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Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trump Admin Encourages Max $200k Pay for Political Appointees as It Fires Veterans, Cancer Researchers, & More—Murray, Democratic Colleagues Demand Answers, List of Top-Paid Political Staff

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    OPM encourages agencies to offer maximum salary to Trump political appointees, encouraging them to sidestep agency HR offices & standard vetting process
    Lawmakers: “Padding the pockets of political operatives while firing food safety inspectors is nothing short of an egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
    Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) calling out its recent memo encouraging agencies to ignore the recommendations of agency HR offices and offer the maximum available salary of $195,200 to Schedule C political appointees.
    As the Trump administration fires dedicated federal employees en masse across government, the senators demanded information about the Trump administration’s hiring of Schedule C political appointees, their salaries, the number of appointees making the maximum salary, justification for sidestepping HR recommendations and vetting processes, any guardrails implemented to prevent cronyism, and the costs to taxpayers.
    “You issued a memo to the heads and acting heads of departments and agencies encouraging them to offer the maximum available salary to political appointees and sidestep the regular hiring process,” write the senators. “This memo, coupled with the Administration’s widespread layoffs of career government workers who have loyally served in the Executive Branch for Presidents of both political parties, makes clear your intention: fire dedicated public servants in droves, cut essential government services, and use taxpayer dollars to instead hire underqualified and overpaid political cronies.”
    “While this Administration pushes out scores of public servants and guts entire agencies, often in defiance of Congress and federal law, your memo encourages agencies to help install loyalists who have not been properly vetted, in critically important positions—and to pay them at the highest possible rate. As dedicated career public servants are receiving notice that they have been fired, the Administration is offering higher pay for those hired under Schedule C,” they continue.
    “Per your memo, agencies may consider setting initial salaries at up to $195,200, almost five times the median income for individuals in the U.S.,” write the lawmakers.
    The lawmakers note that the OPM memo “demonstrates a desire for the expeditious hiring of underqualified and overpaid political elites. Schedule C hires are not career civil servants. They will not be answering phones at Social Security field offices or conducting food inspections or fighting wildfires.”
    “Padding the pockets of political operatives while firing food safety inspectors is nothing short of an egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars and massively wasteful,” they state.
    The full letter is available HERE and below:
    Mr. Charles Ezell
    Acting Director
    Office of Personnel Management
    1900 E Street N.W.
    Washington, D.C. 20415
    Dear Acting Director Ezell:
    On April 10, 2025, you issued a memo to the heads and acting heads of departments and agencies encouraging them to offer the maximum available salary to political appointees and sidestep the regular hiring process. This memo, coupled with the Administration’s widespread layoffs of career government workers who have loyally served in the Executive Branch for Presidents of both political parties, makes clear your intention: fire dedicated public servants in droves, cut essential government services, and use taxpayer dollars to instead hire underqualified and overpaid political cronies.
    Since President Trump took office, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has worked with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to facilitate the firings of tens of thousands of government employees under the guise of government efficiency. The American people have experienced only chaos as a result. The phone lines at Social Security are overwhelmed, food inspections are down, and as fire season begins, the Forest Service is planning to layoff wildland firefighters—to name just a few of the consequences of this administration’s arbitrary and thoughtless cuts. Put simply, OPM’s actions have sowed inefficiency and counter-productivity for the essential government services that our constituents depend on.
    While this Administration pushes out scores of public servants and guts entire agencies, often in defiance of Congress and federal law, your memo encourages agencies to help install loyalists who have not been properly vetted, in critically important positions—and to pay them at the highest possible rate. As dedicated career public servants are receiving notice that they have been fired, the Administration is offering higher pay for those hired under Schedule C, a type of appointment for those serving in confidential or policy roles, including as confidential assistants, policy experts, special counsel, and schedulers. Per your memo, agencies may consider setting initial salaries at up to $195,200, almost five times the median income for individuals in the U.S. Further, your memo encourages agency heads to sidestep the standard hiring process and remove the objective additional reviewer of candidates. This would allow appointees to begin work in sensitive roles without any vetting, including for conflicts of interest or background checks, bypassing the basic guardrails that have been in place for decades. On its face, OPM’s April 10 memo demonstrates a desire for the expeditious hiring of underqualified and overpaid political elites.
    Schedule C hires are not career civil servants. They will not be answering phones at Social Security field offices or conducting food inspections or fighting wildfires. They do not work for the American people; they work to advance the political agenda of the President. OPM’s April 10 memo makes clear the Trump Administration’s ultimate goal is to decimate the nonpolitical career civil service and use taxpayer dollars to enrich and reward political allies, all at the cost of the government services that people rely on.
    Padding the pockets of political operatives while firing food safety inspectors is nothing short of an egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars and massively wasteful.
    In order to ensure OPM works to actually promote efficiency and productivity in the government workforce, we request you provide the following information:
    The salary information of all Schedule C appointees, and the current number of Schedule C appointees, broken down by agency. For those Schedule C appointees the administration has hired at a pay level of GS-15 or $195,200, please provide a brief job description for each.
    The justification for revoking the authority of agency HR departments to set the terms for Schedule C appointment and additional information as to how agencies will set the terms for Schedule C appointment without HR involvement.
    Any guidance or detail OPM has provided to agencies as to how to set the terms for a Schedule C appointment in order to avoid widespread corruption.
    The agency-level cost of hiring the desired number of Schedule C appointees.
    Any written information detailing the role of the Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) in hiring Schedule C appointees.
    Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward receiving your responses no later than June 4, 2025.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: Cassidy Congratulates Fellow LSU Tiger John Foster on American Idol Run

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
    U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), for his monthly Local Spotlight, congratulated Louisiana native and LSU freshman John Foster on finishing strong in the American Idol finale. Each month, Cassidy highlights a local story that truly reflects Louisiana values of humility, respect, and resiliency.  
    Read his full May 2025 Local Spotlight below:
    Mr. President, I want to congratulate John Foster, a Louisiana native and fellow LSU Tiger, on an impressive run on American Idol.John was the runner-up on this season of American Idol. And while it was not the outcome everyone in Louisiana was hoping for, he represented himself and Louisiana well on a national stage. John’s performances were excellent and inspiring. He was also practicing and performing as he is pursuing pre-med!John, well done on pursuing both your dream and your education. From all of us back home, keep singing. You are first place in Louisiana.
    Background
    Last month, Cassidy highlighted Mrs. Louise McClelland for her 105th birthday. Louise served her community for 35 years as a teacher and continues to inspire her community with her joy and adventurous spirit.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Government meeting (2025, No. 18)

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    1. On the results of the passage of housing and communal services enterprises and electric power industry entities in the autumn-winter period of 2024-2025 and the tasks of preparing for the passage of the autumn-winter period of 2025-2026

     

    2. On the draft federal law “On the execution of the federal budget for 2024”

     

    3. On the draft federal law “On ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the United Arab Emirates on the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and capital, and on the prevention of tax avoidance and evasion”

    The bill aims to ratify the agreement signed in Abu Dhabi on February 17, 2025.

     

    4. On the implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of state programs of the Russian Federation based on the results of 2024

    The materials of the Consolidated Report contain information on the assessment of the effectiveness of 37 state programs.

     

    5. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to Article 33332–1 of Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation”

    The bill is aimed at forming a common market for veterinary drugs within the Eurasian Economic Union.

     

    6. On Amending the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 30, 2004 No. 327 (in terms of amending the Regulation on the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance)

    The draft act is aimed at granting Rosselkhoznadzor the right to establish departmental awards.

     

    7. On amendments to certain acts of the Government of the Russian Federation (in terms of amendments to the Regulation on the Federal Agency for Fisheries)

    The development of the draft act was dictated by the lack of authority of the Federal Agency for Fisheries to create a certification commission, which is necessary to conduct, in the established manner, the certification of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Northern Expeditionary Squad for Emergency Rescue Operations” and the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Far Eastern Expeditionary Squad for Emergency Rescue Operations”, subordinate to the Federal Agency for Fisheries, which carry out emergency rescue operations to ensure the safety of fishing vessels in fishing areas during fishing.

     

    8. On the draft federal law “On the execution of the budget of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund for 2024”

     

    9. On amendments to the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 19, 2012 No. 608 (in terms of amendments to the Regulation on the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation)

    The draft resolution supplements the provision with a new authority to approve the procedure for providing representatives of a medical insurance organization with consultations to insured persons in filing claims against medical organizations in connection with refusal to provide medical care or poor-quality medical care and the collection of funds for the provision of medical care.

     

    10. On the draft federal law “On Amending Article 49 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation”

    The bill was developed with the aim of improving the legal regulation of the procedure for concluding lease agreements in relation to federal real estate of civil aviation airfields.

     

    11. On the distribution of subsidies to the budgets of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Zaporizhia region and the Kherson region

    The development of the draft act is dictated by the need to bring public roads of regional, inter-municipal or local significance, including the street road network, into compliance with the regulatory requirements by 2025.

     

    12. On the allocation to the Ministry of Construction of Russia in 2025 of budgetary allocations reserved in the federal budget for the provision of subsidies to the budgets of the Republic of Kalmykia and the Pskov Region for the implementation of measures to modernize the public utility infrastructure

    The draft order is aimed at achieving the goals of the national project “Infrastructure for Life”.

     

    13. On the allocation to the Ministry of Construction of Russia in 2025 from the reserve fund of the Government of the Russian Federation of budgetary appropriations for the provision of one-time financial assistance in the form of a subsidy to the budget of the Saratov Region

    The draft order proposes to allocate additional funds to the Saratov Region budget for the implementation of measures to improve public and courtyard areas.

     

    14. On the draft federal law “On the execution of the budget of the Pension and Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for 2024”

     

    15. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to Articles 151 and 18 of the Federal Law “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation”

    The bill is aimed at improving the implementation of state migration policy, as well as legal regulation of issues related to the need for foreign citizens to confirm their proficiency in the Russian language, knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of legislation.

     

    16. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to Articles 35 and 38 of the Federal Law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation”

    The adoption of the bill will make it possible to avoid refusal to register a list of candidates, candidates for single-mandate (multi-mandate) electoral districts due to the expiration of the statutory deadline for submitting documents required for registration, if the failure to comply with this deadline was caused by a refusal to certify the list of candidates, the list of candidates for single-mandate (multi-mandate) electoral districts and this refusal was cancelled or recognized as illegal.

     

    17. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to Articles 3 and 9 of the Federal Law “On Combating the Legalization (Laundering) of Criminally Obtained Incomes and the Financing of Terrorism”

    The implementation of the draft federal law will improve the effectiveness of the national system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

     

    18. On Amendments to Certain Acts of the Government of the Russian Federation (in terms of amendments to the Regulation on the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision)

    The draft act is aimed at bringing certain provisions of the regulation into line with current legislation.

