Category: housing

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Security and growth at the centre of the UK-Ireland Summit
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Security and growth at the centre of the UK-Ireland Summit

National security, growth and energy security will be top of the agenda at the first annual UK-Ireland Summit tomorrow as the Prime Minister underscores the importance of delivering for the people of the UK.
Ensuring peace, prosperity and security in Europe and around the world will be at the heart of discussions with Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the UK-Ireland Summit

Comes as new UK-Irish cooperation cuts red tape for offshore energy developers in the Irish and Celtic Seas – delivering greater economic security for the hardworking British people

New Irish investments, worth £185.5 million, set to see thousands of jobs created across the country

National security, growth and energy security will be top of the agenda at the first annual UK-Ireland Summit tomorrow as the Prime Minister underscores the importance of delivering for the people of the UK.

The meeting comes after the Prime Minister hosted 18 leaders in London on Sunday where he reiterated the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine and European security. As part of that commitment, tomorrow the two leaders will announce closer collaboration on energy security to harness the full potential of the Irish and Celtic seas.

Through a new data sharing arrangement, the UK and Irish governments will lay the groundwork for commercial developers to increase offshore energy by cutting red tape and minimising the burden of maritime and environmental consent processes for developers.

This will speed up developments and mobilise investments in offshore energy infrastructure.

This new collaboration will increase renewable energy production and enhance the UK’s energy security, delivering on this Government’s Plan for Change.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Energy security and national security are two sides of the same coin, that is why we must work with our allies and partners across the world to protect the hardworking British people from external factors driving up household bills.

As our closest neighbour our partnership with Ireland is testament to the importance of working with international partners to deliver for people at home.

Now more than ever we must work with likeminded partners in the pursuit of global peace, prosperity and security.

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister and Taoiseach will host a joint business roundtable with industry leaders and businesses across tech, finance, clean energy, manufacturing and construction from the UK and Ireland. The discussion will focus on potential opportunities for growth and investment, and how the UK and Ireland can work together to build an even more resilient and successful trading relationship. They will also discuss how both countries can work closer together on renewable energy, tech, AI and security.

As part of tomorrow’s summit, the UK has welcomed new Irish investments worth £185.5 million creating 2,540 jobs across the country from Version 1, Applegreen, Omniplex, Galvia, Buymedia, Uniquely, Walsh Mushrooms and PM Group. From Evesham to Edinburgh, new investments show confidence in the UK as an attractive place to invest and delivers on the government’s Plan for Change to kickstart economic growth.

The UK will also announce that W.H. Davis, part of Buckland Group, has won a £100 million contract with Irish Rail supporting their investment in railway infrastructure in Ireland.

Ireland is the UK’s 6th largest trading partner with the trading relationship worth nearly £80 billion last year across sectors including renewable energy, life sciences, creative industries and tech.

Tomorrow’s events follow a cultural reception hosted by the Prime Minister and Taoiseach this evening, with representatives from both the UK and Ireland showcasing the world-class talent on both sides of the Irish sea.

After the summit, the Prime Minister will travel to a defence company to meet employees and apprentices working in the national security sector.

Visit comes after the Prime Minister’s landmark announcement made last week on increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027.

In 2023-24, defence spending supported over 430,000 jobs across the UK, the equivalent to one in every 60, with 16,900 in the North West.

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Published 5 March 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Energy – Perfect paradox: Urgent focus on affordability and infrastructure in global energy report – BusinessNZ

Source: BusinessNZ

Global data released from the World Energy Council today highlights urgent concern for affordable energy and the importance of future energy infrastructure.

The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) is New Zealand’s representative to the World Energy Council. Executive Director Tina Schirr says more than 3,000 energy leaders from more than 100 countries participated in the World Energy Issues Monitor 2025, a survey providing critical insights into the challenges facing the energy sector at home and abroad.

“New Zealand is not alone in its desire for more affordable and reliable energy. This year’s Monitor shows this is the number one growing concern for businesses and households around the world.

“The report also identifies areas which require urgent action including energy storage, grid upgrades, and climate mitigation. These infrastructure and climate issues are crucial for energy security and economic growth.

“While New Zealand shares many global concerns – including the need for economic growth alongside energy transition, key differences emerge in areas like supply chain disruptions and the development of future fuels.

“The World Energy Issues Monitor is a valuable tool for understanding the key uncertainties and priorities shaping energy strategies worldwide. BEC looks forward to the release of regional data in May, which will offer more detailed insights into New Zealand’s current situation.”

The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central, Business Canterbury and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Consumer NZ calls for an end to the surcharge “swindle”

Source: Consumer NZ

Consumer NZ is calling on the Commerce Commission to consider a ban on card payment surcharges due to growing concerns about excessive and hidden fees.

While the Commission is considering lowering interchange fees – to reduce merchants’ costs for accepting card payments, – Consumer says there’s no guarantee this will reduce card surcharges for consumers, and that should be the priority.

Currently, there are no regulations in New Zealand on surcharges, only guidelines. The guidelines recommend surcharges be transparent, avoidable and not excessive. Unfortunately, these recommendations are often ignored, to the detriment of shoppers.

“The surcharging situation in New Zealand is a mess. We have received hundreds of complaints showing merchants are not complying with the guidelines. It’s time to introduce new surcharge rules,” says Consumer acting head of research and advocacy, Jessica Walker.

Although the Commission has said it will consider some form of surcharge regulation, an outright ban doesn’t appear to be one of the options being considered. Yet Consumer thinks a ban would be a simple and effective solution, with the benefits outweighing the risks.

