014, he served as General Secretary in the Group’s General Inspection and Audit Division. In 2014, he joined the Sales Division of the Corporate & Investment Bank arm where he held a number of positions: Head of marketing for major French and international clients, then in 2016, Global Chief Operating Officer responsible for the sales teams covering financial institutions. From 2020 to December 2022, he has been a banker managing Societe Generale’s relationship with international financial institutions. He has been a member of the of the Supervisory Board of the Fonds Commun de Placement d’Entreprise (FCPE) since May 2024.

    The regulatory declarations on the absence of conflicts of interest and the absence of convictions mentioned on page 140 of the Universal Registration Document filed by Societe Generale on 12 March 2025 with the French market authority (AMF) under number D.25-00088, relating notably to the three directors whose terms of office are renewed remain valid and the two new directors appointed with effect from the General Meeting of 20 May 2025 have made the same regulatory declarations.

    Press contacts:
    Jean-Baptiste Froville_+33 1 58 98 68 00_ jean-baptiste.froville@socgen.com
    Fanny Rouby_+33 1 57 29 11 12_ fanny.rouby@socgen.com

    Societe Generale

    Societe Generale is a top tier European Bank with around 119,000 employees serving more than 26 million clients in 62 countries across the world. We have been supporting the development of our economies for 160 years, providing our corporate, institutional, and individual clients with a wide array of value-added advisory and financial solutions. Our long-lasting and trusted relationships with the clients, our cutting-edge expertise, our unique innovation, our ESG capabilities and leading franchises are part of our DNA and serve our most essential objective – to deliver sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.

    The Group runs three complementary sets of businesses, embedding ESG offerings for all its clients:

    • French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance, with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank.
    • Global Banking and Investor Solutions, a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG.
    • Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, comprising well-established universal banks (in Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new ALD I LeasePlan brand), a global player in sustainable mobility, as well as specialized financing activities.

    Committed to building together with its clients a better and sustainable future, Societe Generale aims to be a leading partner in the environmental transition and sustainability overall. The Group is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe).

    In case of doubt regarding the authenticity of this press release, please go to the end of the Group News page on societegenerale.com website where official Press Releases sent by Societe Generale can be certified using blockchain technology. A link will allow you to check the document’s legitimacy directly on the web page.

    For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill Reintroduced to Protect Older Workers from Age Discrimination

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)

    WASHINGTON – Today, a bipartisan and bicameral group of Members reintroduced the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act(POWADA), a proposal to strengthen anti-discrimination protections for older workers.

     

    In the House, the bill is led by Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06), Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee Ranking Member Alma Adams (D-NC-12), and Representative Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ-02). 

     

    In the Senate, the bill is led by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). 

     

    “Everyone—regardless of their age—should be able to go to work every day knowing that they are protected from discrimination.  Unfortunately, age discrimination in the workplace is depriving older workers of opportunities and exposing them to long-term unemployment and severe financial hardship.  More than a decade ago, the Supreme Court undermined protections for older workers by setting an unreasonable burden of proof for age discrimination claims.  The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act is a bipartisan bill that would finally restore the legal rights of older workers by ensuring that the burdens of proof in age discrimination claims are treated in the same manner as other discrimination claims,”said Ranking Member Scott.

     

    “Age discrimination is one of the most prevalent issues affecting an entire generation of older Americans,” said Representative Grothman.  “The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act is a crucial initiative that aims to restore legal safeguards for older Americans by ensuring that age discrimination claims receive just as much credibility as any other form of workplace discrimination.  Age discrimination is often overlooked, but it is one of the most egregious forms of discrimination hurting Americans.  Older workers deserve to work without facing unnecessary burdens.” 

     

    “Older workers have a wealth of experience to offer and should not have to overcome age discrimination, or any other form of discrimination, to find a job or fulfill their role in a workplace,”said ECESE Ranking Member Bonamici.  “We must hold employers accountable for age discrimination and restore protections for older workers.  I’m grateful to lead this legislation with a group of bipartisan colleagues.” 

     

    “Discrimination has no place in the American workforce, and no one should lose opportunity, dignity, or legal protection simply because of their age. Our bipartisan, bicameral bill restores a core standard of fairness, ensuring our older workers are valued for their contributions and protected from unjust treatment—just like every hardworking American,” said Representative Fitzpatrick.

     

    “Older Americans have spent their careers bettering our country which is why I’m proud to reintroduce POWADA to strengthen anti-discrimination protections for our senior workers,”said HEWD Ranking Member Adams.  “Far too often, older workers face age discrimination in the workplace, with two-thirds of workers over 50 seeing or experiencing age discrimination at work. POWADA will ensure that older workers are treated fairly in the job market, improve age discrimination protections, and make sure they can continue to work with the dignity they’re owed. There is no place for mistreatment in the workforce.”

     

    “In a truly free and fair America, equal opportunity must be a fundamental right for all citizens, regardless of age,” said Representative Van Drew.  “Unfortunately, age discrimination continues to deny older workers the opportunities they deserve, despite their years of dedication and contributions to our society.  This is unacceptable.  That is why I am proud to support the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2025 to restore legal protections, uphold the dignity of older Americans, and ensure fairness for all.”

     

    “Every Wisconsin worker deserves to feel respected and protected in the workplace.  We need to ensure this is true for older workers, so they have equal footing and are treated with the dignity they deserve,”said Senator Baldwin.

     

    “Americans of all ages can offer valuable contributions to our society and economy, including older Americans.  They deserve to be protected from workplace discrimination like other Americans.  The Supreme Court’s decision involving Iowan Jack Gross impacted employment discrimination litigation across the nation, sending a wrong message to employers that age discrimination is okay.  It’s long past time for us to clarify the intent of Congress so Americans don’t face job discrimination due to age,”said Senator Grassley.

     

    In 2009, the Supreme Court’s decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. weakened protections against age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  Under Gross, plaintiffs seeking to prove age discrimination in employment are required to demonstrate that age was the decisive motivating factor for the employer’s adverse action.

     

    POWADA returns the legal standard for age discrimination claims to the pre-2009 evidentiary threshold, aligning the burden of proof with the same standards for proving discrimination based on based on race and national origin.

     

    POWADAamends four laws—the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.  A similar version of the bill was passed in the House with bipartisan support during the 117th Congress.

     

    Read the bill text for the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act here.

     

    Read the fact sheet for the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act here.

     

    Read the section-by-section summary of the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act here.

     

    The following organizations support the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act: American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Aging Life Care Association, Alliance for Retired Americans, Elder Justice Coalition, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP), National Employment Law Project (NELP), National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), The National Council on Aging, and USAging.

     

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DHS Makes $360 Million Available to Communities to Increase Number of Trained Firefighters and Keep Communities Safe

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: DHS Makes $360 Million Available to Communities to Increase Number of Trained Firefighters and Keep Communities Safe

    DHS Makes $360 Million Available to Communities to Increase Number of Trained Firefighters and Keep Communities Safe

    Additional $36 Million to be Made Available for Research to Improve Firefighter Health and SafetyWASHINGTON – Under the leadership of President Trump, states and localities will be empowered to manage disasters and emergencies

    These fire grant programs align with that vision by helping communities build the response capabilities they need to keep their citizens and communities safe

    Today, FEMA announced that $360 million in funding are available to help keep communities and firefighters safe through the Fiscal Year 2024 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program

    FEMA will award SAFER grants directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations across the country to help them increase or maintain the number of trained firefighters available in their communities

     FEMA also announced that applications will be accepted for $36 million available through the FY 2024 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grant program

    These funds help strengthen community fire prevention programs and support scientific research on innovations that improve firefighter safety, health and well-being

     In 2024, there were approximately 4,200 home fire fatalities in the United States, including 61 firefighters

    To help keep communities and firefighters safer, FEMA will award SAFER funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing, provide adequate fire protection from fire and fire-related hazards and fulfill traditional missions of fire departments

    The purpose of the FP&S grant program is to award grants directly to fire departments, national, regional, state, local, Tribal Nation and non-profit organizations such as academic (e

    g

    , universities), research foundations, public safety institutes, public health, occupational health and injury prevention institutions for fire prevention programs and to support firefighter health and safety research and development such as clinical studies that address behavioral, social science and cultural research

    The application period for both the FY24 SAFER and FP&S programs will open at 9 a

    m

    ET on May 23, 2025, and close on July 3, 2025, at 5 p

    m

    ET

    Over the years, SAFER funds have had a big impact in communities around the nation

    The Medway (Massachusetts) Fire Department received $741,443 in SAFER funds to hire four new firefighters

    Chief Jeff Lynch said the award had measurable impacts on the department’s staffing levels and response times

    For example, because of the presence of a firefighter hired using SAFER funds, the department was able to respond with extra personnel to a house fire on March 20, 2019

    The firefighters rescued the family’s pet dog and stopped the fire in time to save their house and belongings

    The FP&S grant program has also made a difference for the fire service

    The Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firefighters Association (CVVFA) advocates for all fire service in their region, which includes departments in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia

    The group has received more than $3

    5 million in FP&S funding since 2016, spread out over eight awards

    CVVFA used that funding to build ResponderSafety

    com and the Responder Safety Learning Network (RSLN

    org), their resources and programming

    The grant funds have also supported nationwide outreach and education

    Products include 48 online training modules on roadway incident response safety for firefighters; multiple training videos in topics like safe backing up of apparatus and high visibility; and public service announcements featuring emergency services personnel who survived being struck on the roadway and family members of responders who were struck and killed in the line-of-duty

    Since 2005, the SAFER program has awarded approximately $5

    2 billion in grant funding and the FP&S grant program has awarded nearly $900 million since its inception in 2002

     The FY 2024 SAFER and FP&S Notices of Funding opportunity and technical assistance documents for both programs are available at www

    grants

    gov and on the FEMA website here: SAFER and FP&S

    Additional information about upcoming webinars to assist applicants is also available on the FEMA website

    joy

    li
    Tue, 05/20/2025 – 16:45

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Recovery Centers in 6 Kentucky Counties To Permanently Close, Help Is Still Available

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Disaster Recovery Centers in 6 Kentucky Counties To Permanently Close, Help Is Still Available

    Disaster Recovery Centers in 6 Kentucky Counties To Permanently Close, Help Is Still Available

    FRANKFORT, Ky

    –Disaster Recovery Centers in 6 Kentucky counties will close permanently this weekend

    The center in Leslie County will close at 7 p

    m

    May 23

    The center in Leslie County is located at:911 Dispatch Center, 24770 Highway 421, Hyden, KY 41749 Working hours are 9 a

    m

    to 7 p

    m

    Eastern Time, Monday through Friday May 23

    The centers in Breathitt, Knott, Letcher, Martin and the Belfry Public Library location in Pike County will close at 7 p

    m

    May 24

    The centers are located at: Breathitt County, Breathitt County Library, 1024 College Avenue, Jackson, KY 41339Knott County, Knott County Sports Complex, 450 Kennedy Loop #8765, Leburn, KY 41831Letcher County, Letcher County Recreation Center, 1505 Jenkins Road, Whitesburg, KY 41858Martin County, Martin County Public Library, 180 E

    Main St

    , Inez, KY 41224Pike County, Belfry Public Library, 24371 US-119 North, Belfry, KY 41514Working hours are 9 a

    m

    to 7 p

    m

    Eastern Time, Monday through Saturday May 24

    The centers in Floyd and Perry counties and the Pikeville location in Pike County are scheduled to remain open

    These centers are located at:Floyd County, Floyd County Board of Education, 442 KY-550, Eastern, KY 41622Perry County, Hazard Community College, 1 Old Community College Drive, Hazard, KY 41701Pike County, Pike County Public Library, 126 Lee Avenue, Pikeville, KY 41514Working hours are 9 a

    m

    to 7 p

    m

    Eastern Time, Monday through Saturday, and closed Sundays

    You can visit any Disaster Recovery Center to get in-person assistance

    No appointment is needed

    To find all other center locations, including those in other states, go to fema

    gov/drc or text “DRC” and a Zip Code to 43362

     You don’t have to visit a center to apply for FEMA assistance

    There are other ways to apply: online at DisasterAssistance

    gov, use the FEMA App for mobile devices or call 800-621-3362

    If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA the number for that service

    FEMA is urging Kentuckians affected by the February storms to apply for federal disaster assistance as soon as possible

    The deadline to apply is May 25

    Kentuckians affected by the April storms have until June 25 to apply for federal disaster assistance

    For more information about Kentucky flooding recovery, visit www

    fema

    gov/disaster/4860 and www

    fema

    gov/disaster/4864

    Follow the FEMA Region 4 X account at x

    com/femaregion4

    martyce

    allenjr
    Tue, 05/20/2025 – 13:28

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LACKAWANNA COUNTY – Governor Shapiro to Highlight Positive Results of Historic Investments in K-12 Public Education, Importance of Continuing to Deliver for PA Students

    Source: US State of Pennsylvania

    May 21, 2025 – Scranton, PA

    ADVISORY – LACKAWANNA COUNTY – Governor Shapiro to Highlight Positive Results of Historic Investments in K-12 Public Education, Importance of Continuing to Deliver for PA Students

    Governor Josh Shapiro will visit Isaac Tripp Elementary School in Scranton to meet with students, teachers, and legislators and highlight how the historic funding he secured for public K-12 education is leading to positive results in schools across the Commonwealth. In his first two budgets, Governor Shapiro secured historic investments in our public schools, students, and teachers, delivering the largest increase in K-12 education funding in Pennsylvania history.

    Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal builds on that foundation by proposing new funding for K-12 public education, with a focus on driving more dollars to the schools that need them most. It also continues our progress to build strong and safe school communities, hire and support our teachers, and expand mental health resources.

    WHO:
    Governor Josh Shapiro
    Representative Bridget Kosierowski
    Dr. Erin Keating, Scranton School District Superintendent
    Ty Holmes, Scranton School Board President

    WHEN:
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 10:00AM

    WHERE:
    Isaac Tripp Elementary School
    1000 N. Everett Avenue,
    Scranton, PA 18504

    LIVE STREAM:
    pacast.com/live/gov
    governor.pa.gov/live/

    RSVP:
    Press who are interested in attending must RSVP with the names and phone numbers for each member of their team to ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sens. Scott, Bennet Celebrate National Charter Schools Week

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) led a resolution to celebrate National Charter Schools Week and recognize charter schools’ contributions to the academic landscape. Charter schools continue to expand across the nation. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, approximately 250,000 teachers educate more than 3.7 million students at over 8,000 charter schools nationwide.

    “During National Charter Schools Week, we celebrate the incredible innovation that charter school families, teachers, and leaders bring to our education system,” said Senator Scott. “I look forward to supporting these vital institutions as they continue to empower students, expand learning opportunities, and provide options ensuring every child has a chance to succeed.”

    “All students deserve a high-quality education that prepares them for success in college and career. Across Colorado, charter schools improve student achievement and provide students with the flexibility and innovative teaching they need,” said Senator Bennet.“National Charter Schools Week is an opportunity to recognize educators and school leaders for their outstanding work and dedication to their students and communities.”

    Sens. Scott and Bennet were joined on the resolution by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Margaret Hassan (D-N.H.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Thomas Tillis (R-N.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Jon Husted (R-Ohio). 

    Read the resolution in full here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Luisel Ricks-Santi, Senior Associate Vice President Community Health, Education and Training, Old Dominion University; Associate Professor of Pharmacy, University of Florida

    Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative had funded hundreds of cancer research projects across the country. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

    “Me encontraron càncer en la pròstata,” my father told me. “They found cancer in my prostate.”

    As a cancer researcher who knows very well about the high incidence and decreased survival rates of prostate cancer in the Caribbean, I anguished over these words. Even though I study cancer in my day job, I struggled to take in this news. At the time, all I could muster in response was, “What did the doctor say?”

    “The urologist wants me to see the radiation oncologist to discuss ‘semillas’ (seeds),” he said. “They are recommending treatment.” Many men, including former President Joe Biden, whose case is advanced, do choose with their doctors to treat prostate cancer.

    However, I understood from my work that not undergoing treatment was also an option. In some cases, that is the better choice.

    So I took it upon myself to educate my father on his disease and assist him with the life-changing decisions he would need to make. Our journey can give you a preview of what a cancer diagnosis can be like.

    Prostate cancer diagnosis

    Prostate cancer was not a new topic for my father and me. His battle with his prostate health started over 10 years ago with an initial diagnosis of benign prostate hyperplasia, or BPH.

    The prostate gets bigger with age for a number of reasons, including changing hormone levels, infection or inflammation. Two of the most frequent symptoms of BPH are difficulty urinating and a sudden, urgent need to urinate, both of which my father experienced.

    Although research suggests that the factors that contribute to BPH similarly contribute to prostate cancer, there is no evidence that an enlarged prostate will necessarily develop into cancer.

    Prostate cancer diagnoses have risen in the U.S. in recent years.

    Upon my father’s initial BPH diagnosis, I asked about his PSA levels, the amount of prostate-specific antigens in his blood. PSA is a protein that both normal and cancerous prostate cells produce, and elevated amounts are considered red flags for prostate cancer. When combined with a digital rectal exam, a PSA test can allow doctors to more accurately predict a person’s risk of having prostate cancer.

    My father said his PSA levels were elevated but that the doctors would begin active surveillance, what he called “watchful waiting,” and monitor his PSA every six months to see if it rose.

    After several years of monitoring his PSA, doctors found my father’s PSA level had doubled. He then got a biopsy that indicated he had intermediate-risk prostate cancer.

    Cancer risk categorization

    After his diagnosis, my father was faced with the decision of how to proceed with treatment. I explained that categorizing how aggressive the cancer is and how far it has spread can help determine the best course of treatment.

    Prostate cancer can be grouped into four stages. Stages 1 and 2, when the tumor is still confined to the prostate, are considered early-stage or intermediate risk. Stages 3 and 4, when the tumor has spread beyond the borders of the prostate, are considered more advanced and high risk.

    Some patients with early-stage or intermediate-risk prostate cancer undergo additional treatment, including surgery, radiation or radioactive seed implants called brachytherapy. Patients with late-stage prostate cancer typically undergo hormone therapy along with surgery or radiation, or chemotherapy with or without radiation.

    Although I was not surprised by my father’s diagnosis, given his advanced age and his battle with prostate disease over the past decade, I still struggled emotionally. I struggled with our conversations about what “curing” his cancer meant and how to explain his treatment options to him. I wanted to ensure he would have the best outcome and could still live his best life.

    Our initial inclination was to undergo active surveillance. That meant we would monitor his PSA every six months instead of immediately starting treatment. That is appropriate for patients with early-stage and less aggressive tumors.

    Prostate cancer screening problems

    My father was leaning on me to help him decide how to proceed. I felt overwhelming anxiety because I did not want to fail him or my family. Even with all my expertise studying cancer genetics and working with cancer patients, I couldn’t help second-guessing our decisions, and I sometimes questioned our decision not to immediately treat his cancer.

    Some people diagnosed with prostate cancer don’t immediately start treatment, because many of the tumors found through PSA testing grow so slowly that they are unlikely to be life-threatening. Detecting these slow-growing tumors is considered overdiagnosis, because the cancer ultimately will not harm the patient during their lifetime. Nearly half of all patients with prostate cancer are overdiagnosed, often leading to overtreatment.

    Research suggests that many prostate cancer patients undergo unnecessarily aggressive treatments, which are often associated with significant harms, like urinary and bowel incontinence, sexual impotence and, in some cases, death. Several studies in the U.S. have shown that patients with early-stage prostate cancer generally have a good prognosis, and the cancer rarely progresses further. With careful observation, most will never need treatment and can be spared the burdens of unnecessary therapy until there are clear signs of progression.

    The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended personalized PSA-based screening in 2018 to avoid overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

    Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer led the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to recommend against PSA-based screening in 2012, with caveats for high-risk groups including African American men and those with a family history of prostate cancer. The recommendation was updated in 2018 to make screening a personal choice after discussion with a clinician.

    Those recommendations have resulted in reduced screening and increased prostate cancer diagnoses. Given that Black men are more likely to see the cancer progress to aggressive forms of the disease after initial diagnosis, this may worsen existing health disparities.

    Developing tests that better identify patients at risk of dying from prostate cancer can decrease overtreatment. In the meantime, educating patients can help them decide if screening is appropriate for them. For underserved and marginalized communities, community outreach can help improve health literacy and enhance awareness and screening.

    When I looked through my father’s stack of medical records, I found a beacon of light that eased my apprehension. His doctor had ordered a genetic test that estimates how aggressive a tumor may be by measuring the activity of specific genes in cancer cells. An increase in gene activity linked to cancer would indicate that it is likely to grow fast and spread.

    The test predicted that my father’s risk of dying from the disease in the next five years was less than 5%. Based on these results, we both understood that he had adequate time to make a decision and seek additional guidance.

    My father ultimately decided to continue active surveillance and forgo immediate treatment.

    Because of disparities in access to screening and treatment, African American men are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.
    FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

    Surviving prostate cancer

    I still worry about my father’s diagnosis, because his cancer is at risk for progression. So every six months, I inquire about his PSA levels. His doctors are monitoring his PSA levels as part of his survivorship plan, which is a record of information about his cancer diagnosis, treatment history and potential follow-up tests.

    My father’s decision to undergo active surveillance was controversial among our friends and family. Many were under the impression that prostate cancer required immediate treatment. Several shared successful treatment stories, sometimes followed by stories of adverse treatment-related side effects.

    To date, my father believes that active surveillance was the best decision for him and understands that this may not be the same for someone else. Talk to your doctor to see what the best options are for you or your loved ones.

    This is an updated version of an article originally published on Aug. 8, 2023.

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

    – ref. Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide – https://theconversation.com/biden-is-getting-prostate-cancer-treatment-but-thats-not-the-best-choice-for-all-men-a-cancer-researcher-describes-how-she-helped-her-father-decide-257071

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Revitalizing Long Island Downtowns

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced awards for a total of 23 transformational projects on Long Island as part of two economic development programs: the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward. Eight projects were announced for Smithtown-Kings Park, the Round 7 winner of a $10 million DRI award; eight projects were announced for Brookhaven-North Bellport, a Round 2 winner of a $4.5 million NY Forward award; and seven projects were announced for Mineola, also a Round 2 winner of a $4.5 million NY Forward award.

    “Long Island’s towns and villages represent the best of our state, and I’m investing in 23 transformation projects so they can continue to be the hubs of industry and culture we cherish,” Governor Hochul said. “These projects will make our communities stronger for generations of residents and businesses while honoring the historic character that makes New York special.”

    New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley said, “When we invest in our downtowns, we’re investing in the heart of our communities. Through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward program, we’re not just funding projects – we’re fostering vibrant, walkable neighborhoods that spur economic growth, enhance quality of life for residents and preserve the unique character of each municipality and region. These signature programs exemplify our commitment to ensuring that every New Yorker, in every corner of our State, has the opportunity to succeed and thrive.” 

    Town of Smithtown – Kings Park

    The Town of Smithtown has already taken significant steps toward revitalizing Kings Park with aggressive housing and economic development goals to catalyze future transformation through the DRI. The DRI projects will help to support the Town’s vision to create a walkable, mixed-use business district centered around the Long Island Rail Road station with access to restaurants, commercial development, community space and new diverse housing opportunities.

    The 8 Smithtown DRI projects, totaling $9.7 million, include:

    • Implement Main Street and Pedestrian Improvements ($4,500,000): Implement streetscape and pedestrian improvements to increase walkability and safety for both pedestrians and drivers along Main Street. Improvements may include utility line relocation on Main Street, bulb-outs, reduced curb cuts, widened sidewalks, accessible pedestrian ramps and high-visibility crosswalks. The streetscape improvements would also provide a reconfigured parking lot near 75 Main Street.
    • Install Town Green and Library Outdoor Learning Area with Connections to Local Trails ($1,435,000): Convert an underutilized municipal parking lot and parts of the library’s open space into a new park. The new, expanded park will feature a gazebo/stage, a multi-functional outdoor learning area, a new playground community garden and seating. The park will have expanded pathway connections to the Hike and Bike Trailhead.
    • Transform 26-34 Main Street into Mixed-Use Development ($900,000): Construct a three-story mixed-use development at the heart of Main Street with new retail and community facility spaces and approximately 16 apartments. Building will be further set back from Main Street to widen sidewalks and improve pedestrian experience by Russ Savatt Park.
    • Rehabilitate the Historic Mixed-Use Building at 4 Main Street ($850,000): Renovate the restaurant, apartments and outdoor seating areas of a historic building on Main Street’s most prominent corner. Exterior renovations include lighting, signage, landscaping, windows and insulation. Interior renovations include upgrades to HVAC, flooring, ceilings and equipment.
    • Restore the VFW Building for Community Events at 40 Church Street ($728,000): Complete restorations to enable community facility usage and events including roof, sidings, foundation sealing, windows, sewer connection, new signage and an awning. Interior work includes electrical, HVAC, flooring, painting, plumbing, generator and fire safety.
    • Establish a Small Project Grant Program to Support Capital Improvements ($600,000): Create a small grant fund that will help small businesses and property owners improve exteriors and interiors including signage and awnings, windows, entrances, patios, doors and sidings.
    • Implement Branding, Marketing and Signage Strategy for Kings Park ($400,000): Utilize marketing services to attract businesses and create a cohesive visual identity. This includes the re-design and installation of wayfinding signage, a new web and media presence and new programing strategies.
    • Create a Pedestrian Pathway from LIRR Main Street and Russ Savatt Park ($287,000): Create a pedestrian walkway from the LIRR Station to Main Street via Russ Savatt Park to guide pedestrians and visitors. The walkway will be improved with landscaping, crosswalks and lighting.