     

    Moscow, May 28, 2025

     

    The content of the press releases of the Department of Press Service and References is a presentation of materials submitted by federal executive bodies for discussion at a meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Announces More Than $10.5 Million for Maine Public Housing Properties

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Published: May 28, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that 15 Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) in Maine have been awarded a total of $10,772,889 through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Public Housing Capital Fund Formula Grant program to support the development, financing, and modernization of Public Housing properties.
    “The dedicated staff at housing authorities throughout Maine work hard to connect seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income individuals and families to programs that help them improve their quality of life,” said Senator Collins. “With this funding, housing authorities across the state will continue the important work within their local communities to ensure that the needs of their residents are met.”
    The grant funding is allocated as follows:
    Portland Housing Authority – $3,413,858
    Bangor Housing Authority – $2,052,361
    Lewiston Housing Authority – $1,298,068
    Waterville Housing Authority – $745,293
    Presque Isle Housing Authority – $688,006
    Auburn Housing Authority – $478,784
    Brewer Housing Authority – $452,242
    Bar Harbor Housing Authority – $383,748
    Van Buren Housing Authority – $332,926
    Fort Fairfield Housing Authority – $266,251
    Old Town Housing Authority – $252,695
    Ellsworth Housing Authority – $156,688
    Southwest Harbor Housing Authority – $139,133
    Tremont Housing Authority – $60,782
    Mount Desert Housing Authority – $52,054
    HUD’s Public Housing program ensures safe, decent, and affordable housing, and creates opportunities for residents’ self-sufficiency and economic independence.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Fairfield Man Indicted for Failure to Pay Over $2 Million in Employment Taxes

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 41-count indictment against Warren Soto Delfin, 54, of Fairfield, charging him with failure to pay more than $2 million in trust fund taxes to the IRS, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

    According to court documents, between January 2018 and December 2022, Delfin owned and operated five home health care businesses that accumulated more than $2 million in employment taxes. The employment tax liabilities stem from amounts Delfin withheld from his employee’s paychecks. Instead of paying the employee withholdings to the IRS as required under the law, Delfin retained them and made purchases of luxury items including a Lamborghini, jewelry, and real estate.

    This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nchekube Onyima is prosecuting the case.

    If convicted, Delfin faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charged count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Newly Declassified FBI Document Proves Fusion GPS Contractor Nellie Ohr Lied to Congress about Contributions to Crossfire Hurricane

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to prosecute Fusion GPS contractor Nellie Ohr for lying to Congress about her role in advancing the FBI and DOJ’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, according to an internal FBI analysis confirming Ohr’s false congressional testimony. 
    The 2019 FBI analysis, obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and declassified at the chairman’s request, provides detailed evidence Ohr lied to Congress during sworn testimony and, as a result, obstructed ongoing congressional investigations, violating federal statutes 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and 18 U.S.C § 1505. The document also exposes how the FBI prevented agents from reviewing all relevant information necessary to perform a full analysis of the extent of Ohr’s false testimony and her role in the fake Russia collusion investigation. 
    “By lying to Congress, Nellie Ohr showed contempt for congressional oversight and the American people. What’s more, the FBI and DOJ’s failure to hold Ohr accountable for appearing to commit multiple felonies and its obstructive conduct against agents that sought additional information reveals the agencies’ deeply disturbing political bias. Ohr never suffered consequences for advancing the phony Trump-Russia narrative and attempting to cover up her involvement in the hoax. Yet time and again, the American justice system has been weaponized against President Trump and his associates with reckless abandon,” Grassley said. “The DOJ’s inaction on Nellie Ohr’s criminal referral – despite the obviously incriminating evidence provided in the FBI’s own analysis – undermines public trust in the rule of law. I applaud Director Patel, Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche for cooperating with my request to declassify this information, which is in the public’s interest, and chart a new course for transparency and accountability at the FBI and DOJ.”
    Read the unclassified Nellie Ohr analysis HERE. 
    Background:
    Nellie Ohr was employed by the political opposition research firm Fusion GPS between 2015 to 2016 to perform open-source research attempting to connect then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to Russian organized crime. This research was paid for by the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and Democratic National Committee (DNC). Both organizations ultimately settled with the Federal Election Commission after allegations of campaign finance violations for intentionally misreporting the true purpose of the payments. 
    At the time of Nellie Ohr’s Fusion GPS employment, her husband, Bruce Ohr, was an Associate Deputy Attorney General at DOJ. Both Nellie and Bruce Ohr testified to the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2018 as part of the committees’ oversight of the FBI’s bogus 2016 Crossfire Hurricane investigation into President Trump’s disproven collusion with Russia. 
    In 2019, then-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a member of the House Oversight Committee, filed a criminal referral with DOJ asserting Nellie Ohr knowingly provided false testimony to the House committees.
    Key Findings of the FBI’s 2019 Nellie Ohr Analysis:  
    Nellie Ohr may have been involved in drafting aspects of the Steele Dossier and conspired with her husband, Bruce Ohr, to ensure high-level FBI officials received her work product, while Fusion GPS coordinated with media entities to legitimize the FBI’s opening of its now discredited Trump-Russia investigation. 
    Nellie Ohr may have falsely testified to Congress that she had no knowledge of the DOJ’s Trump-Russia investigation (pg. 13).  
    Nellie Ohr gave a thumb drive containing her Fusion GPS work to her husband, Bruce Ohr, which he then provided to the FBI as part of its ongoing investigation (pg. 14).  
    Nellie Ohr’s email traffic shows she emailed her Russian investigative research directly to Bruce Ohr. Nellie’s research closely mirrored the DOJ and FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation (pgs. 15-16). 
    Bruce Ohr only shared information with the FBI relating to the Trump-Russia investigation after receiving it from his wife, Nellie Ohr (pgs. 15-17). 
    Nellie Ohr and Bruce Ohr met personally with British intelligence officer and Fusion GPS contractor, Christopher Steele, in 2016 (pg. 21). 
    Fusion GPS pitched Nellie Ohr’s research to the Department of State (DOS) for additional investigation, per DOS emails (pg. 23). 
    Nellie Ohr deleted emails with Russia-focused DOJ prosecutors, indicating an effort to conceal her exchanges with DOJ officials involved in the Trump-Russia investigation (pg. 24). 

    Nellie Ohr may have falsely testified to Congress that she was not involved in drafting the Steele Dossier (pgs. 25-28). 
    Nellie Ohr made an analytical error in her own research identical to that in the Steele Dossier (pgs. 29-30). 
    A report deleted from a thumb drive owned by Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and provided to the FBI via Bruce Ohr contained the same subject matter researched by Nellie Ohr (pg. 31-33). 

    In direct contradiction to her congressional testimony, Nellie Ohr disseminated Fusion GPS research to DOJ prosecutors beyond those identified in her testimony (pg. 33). 
    Nellie Ohr repeatedly sent information to the following DOJ officials: Lisa Holtyn, Ivana Nizich, Joseph Wheatley (pgs. 34-37). 

    In direct contradiction to her congressional testimony, Nellie Ohr took six ham radio classes and an exam during her time as a Fusion GPS employee (pg. 37). Ham radios can facilitate international communication without the use of a cell signal. 
    Nellie Ohr claimed her ham radio training occurred before she was employed by Fusion GPS. However, per records from the Fairfax Fire and Rescue Department and Federal Communications Commission, Nellie Ohr’s entire ham radio training occurred between March to May 2016, while working at Fusion GPS. 

    Nellie Ohr may have been involved in the “Alfa dossier,” an additional sham document attempting to connect Trump to Russian crime (pg. 40). 
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Stansbury, Luján Hold Town Hall in Albuquerque on GOP Attacks on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01)

    Albuquerque, N.M. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) held a town hall in Albuquerque on Tuesday to sound the alarm on Republican-led efforts to gut critical federal programs that New Mexicans rely on, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP. 

    The town hall followed a House vote advancing legislation that would slash billions from health care and food assistance programs while delivering trillions in tax giveaways to the wealthiest Americans. New Mexicans packed the event to hear directly from Senator Luján and Representative Stansbury and to raise concerns about the devastating impact these Republican-led proposals would have on New Mexico families. Senator Luján and Representative Stansbury denounced the Republican proposal and warned that the legislation would impose the biggest cut to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in American history. 

    “We are in the fight of our lives for our communities, our democracy, and to make life better for our people. Every day, I am deeply honored to be in this fight for New Mexico alongside Senator Luján and our entire congressional delegation. Together we are working to defend our rights and Constitution and to tackle our biggest challenges from healthcare, housing and education to caring for our veterans and protecting our lands and waters,” said Representative Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). “I am grateful to everyone who showed up to our Town Hall and who is speaking up and speaking out against the GOPs disastrous reconciliation bill which will gut Medicaid and food assistance for millions of Americans. As this bill heads to the Senate and the GOP continues to gut programs, we need you in this fight.” 

    “This Republican-led bill is a total rip-off for New Mexicans – all to line the pockets of people like President Trump and Elon Musk,” said Senator Ben Ray Luján. “The Republicans’ priorities couldn’t be more clear: tax handouts for billionaires and massive corporations, paid for by cutting health care, food assistance, and benefits for New Mexicans. We are not backing down. In the Senate, I’m going to keep fighting for our seniors, our children, and the future of New Mexico.” 

    Impacts of the House GOP legislation include: 

    • Cuts to SNAP, reducing food assistance for children, families, and seniors; 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech to the Australasian Railways Association RailNZ 25 conference