“Less thought would be required about what card to use, whether to swipe, insert or tap; what the surcharge amount is and whether there’s a way to avoid the surcharge.

“You could just leave the house with your phone in your pocket, knowing you wouldn’t have to pay a hefty surcharge for the convenience of not carrying any cards. A ban makes things simpler for merchants too,” Walker says.

Issues with surcharging

Complaints to Consumer about surcharges include:

Excessive fees: Merchants are charging well over what it costs them to accept the card payment. In the worst cases, card payment surcharges have exceeded 20%. The Commission estimates New Zealanders are paying up to $65 million per year in excessive surcharges, with Mastercard estimating this figure to be $90 million.

Lack of transparency: Some merchants don’t mention the fact they add surcharges. Others have terminals that simply state “surcharge applies”, without specifying the amount.

Fixed fees: Some merchants charge flat fees rather than percentages, which don’t always reflect their actual costs.

Hidden fees: Additional costs, like service fees, are often bundled with surcharges, confusing consumers.

To address these issues, Consumer is calling on the Commission to consider a ban on surcharges.

The benefits of a surcharge ban

Transparency: A surcharge ban would eliminate unclear and hidden fees, allowing consumers to more easily compare prices.

Consistency: Consumers would have a consistent experience across merchants, with no nasty surprises at the counter.

Simplicity: A ban would be easy for consumers and businesses to understand and easy for the Commission to enforce.

Fairer: A ban would incentivise merchants to search for better card deals that allow them to reduce their payment costs. While surcharging is allowed, there’s no incentive for merchants to do this. Lower interchange fees also mean businesses could more easily absorb payment costs.

Encourages competition: Transparent pricing would allow consumers to shop around more easily, fostering competition.

Alignment with other jurisdictions: The United Kingdom and European Union have banned surcharges, proving such a ban can work.

The case for banning surcharges in New Zealand is strong.

Consumer lodged a submission with the Commission this week supporting further interchange regulation and calling for the Commission to consider a ban on surcharges.

We urge anyone else who is fed up with surcharges to let the Commission know by 5pm on 18 March 2025 using this simple online form: https://consumernz.cmail20.com/t/i-l-fdykily-ijjdkdttjk-j/

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Consumer NZ calls for an end to the surcharge “swindle”

Source: Consumer NZ

Consumer NZ is calling on the Commerce Commission to consider a ban on card payment surcharges due to growing concerns about excessive and hidden fees.

While the Commission is considering lowering interchange fees – to reduce merchants’ costs for accepting card payments, – Consumer says there’s no guarantee this will reduce card surcharges for consumers, and that should be the priority.

Currently, there are no regulations in New Zealand on surcharges, only guidelines. The guidelines recommend surcharges be transparent, avoidable and not excessive. Unfortunately, these recommendations are often ignored, to the detriment of shoppers.

“The surcharging situation in New Zealand is a mess. We have received hundreds of complaints showing merchants are not complying with the guidelines. It’s time to introduce new surcharge rules,” says Consumer acting head of research and advocacy, Jessica Walker.

Although the Commission has said it will consider some form of surcharge regulation, an outright ban doesn’t appear to be one of the options being considered. Yet Consumer thinks a ban would be a simple and effective solution, with the benefits outweighing the risks.

“Less thought would be required about what card to use, whether to swipe, insert or tap; what the surcharge amount is and whether there’s a way to avoid the surcharge.

“You could just leave the house with your phone in your pocket, knowing you wouldn’t have to pay a hefty surcharge for the convenience of not carrying any cards. A ban makes things simpler for merchants too,” Walker says.

Issues with surcharging

Complaints to Consumer about surcharges include:

Excessive fees: Merchants are charging well over what it costs them to accept the card payment. In the worst cases, card payment surcharges have exceeded 20%. The Commission estimates New Zealanders are paying up to $65 million per year in excessive surcharges, with Mastercard estimating this figure to be $90 million.

Lack of transparency: Some merchants don’t mention the fact they add surcharges. Others have terminals that simply state “surcharge applies”, without specifying the amount.

Fixed fees: Some merchants charge flat fees rather than percentages, which don’t always reflect their actual costs.

Hidden fees: Additional costs, like service fees, are often bundled with surcharges, confusing consumers.

To address these issues, Consumer is calling on the Commission to consider a ban on surcharges.

The benefits of a surcharge ban

Transparency: A surcharge ban would eliminate unclear and hidden fees, allowing consumers to more easily compare prices.

Consistency: Consumers would have a consistent experience across merchants, with no nasty surprises at the counter.

Simplicity: A ban would be easy for consumers and businesses to understand and easy for the Commission to enforce.

Fairer: A ban would incentivise merchants to search for better card deals that allow them to reduce their payment costs. While surcharging is allowed, there’s no incentive for merchants to do this. Lower interchange fees also mean businesses could more easily absorb payment costs.

Encourages competition: Transparent pricing would allow consumers to shop around more easily, fostering competition.

Alignment with other jurisdictions: The United Kingdom and European Union have banned surcharges, proving such a ban can work.

The case for banning surcharges in New Zealand is strong.

Consumer lodged a submission with the Commission this week supporting further interchange regulation and calling for the Commission to consider a ban on surcharges.

We urge anyone else who is fed up with surcharges to let the Commission know by 5pm on 18 March 2025 using this simple online form: https://consumernz.cmail20.com/t/i-l-fdykily-ijjdkdttjk-j/

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Heritage – Kate Sheppard National Suffrage Memorial Celebrated for Outstanding Significance

Source: Heritage New Zealand

The Kate Sheppard National Memorial to Women’s Suffrage has been entered on the New Zealand Heritage List Rārangi Kōrero as a Category 1 historic place.