    Town of Brookhaven-North Bellport

    The Town of Brookhaven will use public/private partnerships to overcome inequities and strengthen the community. Through the development of NY Forward projects the Town will foster new affordable housing close and accessible to the LIRR station; a mixed-use business district; upgrade public amenities; building façade improvements; and streetscape enhancements to improve pedestrian safety.

    The 8 North Bellport NY Forward Projects, totaling $4.5 Million, include:

    • Implement Sidewalks and Lighting Improvements ($1,300,000): Implement new sidewalks on Atlantic Ave from Provost to Station Rd and Post Ave from Patchogue to Montauk Hwy. Install lighting on Atlantic Ave from Station Rd to North Dunton Ave, Post Ave and Montauk Hwy.
    • Develop Affordable Homeownership on Ecke Avenue ($1,250,000): Construct 32 homes with 32 Accessory Apartments (ADU) (64 total units) on vacant land.
    • Create Storefronts and Office Space at 1700-1742 Montauk Highway ($786,855): Commercial development with first floor retail and second floor office and community space.
    • Renovate a School Annex at 1415 Montauk Highway ($446,000): Renovate a school annex for Pre-K to second grade classes. Space will host events and programs open to the public.
    • Upgrade Robert Rowley Park ($345,152): Park improvements including upgraded playground equipment and surfacing, landscaping, new benches, upgraded and increased lighting, pickleball courts, basketball court improvements and upgraded fencing and paving.
    • Enhance Bellport Station ($200,000): Improvements to Bellport Station including cleaned up vegetation and new landscaping.
    • Improve Outdoor Space at the Boys and Girls Club ($96,993): Improvements include backyard and playground upgrades, basketball court construction, parking lot lighting and a meditation garden.
    • Upgrade the Facade at 1414 Montauk Highway ($75,000): Reface the exterior of the building and add new lighting, store signage and a sidewalk complex sign.

    Village of Mineola

    The Village of Mineola has engaged in thoughtful planning and supportive zoning changes to attract new businesses and people to the downtown, which has helped create over 1,400 housing units during the last decade. The NY Forward projects will build on these important prior efforts by creating more public spaces in the downtown; developing vacant parcels into mixed-use buildings; and completing placemaking and pedestrian improvements.

    The 7 Mineola NY Forward Projects, totaling $4.5 Million, include:

    • Redevelop Second and Main Street to Strengthen the Downtown Core ($1,300,000): Expand sidewalks on the north side of Second Street and east side of Main Street, install automatic bollards for temporary road closures, remove utility poles and bury power lines, and enhance streetscapes with landscaping and amenities.
    • Redevelop 199 Jericho Turnpike into a Mixed-Use Building that Preserves the Historic Façade ($1,000,000): Redevelop 199 Jericho Turnpike with a 40,000-square-foot mixed-use building featuring 30 residential apartments, including 15 affordable units and a 2,685-square-foot retail space, while preserving the historic bank façade and adding sidewalk pavers, street trees and parking.
    • Strengthen Pedestrian Streetscapes With a Focus on Lighting the Downtown Core and Installing Area-Wide Wayfinding ($850,000): Install wayfinding and gateway signage to promote Village identity and guide visitors to key destinations, while enhancing streetscapes with trees, planters, seating and the removal of cluttered poles.
    • Install a Public Mural on the Pavilion Garage and Activate Surrounding Public Space ($505,000): Install a large-scale mural on the north-facing wall of The Pavilion Parking Garage and transform the ground area into a flexible space with landscaping, lighting, seating and public amenities to create an inviting environment for events, commuters and residents.
    • Activate and Improve Connection from Station Plaza to Second Street Passageway ($417,000): Enhance pedestrian connectivity between the train station and Downtown Mineola by upgrading the Mineola Boulevard Bridge underpasses and Morgan Parc alleyway with improved lighting, public art and aesthetic enhancements.
    • Establish a Small Project Fund to Support Local Businesses and Improve the Public Realm ($300,000): Establish a fund to support property improvements within the NYF Area, offering grants for façade enhancements, signage, building renovations, accessibility upgrades, sustainability projects and public art, with tailored guidelines for private and non-profit applicants.
    • Renovate Facade of the St. James to Promote a More Vibrant Second Street ($128,000): Renovate the St. James façade to modernize its appearance with French sliding doors, updated lighting, new signage, an upgraded entryway and enhanced surface treatments to enhance customer experience and align with Second Street’s revitalization.

    In the FY25 Enacted Budget, Governor Hochul made the “Pro-Housing Community” designation a requirement for cities, towns and villages to access up to $650 million in State discretionary programs, including the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and New York Forward. To date, more than 300 municipalities across the State have become certified. To further support localities that are doing their part to address the housing crisis, Governor Hochul secured $100 million in the FY26 Enacted Budget to create a Pro-Housing Supply fund to assist certified Pro-Housing Communities with critical infrastructure projects necessary to create new housing, such as sewer and water infrastructure upgrades.

    Empire State Development President, CEO, and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “The Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward programs are transforming communities across New York State by turning local visions into bold investments to generate place-based economic development. These projects will create new opportunities for businesses, support vibrant public spaces, and attract residents and visitors alike – laying the foundation for sustainable growth and stronger regional economies.” 

    New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “All across this State, the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward programs are strategically prioritizing communities, growing economies with targeted awards, creating more housing opportunities that improve affordability for New Yorkers where it is most needed, and building on the diverse character of our neighborhoods. By working with local and municipal partners, these awards continue Governor Hochul’s commitment to developing the full potential of our downtowns as economic drivers and attractive places to live.”

     Empire State Development Board Chair Kevin Law said, “As a Long Islander, I’m especially proud to see these transformative investments in Kings Park, North Bellport, and Mineola. These awards demonstrate how targeted funding can reinvigorate commercial centers while preserving their distinct identities. These projects address critical needs—enhancing accessibility around transit hubs, diversifying residential options, and modernizing infrastructure—that will position these localities for long-term prosperity and fuel regional economic growth that will benefit Long Islanders for generations.”

    LIREDC Co-Chairs Linda Armyn and Dr. Kimberly R. Cline said, “From creating a walkable, transit-connected downtown in Kings Park to advancing affordable housing and public amenities in North Bellport, and mixed-use revitalization in Mineola, these projects are reshaping Long Island’s economic landscape. Through DRI and NY Forward, we’re delivering smart, community-driven investments that support small businesses, strengthen infrastructure, and foster vibrant, inclusive downtowns where residents and visitors alike can thrive.”

    State Senator Siela A. Bynoe said, “The seven NY Forward Projects planned in the Village of Mineola are a welcome investment in the future of the village and its residents. These grants stand as a testament to the forward-thinking work the Village of Mineola has engaged in to attract business and increase housing. It is an exciting opportunity for the village to now expand on that work with beautified streetscapes, improved lighting, support for local businesses, and increased walkability. I extend my gratitude to Governor Hochul for recognizing the transformational effect of investing in our downtowns.”

    Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said, “I’m incredibly proud and grateful to see Kings Park’s vision come to life through the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative. From Main Street beautification, which includes the prospect for the highly sought-after utility line relocation, to the new Town Green, Library Outdoor Learning Area, trail access and pedestrian connections to the LIRR and Russ Savatt Park, these projects will give our downtown the vibrant facelift it truly deserves—right where our community gathers every day. This milestone reflects the hard work of a talented team of planners, environmental experts, consultants, and our partners in government. I want to sincerely thank Governor Kathy Hochul, Empire State Development, the Regional Economic Development Council, and especially the Kings Park community for their continued input and commitment throughout this incredible process.”

    Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Daniel J. Panico said, “The people and community of North Bellport have been and continue to be a priority of mine since being elected Supervisor of Brookhaven Town. This investment continues the positive momentum forward toward brighter days. I have long believed that people believe more of what they see with their eyes compared to what they hear with their ears. Accordingly, this investment will deliver tangible improvements and will enable us to continue our work in the North Bellport community. I thank the Governor, her staff, and all those who see the value in partnering with and investing in Brookhaven Town.”

    Village of Mineola Mayor Paul Pereira said, “The Village of Mineola is excited to get these transformational projects started. The NY Forward Program will help the village achieve its goals of revitalizing the downtown into the premier destination on Long Island that it deserves to be. The local planning committee worked tirelessly with the community and the state planners to present the most transformative projects possible. As these projects get under way, along with the projects that have already been approved locally, our residents can see the positive change that is happening. Thank you to the governor and her team for their continued support of our great community. We are excited to get to work.”

    DRI and NY Forward communities developed Strategic Implementation Plans (SIPs), which create a vision for the future of their downtown and identify and recommend a slate of complementary, transformative and implementable projects that support that vision. The SIPs are guided by a Local Planning Committee (LPC) comprised of local and regional leaders, stakeholders and community representatives, with the assistance of an assigned consultant and DOS staff, all of whom conduct extensive community outreach and engagement when determining projects. The projects selected for funding from the SIP were identified as having the greatest potential to jumpstart revitalization and generate new opportunities for long-term growth.

     About the Downtown Revitalization Initiative

    The Downtown Revitalization Initiative was created in 2016 to accelerate and expand the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods in all ten regions of the state to serve as centers of activity and catalysts for investment. Led by the Department of State with assistance from Empire State Development, Homes and Community Renewal and NYSERDA, the DRI represents an unprecedented and innovative “plan-then-act” strategy that couples strategic planning with immediate implementation and results in compact, walkable downtowns that are a key ingredient to helping New York State strengthen its economy, as well as to achieving the State’s bold climate goals by promoting the use of public transit and reducing dependence on private vehicles. Through nine rounds, the DRI has awarded a total of $900 million to 91 communities across every region of the State.

    About the NY Forward Program

    First announced as part of the 2022 Budget, Governor Hochul created the NY Forward program to build on the momentum created by the DRI. The program works in concert with the DRI to accelerate and expand the revitalization of smaller and rural downtowns throughout the State so that all communities can benefit from the State’s revitalization efforts, regardless of size, character, needs and challenges.

    NY Forward communities are supported by a professional planning consultant and team of State agency experts led by DOS to develop a Strategic Investment Plan that includes a slate of transformative, complementary and readily implementable projects. NY Forward projects are appropriately scaled to the size of each community; projects may include building renovation and redevelopment, new construction or creation of new or improved public spaces and other projects that enhance specific cultural and historical qualities that define and distinguish the small-town charm that defines these municipalities. Through three rounds, the NY Forward program has awarded a total of $300 million to 60 communities across every region of the State.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: With the Law in Front of Him, Trump IRS Nominee Refuses to Say It’s Illegal for the President to Weaponize the IRS Against His Political Enemies

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    May 20, 2025

    Warren questioned Long on Trump’s threats to revoke Harvard’s non-profit status

    Warren: “It’s clear the statute makes it illegal…And the fact that you want to sit there and dance around about this tells me that you shouldn’t be within 1000 miles…of the IRS.” 

    Video of Exchange (YouTube)

    Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned IRS Commissioner nominee Billy Long about the legality of President Trump’s threats to revoke Harvard’s non-profit status—and any other efforts by the President to use the IRS to target individual taxpayers. 

    In early May, President Trump threatened to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status after the university refused to cave to his demands. 

    Despite Senator Warren walking him through the law and giving him over a dozen opportunities to answer, Mr. Long refused to say whether it is illegal for the President of the United States to instruct the IRS to remove a taxpayer’s non-profit status. 

    Federal law states that “[i]t shall be unlawful for [the President] to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer.” In a meeting three weeks ago, Senator Warren asked Mr. Long whether it would be unlawful for the President to direct the IRS to revoke the nonprofit status of a taxpayer and sent Mr. Long a copy of the relevant statute after the meeting to review with counsel. Despite this, Mr. Long was still unable to answer the question. 

    “[Y]ou’d have a lot more credibility if you would just say yes. It’s clear the statute makes it illegal for the President to direct the IRS vis-à-vis any particular taxpayer. And the fact that you want to sit there and dance around about this tells me that you shouldn’t be within 1000 miles of the directorship of the IRS,” concluded Senator Warren. 

    Transcript: Hearing to Consider the Nomination of William Long, of Missouri, to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the remainder of the term expiring November 12, 2027
    Senate Finance Committee
    May 20, 2025 

    Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So the IRS collects nearly all federal revenue and that means that behind every road we build, every Social Security check that we pay is the IRS, making sure everyone pays what the law says they owe. No politics. But Donald Trump has a different idea. He wants to use the IRS to punish his enemies.