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Good morning.
    Thank you for the invitation to address this conference. Foreign Affairs responsibilities require us to be elsewhere today, so it is with regret that this address to you all must be delivered in this format.
    Let us begin by acknowledging the board members and management of the Australasian Railway Association; leaders from KiwiRail, Metlink, Auckland Transport, Auckland One Rail, infrastructure firms, and heritage operators, as well as our Australian freight and metro counterparts. 
    As the Minister for Rail – that’s for rail – the chance to share our record and vision was not to be missed.
    We had responsibility for rail during the 2017-2020 term and we turned things around. Contrast our legacy for rail with any other and you will see who is out in front.
    We are rebuilding rail
    In 2020, we changed the law – rail is now funded like roads. A common-sense reform.
    We funded the third main line between Wiri and Westfield – Auckland’s busiest rail section – and planning is underway for a fourth main line across the whole Auckland southern corridor. New stations are being built in South Auckland and electrification has extended commuter trains to Pukekohe.
    Northland’s line can now take standard-weight trains and hi-cube containers. Marsden Point’s spur – stalled under the previous Government – is now in Fast Track legislation, alongside the Avondale-Southdown corridor.
    Remediation and upgrades are occurring across Auckland and Wellington, lifting the quality, reliability and frequency of services. A city rail link in Auckland’s centre and new trains in Wellington.
    Our regional investments are also about positioning New Zealand for global trade: port connections, less truck congestion, and more freight competition.
    Just a fortnight ago, the Honourable Shane Jones announced $8.2 million to fund a three-track rail siding connecting Southern Link Logistics to the network.
    Freight is about getting from A to B. Freight is the lifeblood of our economy. It’s no good making something if it doesn’t go to a customer.
    Inland freight hubs mean local road freight operators and rail freight can feed regional goods into the hub, and have rail take the combined heavy haul to port. 
    Rail is the clearing house for busy ports, moving vast quantities so ports can handle more ships. More ships enable more exports, more imports, more trade.
    And, last week, we announced in Budget 2025 the commitment of $604 million for rail. $461 million for the national network, and $143 million to the metro networks in Auckland and Wellington.
    Both investments continue our focus on arresting the decline of the networks, contributing to better reliability.
    Freight must pay its way.
    KiwiRail must cover all its operating and capital costs—just like any other business. Freight volumes are down, as they are across the board.
    So the turnaround begins with cost. Competitive pricing requires leaner operations, better use of its assets and better, more responsive systems for customers.
    The second issue is reliability. Big players like Fonterra get a good service from KiwiRail – but KiwiRail must compete on speed and certainty for domestic and export freight. 
    We know that KiwiRail is alive to these issues. They are hungry for customers, and as shareholders we are as eager as their customers are to see that lift in performance.
    We’re doing our part. Sixty-six new locomotives from Spain will replace the South Island fleet and support the North Island fleet.
    We’re refurbishing the Hamilton-Palmerston North electric fleet, and planning is underway on electrifying the line to Mt Maunganui. Electric engines haul heavy weights, cost little to run, and emit nothing.
    We’ve rebuilt Dunedin’s Hillside Workshops and new wagons are rolling out of there. A total of 1,350 wagons will be assembled, creating local jobs and capability, and wagons to reliably move customers’ freight. 
    It is on KiwiRail to deliver a strong freight business on the back of our investment. You will be measured on volumes, reliability, and earnings. Succeeding will open the door to new customers and then we can truly begin to rebalance transport in this country. 
    It is up to freight movers to come to the party, too. The Government is making the investment in rail that’s needed, so use it. The greater the use of the rail network, the greater the savings on reduced road congestion and road maintenance costs. 
    Every person who sees a wagon of logs moving by rail is a person who is not stuck behind a logging truck on the road.
    Finally: the ferries.
    We shut down the bloated iReX project. No Taj Mahal in Picton, no Opera House in Wellington. Just safe, reliable efficient ferries for road and rail – by 2029 – and infrastructure that works.
    Ferry Holdings has two jobs: deliver ferries by 2029 and build low-cost infrastructure to serve them. Picton will get dual linkspans and faster load times. In Wellington, we’ll build on what’s already there. Rail is a primary customer across Cook Strait, and it will be served.
    We will deliver, and rail is here to stay.
    In closing: We back rail. Not with words, but with deeds. 
    But do not mistake this for unquestioning support. Let iReX be a lesson to the whole rail system: we do not tolerate waste.
    As rail people, the delivery is up to all of you and your teams at this conference. 
    All of New Zealand expects you to succeed. 
    Thank you and have a great historic conference.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vermont Congressional Delegation Pushes HHS to Protect Low-Income Energy Assistance Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Vermont Congressional Delegation, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (VT-At-Large), pushed back on the Trump Administration’s plans to eliminate the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and terminate employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who distribute the funding. The Delegation previously called on Secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to immediately reinstate the staff of the Division of Energy Assistance at HHS and disburse funding to states for LIHEAP. They have yet to receive a reply. 
    LIHEAP is a lifeline to more than 26,000 Vermonters and 6.2 million Americans nationwide. In 2024, approximately 23% of Vermont households reported being unable to pay their energy bills in full. The State of Vermont receives approximately $20 million in LIHEAP funding per year.  
    “The President has described LIHEAP as ‘unnecessary’ and has suggested shifting the burden of this program to states. However, states are under increasing pressure to balance their budgets and will have to prioritize which social services they continue to provide in the absence of federal funding,” wrote the Delegation. “Given the Trump Administration’s continued cuts to safety net programs, states could face budget shortfalls if they are responsible for shouldering the full cost of LIHEAP.” 
    The Delegation continued: “The administration has a legal responsibility to disburse current LIHEAP funding to states. We appreciate that all funding for fiscal year 2025 continue to be disbursed. However, we remain concerned about the future of LIHEAP under these circumstances.” 
    In their letter, the Delegation requested a staff briefing and answers to the following questions: 
    Which division within the Department of Health and Human Services is currently administering this program? How many FTE staff are working on administering the funding?  
    Does the Department of Health and Human Services intend to operate LIHEAP going forward?  
    If not, does the Department expect states to operate the program? 
    If states are expected to operate the program, will the Department provide resources to transition the administration to state agencies? 
    Read the full text of the letter. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Following Visit with Prime Minister Carney, Welch Brings Together Businesses, Manufacturers to Talk Trade War 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    MANCHESTER, VT — At a roundtable in Manchester this afternoon, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) brought together Vermont businesses and manufacturers to hear directly how global tariffs and President Trump’s trade war are impacting them. The event was held at The Orvis Company, which was founded in Manchester, Vermont, in 1856.  
    This roundtable follows Senator Welch’s recent trip to Ottawa, where he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian leaders to discuss President Trump’s tariffs and trade war. 
    “I always appreciate hearing directly from Vermonters about how President Trump’s tariffs are hurting the success of manufacturers and farmers here in our state. As I said after President Trump threatened these tariffs, nobody wins a trade war. Congress must reassert its constitutional role over trade policy and end this White House’s economic blunder,” said Senator Welch. 
    “It was clear listening to folks in Manchester today: we so revere the relationship between Vermonters and Canadians, both in the personal and the economic sense—and the rhetoric and reckless policies they’re forced to respond to are causing real harm,” concluded Senator Welch. “I traveled with a bipartisan delegation of Senators last week to convey how important Canada is to us in Vermont, as it is to so many border states. I know families, businesses, and farmers in the Green Mountain State feel the same way.” 
    Senator Welch was joined by business leaders from a variety of industries, including homebuilding, retail, and food and kitchen manufacturing, including Orvis, Vermont Country Store, JK Adams, Mary Meyer Stuffed Toys, RK Miles, Back Roads Granola, RAD Innovations, and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC). 
    Senator Welch has blasted Trump’s tariffs and trade war and shared stories from constituents about how President Trump’s economic policies have impacted their businesses, farms, and communities. Senator Welch is a cosponsor of a bipartisan resolution to repeal the tariffs on Canada, a bipartisan bill to restore congressional tariff authority, a bill to restrict the Executive Branch’s authority to impose tariffs through the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, and a bill to exempt small businesses from the April 2nd global tariff Executive Order.  
    Senator Welch also led a bipartisan resolution to end President Trump’s ruinous global tariffs.     
    The Senator has hosted roundtables in Stowe, Newport, St. Albans, and virtually to hear concerns and first-hand stories from Vermont and Canadian leaders impacted by the trade war.  
    Media Note: A recording of the event can be provided upon request. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Blast Trump Administration’s Call for Agencies to Max Out Pay for Political Appointees Amid Firings of Civil Servants

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined six of their colleagues in sending a letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) criticizing its recent memo encouraging agencies to ignore the recommendations of agency human resources (HR) offices and offer the maximum available salary of $195,200 to Schedule C political appointees.

    This memo comes on the heels of the Trump Administration firing dedicated federal employees en masse across the government. In the letter, the senators demanded information about the Trump Administration’s hiring of Schedule C political appointees, their salaries, the number of appointees making the maximum salary, justification for sidestepping HR recommendations and vetting processes, any guardrails implemented to prevent cronyism, and the costs to taxpayers.

    “…You issued a memo to the heads and acting heads of departments and agencies encouraging them to offer the maximum available salary to political appointees and sidestep the regular hiring process,” wrote the senators. “This memo, coupled with the Administration’s widespread layoffs of career government workers who have loyally served in the Executive Branch for Presidents of both political parties, makes clear your intention: fire dedicated public servants in droves, cut essential government services, and use taxpayer dollars to instead hire underqualified and overpaid political cronies.”

    “While this Administration pushes out scores of public servants and guts entire agencies, often in defiance of Congress and federal law, your memo encourages agencies to help install loyalists who have not been properly vetted, in critically important positions—and to pay them at the highest possible rate. As dedicated career public servants are receiving notice that they have been fired, the Administration is offering higher pay for those hired under Schedule C, a type of appointment for those serving in confidential or policy roles,” they continued.

    “Per your memo, agencies may consider setting initial salaries at up to $195,200, almost five times the median income for individuals in the U.S.,” wrote the lawmakers. “…Padding the pockets of political operatives while firing food safety inspectors is nothing short of an egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars and massively wasteful.”

    In addition to Warner and Kaine, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

    The full letter is available here and below:

    Dear Acting Director Ezell:

    On April 10, 2025, you issued a memo to the heads and acting heads of departments and agencies encouraging them to offer the maximum available salary to political appointees and sidestep the regular hiring process. This memo, coupled with the Administration’s widespread layoffs of career government workers who have loyally served in the Executive Branch for Presidents of both political parties, makes clear your intention: fire dedicated public servants in droves, cut essential government services, and use taxpayer dollars to instead hire underqualified and overpaid political cronies.

    Since President Trump took office, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has worked with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to facilitate the firings of tens of thousands of government employees under the guise of government efficiency. The American people have experienced only chaos as a result. The phone lines at Social Security are overwhelmed, food inspections are down, and as fire season begins, the Forest Service is planning to layoff wildland firefighters—to name just a few of the consequences of this administration’s arbitrary and thoughtless cuts. Put simply, OPM’s actions have sowed inefficiency and counter-productivity for the essential government services that our constituents depend on.

    While this Administration pushes out scores of public servants and guts entire agencies, often in defiance of Congress and federal law, your memo encourages agencies to help install loyalists who have not been properly vetted, in critically important positions—and to pay them at the highest possible rate. As dedicated career public servants are receiving notice that they have been fired, the Administration is offering higher pay for those hired under Schedule C, a type of appointment for those serving in confidential or policy roles, including as confidential assistants, policy experts, special counsel, and schedulers. Per your memo, agencies may consider setting initial salaries at up to $195,200, almost five times the median income for individuals in the U.S. Further, your memo encourages agency heads to sidestep the standard hiring process and remove the objective additional reviewer of candidates. This would allow appointees to begin work in sensitive roles without any vetting, including for conflicts of interest or background checks, bypassing the basic guardrails that have been in place for decades. On its face, OPM’s April 10 memo demonstrates a desire for the expeditious hiring of underqualified and overpaid political elites.

    Schedule C hires are not career civil servants. They will not be answering phones at Social Security field offices or conducting food inspections or fighting wildfires. They do not work for the American people; they work to advance the political agenda of the President. OPM’s April 10 memo makes clear the Trump Administration’s ultimate goal is to decimate the nonpolitical career civil service and use taxpayer dollars to enrich and reward political allies, all at the cost of the government services that people rely on.