The 2.1-metre-high bas-relief sculpture depicts a life-sized Kate Sheppard, flanked by five other influential suffragists. The artwork was created for the 1993 commemorations of the momentous achievement of New Zealand women gaining the right to vote one hundred years earlier.

The creation of the memorial was a true group effort, much like the original 19 th century suffrage campaign. In June 1990, 44 women representing many women’s groups and organisations met to discuss how they could celebrate the upcoming centenary. One outcome was the establishment of the Kate Sheppard Memorial Appeal Committee.

The national memorial was partially funded through a public campaign. Supporters of the fundraising appeal had their names recorded on a Time Capsule Scroll (reminiscent of the suffrage petition) which was placed inside the Memorial. Fundraising was so successful that there were extra funds which established a Kate Sheppard Memorial award.

The Kate Sheppard Memorial Appeal committee developed a clear concept and invited sculptors to submit a design. They were looking for a bas-relief and asked that there should be “a deeper relief and a focal position for Kate Sheppard whose importance in the fight for women’s suffrage cannot be exaggerated.”

The committee eventually selected South Canterbury artist, Margriet Windhausen. In her Maungati studio, Windhausen first sculpted the work with clay, from which she made a polyester resin mould, which was filled with wax to become the positive impression. The impression was then cut into pieces for casting at a foundry in Invercargill. After casting, these were then welded together, cleaned and sandblasted. Windhausen said of the six main figures at the centre, “I wanted the faces and the stance of the figures to be timeless for I believe it’s important these women should be able to speak to us today as contemporary women… They both look out at the audience and beyond into the future.”

Although Kate Sheppard takes the central spot, the other five women flanking her demonstrate the shared nature of the suffrage campaigns. These women are: Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, of Taitokerau who requested the vote for women from Te Kotahitanga, the Māori Parliament; Amey Daldy, a foundation member of the Auckland Women’s Christian Temperance Union and president of the Auckland Franchise League; Ada Wells, of Christchurch, who campaigned vigorously for equal educational opportunities for girls and women; Harriet Morison, of Dunedin, vice president of the Tailoresses’ Union and a powerful advocate for working women; and Helen Nicol, who pioneered the women’s franchise campaign in Dunedin. The text panels identify other key individuals.

The presence of Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia is significant. Her inclusion reflects the broader story of the impacts of colonial settlement on Māori. While Māori women and Pākehā women shared similar concerns in late 19th century New Zealand, such as the harms of alcohol, their situations differed. Many Māori women saw their prior rights eroding under colonial rule. Land issues were a key problem, and Māori women were vocal in raising concerns that so much of their lands and resources was being taken into colonial ownership. When Te Kotahitanga, the Māori Parliament, was established in 1892, Māori women were involved and able to speak from its inception.

Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia brought forward a motion to Te Kotahitanga that women be allowed to vote and stand in the Māori Parliament in 1893, but deferral of the motion meant this wasn’t put in place until 1897. By this time, all women – Māori and Pākehā – had already been granted the right to vote in national elections.

For Ngāi Tūāhuriri and for the descendants of Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, the memorial is a maumahara, a memorial to wāhine toa who successfully helped shape the end of both Māori and Pākehā women’s suffrage in Aotearoa New Zealand’s colonial history.

Heritage Listing Advisor at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, Robyn Burgess, says, “There’s something very inviting about this memorial. In Christchurch there are only two memorials of women, and one of those is Queen Victoria, up high on a column, representing the empire. Unlike the male statues, where men are presented larger-than-life, up high on plinth, the Kate Sheppard National Memorial to Women’s Suffrage is at ground level, near life-size and accessible. Its position encourages visitors to interact closely with the sculpture.”

The site of the memorial, tucked away behind the Municipal Chambers on Oxford Terrace, might seem too modest a spot for a national memorial. But the location has some very significant connections. The first colonial timber building on the Municipal Chambers site had been the Land Office or Survey Office, built in the early 1850s. This Land Office, like others around the country, was associated with Pākehā land acquisition through colonial settlement, which was one of the reasons why Māori women sought to become active in the political sphere.

Kate Sheppard and her husband Walter would also have been directly associated with the timber municipal buildings and its 1886 brick replacement. Ada Wells, one of the women on the memorial, entered this brick building as the first woman member of the Christchurch City Council in 1917. In 1921 Elizabeth McCombs entered this same municipal building to begin a 12-year term on the Christchurch City Council, subsequently becoming, in 1933, New Zealand’s first woman Member of Parliament. The memorial also looks across to the Canterbury Provincial Chambers Building, where the National Council of Women held their first meeting in 1896 and planned their lobbying for further reforms.

The memorial sculpture was unveiled on 19 September 1993 in a special ceremony attended by up to 3000 people. As Governor General, Dame Catherine Tizard unveiled the memorial, doves were released, accompanied by choirs. The crowds then enjoyed a street party along Worcester Boulevard.

Today, the Kate Sheppard National Memorial to Women’s Suffrage is a place of gathering and reflection. Each year on Suffrage Day, 19 September, the Christchurch Branch of the National Council of Women still hold a celebration commemoration. “We feel that this is the best place to reflect and to acknowledge the many women who have gone before us, who have worked to advocate for issues that are important to women and girls in our communities. Kate and the other women on the memorial inspire us to keep pushing towards our aim of true gender equality,” says the co-president of Christchurch branch of NCW, Louise Tapper. “It is always an honour to be able to lay white camellias, the symbol of women’s suffrage, at the foot of the memorial each Suffrage Day.”