    On May 2, Trump said, “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status.” Harvard wouldn’t cave in to other demands Trump made, so Trump said he would hurt them using the IRS. Now, this is about more than Harvard. It is a threat to anyone who might displease the President, including the people or organizations that can’t afford to have an expensive legal battle if Trump sets the IRS on them.

    So, Mr. Long, when you and I met, I asked you whether it was illegal for the President to tell the IRS to revoke a taxpayer’s non-profit status. And you said in our meeting that you weren’t sure, but you would take a look and consult with lawyers. I sent you the statute, you’ve had three weeks to talk to the lawyers about it, so let’s jump in.

    Mr. Long, is it illegal for the President to direct the IRS to revoke a taxpayer’s non-profit status?

    Mr. Billy Long, nominee for Commissioner of the IRS: In the first place, he wouldn’t do that —

    Senator Warren: That’s not my question Mr. Long. Please don’t start down this. 

    Mr. Long: Are we on Section 7212 or 7217? 

    Senator Warren: I’m at 26 U.S.C. 7217. Do I need to read it to you? 

    Mr. Long: “Prohibits any member of the executive branch to request the IRS to conduct or terminate an audit on a taxpayer.” 

    Senator Warren: Alrighty. So is it illegal—

    Mr. Long: I’m going to follow the law. And if that’s the law, yes. 

    Senator Warren: Okay, but I want you—that is the law. So I just want to be clear: is it illegal for the President of the United States to instruct the IRS to remove a taxpayer’s non-profit status? 

    Mr. Long: “Prohibits any member of the executive branch to request the IRS to conduct or terminate an audit of a taxpayer.” 

    Senator Warren: Is that a yes? 

    Mr. Long: I’d have to go to the lawyers at the IRS to tell me. 

    Senator Warren: No. Come on. You just read it. 

    Mr. Long: I know, but I don’t see the instance that you’re speaking about in there. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t see—

    Senator Warren: Look, it says “it shall be unlawful for any applicable person,” which in this case includes the President, “to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer.” 

    Is it illegal for the President to instruct the IRS to remove non-profit status from a taxpayer? 

    Mr. Long: I’m not going to have the answer you need, and I apologize but like I said—

    Senator Warren: Why are you not having the answer? You’ve had three weeks to consult with lawyers, the statute is about as clear as plain English makes possible—

    Mr. Long: Well, if I say I’m going to follow the law, why would you need to ask me the question? 

    Senator Warren: Well, because I want to make sure that you understand what the law says. If you think ‘follow the law’ means you just get to make it up on the spot, then bud, you don’t get to be the IRS Commissioner. The point here is to follow the law as it is written and I’m asking what I think is a pretty simple question: can the President of the United States legally tell the IRS to change someone’s nonprofit status?

    Mr. Long: I’m not able to answer—

    Senator Warren: You can’t read these words and tell what those words say?

    Mr. Long: I can read the statute and I did but—

    Senator Warren: Alright, then tell me what they mean. What does it mean to say that ‘a person, an applicable person’ here—that’s the President, right?

    Mr. Long: Yes. 

    Senator Warren: Alright, ‘cannot directly or indirectly,’ right? 

    Mr. Long: (silence)

    Senator Warren: ‘Tell any officer or employee,’ that would be you, ‘of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer.’ What part do you not understand here? 

    Mr. Long: It seems to be a non-profit—I don’t see exactly what it refers to—

    Senator Warren: Any taxpayer. To start an investigation of any taxpayer. 

    Mr. Long: If it’s illegal, I’m not going to allow it to happen at my IRS. 

    Senator Warren: Is it illegal? That’s the question. 

    Mr. Long: Me and you will be friends then. I want to be your friend anyway but we will be on the same page. I’m going to follow the law, and if that’s point blank the law—

    Senator Warren: What do you understand the law to be saying about the President telling the IRS in his dealings with any particular taxpayer? What do you understand this law to be saying? 

    Mr. Long: I think it sounds like it’s saying what you are saying, but I don’t—I’ve got a little bit of a section here, and I looked at it, I talked to an attorney that used to be at the IRS and now is going to maybe be back at the IRS and I’m sorry if I don’t have the answer.

    Senator Warren: What? You mean the lawyers told you that they couldn’t understand this?

    Mr. Long: The what? 

    Senator Warren: The lawyers told you they couldn’t understand this? 

    Mr. Long: I didn’t say that. 

    Senator Warren: Well, then tell me, what part do you not understand? It says ‘no person,’ and you’ve said that includes the President, ‘cannot instruct any officer,’ that would be you, ‘of the IRS to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation for any particular taxpayer.’

    Mr. Long: I don’t intend to let anyone direct me to start an audit for a political reason or any type of reason. 

    Senator Warren: Does that include the President of the United States? 

    Mr. Long: Anyone. 

    Senator Warren: Can you say yes? That the President of the United States cannot tell the IRS what to do.  

    Mr. Long: I can tell them they’re not going to tell me what to do. I can’t speak for if there’s other agents at the IRS that you’re talking about, but I’m telling you what I don’t want to have happen at my IRS. 

    Senator Warren: You know, Mr. Long, you’d have a lot more credibility if you would just say yes. It’s clear the statute makes it illegal for the President to direct the IRS vis-à-vis any particular taxpayer. And the fact that you want to sit there and dance around about this tells me that you shouldn’t be within 1000 miles of the directorship of the IRS. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Funding for Wythenshawe Park improves accessibility for visitors

    Source: City of Manchester

    As part of city-wide funding to transform Manchester’s green spaces, Wythenshawe Park has undergone development for park-goers.

    The Clean, Green Safer Manchester Investment, which is worth £157,000, has been put towards the work taking place in the popular park and surrounding areas to make it more accessible for families with pushchairs, wheelchair users and cyclists.  

    The south Manchester park has had potholes repaired on two pathways off the main entrances and the pathway to the tennis courts will also undergo resurfacing.  

    With Manchester holding the proud title of the European Capital of Cycling, the national cycling route which runs through Wythenshawe Park will now be able to welcome thousands of avid cyclists who pedal through the area each year on safer surfaces.  

    Manchester City Council understands the power of movement and its ability to encourage communities to come together and prioritise active lifestyles to truly thrive. And so, the Wythenshawe Park Cycle Hub will also benefit from the investment, ensuring cycle-lovers have somewhere to meet and connect to before setting off on their journeys or taking a stop to recharge.  

    For park-goers, after a long day of activity, there is an option to take a rest stop on one of the many benches installed through the park and around the surrounding areas. 

    By the spring, there will be a total of 7 Age Friendly Benches in total placed in Wythenshawe Park to Northenden giving older commuters in particular a chance to enjoy the scenery or enjoy some lunch while recharging.  

    Park visitors using public transport can also expect to see sixteen new benches in total near Wythenshawe Park tram and bus stops on the way to Wythenshawe Park as they embark on their journeys.  

    As well as near to Wythenshawe Tram stop to the park and Moor Rd tram stop to the Altringham Rd retail park. 

    Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, said: “It’s terrific to see the long-term investment into Wythenshawe Park and surrounding areas as part of our commitment to make spaces in Manchester cleaner and greener.  

    “We want to ensure all visitors to the park, whether in a wheelchair or on a bike, are made to feel welcome and safe as they enjoy our green spaces. 

    “From the national cycling route to new benches near your local tram stop, there is something for everyone through this newest investment.” 

    Further information about the investment into Wythenshawe park, can be found out through Cllr Lee-Ann Igbon who has given her insight into the project. 

    NARCO and Park Cycling Group said: “Nacro Outdoor Learning/Wythenshawe Nacro Community Cycling Hub (WyNCCH) are pleased to see the resurfacing works around Wythenshawe Park.  This includes the paths, roads and trails.  

    “The resurfacing work that has recently been completed has made a huge difference for all our participants that access our provision. This includes our school groups as some have mobility difficulties, our cyclist at (WyNCCH) who recently became Manchester Sport Club of the year. One of our recent cyclist club hub members commented on the recent improvements around the park.  

    “This is a brilliant improvement and investment” Nacro Outdoor Learning/WyNCCH would like to thank Manchester City Council for the recent work that has been completed. Nacro WyNCCH has several events for 2025 for walking/cycling. This investment at Wythenshawe Park improves operating activities safely for all, including accessibility for the wider community and the general park users.” 

    A Transport for Greater Manchester Active Travel spokesperson said: “It’s the perfect space to teach people to ride as it is built for that purpose, the surface improvements have made a great difference. The number of attendees at our sessions shows that it is meeting a local need and is supporting those who want to cycle more for leisure or function journeys to do so.” 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Beyer, Fitzpatrick Introduce Barriers to Suicide Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Don Beyer (D-VA)

    U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), bipartisan leaders on mental health and suicide prevention, today introduced the Barriers to Suicide Act. This legislation would create grants to help state and local governments fund nets and barriers that have been shown to reduce suicide on bridges and other high-risk infrastructure.

    “Research has shown that means restriction is one of the most effective strategies for reducing suicides, the eleventh leading cause of death in the United States. Our Barriers to Suicide Act is commonsense, bipartisan legislation that would strengthen America’s response to the epidemic of suicide and save lives,” said Rep. Beyer. “Congress can help state and local governments by stepping up to provide critical funding to build life-saving infrastructure in communities across the country. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and will continue to pursue legislative solutions to prevent suicide, including through my work as co-Chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus and its Suicide Prevention Task Force.”

    “More than 1,000 lives are lost to suicide on our railways each year. In our community, that crisis recently took three of our own—one to suicide, and two more in a brave attempt to save him. It was a devastating loss that shook us to our core,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “We can’t accept tragedy as the cost of inaction—not when solutions exist. That’s why Representative Beyer and I are introducing the Barriers to Suicide Act. As Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health Task Force, I’m working to equip communities with funding for proven, life-saving barriers at rail stations and other high-risk sites. We can’t bring back those we lost—but we can act in their memory, and we can save lives with the tools we know work.”

    “The Barriers to Suicide Act meets a critical need to prevent suicide by investing in proven strategies to make public spaces safer for people in crisis,” said Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). “By funding evidence-based design and infrastructure improvements in high-risk settings, this legislation takes a proactive approach to suicide prevention. NAMI thanks Reps. Beyer and Fitzpatrick for their leadership and supports this important legislation.”

    “In 2023, more than 49,300 lives were lost to suicide in the United States, including 1,297 deaths by falling. Research shows that these deaths are preventable by reducing access to lethal means,” said Laurel Stine, J.D., M.A., Executive Vice President and Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (ASFP). “Bridge barriers deter suicide and give individuals time to seek care and support. We commend Representative Beyer and Representative Fitzpatrick for championing this lifesaving legislation.”

    “Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S., and too many occur at predictable, preventable locations. Research shows that physical barriers on bridges and high structures can reduce suicide deaths at those sites by up to 90%,” said Erich Mische, CEO at the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE). “Congressmen Don Beyer and Brian Fitzpatrick are showing the bipartisan leadership this crisis demands through the Barriers to Suicide Act of 2025. There should be no trade-off between saving money and saving lives. It’s time we apply the same safety standards to suicide prevention that we already expect in our public infrastructure—to protect the people we love.”

    The Barriers to Suicide Act would establish a competitive grant program for states and localities to apply for federal funding to install nets and barriers on bridges, buildings, parking garages, and at rail stations. Project funding would be made eligible under the National Highway Performance Program. This bill would also authorize a study to identify additional strategies to reduce jumping deaths.

    Over 49,000 Americans died by suicide in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Falling deaths are a common cause of suicide, and restricting access to lethal means allows time for a feeling of crisis to pass, allowing people experiencing suicidal thoughts to seek help. Studies show that installing physical barriers and nets on bridges commonly used for suicide, for instance San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, can save lives. Suicide prevention advocates have worked to raise awareness of suicide prevention barriers in the National Capital Region in recent years.

    The Barriers to Suicide Act is cosponsored by Reps. Andre Carson, Sharice Davids, Marcy Kaptur Betty McCollum, Gwen Moore, Seth Moulton, Jamie Raskin, Shri Thanedar, Lori Trahan, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

    It is endorsed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (ASFP), the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP), the Kennedy Forum, and the National Association of Social Workers.