    Padding the pockets of political operatives while firing food safety inspectors is nothing short of an egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars and massively wasteful.

    In order to ensure OPM works to actually promote efficiency and productivity in the government workforce, we request you provide the following information:

    1. The salary information of all Schedule C appointees, and the current number of Schedule C appointees, broken down by agency. For those Schedule C appointees the administration has hired at a pay level of GS-15 or $195,200, please provide a brief job description for each.
    2. The justification for revoking the authority of agency HR departments to set the terms for Schedule C appointment and additional information as to how agencies will set the terms for Schedule C appointment without HR involvement.
    3. Any guidance or detail OPM has provided to agencies as to how to set the terms for a Schedule C appointment in order to avoid widespread corruption.
    4. The agency-level cost of hiring the desired number of Schedule C appointees.
    5. Any written information detailing the role of the Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) in hiring Schedule C appointees.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward receiving your responses no later than June 4, 2025.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Condemn GOP Tax Plan for Driving Up Costs for American Families

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just a week after Moody’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating due to mounting government debt, pushing up mortgage interest rates, Republicans in the House moved forward with their plan to provide massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans that would add an additional $3.8 trillion to the deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement:

    “Moody’s decision to downgrade our nation’s credit rating should have been a wake-up call, but instead, Republicans in the House doubled down with a tax plan that blows a hole in the deficit and leaves working families holding the bag. The result will be a ballooning national debt, higher interest rates, and the very real prospect of increased prices for everything from groceries to mortgages. Virginia families are already feeling the pinch from inflation and rising costs. The last thing they need is a reckless giveaway to the richest Americans that undermines our economic stability and puts the full faith and credit of the United States at risk. In the Senate, we will oppose this disastrous legislation.”

    Additionally, the GOP tax bill would add so much to the national debt that it could trigger nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare beginning next year, according to the CBO analysis.

    The nonpartisan CBO report also confirmed what Warner and Kaine have previously warned – that working Americans will foot the bill for massive tax breaks handed to the wealthiest few, if President Trump and congressional Republicans move forward. The CBO found that under the GOP plan, the bottom 10 percent of Americans would see household resources reduced by 4 percent while the top 10 percent would see their resources increase by 2 percent. Meanwhile, the Republican bill would result in $698 billion in cuts to Medicaid and $267 billion in cuts to nutrition assistance. 

    Warner and Kaine have been sounding the alarm about the effects of the GOP plan on Virginia families if Republicans in Congress continue to insist on gutting vital programs in order to pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans, noting that the GOP bill would strip health insurance from more than 262,000 Virginians, cut SNAP benefits for more than 204,000 people in Virginia, raise energy costs for Virginia households, jeopardize more than 20,000 Virginia jobs, and raise taxes on minimum wage workers while giving the richest 0.1% a $188,000 tax cut.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Illinois Man Sentenced for Immigration Crime

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BECKLEY, W.Va. – Joseph Sanchez, 33, of Fairbury, Illinois, was sentenced today to five years of federal probation, including six months on home detention, for participating in an immigration marriage fraud conspiracy.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in or around August 2021, Sanchez was living in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. A foreign national who worked at a convenience store near Sanchez’s residence offered to pay Sanchez if he found a woman willing to marry the foreign national so he could obtain lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a Green Card. Sanchez ultimately agreed to the request in exchange for $10,000 in cash. The understanding was that $5,000 would be paid upon the marriage being final, and another $5,000 would be paid once the foreign national received his Green Card.

    Sanchez arranged to have his sister-in-law marry the foreign national. Sanchez told his sister-in-law about the purpose of the arrangement and the financial benefits associated with it. The sister-in-law had only occasionally interacted with the foreign national, as a customer at his convenience store. The sister-in-law and Sanchez had no social connections to the foreign national beyond frequenting the convenience store.

    In September 2021, Sanchez’s sister-in-law and the foreign national were married in White Sulphur Springs. In March 2023, Sanchez traveled with the sister-in-law and the foreign national to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the trip was for the sister-in-law and the foreign national to attend an interview with U.S. immigration officials to trick those officials into believing the marriage was entered into in good faith and that the relationship between the sister-in-law and the foreign national was genuine. The scheme was unsuccessful, and the foreign national’s application was denied.

    The foreign national, Aakash Prakash Makwana, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2025, to aggravated identity theft. Makwana, 29, a citizen of India unlawfully residing in Ronceverte, admitted that he included the name and signature of a residential property manager without the individual’s authorization when he falsified a lease agreement as part of the marriage fraud scheme. Makwana is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26, 2025.

    The sister-in-law, Kalee Ann Huff, pleaded guilty on February 20, 2025, to marriage fraud and perjury. Huff, 28, now living in Fairbury, Illinois, admitted to her role in the marriage fraud scheme and to testifying falsely before a federal grand jury about material facts relating to the government’s investigation. Huff is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2025.

    Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

    Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the case.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-cr-198.

    ###

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Fannie Mae Launches AI Fraud Detection Technology Partnership with Palantir

    Source: Fannie Mae

    Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) announced the launch today of its AI-powered Crime Detection Unit in partnership with leading AI software company Palantir. The new partnership will expand Fannie Mae’s fraud detection capabilities with leading AI-enabled financial crimes data science and investigations technology. This foundation will power Fannie Mae’s Crime Detection Unit, a new platform that the company believes will help detect and prevent mortgage fraud with speed and precision never before seen in the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae’s Crime Detection Unit’s capabilities will save the U.S. housing market millions in future fraud losses.

    Palantir designs and deploys artificial intelligence and machine learning technology used by government agencies and commercial clients. The company’s technology provides expansive monitoring for anomalous transactions, activities, and behaviors to help companies detect suspicious activity and trigger investigative action.

    “No one is above the law. In partnership with Palantir, Fannie Mae’s Crime Detection Unit will increase safety and soundness by rooting out bad actors in our housing system. This cutting-edge AI technology will help us find criminals who try to defraud our system,” said Fannie Mae Chairman William J. Pulte.

    “By integrating this leading AI technology, we will look across millions of datasets to detect patterns that were previously undetectable,” said Priscilla Almodovar, Fannie Mae’s president and chief executive officer. “This new partnership will combat mortgage fraud, helping to safeguard the U.S. mortgage market for lenders, homebuyers, and taxpayers.”

    Fannie Mae has more than $4.3 trillion in assets and plays a foundational role in the U.S. housing market. The company is the largest holder of residential mortgage debt outstanding in the country, owning or guaranteeing an estimated one in four single-family mortgages and 20 percent of multifamily mortgages in the U.S.

    “This partnership with Fannie Mae will set off a revolution in how we combat mortgage fraud in this country. We are bringing the fight directly to anyone who attempts to defraud our mortgage system and exploit hardworking Americans,” said Alex Karp, co-founder and chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies.

    This release includes forward-looking statements, including statements about Fannie Mae’s and Palantir’s plans and expectations with respect to the Crime Detection Unit and the impact of the Crime Detection Unit on Fannie Mae’s business and financial results, and on the U.S. housing market. Actual results and events may turn out to be very different from these statements. Factors that may lead to different results and events are discussed in “Forward-Looking Statements” and elsewhere in the company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, and in “Risk Factors,” “Forward-Looking Statements” and elsewhere in the company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. The company’s forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: South Carolina Man Charged for Multimillion-Dollar Medicare Fraud and Ponzi Schemes

    Source: US State of California

    Two indictments were unsealed today charging a South Carolina man with defrauding Medicare through a laboratory test scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic and with defrauding customers of his private charter jet company, AeroVanti Inc.

    As alleged in the first indictment, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Britton-Harr, 41, of Charleston, South Carolina, formerly of Annapolis, Maryland, offered COVID-19 screening tests to nursing home patients across the country. Britton-Harr then allegedly fraudulently billed Medicare, through his company Provista Health, for expensive respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests for these patients. As alleged, these RPP tests were medically unnecessary, were never ordered by a treating physician as required, and many were never actually performed, including for patients who had died. Through Provista Health, Britton-Harr allegedly caused more than $15 million in fraudulent claims for RPP tests to be submitted to Medicare, for which Medicare paid more than $5 million.

    As alleged in the second indictment, Britton-Harr owned and controlled AeroVanti and its affiliated entities. AeroVanti was a private air club that offered members a la carte access to private jets. Britton-Harr allegedly encouraged “Top Gun” members to pay $150,000 upfront to secure block flight hours. In return, Britton-Harr allegedly promised to use their money to purchase specific aircraft, in which the Top Gun members would have a securitized interest. Britton-Harr allegedly recruited nearly 100 Top Gun members, who collectively paid nearly $15 million in upfront payments, to purchase five aircraft. Instead of buying those aircraft, Britton-Harr allegedly misappropriated members’ money for his own personal benefit, including to purchase yachts and jewelry, to pay his living expenses, and to rent a property near Tampa, Florida. As alleged, Britton-Harr then attempted to conceal his fraud by obtaining a $1.5 million loan to purchase one of the aircraft he had already claimed to have purchased with Top Gun member funds by withholding material information from the lender to obtain the loan.

    “The defendant allegedly perpetrated two fraud schemes, first exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud Medicare out of millions of dollars and then stealing millions more from customers of his aviation company, all for his personal benefit,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These indictments demonstrate the Criminal Division’s commitment to rooting out bad actors who steal from taxpayer-supported health care programs and defraud American consumers.”

    “It is unconscionable for someone to defraud the government and others for personal gain, especially as we faced a global health crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Britton-Harr showed a total disregard for those who depend on our Medicare system for health care services and for the individuals he scammed through his private-jet company. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our federal law enforcement partners to bring those to justice who break the law and take advantage of others.”

    “Patrick Britton-Harr’s repeated crimes reveal a man with no moral compass motivated by pure greed. His deceit and scheming resulted in a staggering amount of loss to American taxpayers and the public,” says Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “He tried to fleece the U.S. government out of millions by taking advantage of a national crisis. After his laboratory testing business failed, Britton-Harr again turned to deception. Time and again, he chose to lie, steal, and deceive. No more. This investigation holds Britton-Harr accountable for his crimes and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will not allow such despicable behavior to go unchecked.”

    “Individuals who steal from Medicare waste taxpayer dollars and create incisions in the fabric that holds our health care system together,” stated Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue the pursuit of upholding the integrity, trust, and confidence in federal health care programs, which benefits the people they serve. HHS-OIG, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continuously investigate alleged attempts to defraud these programs.”

    “The scope of the alleged fraud is staggering and underscores the extraordinary lengths to which individuals will go to deceive and exploit others under the guise of legitimate business, including private aviation services,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Thompson of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Mid-Atlantic Region. “The DOT-OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to working in coordination with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to pursue those who engage in egregious schemes designed solely for personal enrichment.”