Robyn Burgess, who conducted the research for the heritage recognition has been impressed at the positive response from the public. “We have had 18 submissions, all of them positive, and many from organisations and interest groups. People see this as a very significant memorial not only for Christchurch, but for all of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

For those wanting to learn more about the remarkable story of women’s suffrage in New Zealand, you can visit Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House, managed by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

ABOUT HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND POUHERE TAONGA

Tairangahia a tua whakarere; Tātakihia ngā reanga o āmuri ake nei | Honouring the past; Inspiring the future.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is the leading national historic heritage agency for Aotearoa New Zealand, operating as an autonomous Crown Entity. Our mission is to identify, protect, and promote heritage – Kia mōhiotia atu, kia tiakina, kia hāpaingia ā tātau taonga tuku iho.

We actively engage with communities, foster partnerships, and provide valuable resources to support those who are passionate about exploring, learning, and connecting with our rich cultural heritage. For more information, please visit our website at www.heritage.org.nz

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former U.S. Postal Service Employee Sentenced to Federal Prison for His Involvement in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

MONROE, La. – Willie Shanderek Shavon Woodard, 23, of Monroe, Louisiana, has been sentenced for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. Woodard, a former U.S. Postal Service employee, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty to 108 months (9 years) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

The charges in this case stem from an investigation by law enforcement agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”) into suspicious packages being sent through the U.S. Mail to addresses in Monroe. On October 27, 2022, agents intercepted two suspicious packages that were destined for two residences in Monroe from California. Search warrants were obtained for both packages and agents recovered five one-pound packages in each parcel which was determined to be a total of ten pounds of methamphetamine. One of the packages was addressed to a residence in Monroe which was an abandoned house on Woodard’s mail route.

In August of 2023, USPIS agents intercepted another package destined for the same abandoned house in Monroe on Woodard’s mail route. A search warrant was obtained for the second package and inside was approximately 2.2 pounds of marijuana. Agents removed the controlled substance and placed the package back into the normal mail stream to the address. On August 28, 2023, agents observed Woodard meet one of his co-defendants and place the same package in the trunk of the vehicle being driven by his co-defendant. Soon after, a traffic stop was conducted of the vehicle and law enforcement officers found the package in the trunk of the vehicle, as well as a Glock 19 pistol under the driver’s seat. Woodard and his co-defendant were both subsequently arrested.

Through their investigation, agents found numerous messages between Woodard and other co-defendants notifying them of the address where the suspicious package had been sent in Monroe. In addition, there were numerous messages from Woodard to his co-defendants wherein he provided addresses of houses on his mail route. Agents learned that several packages had been sent from the same address in California to those addresses in Monroe on numerous occasions.

Woodard was charged and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and admitted to his involvement in the conspiracy.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Louisiana State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Aaron Crawford and Special Assistant United States Attorney Catherine Semmes.

# # #

MIL Security OSI –

March 6, 2025

MIL-OSI: Arq Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Delivered 10% YoY growth in FY 2024 revenue driven by PAC business turnaround and 7^thstraight quarter of double-digit YoY ASP growth

Grew FY 2024 gross margins by approximately 410 bps YoY to 36.2% and achieved 3^rdconsecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA, highlighting sustained foundational PAC business improvement

Exited 2024 with a stronger financial position, successfully completing a $30 million ABL facility which lowers financing costs, increases capacity, and enhances liquidity

Development of transformational GAC facility continues; first production anticipated prior to quarter end in line with ramp up to 25 million pounds nameplate capacity in H2 2025

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arq, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQ) (the “Company” or “Arq”), a producer of activated carbon and other environmentally efficient carbon products for use in purification and sustainable materials, today announced its financial and operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2024.

Financial Highlights

Generated revenue of $109.0 million in FY 2024 ($27.0 million in Q4 2024), up 10% over the prior year, driven largely by higher Average Sales Price (“ASP”), and positive changes in product mix
Increased ASP in Q4 2024 by approximately 14% over the prior year period, reflecting the 7^th consecutive quarter of double-digit YoY percentage growth in ASP
All powder activated carbon (“PAC”) contracts are now net cash producers following the successful resolution of all negative margin agreements as of December 31, 2024
Improved FY 2024 gross margin to 36.2% in FY 2024, up approximately 410 basis points vs. FY 2023, driven by higher revenue, continued focus on profitability over volume, and ongoing operational cost management
Gross margin in Q4 2024 of 36.3% vs. 49.8% in Q4 2023 – prior quarter included a $4.7 million take-or-pay benefit and other non-recurring items vs. $1.6 million in Q4 2024. Q4 2024 was otherwise largely in-line with last year’s performance despite two brief but unplanned outages at the Red River plant
Reported Net loss of ($5.1) million in FY 2024, reflecting a significant improvement over the prior year period Net loss of ($12.2) million; Q4 2024 Net loss of ($1.3) million vs. Net income of $3.3 million in Q4 2023
Adjusted EBITDA of $7.7 million in FY 2024 vs. Adjusted EBITDA loss of ($2.6) million in the prior year⁽¹⁾; Adjusted EBITDA of $3.3 million in Q4 2024 vs. $7.2 million in the prior year period⁽¹⁾
Announced successful closing of a $30 million asset backed lending (“ABL”) facility, enhancing financial flexibility and reducing our cost of capital
Exited 2024 with cash and restricted cash of $22.2 million, including $8.7 million restricted cash
Capital expenditures for FY 2024 totaled $85.2 million, including $80.0 million growth capital expenditures associated with Red River Phase I development

⁽¹⁾ Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please refer to the paragraph titled “Non-GAAP Measures” for the definitions of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to GAAP measures included in this press release.