    Text of the Barriers to Suicide Act is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Issues Statement on Court Decision Granting a Preliminary Injunction Against TVUSD’s Curriculum Resolution

    Source: US State of California

    Tuesday, May 20, 2025

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement in response to the California Fourth District Court of Appeal’s decision to reverse in part the Riverside County Superior Court’s order denying a preliminary injunction against the Forced Outing Policy and Curriculum Resolution enacted by the Temecula Valley School District (TVUSD) Board of Trustees, with instructions to enter a preliminary injunction as to the Curriculum Resolution. The Court found that the Curriculum Resolution, which widely restricted curricular content as well as discussions of history and current events, was unconstitutionally vague, because “the Resolution’s language is ambiguous, lacks clear definitions, is unclear in scope, is seemingly irreconcilable with state-mandated educational requirements, and contains no enforcement guidelines.” As the appellate decision recognizes, the Curriculum Resolution was dramatically overbroad, including provisions that could be construed to bar lessons about discriminatory Jim Crow laws, segregation, racial inequalities in the criminal justice system, and the civil rights movement. The Court also found that the challenge against TVUSD’s Forced Outing Policy was moot because the Board rescinded the Policy in December, and AB 1955, which prohibits forced outing policies like TVUSD’s, is now in effect. In so doing, the Court clearly stated its expectation that “the Board will act in good faith and follow the law.”

    In October 2024, Attorney General Bonta filed an amicus brief urging the Court to reverse the order denying a preliminary injunction, arguing that (1) the Forced Disclosure Policy violates California’s Equal Protection Clause and (2) the Curriculum Resolution violates students’ right to receive information under the free speech provision of the California Constitution.

    “Every student deserves the right to feel seen, valued, and welcome in their learning environment. This decision reinforces the principle that all students should have access to inclusive, affirming curricula that reflects the diversity of their communities and the richness of our shared history. And it reaffirms that California law protects the rights of transgender students to live authentically and without fear. In California, we recognize the importance of curricula that reflect the full scope of the human experience and all our communities — including through instruction on history, racial and socioeconomic inequality, and other subjects — and equip students with the tools to work towards a more just society. Education is meant to empower students to think critically, challenge injustice, and see themselves, as well as one another, in the narratives that shape our society. Schools have a responsibility in providing environments where all students can thrive. Policies that ban inclusive curricula or forcibly out transgender and gender-nonconforming students not only target some of our most vulnerable youth, but also inflict real harm, undermining students’ well-being and academic success. That’s why at the California Department of Justice, we remain committed to protecting the rights of all students and ensuring that schools remain a welcoming and inclusive place for all.”

    A copy of the decision can be found here.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIH researchers develop biomarker score for predicting diets high in ultra-processed foods

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    News Release
    Tuesday, May 20, 2025

    Poly-metabolite scores could reduce reliance on self-reported dietary data in large population studies.
    For the first time, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified patterns of metabolites in blood and urine that can be used as an objective measure of an individual’s consumption of energy from ultra-processed foods. Metabolites are left after the body converts food into energy, a process known as metabolism. Scientists used these data to develop a score based on multiple metabolites, known as a poly-metabolite score, that has the potential to reduce the reliance on, or complement the use of, self-reported dietary data in large population studies. The findings appeared May 20, 2025, in PLOS Medicine.   
    “Limitations of self-reported diet are well known. Metabolomics provides an exciting opportunity to not only improve our methods for objectively measuring complex exposures like diet and intake of ultra-processed foods, but also to understand the mechanisms by which diet might be impacting health,” said lead investigator Erikka Loftfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., of NIH’s National Cancer Institute.
    Diets high in ultra-processed foods, which are defined as ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat, industrially manufactured products, typically high in calories and low in essential nutrients, have been linked to increased risk of obesity and related chronic diseases, including some types of cancer. Large population studies quantifying the health effects of ultraprocessed foods typically rely on self-reported data from dietary questionnaires. Such measures may be subject to differences in reporting and may not account for changes in the food supply over time. As a result of this study, researchers now have an objective measure of ultra-processed food intake to help advance the study of associations between ultra-processed foods and health outcomes.
    In the new study, the researchers used data from several existing studies to identify metabolites and patterns of metabolites in blood and urine that were related to ultra-processed food intake. Observational data came from 718 older adults who provided biospecimens and dietary information over a 12-month study period. Experimental data came from a small clinical trial of 20 adults at the NIH Clinical Center who consumed a diet high in ultraprocessed foods (80% of energy) and a diet comprised of no ultraprocessed food (0% of energy) for two weeks each in random order.
    The researchers found hundreds of metabolites that correlated with the percentage of energy from ultra-processed foods in the diet. Using machine learning, researchers identified metabolic patterns associated with high intake of ultra-processed foods and calculated poly-metabolite scores for blood and urine separately. Additional tests found that these scores could accurately differentiate within trial subjects between the highly processed diet phase and the unprocessed diet phase.
    Study participants were older U.S. adults whose diets may vary from other populations, as a result, findings will need to be replicated in other age groups. Researchers recommended that these poly-metabolite scores be evaluated and improved in populations with different diets and a wide range of ultra-processed food intake. Additionally, future research should examine the association of these poly-metabolite scores and the risk of diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes.
    About the National Cancer Institute (NCI): NCI leads the National Cancer Program and NIH’s efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of people with cancer. NCI supports a wide range of cancer research and training extramurally through grants and contracts. NCI’s intramural research program conducts innovative, transdisciplinary basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiological research on the causes of cancer, avenues for prevention, risk prediction, early detection, and treatment, including research at the NIH Clinical Center—the world’s largest research hospital. Learn more about the intramural research done in NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI website at cancer.gov or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
    About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

    References
    Abar L, Steele EM, Lee SK, Kahle L, Moore SC, Watts E, et al. (2025) Identification and validation of poly-metabolite scores for diets high in ultra-processed food: An observational study and post-hoc randomized controlled crossover-feeding trial. PLoS Med 22(5): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004560

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Tornado Watch 302 Status Reports

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Recent spy scandals reveal how western allies are increasingly unreliable friends

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Robert Dover, Professor of Intelligence and National Security & Dean of Faculty, University of Hull

    Denmark’s foreign affairs minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen sounded surprised and emotional as he addressed a press conference on May 7. He announced he would call in the acting head of the US embassy in Copenhagen, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over highly charged allegations that Washington has instructed its intelligence agencies to step up espionage on Greenland and Copenhagen.

    According to the Wall Street Journal, US intelligence operatives have been asked to collect information on Greenland’s politicians, independence activists and mining interests that could be leveraged in a potential purchase or coerced transfer of Greenland to the US.

    Greenland is a semi-autonomous Danish territory that Donald Trump has stated he would like to become part of the US. The US State Department has refused to comment on the allegations and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said she was opening an investigation into leaks of classified information.

    This looks like a large powerful nation doing all it can to undermine an ally and fellow member of Nato, which is why the Danes are so affronted.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    The real surprise of the story is that it became so public. But this drama comes at a time of increasingly frosty relations between Denmark and the US, made worse by a visit by US vice-president, J.D. Vance, that didn’t go through diplomatic channels. Even before this, Danish supermarkets were marking US products so consumers could boycott them.

    In another case with some parallels to the Greenland spy saga with one ally spying on another, there has been reports of a newly uncovered Hungarian spy ring in Ukraine, collecting military data for Russia. Hungary said the reports were propaganda.

    Hungary is, in theory, aligned with Ukraine as a member of the EU and Nato. However, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has expressed sympathy for Russian agendas and has the closest relationship with Moscow of any current EU leader. Orbán has even repeatedly attempted to block EU aid to Ukraine.

    The alleged discovery of a Hungarian spy network may ramp up the creeping distrust of Hungary by other EU members and the sense of it becoming even more closely aligned with Russia.

    There has even been a recently reported example of spying going on among countries that are loosely considered allies. North Korean spies were recently caught spying on China, for example.

    The Greenland and Hungary episodes, particularly, shed light on how the world order is being remade. We are in the middle of this shift, with technology-enabled intelligence playing a significant part. These episodes demonstrate that governments who thought they were allies are quickly discovering they could be adversaries.



    Read more:
    How Donald Trump’s proposal to buy Greenland really went down in Denmark

    Regulation by revelation

    The US’s reported efforts at spying on Greenland and Denmark is a window into intelligence business.

    Intelligence efforts against allies are generally only curtailed when they become subject to a public scandal. Intelligence historian Richard Aldrich described this as “regulation by revelation”. The inquiries into these operations normally result in a light censure from politicians or judges, pledges not to repeat the offences and subsequent changes to processes.

    Denmark claims the US has been spying on Greenland.

    What will happen in the Greenland case is as yet unclear, particularly when the Trump administration has shown itself to be particularly immune from public, media and political challenge. The most effective challenge to hostile activity against Greenland could be any ramifications for international stock market sentiment, but even that is not guaranteed.

    The reliance of the US constitution and international law on participants behaving appropriately now looks strained under the Trump administration. The lack of restraint on US power may cause nations to rely more heavily on their own intelligence capabilities.

    Intelligence could, as a policy area, begin to mirror that of tariffs and trade as a way that the US can create further uncertainty among other nations about its foreign policy objectives.



    Read more:
    US and Russia squabble over Arctic security as melting ice opens up shipping routes

    Technology makes it easy

    But another factor in contemporary intelligence is that nations can now spy on each other much more easily. Technical capabilities are getting cheaper and easier to use.

    For instance, communications intercepts, satellite imagery and open source data-analysis spying methods are cheaper than ever before. These approaches offer more insight, because of the development of machine analytics and the ready availability of computing power and data storage.

    So, allies will continue to spy on allies because they are able to. That ability drives a demand, even in peace time, to know what other national leaders, and their public, are thinking and doing.

    Nations will also aggressively spy at the moment because the world is particularly unstable, and on the edge of conflict in many regions. Understanding where conflicts might erupt, why and with what force and consequence is essential to any nation’s defence posture.

    Nations only know what equipment to buy, what resources to stockpile and how many people to employ in their militaries with this insight. Intelligence is as much about avoiding surprise as it is creating the circumstances to surprise others. In this sense, intelligence is just another tool of statecraft.

    Most nations have spied on their allies for as long as they have been able. During the cold war the US purchased the Swiss encrypted communications company Crypto AG and sold hundreds of secure communications devices with weakened security, which allowed it to listen in on the countries that were using it and gain intelligence

    This type of operation was the forerunner of the widespread intelligence practices of the US National Security Agency, which is in charge of collecting information for counter intelligence purposes, in recent years.

    For Denmark, the challenges of working with its allies through Nato, while defending Greenland, are increasingly complex. Meanwhile, the EU will also be concerned about what Hungary is sharing with its other “friends”. International allies and alliances are increasingly untrustworthy as part of 2025 tectonic shifts in global geopolitics. The recent revelations are just part of that moving picture.

    Robert Dover has previously received funding from the AHRC around the subject of lessons learned from intelligence operations.

    – ref. Recent spy scandals reveal how western allies are increasingly unreliable friends – https://theconversation.com/recent-spy-scandals-reveal-how-western-allies-are-increasingly-unreliable-friends-256353

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: UK film and TV boom hides a crisis that threatens the whole industry – new report

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Philip, Lecturer in Filmmaking and Knowledge Exchange Fellow, University of Reading

    Judging by the recent success of UK productions like Adolescence and Baby Reindeer, you might assume that the UK film and television industry is flourishing. And indeed, spending on production has risen dramatically in the last year, a boom which is expected to continue through to 2026.

    Unfortunately, our new report highlights a workforce crisis that raises serious questions about the future of the UK screen industry. And Donald Trump’s recent threat to impose tariffs on non-US films adds to the grim situation, throwing the industry’s vulnerability into stark relief.

    We carried out extensive interviews with 29 participants from across the sector who painted a bleak picture of overwork, financial instability, discrimination and barriers to career progression.

    Charities supporting the sector have already noted that the industry has a longstanding retention problem – the so-called “leaky pipeline”. But our report highlights that economic volatility in the UK and elsewhere is worsening financial and working conditions so much that the film and television industry risks a debilitating loss of its most valuable resource: freelancers.

    This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.

    Long gaps between jobs are widening, and even experienced freelancers with long careers are struggling to make ends meet. Currently there is no publicly available data on numbers entering and leaving the industry, but companies have reported worsening skills shortages, not due to poor recruitment, but because people are leaving in response to worsening conditions.

    As many as two thirds of screen freelancers are considering leaving the industry within the next five years. Since just under 50% of the film production workforce is freelance, such a large-scale exodus would seriously damage our domestic screen industry.

    That industry contributes £13.48 billion to the UK economy, and its talent on-screen and behind the cameras is world-renowned, so why is this crisis happening at all?

    Boom and bust

    The key change has been a reduction in domestic investment by UK-based public service broadcasters in tandem with increased investment from US-based studios and streamers.

    While a recent boom in international investment led to a rapid expansion in UK film and TV infrastructure and a corresponding acute shortage of workers, it also inflated the costs of production, which has proved unaffordable to traditional domestic commissioners. Without consistent local productions, the UK market is exposed to international disruptions like never before.