    Britton-Harr is charged with five counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering in the indictment related to his RPP scheme. Additionally, Britton-Harr is charged with six counts of wire fraud in the indictment related to his AeroVanti scheme. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on each health care fraud  and money laundering count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI, HHS-OIG, and DOT-OIG are investigating the cases.

    Trial Attorneys David Peters and Chris Wenger of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Ari D. Evans for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the cases.

    An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: South Carolina Man Charged for Multimillion-Dollar Medicare Fraud and Ponzi Schemes

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Two indictments were unsealed today charging a South Carolina man with defrauding Medicare through a laboratory test scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic and with defrauding customers of his private charter jet company, AeroVanti Inc.

    As alleged in the first indictment, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Britton-Harr, 41, of Charleston, South Carolina, formerly of Annapolis, Maryland, offered COVID-19 screening tests to nursing home patients across the country. Britton-Harr then allegedly fraudulently billed Medicare, through his company Provista Health, for expensive respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests for these patients. As alleged, these RPP tests were medically unnecessary, were never ordered by a treating physician as required, and many were never actually performed, including for patients who had died. Through Provista Health, Britton-Harr allegedly caused more than $15 million in fraudulent claims for RPP tests to be submitted to Medicare, for which Medicare paid more than $5 million.

    As alleged in the second indictment, Britton-Harr owned and controlled AeroVanti and its affiliated entities. AeroVanti was a private air club that offered members a la carte access to private jets. Britton-Harr allegedly encouraged “Top Gun” members to pay $150,000 upfront to secure block flight hours. In return, Britton-Harr allegedly promised to use their money to purchase specific aircraft, in which the Top Gun members would have a securitized interest. Britton-Harr allegedly recruited nearly 100 Top Gun members, who collectively paid nearly $15 million in upfront payments, to purchase five aircraft. Instead of buying those aircraft, Britton-Harr allegedly misappropriated members’ money for his own personal benefit, including to purchase yachts and jewelry, to pay his living expenses, and to rent a property near Tampa, Florida. As alleged, Britton-Harr then attempted to conceal his fraud by obtaining a $1.5 million loan to purchase one of the aircraft he had already claimed to have purchased with Top Gun member funds by withholding material information from the lender to obtain the loan.

    “The defendant allegedly perpetrated two fraud schemes, first exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud Medicare out of millions of dollars and then stealing millions more from customers of his aviation company, all for his personal benefit,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These indictments demonstrate the Criminal Division’s commitment to rooting out bad actors who steal from taxpayer-supported health care programs and defraud American consumers.”

    “It is unconscionable for someone to defraud the government and others for personal gain, especially as we faced a global health crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Britton-Harr showed a total disregard for those who depend on our Medicare system for health care services and for the individuals he scammed through his private-jet company. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our federal law enforcement partners to bring those to justice who break the law and take advantage of others.”

    “Patrick Britton-Harr’s repeated crimes reveal a man with no moral compass motivated by pure greed. His deceit and scheming resulted in a staggering amount of loss to American taxpayers and the public,” says Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “He tried to fleece the U.S. government out of millions by taking advantage of a national crisis. After his laboratory testing business failed, Britton-Harr again turned to deception. Time and again, he chose to lie, steal, and deceive. No more. This investigation holds Britton-Harr accountable for his crimes and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will not allow such despicable behavior to go unchecked.”

    “Individuals who steal from Medicare waste taxpayer dollars and create incisions in the fabric that holds our health care system together,” stated Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue the pursuit of upholding the integrity, trust, and confidence in federal health care programs, which benefits the people they serve. HHS-OIG, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continuously investigate alleged attempts to defraud these programs.”

    “The scope of the alleged fraud is staggering and underscores the extraordinary lengths to which individuals will go to deceive and exploit others under the guise of legitimate business, including private aviation services,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Thompson of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Mid-Atlantic Region. “The DOT-OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to working in coordination with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to pursue those who engage in egregious schemes designed solely for personal enrichment.”

    Britton-Harr is charged with five counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering in the indictment related to his RPP scheme. Additionally, Britton-Harr is charged with six counts of wire fraud in the indictment related to his AeroVanti scheme. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on each health care fraud  and money laundering count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI, HHS-OIG, and DOT-OIG are investigating the cases.

    Trial Attorneys David Peters and Chris Wenger of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Ari D. Evans for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the cases.

    An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Talonvest Capital Raises over $112,000 for the Orange County Ronald McDonald House

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEWPORT BEACH, CA, May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Talonvest Capital, Inc., a boutique commercial real estate advisory firm, participated in the 2025 Walk for Kids, the Orange County Ronald McDonald House’s largest annual fundraising event. This year’s walk helped raise over $400,000 to provide comfort, care, and support to children and families across Southern California facing pediatric medical challenges.

    Talonvest Capital was honored with the Top Corporate Fundraising Award for the eleventh consecutive year, contributing over $112,000 to support the House’s mission. This achievement was the result of generous contributions from a multitude of supporters including 1784 Holdings, Open Tech Alliance, Bixby Land Company, Merit Hill Capital, Metro Storage, Reliant Investments, Clark Investment Group, William Warren Group, SoCal Self Storage, Wells Fargo, Rosewood Property Company, and many others.

    Tom Sherlock, Co-founder of Talonvest Capital and Board of Trustee member of the RMHOC, commented, “It’s heartwarming to be part of this incredible community and an honor to be supported by so many friends, clients, and family members who make such a difference for families in a time of need.”   The collective impact of this fundraiser will help strengthen a community where families can find hope, courage, and joy in the face of adversity. Through its “home away from home” programs, the Ronald McDonald House of Orange County offers a place of rest and respite for caregivers and families as they navigate their child’s medical journey.

    About Talonvest Capital Inc.:

    Talonvest Capital is a commercial real estate advisory firm specializing in sourcing cutting-edge capital programs and advising on capital market trends for industrial, self-storage, multifamily, office, and retail property owners. Talonvest Capital offers a unique boutique approach by leveraging the company’s collective institutional knowledge and remaining highly engaged throughout the entire assignment, including the closing process, to deliver tailored capital solutions for their clients. With over four decades of experience, Talonvest Capital has a unique perspective from its team’s previous experience on the lending side, managing institutional equity, executing nationwide joint venture investments, and facilitating diverse capital placements for clients across the United States. Learn more at https://talonvest.com.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/da2f9077-b37e-4607-9c0a-3de38b9bd71c

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Behind the wellness industry’s scented oils and soothing music are often underpaid, exploited workers

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rawan Nimri, Lecturer in Tourism and Hospitality, Griffith University

    Prostock Studio/Shutterstock

    Wellness tourism is booming. Think yoga retreats in Bali, digital detox weekends in a rainforest, or a break on a luxury island to “find yourself”.

    It’s no longer just about taking selfies at the beach or in front of Instagrammable landmarks. Travellers today want to invest in activities aimed at improving their mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing. And, they’re willing to pay for these experiences.

    Global spending on wellness tourism is projected to hit US$8.5 trillion by 2027. Rather than being a passing fad, spending in this sector is forecast to nearly triple by 2035. This is big business.

    The Wellness Tourism Association says 90% of travellers report wellness activities are an essential part of their travel itineraries.

    Behind the luxe retreat

    But, while holidaymakers pursue their zen, the workforce is largely overlooked. The massage therapists, spa staff, yoga instructors and retreat hosts – often women, migrants and workers from the Global South – frequently experience substandard, undignified working conditions.

    Our new report, In Decent or Dirty Work?, examines an often overlooked part of the wellness industry. We propose a model to shift the industry from “dirty to decent” in line with the United Nations’ sustainable development goal eight supporting “decent work and economic growth”.

    The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) were adopted by all UN member states in 2015. They support ending poverty and other deprivations as part of improving health and education, reducing inequality and encouraging economic growth – while tackling climate change and protecting the environment. These goals are designed to help businesses and governments develop sustainable and inclusive economies.

    Progress towards decent work in wellness tourism is undermined by workers in some cases facing low pay, insecure employment and poor working conditions.

    Wellness is often viewed as feminised work, rather than skilled or professional. Workers are expected to be calm, warm and nurturing, as well as emotionally available while juggling demanding workloads and unpredictable hours.

    Weak regulation

    Gaps in standards and regulation leave workers vulnerable. For example, Massage and Myotherapy Australia has raised concerns about exploitative contracting and loose employment arrangements. Without regulated certification, enforcement of fair contracts, and professional recognition, many workers experience underemployment or unsafe conditions.

    Wellness workers are often underpaid and sometimes treated with disrespect by clients.
    Shellygraphy/Shutterstock

    Research shows workers at some spas even describe their roles as feeling uncomfortably close to sex work, especially in settings where the boundaries are blurred and expectations can cross a moral line.

    The case of the Melbourne business penalised for underpaying migrant workers and reports of Asian massage therapists being asked regularly for “happy endings” reflect the devaluation and gendered risks for this workforce.

    Sociologists call this “dirty work” – jobs that are not physically messy but carry an emotional or moral burden. And while these roles are pivotal to customers’ experiences, the people doing them are often invisible. This makes it even harder to push for better training or fairer conditions.

    Proposed changes

    To improve the wellness industry’s sustainability and fairness, our research proposes three key changes.

    On an individual level, workers need to be empowered. Workers who have a connection with their job will gain personal fulfilment from helping clients with their health and relaxation. Satisfied workers means happier customers and superior work quality.

    However, workers should also receive external support to help improve job satisfaction.

    For example, management regularly reinforcing the value of staff to a business can enhance a worker’s sense of dignity. Additionally, protecting workers from such threats as immoral requests by customers, is key to cultivating the sense of a safe and dignified workplace.

    At the macro-level, policies, social structures and public perceptions shape how wellness work is valued. Without professional accreditation or recognition, these jobs will remain undervalued. Broader changes, like government reforms and public campaigns, would lift professional recognition and support dignity.

    Employees’ working conditions should be examined. Decent work – as per the UN sustainable development goals – means providing fair pay, safe environments, recognition and genuine opportunities for employees to develop and thrive at work.

    Also, investing in better training and standards benefits everyone, whether workers, businesses or customers.

    As Andrew Gibson, co-founder of the Wellness Tourism Association, said: “I don’t think wellness is a fad, but rather it’s a change in society, and what society now expects”.

    Leonie Lockstone-Binney receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    Liz Simmons, Rawan Nimri, and Tom Baum 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. Behind the wellness industry’s scented oils and soothing music are often underpaid, exploited workers – https://theconversation.com/behind-the-wellness-industrys-scented-oils-and-soothing-music-are-often-underpaid-exploited-workers-257455

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: Palomar Holdings, Inc. Announces Participation in the William Blair 45th Annual Growth Stock Conference

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LA JOLLA, Calif., May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLMR) (“Palomar”) today announced that Mac Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Uchida, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the William Blair Growth Stock Conference at the Loews Chicago Hotel on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. In addition to participating in one-on-one investor meetings, management is scheduled to present at 1:20 pm Central Time.