Recent Business Highlights

Construction at Red River facility complete with commissioning ongoing and first production of granular activated carbon (“GAC”) at Red River expected by end of Q1 2025; on target to achieve first deliveries in Q1 2025
Ramp up of Red River GAC production anticipated to run into H2 2025; expect to achieve full run rate capacity of 25 million pounds in H2 2025
Approximately 16 million pounds of our 25 million pound per year nameplate capacity contracted
In negotiations to contract remaining capacity at Red River. Multiple in-situ pilot tests are underway with customers, a required step before finalizing contracts, and in-line with the expected ramp-up schedule
Potential to increase Red River’s 25 million pound per year nameplate capacity by 10-20% still targeted; timing of upside production run-rate expected to be defined once nameplate capacity is achieved

Management Commentary

“These results reinforce the durability of our transformation within the foundational PAC business,” said Bob Rasmus, CEO of Arq. “Our 2024 results show a business which has been successfully turned around into a cash flow contributor. The annualized performance of the business has materially improved and is more profitable. With our third consecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA, the direction of travel is extremely positive. I also believe this is a business which can still be enhanced further.”

Mr. Rasmus continued, “The capex overrun we experienced in Q4 was extremely frustrating, and while we actively look for ways to mitigate this increase, we remain confident that its impact on our long-term profitability and returns profile should be negligible.”

“The imminent start of GAC production is of course a major milestone for us and will represent a huge achievement for the whole team,” added Mr. Rasmus. “While we want to remain cautious on the duration of our ramp-up to nameplate capacity, there should be no doubt we will be trying to get there as quickly as possible. By H2 2025 we believe we will have a solid, sustainably profitable PAC business being complimented by a high growth GAC business, representing our springboard to future growth.”

Full Year 2024 Results

Revenues totaled $109.0 million for full year 2024, compared to $99.2 million in the prior year. The revenue increase was primarily driven by improved ASP and product diversification into higher value end-markets.

Cost of revenues totaled $69.5 million for full year 2024, compared to $67.3 million in the prior year. While total costs increased year over year, costs as a percentage of total revenue were down. This decrease in costs as a percentage of revenue was related to a decrease in the cost to manufacture our products, which primarily resulted from decreased variable production costs on lower production volumes during 2024.

Gross margin was 36.2% for full year 2024, compared to 32.1% in the prior year. The increase was driven by higher revenue as detailed above, as well as cost reductions.

Other operating expenses were $41.4 million for full year 2024, compared to $45.2 million in the prior year. The reduction was mainly driven by expenses incurred during 2023 relating to the acquisition of Arq Limited (“Legacy Arq”) (the “Arq Acquisition”) that did not occur in 2024.

Operating loss totaled ($2.0) million for full year 2024, compared to an operating loss of ($13.3) million in the prior year. The reduction in loss was mainly driven by the factors referenced above.

Interest expense was $3.3 million for full year 2024, compared to $3.0 million in the prior year. The increase was primarily driven by interest expenses related to the $10 million term loan with CF Global (the “CFG Loan”) of $2.3 million and $2.0 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The CFG Loan had a higher principal balance from the accrual of interest payable (PIK) upon the termination date of the CFG Loan, which was paid in December 2024.

Income tax benefit was $0.2 million for full year 2024, compared to an income tax expense of $0.2 million in the prior year.

Net loss was ($5.1) million, or ($0.14) per diluted share for full year 2024, compared to Net loss of ($12.2) million, or ($0.42) per diluted share in the prior year. The reduction in net loss was driven by higher revenues and a reduction in costs.

Adjusted EBITDA was $7.7 million for full year 2024, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of ($2.6) million in the prior year. The increase was mainly driven by our continued focus on increasing revenues while driving costs down. Additionally, an addback of Adjusted EBITDA during 2024 related to Loss on extinguishment of debt of $1.4 million, related to our repayment of the CFG Loan in December 2024 led to the increase. See the note below regarding the use of the non-GAAP financial measure Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measure.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

Revenue totaled $27.0 million for Q4 2024, reflecting a decrease of 4% compared to $28.1 million in the prior year period. The reduction was driven predominantly by the one-off benefits delivered in Q4 2023 as a result of take-or-pay enforcement totaling $4.7 million vs. $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. Excluding these one-off items, revenue was up YoY. ASP for the fourth quarter of 2024 were up approximately 14% compared to prior year period, marking the 7^th consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year percentage growth in ASP.

Costs of revenue totaled $17.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of approximately 22% compared to $14.1 million in the prior year period.

Gross margin reduced to 36.3% for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 49.8% in the prior year period. The reduction in gross margin was driven by higher non-recurring revenues in Q4 2023 driven primarily by $3.1 million of additional take or pay enforcement in Q4 2023. Excluding this, Q4 2024 was largely in-line despite two brief but unplanned outages at our Red River plant.

Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $6.0 million in Q4 2024, compared to $6.5 million in the prior year period. The reduction of approximately $0.5 million or 8% was primarily driven by a reduction in payroll and benefits as well as legal and consulting fees as the Company incurred incremental fees related to the Arq Acquisition in 2023.

Research and development costs totaled $0.7 million in Q4 2024, compared to $1.2 million in the prior year period. This reduction was primarily due to the Company performing product qualification testing in the prior year period with potential lead-adopters as part of its ongoing GAC contracting process in 2023.

Operating income was $0.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to an operating income of $3.1 million in the prior year period. The reduction was mainly driven by the factors referenced above.