    Since the deregulation of the TV sector in the 1990s, the UK’s screen industry has relied on a high proportion of freelance workers. This model provided flexibility in a thriving domestic industry boasting some of the world’s most skilled talent and specialist infrastructure to match.

    A shift in the 2000s towards international workflows in production and post-production fuelled by competitive tax incentives transformed the UK film and TV industry into a global operation. Coupled with healthy domestic competition, the UK’s film and TV industry soared.

    But more recently, this globalised business model has been tested by an extended period of economic volatility that has left experienced talent out of work.

    First came the COVID lockdowns. Then a post-pandemic boom as companies moved to refill their schedules, took UK film and TV production to a record high in 2021.

    But then industrial action by US writers and actors in 2023 brought many UK productions to a halt. Once the strike was over, falling subscriptions numbers led to market volatility for streaming giants, who immediately tightened their budgets and slowed investment in UK-based productions.

    High inflation – partly caused by the influx of international money – led many domestic companies to slash their commissioning budgets. By the middle of 2024, plans to build new studios in the UK were being put on hold and more than half the workforce were still unemployed.

    As one worker told us: “I’ve got friends who’ve been out of work for a year … they’re having to sell their houses and these are experienced, serious producers.” Another contributor told us how: “So many people I know at the moment are looking elsewhere for work completely outside of the industry.”

    And another interviewee said: “There have been some unfortunate casualties along the way, some people simply haven’t had the income or the interest to sustain a living and and they’ve got to do what comes first, which is earn a wage that lets them survive.”

    Until recently, a healthy domestic broadcasting industry helped provide consistent work opportunities for freelancers. But at the same time as production costs have risen, broadcasters’ revenue from advertising – and for the BBC, from the licence fee – has fallen.

    The effect has been a precipitous 22% drop in domestic high-end television commissions in 2024, alongside a 50% decrease in international co-productions. UK broadcasters no longer have the financial capacity to plug the gap in the periods when international investors cut back.

    In effect, the domestic industry has become dominated by, and heavily reliant on, a handful of international players led by unpredictable economic interests and global market fluctuations. It’s no coincidence that the two most notable recent British success stories, Adolescence and Baby Reindeer, are produced by Netflix, which has the financial resources British broadcasters lack.

    And despite the presence of the streamers, inflated costs are making it harder for producers to make programmes with British subject matter. Patrick Spence, the executive producer of the hugely successful Mr Bates vs. the Post Office, has said he wouldn’t even try to make the show today.

    To make matters worse, productions funded by international finance (that might have been funded by UK broadcasters in the past) bring little subscription or licensing profits back to the domestic industry.

    As our research shows, this constellation of issues means freelancers face extreme financial insecurity like never before, alongside increasingly poor working practices as production companies try to cut costs and, in some cases, promote too early where experienced staff are missing. It is little wonder that so many are considering leaving the sector.

    If significant numbers do leave the sector, there will no longer be a supply of skilled workers to meet the demands of an uptick in productions – and the US firms will go elsewhere, leaving only a depleted domestic industry in financial crisis.

    Netflix has already made a thinly veiled threat to seek out more competitive territories in the event of a levy on streamers. We could expect a similar decision if they find that the skilled talent they count on in the UK is no longer available.

    The next bust may already be in sight thanks to President Trump’s proposed tariffs on “foreign-made” films. Though such a levy would be difficult to implement and would cause as much harm to the US industry as it would its global partners, it’s not hard to imagine it having a chilling effect on commissioning in the UK.



    Read more:
    Why Trump’s plans for tariffs on foreign films probably won’t have a happy ending

    Structural change needed

    So what can be done? The introduction of a new programme of tax breaks for productions made in the UK, initiated by the Conservatives and ratified by the Labour government, has been rightly celebrated. However, industry experts predict these will not solve the financial sustainability of a homegrown industry.

    MPs have called on the government to go further in its support for the UK independent film and high-end television sectors, to provide a counterbalance to the fluctuations in investment in big budget fare, and to appoint a freelance commissioner to protect workers rights.

    We wait to hear whether the government will take up its recommendations, and bring us closer to other countries, such as France, that have protected their domestic workforce by negotiating specific investment agreements with the major US streamers.

    In our report, we argue that a minister for self-employed and precarious workers working across government departments is the only way to ensure that the appropriate measures can be achieved to address the challenges freelancers now face.

    Better data on freelancer movements will help policy makers and industry to understand the effects of changes to the domestic industry, to help better secure that workforce for future growth as part of the government’s Invest 2035 growth plans.

    We also recommend better data for freelancers themselves: a central source of information on taxation, employment rights, training, funding and the other resources they need to thrive in this challenging landscape.

    These are only the first steps to lessen the immediate risk of losing a substantial section of the skilled workforce that is the engine of the UK industry, preparing the ground for the much larger structural shifts that are needed. Participants in our research at different stages of their career repeatedly insisted that the industry needs root and branch care to overcome the extreme cycles of feast and famine.

    Protecting the cultural value of the UK’s screen industry goes far beyond making economic sense. The sector forms a major part of the country’s diverse national identity and projects a global image that is literally priceless.

    Andrew Philip receives funding for his screen industries research from the Arts & Humanities Research Council through the University of Reading’s Impact Acceleration Account programme.

    Lisa Purse receives funding for her screen industries research from the Arts & Humanities Research Council through the University of Reading’s Impact Acceleration Account programme.

    – ref. UK film and TV boom hides a crisis that threatens the whole industry – new report – https://theconversation.com/uk-film-and-tv-boom-hides-a-crisis-that-threatens-the-whole-industry-new-report-255986

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Falling back into the shadows? How to keep internal displacement on the humanitarian agenda

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Megan Bradley, Full Professor, Political Science and International Development Studies, McGill University

    The international humanitarian system is in freefall. Following the dramatic funding cuts initiated by Donald Trump’s administration in the United States, deliveries of essential food, medicines and clean water to those in need have halted and stockpiles are dwindling. Aid agencies are scrambling to figure out how to do less with less, even as global needs are mounting.



    Read more:
    The growing threat to U.S. democracy will literally cost lives

    Those displaced inside their own countries, as a result of conflict or natural disaster, have been particularly hard hit by this upheaval.

    Internally displaced persons already fall through the cracks of the humanitarian system, despite dramatically outnumbering those who cross borders as refugees.

    Worldwide, there are an estimated 43.7 million refugees, compared to 83.4 million internally displaced people. Yet media coverage still focuses on those fleeing their country as refugees, while internally displaced people remain less visible and beholden to national governments that have the primary responsibility to assist them.

    Some governments, such as Ukraine’s, work hard to meet this challenge but need outside support. In countries like Myanmar and Afghanistan, governments are complicit in displacing their own citizens, necessitating stronger international leadership.

    The UN’s central role

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established to protect and assist refugees. But from as early as the 1970s — as a result of calls from the UN General Assembly to address displacement crises — it has also become a leading entity in the international response to internally displaced persons.

    Advocacy from the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (established in the early 1990s), and more recently from the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Internally Displaced Persons and the work of the Office of the UN Special Advisor on Solutions to Internal Displacement, has also promoted increased attention to the issue and advocated workable solutions.

    This progress is now at risk in the face of U.S. humanitarian aid cuts.

    The danger today is not that the UNHCR and other humanitarian leaders will treat internally displaced people as unimportant or undeserving of help. Instead, ground could be lost through a return to the UNHCR’s traditional, narrow refugee mandate. Responsibility for internally displaced persons could be shirked as many UN agencies are also under stress.

    This will further increase the marginalization of internally displaced people and expose them to heightened levels of insecurity, poverty and disease.

    The UNHCR is far from the only international organization involved with internally displaced persons. The International Organization for Migration is another important player, particularly in natural disasters, and other agencies, including the UN Development Programme, support longer-term development solutions.

    Yet the UNHCR is the core protection agency for those who are forcibly displaced and its leadership is critical to ensuring a comprehensive response to both refugees and those displaced within their own country’s borders.

    Difficult choices

    In the face of a 30 per cent reduction in operating expenses in its headquarters and regional bureaus, the UNHCR faces some agonizing choices. But these cuts must not produce a competition between internally displaced persons and refugees in humanitarian assistance.

    Experience has shown that effective responses must consider displacement dynamics not only across but also within borders — especially since many refugees are internally displaced before they seek safety abroad and many face internal displacement if they return to their countries of origin.

    The good news is that the UNHCR remains committed to supporting inter-agency co-operation on solutions for internally displaced people, following up on the work of the Office of the UN Special Advisor.

    However, the head of the UNHCR has not yet publicly and clearly reaffirmed his agency’s commitment to standing up for internally displaced people alongside refugees in this moment of flux in the humanitarian sector.

    The need for strong leadership

    As the UNHCR reduces its commitments and shrinks its operations, there could be a void of senior leadership on internal displacement at headquarters and in the field. This means the agency’s response may be determined by regional and country directors with different levels of comfort with and commitment to internally displaced persons.

    The irony is that the UNHCR routinely calls for governments dealing with internal displacement crises to clearly allocate responsibility for effective responses. Today’s budget crisis is no excuse for the UNHCR not to walk its own talk.

    In the face of declining resources but mounting humanitarian needs, the UNHCR and its donors should prioritize preserving their investment in strengthened, reliable and rights-based responses to internally displaced persons — not only for the sake of these citizens, but also as an integral element of a comprehensive response to refugee situations.



    Read more:
    Ethiopia’s war may have ended, but the Tigray crisis hasn’t

    The UNHCR should recognize and insist that refugee response requires an effective response to those displaced internally and vice versa. As a core part of this approach, the agency should also enhance its support for local efforts led by internally displaced people themselves, recognizing they can be, and have been, at the forefront of more effective solutions to their displacement.

    The UNHCR’s funding cuts are putting the agency in a pared-down holding pattern until the next high commissioner of the organization is chosen later this year. A key criterion for selecting the next leader should be their vision for sustaining engagement with internally displaced persons alongside refugees in this moment of global turmoil.

    Megan Bradley receives funding from SSHRC.

    Jennifer Welsh receives funding from the Social Science and Research Council of Canada and the European Research Council.

    – ref. Falling back into the shadows? How to keep internal displacement on the humanitarian agenda – https://theconversation.com/falling-back-into-the-shadows-how-to-keep-internal-displacement-on-the-humanitarian-agenda-255856

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Feats of the human body behind Tom Cruise’s stunts in Mission: Impossible movies

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol

    He’s leapt from cliffs, clung to planes mid-takeoff and held his breath underwater for as long as professional freedivers. Now, at 62, Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt for one final mission – and he’s still doing his own stunts.

    With Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the saga reaches its high-stakes finale. But behind the scenes of death-defying spectacles lies a fascinating question: just how far can the human body be pushed – and trained – to pull off the seemingly impossible?

    And at what cost? In filming the eight Mission: Impossible films, Cruise has suffered a broken ankle, cracked ribs and a torn shoulder.

    Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to consider the capabilities – and limits – of the human body in being able to achieve these awesome heights. How much is it possible to train to achieve the apparently impossible?

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    Breathing underwater

    In Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Hunt navigates an underwater vault to recover a stolen ledger. Cruise wanted to film this all in one take and sought help from freediving instructors in order to hold his breath for the required time – over six minutes!

    The average human can hold their breath for about 30 to 90 seconds. That’s without training. Although there’s an innate diving reflex built into the human body that allows it to temporarily adapt to immersion underwater.

    The response is to lower the heart rate and redirect blood to the body’s core, essentially enabling it to lower its metabolic demand and preserve the function of the vital organs, like the brain and heart.

    All well and good, but consider now the need to swim, as well as resist the pressure of the water pressing on the lungs. And also while fighting that desperate urge as a result of rising CO₂ to take a deep breath – which, underwater, would be catastrophic.

    And if the diver’s oxygen levels fall too low, they might black out and lose consciousness. That’s why shallow water drowning is a real risk here.

    That’s where freediving training comes into play. With practice, there are several ways you can increase the time you’re able to remain underwater. These include mastering breathing techniques to retain the maximum amount of air in the lungs. Sustained practice might also lead to increased oxygen storage capacity in the bloodstream.

    This process takes months to years to attain and might lengthen the immersion time, on average, to around five minutes. What Cruise managed to achieve was nothing short of exceptional.

    The official trailer for Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning.

    Free climbing – and that scene

    Mission Impossible films often open with Ethan Hunt working his way up some impossibly sheer building or cliff face with the agility of a mountain goat. He appears to be free climbing without a harness, and at the start of Mission: Impossible 2, clinging on with just one hand. While Cruise used safety wires to secure himself, the climbing was 100% real.

    Then, of course, how could we forget that scene? The one in the original Mission: Impossible – where he has to suspend all limbs, centimetres from the ground, to prevent himself from setting off the alarms.