    Interested investors and other parties can access a live webcast of the presentation by visiting the Investor Relations section of Palomar’s website at https://ir.palomarspecialty.com/. An online replay will be available on the same website following the presentation.

    About Palomar Holdings, Inc.
    Palomar Holdings, Inc. is the holding company of subsidiaries Palomar Specialty Insurance Company (“PSIC”), Palomar Specialty Reinsurance Company Bermuda Ltd. (“PSRE”), Palomar Insurance Agency, Inc., Palomar Excess and Surplus Insurance Company (“PESIC”), Palomar Underwriters Exchange Organization, Inc. (“PUEO”), First Indemnity of America Insurance Co. (“FIA”), and Palomar Crop Insurance Services, Inc. (“PCIS”). Palomar’s consolidated results also include Laulima Exchange (“Laulima”), a variable interest entity for which the Company is the primary beneficiary. Palomar is an innovative specialty insurer serving residential and commercial clients in five product categories: Earthquake, Inland Marine and Other Property, Casualty, Fronting, and Crop. Palomar’s insurance subsidiaries, PSIC, PSRE, and PESIC, have a financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) from A.M. Best. FIA carries an “A-” (Stable) rating from A.M. Best.

    To learn more, visit PLMR.com.

    Follow Palomar on LinkedIn: @PLMRInsurance

    Contact
    Media Inquiries
    Lindsay Conner
    1-551-206-6217
    lconner@plmr.com

    Investor Relations
    Jamie Lillis
    1-203-428-3223
    investors@plmr.com

    Source: Palomar Holdings, Inc.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The body as landscape: how post-war Japanese dance and theatre shaped performance in Australia

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan W. Marshall, Associate Professor & Postgraduate Research Coordinator, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University

    “Tamaokoshi (たまおこし-) – Evocation” (2013) by Yumi Umiumare. Performers: Umiumare, Felix Ching Ching Ho, Fina
    Po, Helen Smith, Willow Conway, Sevastian Peters-Lazaro, Takashi Takiguchi.     Photo by Vikk Shayen, reproduced courtesy of Umiumare and Shayen.

    Post-war Japan was home to exciting new theatrical forms. These included the often grotesque and contorted, but at times flowing, dance style “butoh”, created by dancer/choreographer Hijikata Tatsumi – and the intensely focused, sometimes militaristic, sometimes dreamy theatre of Suzuki Tadashi.

    Both Hijikata’s and Suzuki’s work attracted followers in Australia, and continue to have influence today. They often exchanged ideas, and several of Hijikata’s former dancers performed in Suzuki’s productions.

    Here’s a brief history of how these two helped bring Japanese performance to Australia – and how local artists made it their own.

    Suzuki’s training method

    Visits by Japanese performing artists to Australia increased during the 1990s, with Melbourne’s Playbox Theatre commissioning Suzuki Tadashi to direct an Australian cast in The Chronicle of Macbeth (1992). But even before he came here, several Australians visited his training institution in the Japanese mountains.

    Suzuki is best known for his training method, in which performers stomp up and down in a line, or swiftly move from one physical position to another.

    Suzuki claims this generates an actor who, even when standing still, is full of suppressed energy like a “Boeing 747, its brakes on and engines full-throttle just before take-off”.

    The performances themselves often have a dreamlike quality, similar to the Japanese noh theatre that inspired Suzuki.

    Tanaka brings butoh to Australia

    The first of Hijikata’s students to reach Australia was Japanese performer Tanaka Min. Tanaka appeared at the 1982 Sydney Biennale, showcasing his dance style of “Body Weather”.

    The Sydney Morning Herald described it as “the relationship between body and place […] improvisation and […] textures” – viewed as a shifting microclimate of impulses moving between the dancer’s body and their surroundings.

    Tanaka claimed Hijikata and his principal dancer Ashikawa Yoko taught him 1,000 embodied states that were prompted or described by poetic images or motifs. He passed these on to several Australian performers through his own training.

    Although similar to Hijikata’s approach, Tanaka’s focus on the body as an interactive landscape was unique to his version of butoh.

    Yumi Umiumare

    Japanese choreographer-director Maro Akaji had the greatest influence on Australian physical performance. His butoh company, Dairakudakan, appeared at the 1992 Melbourne Festival and left behind dancer Yumi Umiumare, who settled in the city. Dairakudakan established some of the key motifs recognisable in early Australian butoh.

    Maro’s Tale of the Sea-Dappled Horse (1991), opens with a group of almost-naked dancers in white makeup performing a grotesque group dance, coming together in a pulsating mass. As author Bruce Baird describes it, “on their hands and knees […] they convulse progressively energetically”.

    Umiumare’s Japanese heritage gives her the most direct link to butoh’s origins. After performing solos, duets and character roles, she developed what she calls “butoh cabaret”. This often surrealistically funny style is similar to Melbourne’s zanier comedy shows, as well as Dairakudakan’s own “grand seminarrative spectacles”.

    Umiumare says even her serious works in Melbourne were aimed at “audiences [who] really wanted a laugh”. In a 1995 cabaret skit, she parodied Madonna’s famous pointed cone bra costume. She pulled out accordian-style tubes placed over her breasts to render herself a phallic woman, before threatening and flirting with spectators.

    Umiumare continues to train and direct ensembles.

    Tess de Quincey

    Choreographer-dancer Tess de Quincey was the first non-Japanese, Australian-based artist to focus on Japanese physical theatre. She trained with Tanaka in Japan from 1985, before returning to performing in Sydney in 1988.

    De Quincey’s early Australian shows of 1988 and 1989 featured her naked body, all white like the Japanese butoh dancers, twisting and shifting in semi darkness.

    She later produced introspective multimedia works such as Nerve 9 (2001-05), structured around the slow unfolding of dissociated bodily gestures.

    Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre

    Hijikata’s butoh style was further explored by the Brisbane-based Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, founded by performer/director/trainer Lynne Bradley and director/trainer Simon Woods. The pair also witnessed Suzuki’s training in Japan.

    Zen Zen Zo’s fusion of butoh, Suzuki’s method, and Jacques Lecoq’s approach to clowning culminated in the 1996 production The Cult of Dionysus, performed at the Brisbane Festival.

    Audiences described a “glamorously grotesque” chorus, attired in “ragged skirts of rich reds, oranges and pinks, and strings of beads across their […] bare torsos,” “smeared” with ochre.

    Although Zen Zen Zo’s work became increasingly varied during the 2000s, it still trains in Suzuki’s method.

    Frank Theatre

    Another pair dedicated to Suzuki’s theatre and training were former contemporary dancers Jacqui Carroll and John Nobbs. The pair founded Frank Theatre in Brisbane in 1992, drawing on many of the same performers as Zen Zen Zo.

    Nobbs rejected any dilution of Suzuki’s method, going on to develop what he characterises as an unsullied “regional variant”. Carroll and Nobbs also retained the often riotous grotesquerie and absurdism of Suzuki’s productions.

    Frank Theatre’s masterpiece was Carroll’s Doll Seventeen (2002), an adaptation of Ray Lawler’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1955). Very similar to a Japanese noh play in its sense of inevitability, the characters intoned their words as though trapped in a slowly unfolding nightmare.

    Crisscrossing the Pacific

    Hijikata and Suzuki have also inspired performance-makers more distant from Japanese tradition.

    Australian dance company Marrugeku combines certain elements of Japanese theatre with First Nations performance.

    Similarly, multidisiplinary Māori–Australian artist Victoria Hunt combines butoh influences with her own whakapapa, or Māori genealogy.

    And Tony Yap, of Malaysian Chinese descent, has developed what he calls “trance dance”, drawing on Hijikata’s writings, Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski’s’s theatre of bodily and spiritual transfiguration, and Yap’s own background in Southeast Asian possession rituals.

    In these, and other exchanges, performance practices crisscross the Pacific, from Japan to Aotearoa New Zealand, to Australia, to Malaysia, and back.

    Some of Jonathan W. Marshall’s research into butoh was supported by an ARC-LIEF grant.

    – ref. The body as landscape: how post-war Japanese dance and theatre shaped performance in Australia – https://theconversation.com/the-body-as-landscape-how-post-war-japanese-dance-and-theatre-shaped-performance-in-australia-254814

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Antarctica’s sea ice is changing, and so is a vital part of the marine food web that lives within it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqui Stuart, Postdoctoral Researcher in Marine Ecology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    Jacqui Stuart, VUW, CC BY-NC-ND

    Antarctica is the world’s great cooling unit. This vital part of Earth’s climate system is largely powered by the annual freeze and melt of millions of square kilometres of sea ice around the continent.

    Our research shows changes to this annual freeze cycle in McMurdo Sound can lead to shifts in the diversity of algal communities that live within the sea ice.

    At the start of the southern winter, as sea water begins to freeze, it expels salt and forms heavy and very cold brine. This sinks to the seafloor, ultimately forming what’s known as Antarctic Bottom Water. This is then pumped out to the rest of the world through several major oceanic currents.

    Historically, this cycle meant that Antarctica effectively doubled in size and the continent was surrounded by an enormous apron of sea ice at the peak of winter. But the changing climate is shifting this annual cycle.

    Major ocean currents transport cold Antarctic Bottom Water out to the rest of the world.
    Jacqui Stuart, VUW, CC BY-NC-ND

    For the past decade, Antarctic sea ice has been in decline. It hasn’t been a steady trend, but each year since 2016 less sea ice has formed compared to historic averages.

    Antarctica’s annual maximum sea ice extent in September 2023 was the lowest on record, with approximately 1.75 million square kilometres less sea ice than normal – an area equivalent to about 6.5 times the land area of Aotearoa.

    Change happening at the continental scale is usually well documented and publicised. However, smaller, more local changes are also occurring in places such as McMurdo Sound, the home of Aotearoa New Zealand’s only Antarctic outpost.

    For four of the last seven years, unseasonable winter southerly storms have been associated with significant delays in the timing of sea-ice formation within McMurdo Sound.

    Where measurements were taken during these “unusual” years, the sea ice that formed later was thinner (1.5 metres compared to 2.5 metres) and had less snow cover (about 5 centimetres versus 15-30 centimetres) compared to the same locations during “typical” years.

    Ken Ryan and Jacqui Stuart measuring the depth of sea ice and the sub-ice platelet layer in McMurdo Sound in 2022.
    Svenja Halfter, NIWA, CC BY-NC-ND

    Icy reefs and algal meadows

    Another type of ice, known as “platelet ice”, also appears to be affected by the later formation of sea ice.