Net loss was ($1.3) million in the fourth quarter of 2024, or ($0.03) per diluted share, compared to a net income of $3.3 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Adjusted EBITDA was $3.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $7.2 million in the prior year period. The reduction was primarily driven by the significant one-off items discussed above. See note below regarding the use of the non-GAAP financial measure Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measure.

Capex and Balance Sheet

Capital expenditures totaled $85.2 million for full year 2024, compared to $27.5 million in the prior year. The increase vs. the prior year was driven by the ongoing expansion of our Red River and Corbin facilities. The increase in total 2024 capex from previous guidance of $60 – $70 million was primarily driven by several factors, including $4 – $5 million related to contractor errors associated with small-bore piping needs, roughly $3 – $4 million related to maintaining a timely completion, and approximately $2 million related to the need for additional external professional services.

The Company raised approximately $26.7 million of net equity proceeds in its September 2024 underwritten public offering of common stock, which, combined with approximately $15 million raised in a private placement of common stock in May 2024, resulted in year-to-date net equity proceeds raised through Q4 2024 of approximately $41.6 million.

In December 2024, the Company closed a $30 million ABL credit facility (the “ABL Facility”) with MidCap Financial, a leading commercial finance company focused on middle market transactions. Total available borrowing capacity for the ABL Facility is determined by a borrowing base calculation based on a certain percentage of eligible accounts receivable and inventory.

Initial drawdown from the ABL Facility ($13.8 million as of December 31, 2024) was utilized to refinance Arq’s outstanding CFG Loan. Going forward, the Company expects that proceeds from the ABL Facility will be used to finance ongoing working capital requirements and potential capital expenditures related to the Company’s strategic growth investment at its Red River plant, as well as to support general corporate purposes.

Cash as of December 31, 2024, including $8.7 million of restricted cash, totaled $22.2 million, compared to $54.2 million as of December 31, 2023. The reduction was largely driven by increased expenditures relating to the Red River GAC expansion.

Total debt, inclusive of financing leases, as of December 31, 2024, totaled $24.8 million compared to $20.9 million as of December 31, 2023. The increase was driven by closing the ABL Facility.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Arq will host its Q4 2024 earnings conference call on March 6, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The live webcast can be accessed through the Investor Resources section of Arq’s website at www.arq.com. Interested parties may participate in the conference call by registering at https://www.webcast-eqs.com/arq20250306. Alternatively, the live conference call may be accessed by dialing (877) 407-0890 or (201) 389-0918 and referencing Arq. An investor presentation will also be available in the Investor Resources section before the call begins.

A replay of the event will be made available shortly after the event and accessible via the same webcast link referenced above. Alternatively, the replay may be accessed by dialing (877) 660-6853 or (201) 612-7415 and entering Access ID 13751420. The dial-in replay will expire after March 13, 2025.

About Arq

Arq (NASDAQ: ARQ) is a diversified, environmental technology company with products that enable a cleaner and safer planet while actively reducing our environmental impact. As the only vertically integrated producer of activated carbon products in North America, we deliver a reliable domestic supply of innovative, hard-to-source, high-demand products. We apply our extensive expertise to develop groundbreaking solutions to remove harmful chemicals and pollutants from water, land and air. Learn more at: www.arq.com.

Caution on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which provides a “safe harbor” for such statements in certain circumstances. When used in this press release, the words “can,” “will,” “may,” “intends,” “expects,” “continuing,” “believes,” similar expressions and any other statements that are not historical facts are intended to identify those assertions as forward-looking statements. All statements that address activities, events or developments that the Company intends, expects or believes may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements or expectations regarding: the anticipating timing of the completion of commissioning of the GAC Facility, ramp-up to full nameplate capacity at our Red River facility, and commercial production of our GAC products; the anticipated effects from fluctuations in the pricing of our AC products; expected supply and demand for our AC products and services, including our GAC products; the seasonal impact on our customers and their demand for our products; the ability to continue to successfully integrate Legacy Arq’s business and recognize the benefits and synergies from the Arq Acquisition; the ability to continue to develop and utilize Legacy Arq’s products and technology and the anticipated timing for bringing such products to market; our ability to access new markets for our GAC and other products; any future plant capacity expansions or site development projects and our ability to finance any such projects; the effectiveness of our technologies and the benefits they provide; the timing of awards of, and work and related testing under, our contracts and agreements and their value; probability of any loss occurring with respect to certain guarantees made by Tinuum Group; the timing and amounts of or changes in future revenue, funding for our business and projects, margins, expenses, earnings, tax rates, cash flows, royalty payment obligations, working capital, liquidity and other financial and accounting measures; the performance of obligations secured by our surety bonds; the amount and timing of future capital expenditures needed to fund our business plan; the impact of capital expenditure overruns on our business; awards of patents designed to protect our proprietary technologies both in the U.S. and other countries; the adoption and scope of regulations to control certain chemicals in drinking water and other environmental concerns and the impact of such regulations on our customers’ and our businesses, including any increase or decrease in sales of our AC products resulting from such regulations; the impact of adverse global macroeconomic conditions, including rising interest rates, recession fears and inflationary pressures, and geopolitical events or conflicts; opportunities to effectively provide solutions to our current and future customers to comply with regulations, improve efficiency, lower costs and maintain reliability; and the impact of prices of competing power generation sources such as natural gas and renewable energy on demand for our products. These forward-looking statements included in this press release involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including, but not limited to, the timing and scope of new and pending regulations and any legal challenges to or extensions of compliance dates of them; the U.S. government’s failure to promulgate new regulations or enforce existing regulations that benefit our business; changes in laws and regulations, accounting rules, prices, economic conditions and market demand; availability, cost of and demand for alternative energy sources and other technologies and their impact on coal-fired power generation in the U.S.; technical, start up and operational difficulties; competition within the industries in which the Company operates; risks associated with our debt financing; our inability to effectively and efficiently commercialize new products, including our GAC products; our inability to effectively manage commissioning and startup of the GAC facility at our Red River plant; disruptions at any of our facilities, including by natural disasters or extreme weather; risks related to our information technology systems, including the risk of cyberattacks on our networks; failure to protect our intellectual property from infringement or claims that we have infringed on the intellectual property of others; our inability to obtain future financing or financing on terms that are favorable to us; our inability to ramp up our operations to effectively address recent and expected growth in our business; loss of key personnel; ongoing effects of the inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty, including from the new U.S. presidential administration, increased domestic and international tariffs, lingering effects of the pandemic and armed conflicts around the world, and such uncertainty’s effect on market demand and input costs; availability of materials and equipment for our business; intellectual property infringement claims from third parties; pending litigation; factors relating to our business strategy, goals and expectations concerning the Arq Acquisition; our ability to maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and others with whom the Company does business and meet supply requirements; our results of operations and business generally; risks related to diverting management’s attention from our ongoing business operations; costs related to the ongoing manufacturing of our products, including our GAC products; opportunities for additional sales of our AC products and end-market diversification; the timing and scope of new and pending regulations, executive orders and any legal challenges to or extensions of compliance dates of them; the rate of coal-fired power generation in the U.S.; the timing and cost of any future capital expenditures and the resultant impact to our liquidity and cash flows; and the other risk factors described in our filings with the SEC, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and to consult filings we have made and will make with the SEC for additional discussion concerning risks and uncertainties that may apply to our business and the ownership of our securities. In addition to causing our actual results to differ, the factors listed above may cause our intentions to change from those statements of intention set forth in this press release. Such changes in our intentions may also cause our results to differ. We may change our intentions, at any time and without notice, based upon changes in such factors, our assumptions, or otherwise. The forward-looking statements speak only as to the date of this press release, and we disclaim any duty to update such statements unless required by law.