    Although Cruise hasn’t revealed his specific training regime for these stunts that I can see – performing any of these actions would require an exceptionally strong back and core.

    The muscles of our backs keep the spine straight and upright. Some span the space between back and limb, such as latissimus dorsi, or “lats”. These sheets of muscle, prized by bodybuilders, are also particularly valuable to climbers – allowing you to perform a chin-up, or pull yourself up that rock face.

    Besides this, many other muscles are needed for extreme climbing – those that enable a strong grip, allow for reaching and “push offs”, and maintain tension and hold. It’s no wonder climbing is considered one of the best whole-body workouts.

    It’s no surprise that Cruise is known to have trained extensively for this. To understand even an element of the difficulty he may have faced, you could try adopting that vault heist pose, with your belly in contact with the floor, and see how long you can hold it. I won’t tell you how pitiful my own attempt was.

    What a blast

    Hunt has also escaped a fair few explosions in his time, from a helicopter in the Channel tunnel to a detonating fish tank in Prague. In Mission: Impossible 3, on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, another helicopter launching a missile triggers an explosion that sends Hunt smashing into a car. Again, Cruise did it all himself, for the price of two cracked ribs.

    Pyrotechnics were used for the explosion, but of course, they couldn’t be used to lift Cruise up and deposit him against the car. The solution? A series of wires were used to drag him sideways. Never has the direction “brace, brace” been so apt.

    And just so you know, broken or bruised ribs are far from fun. Some describe them as one of the most painful injuries you can experience, since the simple acts of coughing, sneezing and merely breathing exacerbate the pain.

    But Tom Cruise picks himself up yet again, dusts himself off and gets on with it. His motivation? He has reportedly claimed that he wants the audience to experience what it really feels to be in that moment. And what a good sport he is.

    This article won’t self-destruct in five seconds.

    Dan Baumgardt 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. Feats of the human body behind Tom Cruise’s stunts in Mission: Impossible movies – https://theconversation.com/feats-of-the-human-body-behind-tom-cruises-stunts-in-mission-impossible-movies-256908

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: English schools to increase mental health support – why they need to get children involved in designing it

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma McKenna, Fellow – Medical Sociology, University of Birmingham

    BalanceFormCreative/Shutterstock

    The UK government has announced the continuing rollout of the provision of mental health support teams in schools in England, with the intention of providing six in ten pupils with this support by March 2026.

    One in five children over the age of eight has a probable mental health condition in England today. Mental health support teams are needed to support children and young people early with their mental health and wellbeing to help prevent problems escalating.

    Mental health support teams are made up of experts who work with a number of schools in their local area. They collaborate with school staff, provide group or one-to-one sessions for pupils, parents and carers, and help schools create a culture that promotes mental health and wellbeing.

    With colleagues, I work on research investigating mental health in schools. This has involved assessing the early progress of the mental health support teams – the first ones were created between 2018-19 as part of the then Conservative government’s trailblazer initiative, which aimed to test out approaches and solutions to complex societal problems in specific regions.

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    Our research looked in particular at one of the key purposes of the mental health support teams – to help schools set up or improve a “whole school” approach to mental health support.

    A whole school approach means that all areas of the school or college work together to put mental health and wellbeing at the heart of their school community. This contrasts to standalone mental health activities that aren’t grounded within the everyday school culture. For instance, a school might hold an assembly on wellbeing but continue to implement a behaviour policy that heavily relies on punishment and therefore risks affecting children’s wellbeing.

    School culture

    Well-designed and implemented whole school approaches can have positive effects on children and young people’s wellbeing and contribute to the prevention and reduction of mental health problems. We also know that children are more likely to achieve at school if they feel like they belong, can participate and have autonomy, all fostered by the whole school approach.

    An example of a whole school approach is identifying and supporting children and young people early with mental health support. It can include “global learning”, where learning about mental health and wellbeing becomes a core part of schools’ assemblies, clubs and project-based learning. However, these are just some of a number of combined approaches to a whole school approach.

    In our research, children and young people in schools and colleges where mental health support teams had helped put whole school approach activities in place, told us that they were visible and felt seen. Teachers reached out to them about their wellbeing, either in classrooms through emotional check-ins, or through special lessons focused on mental health attached to curriculum teaching.

    Feeling like there was somewhere to go, someone to talk to, and be heard, made a clear difference to children and young people.

    However, we found that some schools were not including children and young people in their development of whole school mental health strategies. In one of the participating schools, mental health support team work was only known about by the child who had experience of the team. In this school, there was no discernible whole school work being undertaken in addition to direct support.

    The key missing ingredient to really support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing is for them to feel that they have agency – some input – into the activities that help them.

    Feeling that they have agency and input into decisions that affect them is good for children’s wellbeing.
    Nadya Lukic/Shutterstock

    Also, involving children in developing activities like this can help them to feel valued and included. This in itself is good for mental health.

    Creating together

    With my colleagues at The University of Birmingham’s Institute of Mental Health Youth Advisory Group and National Children’s Bureau, we worked with children and school staff to put together England’s first guide to creating a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing in schools with pupils. The set of resources include a structured classroom activity, introductory video and practical guide.

    The classroom activity prompts a creative conversation with children about what wellbeing means to them, how their school supports their wellbeing, and what more the school could do. The guide includes practical suggestions about how to talk to pupils about mental health and wellbeing at school in a safe, supportive and inclusive way. It also offers ideas about how to use the information from the classroom activity to support pupils.

    The activity itself asks children to reflect on where and how their wellbeing is supported at school, alongside a focus on the people, places and practices that might help them. The overall aim is to develop a child-centred, whole school approach, one which focuses on the things that matter most to children about their emotional wellbeing.

    Whole school approaches could provide schools with a more holistic way of supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Involving them in all areas of design and implementation could help to keep wellbeing and mental health at the heart of schools.

    Gemma McKenna receives funding from University of Birmingham, Impact Fund.
    Affiliations include: Health Services Research UK ,HSR UK, https://hsruk.org/
    TONIBOBANDLOU CIC https://www.tonibobandlou.com/

    – ref. English schools to increase mental health support – why they need to get children involved in designing it – https://theconversation.com/english-schools-to-increase-mental-health-support-why-they-need-to-get-children-involved-in-designing-it-252121

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: For long-tailed tits, it really does take a village

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jennifer Morinay, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Sheffield

    Any parent will tell you how useful it can be to have family living nearby, giving a helping hand when raising your children. In humans, relatives and even non-relatives act as childminders. Such behaviour is widespread in other animals too, particularly birds.

    In our recent study we explored why long-tailed tits, one of the UK’s tiniest bird species, often act as foster parents instead of raising their own brood.

    Since Darwin’s musings on apparent altruism in honeybees, scientists have discovered that individuals of many species help each other, including bacteria, insects, shrimps, mammals and especially birds. We now know that almost 10% of bird species cooperate, helping to raise nestlings that are not their own. This is called cooperative breeding.

    The question that has puzzled scientists since Darwin is why do other animals (and why do we) cooperate? The answer usually lies in a shift in focus from the individual to the genes that make them. The revolutionary work of evolutionary biologist Bill Hamilton in the 1960s (popularised in Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene in 1976), showed that helping family members can improve the transmission of shared genes to the next generation.

    But when is it more advantageous to help family members than to raise your own kids? That is the question we asked of long-tailed tits, the most cooperative of the UK’s birds. In our recent study published last month, we summarised 30 years of research on the cooperative breeding system of long-tailed tits.

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    These tiny and highly social birds with their characteristic chrrr-rr-rr calls are common in UK woods and gardens. In winter, they hang out in groups of 10-20 birds. These flocks often contain close family members, such as parents with offspring and siblings. They forage together during the day and, at night, they sleep in tight huddles on branches, to keep themselves warm.

    In February or March, when they sense that spring is just around the corner, the groups disband, and each bird finds a partner. Then follows what must seem like a marathon effort. Their domed nests, usually built in spiky bushes or high in tree forks, are elaborate constructions that may take weeks to complete. Females lay 9-11 eggs that they incubate until hatching two weeks later. Nestlings are fed by both parents for 16-18 days, when they fledge.

    However, small carnivores and other bird species are waiting for this bonanza of eggs or chicks, and about 70% of long-tailed tit nests are destroyed by such predators every year. Pairs must then start all over again, building a new nest and laying eggs. No wonder that they can only raise one brood per year.

    Long-tailed tits make elaborate nests to raise their chicks in.
    Chosg/Shutterstock

    By early May, the season is too advanced to re-nest, and if a pair has lost their brood they give up for the year. Some lucky ones manage to reproduce, of course. Is it luck? Maybe, in part – but the secret for half of the successful nests is that they got help from family members.

    Birds that fail to breed often become helpers, moving to another nest and assisting that pair in raising their offspring. Around half of all broods have helpers, typically just one or two, but up to eight at a single nest. The extra food that helpers provide increases the survival of offspring. Helpers normally choose the nest of relatives, increasing the number of birds carrying their genes in the next generation. For birds that may live for just a couple of years, this is the next best option after failing to breed successfully themselves.

    Small birds with persistent family bonds

    In our study, we aimed to understand how these family bonds persist and are important for the long-tailed tits. First, they tend to stay and reproduce near where they were born, especially males. As a consequence, we observed that long-tailed tits live in “kin neighbourhoods”. Second, even when they move and decide to settle further afield, long-tailed tits do so with sisters and brothers, maintaining their family ties as they move.

    Long-tailed tits are less than half the weight of a robin.
    David OBrien/Shutterstock

    These family ties can persist over thousands of kilometres. Long-tailed tits in the UK stay in the same area all year. However, populations in the Baltics migrate and spend the winter in central Europe. By catching groups on their southward and northward journeys, we discovered that long-tailed tits travel over large distances in family groups and end up nesting next to each other. These strong family bonds enable them to keep their support network in place.

    Males help more than females, and only birds in good condition help. But, most importantly, it is the strength of the family bond – how closely related and familiar they are – that affects this decision. We also identified external factors that promote cooperation. When predation is intense there are more failed breeders seeking helping opportunities. And when the weather limits time for breeding, long-tailed tits are more likely to help others. Out of adversity comes opportunity.

    We have unpicked the web of causes and effects that explain why long-tailed tits have complex social lives and a cooperative breeding system. Now, our aim is to understand how they recognise family members, whether it is with their calls, their smells, or simply because they built strong friendships over time with them.

    Ben Hatchwell receives funding from a Horizon Europe Guarantee grant from UKRI, via EPSRC, for a project selected by the ERC.

    Jennifer Morinay 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. For long-tailed tits, it really does take a village – https://theconversation.com/for-long-tailed-tits-it-really-does-take-a-village-256128

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Starmer says migrants should speak English – but all of the UK’s languages are important for integration

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mike Chick, Senior Lecturer in TESOL/English, University of South Wales

    William Perugini/Shutterstock

    When Keir Starmer said: “If you want to live in the UK, you should speak English”, it laid bare an assumption – that English is the only language that counts in the UK.

    This view not only overlooks the UK’s rich linguistic diversity, but also runs counter to the language policies being developed across the devolved nations.

    While the UK government’s latest proposals on immigration treat English proficiency as the main pathway to integration, governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are taking different approaches.

    Immigration is a matter controlled by Westminster. But integration, including language education, is devolved. That means each UK nation sets its own direction.

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    England

    Despite frequent political emphasis on English language learning and testing as key to integration, England does not have a national strategy for migrant or refugee integration. It also does not have an England-wide policy for teaching English for speakers of other languages (Esol).

    Instead, decisions about language classes are made locally but provision is uneven. In some areas, support is well-organised and accessible. In others, it’s barely there.

    Despite the lack of national leadership, the Esol sector in England has long benefited from grassroots activism. Organisations like the National Association for Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults and English for Action have been vocal in campaigning for better funding. Researchers and teachers also continue to call for a joined-up strategy for migrant and refugee integration.

    Wales

    By contrast, the Welsh government has made language education a core part of its progressive integration policies. Its ambition to become the world’s first “nation of sanctuary” is backed up by practical measures. This includes a dedicated language education policy for migrants, focused primarily on Esol – the only one of its kind in the UK.

    The first national Esol strategy was published in 2014, revised in 2018, and will be updated this year following a review.

    The introduction of Welsh as an element of migrant language education is helping to build a more inclusive, multicultural society too. It shows learners that all languages, including their mother tongue, have a role to play in a modern, multilingual nation.

    Scotland

    Since 2014, Scotland has implemented three refugee integration strategies. The new Scots refugee integration strategy has been internationally recognised as a model of good practice. It adopts a multilingual, intercultural approach, emphasising that language learning should include home languages and the language or languages of the new community, which may include Gaelic, Scots and English.