    A layer of platelet ice extends into the ocean below the sea ice in some regions around Antarctica, including McMurdo Sound. It is a fragile lattice structure made up of loosely consolidated plate-shaped ice crystals, creating an upside-down reef-like structure.

    The resulting protective environment is a hot spot for primary productivity – microscopic algae that support the base of the marine food web. When sea ice forms later, the platelet ice doesn’t have as much time to accumulate beneath and can be metres thinner than beneath older ice (down to about 1 metre from more than 3 metres).

    Scientist collecting cores of sea ice in McMurdo Sound.
    Jacqui Stuart, VUW, CC BY-NC-ND

    Why should we care about sea ice? Because, it isn’t just a frozen, lifeless sheet expanding out from the continent, broken by the odd silhouette of a seal or a gathering of penguins on the top.

    Beneath the desolate surface, where ice meets water, green meadows of microalgae can spread out as far as the eye can see.

    View from under the sea ice in McMurdo Sound, with the sub-ice platelet layer extending down into the water. The green-yellow tinge shows thriving microalgae living within the reef-like structure.
    Leigh Tate, NIWA, CC BY-NC-ND

    Microalgae are single-cell, plant-like organisms that use sunlight to create energy. Similar to land-based meadows, they provide food for many other creatures. In winter, when other sources of food can be scarce, this sea-ice superstore plays a crucial role in feeding other inhabitants of McMurdo Sound.

    Diminishing algal diversity under thinner sea ice

    Our research indicates that when the sea ice forms later, microalgal communities living within the ice are also different. In later-forming sea ice, these vital communities are less diverse and dominated by fewer species.

    Some species usually abundant in earlier-forming sea ice are absent or in low numbers when the sea ice forms later. Interestingly, though, it appears the quantity of microalgae in later-forming ice conditions is similar to “typical” ice. However, instead of being spread out through almost three metres depth of the platelet layer, they are crammed into a metre-thick habitat instead.

    These microscopic snacks are diverse in shape, size and the roles they play in the ecosystem. It can help to think of microalgal communities as the produce section in the supermarket. Each type has preferred growing conditions and different nutritional values, producing varied quantities of important resources such as proteins, carbohydrates and fatty acids.

    Microalgae come in different shapes, sizes and nutritional content, like fruits and vegetables.
    Jacqui Stuart, VUW, CC BY-NC-ND

    Imagine, one winter the weather is different and all that grows are cabbages and sweet peas. These won’t provide you with all the nutrients you need. This mirrors the problem when there is less diversity at the base of the food web. As the microalgal communities shift in the ways our research has observed, the quantity and quality of resources they provide are likely to change, too.

    These early signals matter. They foreshadow wider ecological impacts, especially, if Antarctic sea ice continues to thin, retreat or form later each year.

    We need more research to establish the nuances of these changes and the extent of their impact. But it is worth remembering that what happens at the base of the food web in Antarctica doesn’t necessarily stay there. These changes could ripple through ecosystems further afield with the potential to affect key fisheries in the Southern Ocean.

    By paying close attention now, we have a chance to understand and adapt, to ensure ecosystems stay resilient in a changing world.

    Natalie Robinson receives funding from the Marsden Fund and Antarctic Science Platform. She is affiliated with New Zealand Antarctic Society.

    Jacqui Stuart 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. Antarctica’s sea ice is changing, and so is a vital part of the marine food web that lives within it – https://theconversation.com/antarcticas-sea-ice-is-changing-and-so-is-a-vital-part-of-the-marine-food-web-that-lives-within-it-255606

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Hoyle Announces 2025 Congressional Art Competition Winner

    Source: US Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04)

    May 28, 2025

    For Immediate Release: May 28, 2025 

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  –  Today, Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) announced Teakki Rain Legg from Florence as Oregon’s Fourth District’s winner of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition. Winners have their artwork featured in the U.S. Capitol for one year and receive a round-trip ticket to Washington, D.C. for themselves and a guardian to be recognized at an annual awards ceremony when the art is displayed.

    “Teakki Legg’s artistry and attention to detail stood out with his entry into this year’s competition, Shining Light, which depicts the rugged beauty of the Oregon Coast,” Rep. Hoyle said. “His work will hang in the U.S. Capitol for the next year, representing the best of our district. Beyond his artwork, Teakki is a model student giving back to his community, serving on the board of the Florence Regional Arts Alliance and teaching art classes. I also want to commend his teachers, Lauren Suveges of Siuslaw High School and John Leasure at the Florence Regional Arts Alliance, for nurturing Teakki’s talents and pushing him to enter this competition. I look forward to meeting Teakki and his parents, Roanne and Brandt, and welcoming them to our office in Washington, D.C.”

    ‘Shining Light’ by Teakki Rain Legg

    A Word from the Artist

    My name is Teakki Legg and I’m a 16 year-old artist raised in Oregon. My piece, Shining Light, was heavily inspired by the Oregon coast where I live, which is populated by many lighthouses, such as Heceta Head and Yaquina. The lighthouse is a metaphor to illuminate possibilities and connection in the world, which sometimes can feel dark, but there’s always a light to go toward. As an artist, I simply can’t help but be inspired by the beauty of Oregon, in particular the coast. 

    I mainly work in watercolor and ink, but my painting was done in oil, a relatively new medium I’ve been experimenting with. I’ve had a great oil teacher, John Leasure, as well as my wonderful High School art teacher, Lauren Suveges, who also encouraged me to enter the Congressional art competition. Oil allows me to be more expressive with my colors and strokes, due to the fact that oil paint is so much thicker. 

    I’m so excited for the opportunity to go to Washington DC to see my painting hanging in the Capitol.  Thank you!

    Teakki Rain Legg

    Teakki Rain Legg, 16, was born in the art colony of Taos, New Mexico into a creative family filled with artists and writers. Home-schooled since birth, Teakki completed his first commissioned work at age 13. 

    Teakki’s work has won him multiple recognitions, including an Artist’s Choice Award. At age 15, Teakki began serving on the board of the Florence Regional Arts Alliance (FRAA). In his spare time, he teaches classes in watercolor, and pen and ink. 

    Some of his favorite artists include M. C. Escher, Rob Gonsalves, Bob Ross, Mark Kistler, and his grandfather, Martin Goldman. He enjoys and is inspired by comics, such as Calvin and Hobbes, and plans to pursue a career as an artist.

    You can see more of Teakki’s work here.

    The Congressional Art Competition

    The Congressional Art Competition is a bipartisan initiative to incentivize arts education for high school students across America. Every district that chooses to participate selects one winner annually. More information can be found on Rep. Hoyle’s website. 

     

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Illegal Firearm Possession Lands Oklahoma City Man in Federal Prison for Six Years Following Domestic Calls to Law Enforcement

    Source: US FBI

    OKLAHOMA CITY – AARON JOELRAYEL TURNER, 27, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to serve 72 months in federal prison for illegal possession of firearms after a previous felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

    On February 25, 2025, Turner was charged by Superseding Information with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to public record, in 2024, Turner had three separate interactions with the Oklahoma City Police Department (OCPD). During the first incident on June 19, 2024, OCPD officers responded to a home on reports of a domestic dispute. Once at the home, the victim told police Turner gained entry into her residence despite a recent emergency VPO issued against Turner, and that Turner had struck her in the face before leaving the house. OCPD located and arrested Turner shortly after and discovered a firearm in his pocket. The second encounter with OCPD took place on August 23, 2024, after OCPD officers encountered Turner again at the same residence and seized two more pistols possessed by Turner.

    The third encounter with OCPD took place on October 23, 2024, after officers responded to another home on a welfare check. The calling party advised OCPD that Turner was in the home with a firearm, and that Turner had been having domestic issues with the calling party’s granddaughter. OCPD officers received consent to search the home, and seized two firearms and several live rounds of ammunition possessed by Turner.

    On February 25, 2025, Turner pleaded guilty to the Superseding Information and admitted he possessed a firearm on the three instances noted above, despite his previous felony convictions.

    On May 19, 2025, U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones sentenced Turner to serve 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In announcing his sentence, Judge Jones noted Turner’s history of illegal firearm possession as well as his extensive criminal history. Public record reflects that Turner has previous felony convictions in Oklahoma County District Court that include two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm in case numbers CF-2020-1985 and CF-2017-5873.

    This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office and the Oklahoma City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Walters prosecuted the case.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice program to reduce violent crime. This case is also part of “Operation 922,” the Western District of Oklahoma’s implementation of PSN, which prioritizes prosecution of federal crimes connected to domestic violence. For more information about PSN, please visit https://justice.gov/psn and https://justice.gov/usao-wdok.

    Reference is made to public filings for additional information.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: PHOTOS: Capito Tours CAMC, Hubbard Hospice House

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
    CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, made stops in Charleston, W.Va. focused on health care. 
    First, Senator Capito toured the Charleston Area Medical Center’s (CAMC) updated intensive care unit (ICU). During the visit, Senator Capito also met with CAMC leadership to discuss the updated ICU and the health system’s continued impact on the state. 
    “CAMC and Vandalia Health System provide tremendous care to West Virginians. I was excited to tour the updated ICU today to see how CAMC continues to provide premiere care to our neighbors in the greatest need,” Senator Capito said. 
    Later, Senator Capito visited the Hubbard Hospice House in Charleston, W.Va. to see the impact of the nearly complete renovation project she helped support through the Congressionally Directed Spending process. Hubbard Hospice House is a 24-bed inpatient hospice facility that is the first standalone hospice facility in the state of West Virginia.
    “The Hubbard Hospice House has long been a place of peace, dignity, and comfort for West Virginians during some of life’s most difficult moments,” Senator Capito said. “I was proud to advocate for this funding because preserving this facility means preserving a sanctuary for patients and their loved ones. As this vital wing reopens, it ensures families in the Kanawha Valley continue to have access to compassionate, community-based end-of-life care in a setting that feels like home.”
    “This isn’t just a building. It’s a place of peace, a sanctuary for families during some of life’s most difficult moments. Thanks to Senator Capito, our generous donors, and community partners, we’re building on a legacy of care that will last another 20 years—and beyond,” HospiceCare CEO Chris Rawlings said.
    Photos from today’s visits are below:

    U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) tours Charleston Area Medical Center’s (CAMC) intensive care unit (ICU) in Charleston, W.Va. on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. 

    U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito meets with Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) leadership to discuss the updated intensive care unit (ICU) in Charleston, W.Va. on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. 

    U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito visits Hubbard Hospice House to see their nearly complete renovation project in Charleston, W.Va. on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: $59 million boost to ensure completion of Taranaki Base Hospital Redevelopment

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Health Minister Simeon Brown today announced an additional $59 million in funding for the Taranaki Base Hospital Redevelopment, ensuring Stage Two is completed by the end of 2025.

    “This redevelopment is a critical investment in modernising healthcare for the people of Taranaki,” Mr Brown says.