Source: Arq, Inc.

Investor Contact:
Anthony Nathan, Arq
Marc Silverberg, ICR
investors@arq.com


Arq, Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Balance Sheets

	As of December 31,
(in thousands, except share data)		2024			2023
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash	$	13,516		$	45,361
Receivables, net		14,876			16,192
Inventories, net		19,314			19,693
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		4,650			5,215
Total current assets		52,356			86,461
Restricted cash, long-term		8,719			8,792
Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $26,619 and $19,293, respectively		178,564			94,649
Other long-term assets, net		44,729			45,600
Total Assets	$	284,368		$	235,502
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	$	21,017		$	14,603
Revolving credit facility		13,828			—
Current portion of long-term debt obligations		1,624			2,653
Other current liabilities		8,184			5,792
Total current liabilities		44,653			23,048
Long-term debt obligations, net of current portion		9,370			18,274
Other long-term liabilities		13,069			15,780
Total Liabilities		67,092			57,102
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock: par value of $0.001 per share, 50,000,000 shares authorized, none issued or outstanding		—			—
Common stock: par value of $0.001 per share, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 46,639,930 and 37,791,084 shares issued and 42,021,784 and 33,172,938 shares outstanding at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively		47			38
Treasury stock, at cost: 4,618,146 and 4,618,146 shares as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively		(47,692	)		(47,692	)
Additional paid-in capital		198,487			154,511
Retained earnings		66,434			71,543
Total Stockholders’ Equity		217,276			178,400
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	$	284,368		$	235,502


Arq, Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Statements of Operations

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands, except per share data)		2024			2023			2024			2023
	(unaudited)
Revenue	$	27,040		$	28,104		$	108,959		$	99,183

Cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation and amortization		17,236			14,105			69,515			67,323

Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative		5,960			6,495			28,695			34,069
Research and development		709			1,169			4,050			3,314
Depreciation, amortization, depletion and accretion		2,504			3,267			8,594			10,543
Loss (gain) on sale of assets		218			(36	)		64			(2,731	)
Total operating expenses		9,391			10,895			41,403			45,195
Operating income (loss)		413			3,104			(1,959	)		(13,335	)
Other (expense) income:
Earnings from equity method investments		—			111			127			1,623
Interest expense		(831	)		(859	)		(3,257	)		(3,014	)
Loss on extinguishment of debt		(1,422	)		—			(1,422	)		—
Other		307			1,120			1,238			2,630
Total other (expense) income		(1,946	)		372			(3,314	)		1,239
(Loss) income before income taxes		(1,533	)		3,476			(5,273	)		(12,096	)
Income tax (benefit) expense		(194	)		186			(164	)		153
Net (loss) income	$	(1,339	)	$	3,290		$	(5,109	)	$	(12,249	)
(Loss) income per common share:
Basic	$	(0.03	)	$	0.10		$	(0.14	)	$	(0.42	)
Diluted	$	(0.03	)	$	0.10		$	(0.14	)	$	(0.42	)
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic		41,275			32,367			36,051			29,104
Diluted		41,275			32,952			36,051			29,104