    Scotland had two successive adult Esol strategies from 2007 to 2020. These were developed in consultation with Esol learners and detailed clear progression routes into further training, education and employment. But they were discontinued in favour of a broader adult learning strategy in 2022 which covers all adult learners rather than just the needs of migrants.

    It was a decision criticised by some due to concerns about losing focus on the specific needs of Esol learners, and reducing the voice of Esol learners and teachers in Scotland.

    Northern Ireland

    In Northern Ireland, there is no dedicated migrant language policy yet. But its draft refugee integration strategy does at least acknowledge the importance of language in helping migrants feel “valued and respected”.

    In 2022, the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act granted official status to the Irish language, and to Ulster-Scots as a minority language. Nevertheless, the Northern Ireland refugee integration strategy focuses solely on English language classes as the primary language education provision.

    Welsh for speakers of other languages.

    What all UK nations share, however, is chronic underfunding. Adult education, where Esol funding sits across all four nations, now faces yet more cuts meaning many language learners will continue to face long waiting lists for classes.

    But how language education for migrants, especially migrants seeking sanctuary in the UK is perceived, organised and provided is critical to fostering inclusion, promoting integration and bestowing a sense of belonging. Developing competency in the dominant language or languages of the host nation can enable migrants to navigate health, housing or social security systems. It can help them cope with the needs of daily life and to use their skills and knowledge to enter work or education.



    Read more:
    How the Welsh language is being promoted to help migrants feel at home

    Many people seeking sanctuary have experienced trauma from undergoing forced migration. This makes it vital that language provision is trauma-informed and recognises a learner’s existing multilingual skills. It’s also important that it is shaped around their needs, not just on externally imposed assessments of English proficiency.

    The value of multilingualism

    Multilingual education is more than just a nice thing to have.
    There is growing evidence that valuing the languages refugees already speak, and recognising their linguistic skills as assets, improves wellbeing, builds confidence and enhances social inclusion.

    Too often in the UK, language learning is treated as a condition for acceptance, rather than a right that can enable belonging. That risks undermining the very integration that policymakers claim to support.

    If the UK is serious about being a modern, inclusive and multicultural state, it must embrace the reality that it is also multilingual, and that different nations may choose different routes to welcome those seeking sanctuary.

    The authors wish to thank their respective universities for the support they have received in researching this issue. They would also like to thank their co-researchers Sylvia Warnecke and Mel Engman and their co-authors on their recently published policy briefing.

    Gwennan Higham and Sarah Cox do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Starmer says migrants should speak English – but all of the UK’s languages are important for integration – https://theconversation.com/starmer-says-migrants-should-speak-english-but-all-of-the-uks-languages-are-important-for-integration-255286

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: M&S cyberattack: how can retailers regain customers’ trust after a hack? A marketing expert explains

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kokho Jason Sit, Senior Lecturer in Marketing; Associate Head (Global), University of Portsmouth

    Several big British retailers have been in the news recently – but not for buoyant sales or new product launches. Firms like Marks & Spencer and Co-op have been hacked, affecting online sales and the range of products available in-store, and forcing them to apologise to customers and other stakeholders. Luxury retailer Harrods also suffered a near-miss.

    M&S, a legacy retailer that has more than 1,000 stores across the UK, appears to have suffered the most significant damage from its cyberattack. Bank of America analysts estimated that the company has lost more than £40 million in weekly sales since the incident began over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

    As a precaution, the retailer was reported to have shut down many IT operations, effectively locking itself out of its core systems as it tried to address the incident.

    And then the situation worsened. M&S acknowledged that the personal data of customers, including names, dates of birth, telephone numbers, home and email addresses, and online order histories, had been stolen. However, the retailer insisted that the data theft did not include usable card, payment or login information.

    There are logical reasons why M&S may have opted for the cautious approach. It did not wish to create more panic and anxiety among customers. It preferred to tackle the issue covertly while the outcome was pending. It did not want to be seen as digitally incompetent. Of course, this reasoning is only speculative.

    That said, M&S’s approach to managing the incident has raised questions from a branding perspective.

    First, how long has the retailer been aware of the attack? And, more importantly, how long did it wait to share news of the data theft with its customers and the public?

    Research suggests that brands that are prompt and transparent in disclosing a hack, notifying the affected customers and communicating the potential implications for their privacy, are more likely to win consumer trust. It is better for brand image than those that opt for a “wait-and-see” or “drip-drip” approach.

    In 2016, US IT firm Yahoo was slapped with lawsuits after it announced a hack. The company’s stock price plunged amid fears that a data breach could derail its pending merger with Verizon Communications, set to be worth US$4.8 billion (£3.6 billion).

    But the lawsuits and the market’s adverse reaction were less about the data breach and more about Yahoo’s delayed actions. It involuntarily announced the data breach when the hacker attempted to sell the stolen user data online. Yahoo reportedly learned of the breach two years previously but did not warn its users and stakeholders. An internal review later found that the company had “failed to act sufficiently” on the knowledge it had.

    Bring in the marketers

    Second, does M&S need to do more than simply assure its customers that no usable payment or login information was stolen? Other personal data like date of birth, home and email addresses did get hacked, and are useful for criminals to commit identity theft.

    A prudent retailer will do more than follow the laws and regulations, it can take a more customer-centric, moralistic approach in protecting its customers’ welfare after a cyberattack. A study has highlighted the strategic value of involving marketers – either in-house or an external PR firm – in protecting consumer data and responding to breaches.

    The authors of the study stated that a marketer’s remit typically involves working with people from different backgrounds across all departments of a firm. This enables them to facilitate talks and negotiations between the relevant people, from company lawyers, tech experts, and security officers, to those overseeing investor relationships and the CEO managing the board relationship.

    Being focused on customer experience, even in times of deepening crisis, marketers instinctively think about the benefits and barriers experienced by consumers.

    Talking points between the company’s departments should focus on moral, as well as legal, options for protecting consumer data. Communications should consider the negative effect of the crisis on consumers, beyond the firm stressing its victimhood and seeking sympathy.

    Marketers can put the consumer’s point of view front and centre. They can highlight issues that others in the business may not consider, such as who drafts consumer communications, how messages are communicated and monitored, and how consumers can reach out to the brand to seek or offer help.

    At the end of the day, M&S has been the victim of a crime. Known as a “victim crisis”, a data breach is instigated exclusively by criminal actors. The way and pace at which M&S has communicated the data theft to its customers could potentially leave it open to criticism, however.

    The issue of when the retailer learned about the theft versus when it decided to share the information with its customers remains unclear. Also uncertain is how much personal data was taken, whether this includes any profiling data the retailer conducted on customers (things like their purchase frequency, coupon redemption and product choices). It should also share any plans it is devising to tackle potential identity thefts.

    M&S has come a long way since first opening up a stall at Kirkgate Market in Leeds in 1884.
    annaj77/Shutterstock

    M&S’s current crisis management activities could seem to be about preserving its bottom line while arguably the focus should be on caring for customers. As a legacy retailer which is nearly 141 years old, M&S can do better than following the typical “let me tell you” approach. This is where communication flows in one direction only and is pushed out on to the public, and is what M&S appears to have done in response to the attack.

    Instead, it should consider the more transparent “let’s work together” approach. This may promote better customer trust and brand image, allowing M&S to seek customer cooperation (things like reporting unusual emails or misinformation where a critical mass may identify a meaningful pattern). This could help to spot data breaches and criminal activities like identity theft and fraud.

    Kokho Jason Sit is affiliated with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).

    – ref. M&S cyberattack: how can retailers regain customers’ trust after a hack? A marketing expert explains – https://theconversation.com/mands-cyberattack-how-can-retailers-regain-customers-trust-after-a-hack-a-marketing-expert-explains-257142

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Reintroduces Bill to Protect Older Workers from Age Discrimination

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah 6th District Wisconsin)

    Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) joins Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers to reintroduce the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA), which will restore critical protections for older workers facing age discrimination.

    POWADA reinstates the pre-2009 legal standard for age discrimination claims, aligning the burden of proof with the same standards used for claims involving discrimination based on race and national origin.

    “Age discrimination is one of the most prevalent issues affecting an entire generation of older Americans,” said Grothman. “Too often, workers aged 50 and up are laid off while still juggling mortgages, family, and financial obligations. As they try to reenter the workforce, they face major obstacles in finding new employment. Employers also tend to let go of older employees to avoid higher insurance costs, leaving these individuals with limited options.

    “The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act is a crucial initiative that aims to restore legal safeguards for older Americans by ensuring that age discrimination claims receive just as much credibility as any other form of workplace discrimination. Age discrimination is often overlooked, but it is one of the most egregious forms of discrimination hurting Americans. Older workers deserve to work without facing unnecessary burdens.”

    “Everyone—regardless of their age—should be able to go to work every day knowing that they are protected from discrimination. Unfortunately, age discrimination in the workplace is depriving older workers of opportunities and exposing them to long-term unemployment and severe financial hardship. More than a decade ago, the Supreme Court undermined protections for older workers by setting an unreasonable burden of proof for age discrimination claims. The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act is a bipartisan bill that would finally restore the legal rights of older workers by ensuring that the burdens of proof in age discrimination claims are treated in the same manner as other discrimination claims,” said Ranking Member Scott.

    “In a truly free and fair America, equal opportunity must be a fundamental right for all citizens, regardless of age,” said Congressman Van Drew. “Unfortunately, age discrimination continues to deny older workers the opportunities they deserve, despite their years of dedication and contributions to our society. This is unacceptable. That is why I am proud to support the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2025 to restore legal protections, uphold the dignity of older Americans, and ensure fairness for all.”

    “Older workers have a wealth of experience to offer and should not have to overcome age discrimination, or any other form of discrimination, to find a job or fulfill their role in a workplace,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “We must hold employers accountable for age discrimination and restore protections for older workers. I’m grateful to lead this legislation with a group of bipartisan colleagues.”

    “Discrimination has no place in the American workforce, and no one should lose opportunity, dignity, or legal protection simply because of their age. Our bipartisan, bicameral bill restores a core standard of fairness, ensuring our older workers are valued for their contributions and protected from unjust treatment—just like every hardworking American,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick.

    “Every Wisconsin worker deserves to feel respected and protected in the workplace. We need to ensure this is true for older workers, so they have equal footing and are treated with the dignity they deserve,” said Senator Baldwin.

    “Older Americans have spent their careers bettering our country which is why I’m proud to reintroduce POWADA to strengthen anti-discrimination protections for our senior workers,” said Congresswoman Adams. “Far too often, older workers face age discrimination in the workplace, with two-thirds of workers over 50 seeing or experiencing age discrimination at work. POWADA will ensure that older workers are treated fairly in the job market, improve age discrimination protections, and make sure they can continue to work with the dignity they’re owed. There is no place for mistreatment in the workforce.”

    “Americans of all ages can offer valuable contributions to our society and economy, including older Americans. They deserve to be protected from workplace discrimination like other Americans. The Supreme Court’s decision involving Iowan Jack Gross impacted employment discrimination litigation across the nation, sending a wrong message to employers that age discrimination is okay. It’s long past time for us to clarify the intent of Congress so Americans don’t face job discrimination due to age,” said Senator Grassley.

    “Older workers are vital to a thriving economy, yet according to AARP research, 64 percent of workers ages 50-plus report seeing or experiencing age discrimination on the job,” said Bill Sweeney, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at AARP. “More than half of older workers are forced out of a job before they intend to retire. Even if they find work again, many of these workers never match their prior earnings. In addition, 22 percent of older workers report that they have been passed up for a promotion or other career-enhancing opportunities because of their age. These actions not only hurt the workers in question but also limit the economy’s ability to have a thriving job market by unnecessarily reducing the labor force. Older workers deserve a fair shot and our economy needs them.”

    Background Information

    In 2009, the Supreme Court’s decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. raised the burden of proof for age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), weakening protections for older workers. Gross overturned past precedent that only required plaintiffs seeking to prove age discrimination in employment to demonstrate that age was a motivating factor for the employer’s adverse action.

    POWADA returns the legal standard for age discrimination claims to the pre-2009 evidentiary threshold, aligning the burden of proof with the same standards for proving discrimination based on race and national origin.

    POWADA amends the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.

    A similar version of the bill was passed in the House with bipartisan support during the 117th Congress.

    Read the fact sheet for the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act here.

    Read the section-by-section summary of the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act here.

    Grothman is joined by Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Representative Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), and Representative Alma Adams (D-NC).

    In the Senate, POWADA is led by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

    The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act is supported by the following organizations: American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Aging Life Care Association, Alliance for Retired Americans, Elder Justice Coalition, National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP), National Employment Law Project (NELP), National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center, The National Council on Aging, and USAging.

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    U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) is serving his fifth term representing Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

    MIL OSI USA News –