    “The additional $59.2 million is required to meet cost pressures that have emerged since 2022 – ensuring we can complete Stage Two of the project on schedule and deliver a modern, fit-for-purpose hospital that can meet the region’s needs now and into the future.”

    The funding will support the delivery of the new East Wing Building – a six-storey, 20,000-square-metre facility due to open by the end of 2025.

    “This building will house many of Taranaki Base Hospital’s core acute and specialist services, including the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, maternity, neonatal, and radiology services.

    “It will increase the number of patient spaces to 151 – an additional 55 to current capacity – and provide a total of 34 laboratory workstations. It has also been designed with future expansion in mind.

    “The East Wing Building will also include a modern acute assessment unit, a primary birthing unit, an Integrated Operations Centre, a rooftop helipad, and a tūpapaku viewing room – a reflection of a more culturally responsive and patient-focused model of care.

    Mr Brown said the redevelopment would help meet the growing and changing needs of the Taranaki region.

    “This is about delivering smarter, more efficient healthcare. It’s about ensuring the system can meet the needs of a growing and ageing population, while also supporting the workforce with modern, integrated facilities.

    “We are making the long-overdue investments needed to strengthen our hospitals and ensure the health system delivers better outcomes for New Zealanders.”

    “Modern infrastructure helps reduce wait times, improve care, and ensure patients get the high-quality treatment they expect and deserve.

    “The completion of the East Wing Building will be a significant milestone for healthcare in the region and a key part of our Government’s broader commitment to a stronger, more resilient public health system.”

    “We are focused on delivering the hospital infrastructure New Zealand needs – with clear outcomes for patients and communities,” Mr Brown says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • PM GatiShakti: 94th Network Planning Group meeting reviews key metro and aviation projects

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The 94th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP) was held on Wednesday to assess five major infrastructure proposals aimed at strengthening India’s multimodal connectivity and regional development. The proposals, spanning both Metro Rail and Civil Aviation sectors, were evaluated for their alignment with the core principles of PM GatiShakti, including last-mile connectivity, intermodal integration, and enhanced logistics efficiency.

    The meeting, chaired by Pankaj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), reviewed four Metro Rail projects submitted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and one Greenfield Airport project proposed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

    The first project involves a 2.16 km underground extension of the Aerocity–Tughlakabad corridor to Indira Gandhi Domestic Terminal-1. It includes the development of a new metro station at IGD T-1 and aims to improve airport connectivity for key residential areas such as Tughlakabad, Khanpur, Saket, Mehrauli, and Vasant Kunj, while also benefiting commuters from Faridabad via the Tughlakabad interchange.

    The second proposal is a 9.913 km fully underground extension of the Magenta Line from Ramakrishna Ashram Marg to Indraprastha. This corridor will link major landmarks like Central Vista, India Gate, Pragati Maidan, the War Memorial, and Delhi High Court. A proposed station at India Gate is intended to offer safe and convenient public transport access while promoting clean and sustainable mobility.

    Another project reviewed is a 9 km elevated extension of the Golden Line from Tughlakabad to Kalindi Kunj. It passes through areas including Ali Village, Ali Vihar, and Madanpur Khadar, with a vital interchange planned at Kalindi Kunj connecting the Violet and Magenta lines. This initiative is expected to improve airport access and strengthen connectivity between Noida, Greater Noida, and Delhi.

    A 17.435 km metro corridor linking Noida Sector-51 to Knowledge Park V in Greater Noida was also discussed. Spanning 7.263 km in Noida and 10.172 km in Greater Noida, the corridor is designed to serve the growing commuter needs of the expanding Greater Noida West township, enhancing urban transit efficiency.

    In the civil aviation sector, a Greenfield Airport has been proposed near Bundi, Kota in Rajasthan. Spread over 400 acres, the airport will be equipped to handle A321-200 type aircraft and feature a modern terminal with the capacity to process 500 arrivals and 500 departures during peak hours. The planned infrastructure includes a runway, apron, taxiways, ATC tower, fire station, and associated facilities. The project aims to support the economic development of the region, boost tourism and trade, and provide better travel access for the large number of students and families visiting Kota, a national hub for competitive exam preparation.

    All the evaluated projects are strategically aimed at enhancing transit systems, reducing congestion, and facilitating regional integration.

  • MIL-OSI USA: SR 165 Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge planning study online open house available May 28 to June 17

    Source: Washington State News 2

    CARBONADO – People can now provide input on the future of State Route 165 at the Carbon River in Pierce County in an online open house.

    The Washington State Department of Transportation published an online open house today, Wednesday, May 28 that focuses on data-driven recommendations that address safety concerns and long-term transportation needs for SR 165 across the Carbon River Valley.

    The online open house accompanies two in-person open house events scheduled in June. The same information will be available both in-person and online. The open house events are part of a WSDOT SR 165 Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge planning study.

    SR 165 Carbon River- Fairfax Bridge Planning Study online open house

    When:  Wednesday, May 28 to Tuesday, June 17

    Where:  engage.wsdot.wa.gov/sr-165-fairfax-bridge/

    Details:  The online open house gives people the opportunity to view proposed recommendations and provide comments through June 17. 

    Free internet access

    Free, temporary internet access is available to those who do not have broadband service in locations throughout the state. To find the nearest Drive-In WiFi Hotspot visit the Department of Commerce website.

    Free WiFi access is available at these locations for people who wish to participate in the online open house:

    • Buckley Pierce County Library, 123 S. River Ave., Buckley, WA 98321
    • Orting Pierce County Library, 202 Washington Ave. S., Orting, WA 98360

    SR 165 Carbon River- Fairfax Bridge Planning Study in-person open houses

    When:  4 to 6:30 p.m., Monday, June 2

    Where:  Carbonado School, 301 O’Ferrell Drive, Carbonado, WA 98323 

    When:  5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 11

    Where:  Wilkeson Elementary School, 640 Railroad Ave., Wilkeson, WA 98396  

    Details:  There is no formal presentation. Attendees are welcome to drop by anytime during the events. Project team members will be available to answer questions about the study and the options presented.

    Background

    WSDOT permanently closed the bridge on April 22. Recent inspections of the 103-year-old bridge revealed new deterioration of steel supports across the bridge. Since 2009, the bridge operated under vehicle weight restrictions. The structural challenges the bridge faced were brought on by years of deferred preservation due to lack of funding. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Stein Urges Congress to Lower Costs for North Carolinians at NC State Emerging Issues Forum

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Stein Urges Congress to Lower Costs for North Carolinians at NC State Emerging Issues Forum

    Governor Stein Urges Congress to Lower Costs for North Carolinians at NC State Emerging Issues Forum
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Today Governor Josh Stein spoke at the Emerging Issues Forum at NC State to outline his energy priorities and urge Congress to lower costs for consumers by protecting clean energy projects in North Carolina.  

    “North Carolina is a leader in the clean energy economy, and we are home to more than 20,000 clean energy jobs and $24 billion in clean energy investments,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Our state is well-positioned to continue that success, and I urge Congress to protect the clean energy investments that have contributed to our state’s prosperity.”

    Governor Stein is committed to supporting and developing North Carolina’s growing clean energy sector. Last month, the Governor joined Boviet Solar at the grand opening of its new solar module manufacturing facility in Greenville, which has already created nearly 400 jobs with more on the way. As part of his second recovery budget announcement last week, Governor Stein proposed $239 million to strengthen critical infrastructure in western North Carolina, including investing in projects to safeguard against future disasters. 

    Congress’ proposed repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act could cost North Carolina tens of thousands of jobs by 2030, along with billions in clean energy investments spurred by clean energy and manufacturing tax credits. Repealing the credits could also raise electricity costs for North Carolina families by $200 per year. Governor Stein is urging North Carolina’s congressional delegation to lower costs for North Carolina families by preserving the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits.  

    May 28, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Great Falls man sentenced to prison for strangulation and child abuse

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    GREAT FALLS – A Great Falls man who assaulted a woman and her child on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation was sentenced yesterday to 31 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

    Lane Thomas Lamere, 37, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of strangulation and one count of felony child abuse.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

    The government alleged in court documents that on Friday, January 12, 2024, Lamere broke into the residence of Jane Doe 2, who was home with her three-year old daughter, Jane

    Doe 1. Lamere dragged Jane Doe 2 to her back bedroom and choked her. Jane Doe 1 walked into the room while this was happening. When Lamere saw Jane Doe 1, he grabbed her head and put her into a headlock. Jane Doe 2 was able to get away, but Lamere would not let go of Jane Doe 1. When Jane Doe 2 could not get Lamere to let go of her daughter, she ran next door to get help from her neighbor, who called the police as they ran back to Jane Doe 2’s house.

    When Jane Doe 2 and her neighbor returned to the house, Lamere was in the bathroom attached to the bedroom atop Jane Doe 1. The neighbor recalled seeing him bite Jane Doe 1 on her face. The neighbor also recalled Lamere squeezing Jane Doe 1, pulling her hair, and covering her nose and mouth. Both the neighbor and Jane Doe 2 tried to pull him off Jane Doe 1 and even struck him with a snow shovel, but he did not release Jane Doe 1.

    Law enforcement bodycam footage shows the neighbor hysterically crying for help, but Lamere remained in the back bathroom on top of Jane Doe 1. When he refused to follow law enforcement orders to get off Jane Doe 1, an officer tased him. The officer then removed Jane Doe 1 from beneath Lamere. EMTs arrived and transported Jane Does 1 and 2 to Northern Montana Hospital. Jane Doe 1 was treated for various contusions to her body as well as bite marks to her arm and face.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Chippewa Cree Law Enforcement Services.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Browning man sentenced to prison for sexually abusing a child

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    GREAT FALLS – A Browning man who sexually assaulted a minor was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

    Delbert Dwayne Mowitch, 23, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of sexual abuse of a minor.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

    The government alleged in court documents that in January 2024, Mowitch met 12-year-old Jane Doe. In April 2024, a witness reported to law enforcement that Mowitch and Doe were in a sexual relationship.

    Doe was interviewed and confirmed she and Mowitch had been together, and that she would stay at his house with him. She reported that when they were together they would drink alcohol and smoke dabs. She confirmed that during the time she stayed with Mowitch, they had sex twice. She said the first time it happened Mowitch was drunk, he took off her pants, and she just froze. He started penetrating her vagina with his penis and she described it hurting a great deal. She reported that during a second encounter, she remembered Mowitch asking her for sex and telling him no. She blacked out and when she woke up, she was in pain and had cramps. She saw a used condom she believed had been used on her. She reported Mowitch showed her a video from the night before purporting to show her consenting to the sexual act. Doe provided law enforcement screenshots of messages between her and Mowitch consistent with an ongoing relationship.

    A second witness told law enforcement that Mowitch admitted in February 2024 that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with Doe. The witness reported Mowitch knew Doe’s age at the time they started talking.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah Paisley prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

    MIL Security OSI –