Arq, Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

	Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)		2024			2023
Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss	$	(5,109	)	$	(12,249	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Depreciation, amortization, depletion and accretion		8,594			10,543
Stock-based compensation expense		2,715			2,648
Operating lease expense		2,004			2,757
Loss from extinguishment of debt		1,422			—
Amortization of debt discount and debt issuance costs		601			546
Loss (gain) on sale of assets		64			(2,731	)
Earnings from equity method investments		(127	)		(1,623	)
Other non-cash items, net		37			(75	)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Receivables and related party receivables		1,316			(2,264	)
Prepaid expenses and other assets		1,166			4,777
Inventories, net		1,636			(2,571	)
Other long-term assets, net		(2,166	)		(4,762	)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses		216			(12,061	)
Other current liabilities		1,144			(184	)
Operating lease liabilities		(1,272	)		(168	)
Other long-term liabilities		(1,764	)		764
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities		10,477			(16,653	)
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisition of property, plant, equipment and intangible assets, net		(85,170	)		(27,516	)
Acquisition of mine development costs		(181	)		(2,690	)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment		150			—
Distributions from equity method investees in excess of cumulative earnings		127			1,623
Cash and restricted cash acquired in business acquisition		—			2,225
Payment for disposal of Marshall Mine, LLC		—			(2,177	)
Net cash used in investing activities	$	(85,074	)	$	(28,535	)
Cash flows from financing activities
Net proceeds from common stock issued in public offering	$	26,654		$	—
Net proceeds from common stock issued in private placement transactions		14,951			15,220
Borrowings on revolving credit facility		13,828			—
Net proceeds from common stock issued to related party		800			1,000
Principal payments on notes payable		(10,544	)		(473	)
Repurchase of common stock to satisfy tax withholdings		(1,135	)		(230	)
Principal payments on finance lease obligations		(1,022	)		(1,130	)
Payment of debt issuance costs		(633	)		—
Payment of debt extinguishment costs		(220	)		—
Net proceeds from CFG Loan, related party, net of discount and issuance costs		—			8,522
Net cash provided by financing activities		42,679			22,909
Decrease in Cash and Restricted Cash		(31,918	)		(22,279	)
Cash and Restricted Cash, beginning of year		54,153			76,432
Cash and Restricted Cash, end of year	$	22,235		$	54,153

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest	$	2,017		$	1,727
Cash received for income taxes	$	(452	)	$	(1,697	)
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:
Change in accrued purchases for property and equipment	$	6,198		$	914
Purchase of property and equipment through note payable	$	1,004		$	—
Equity issued as consideration for acquisition of business	$	—		$	31,206
Paid-in-kind dividend on Series A Preferred Stock	$	—		$	157

Note on Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our financial information presented in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”), we provide certain supplemental financial measures, including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, which are measurements that are not calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA reduced by the non-cash impact of equity earnings from equity method investments and other non-cash gains, increased by cash distributions from equity method investments, other non-cash losses and non-recurring costs and fees. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, net income (loss) in accordance with U.S. GAAP as a measure of performance. See below for a reconciliation from net income (loss), the nearest U.S. GAAP financial measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.

We believe that the EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA measures are less susceptible to variances that affect our operating performance. We include these non-GAAP measures because management uses them in the evaluation of our operating performance, and believe they help to facilitate comparison of operating results between periods. We believe the non-GAAP measures provide useful information to both management and users of the financial statements by excluding certain expenses, gains, and losses which can vary widely across different industries or among companies within the same industry and may not be indicative of core operating results and business outlook.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:

The following table reconciles net income (loss), our most directly comparable as-reported financial measure calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (Adjusted EBITDA loss).


Arq, Inc. and Subsidiaries Reconciliation of Net income (loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (Adjusted EBITDA loss) *(Unaudited)*

	Three Months Ended									Years Ended
	September 30,			December 31,						December 31,
(in thousands)		2024			2024			2023			2024			2023
Net income (loss)	$	1,617		$	(1,339	)	$	3,290		$	(5,109	)	$	(12,249	)
Depreciation, amortization, depletion and accretion		2,716			2,504			3,267			8,594			10,543
Amortization of Upfront Customer Consideration		127			127			127			508			508
Interest expense, net		600			516			346			2,154			1,168
Income tax (benefit) expense		—			(194	)		186			(164	)		153
EBITDA		5,060			1,614			7,216			5,983			123
Cash distributions from equity method investees		127			—			111			127			1,623
Equity earnings		(127	)		—			(111	)		(127	)		(1,623	)
Loss on extinguishment of debt		—			1,422			—			1,422			—
(Gain) loss on sale of assets		(154	)		218			—			64			(2,695	)
Gain on change in estimate, asset retirement obligation		—			—			(37	)		—			(37	)
Financing costs		228			47			—			275			—
Adjusted EBITDA (Adjusted EBITDA loss)	$	5,134		$	3,301		$	7,179		$	7,744		$	(2,609	)

The MIL Network –

March 6, 2025

MIL-Evening Report: Elon Musk thinks the US should leave the UN – what if Trump does it?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Ogden, Associate Professor in Global Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Getty Images

When Donald Trump’s benefactor and cost-cutter-in-chief Elon Musk recently supported a call for the United States to quit NATO and the United Nations, it should perhaps have been more surprising.

But the first months of the second Trump presidency have already seen key parts of the current international order undermined. Musk’s position fits a general pattern.

Aside from the tilt towards a multipolar world order, the US now refuses to recognise the International Criminal Court, has slashed its foreign aid contributions, and has withdrawn from the World Health Organization, the UN Human Rights Council and the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.

With Trump’s domestic politics displaying a clear autocratic edge, the rejection of the founding principles and ideals of the UN comes into sharper relief. The intolerant and impatient negotiating approach he displayed with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky also belies a disregard for cooperative and consensus-based diplomacy.

The drive to slash the federal deficit dovetails with this general abandonment of expensive international commitments. If the Trump regime follows through on its apparent strategy of manufacturing crises to advance its agenda, then leaving the UN entirely is a logical next step.

Undermined ideals

This is all in stark contrast to the central role the UN has traditionally played within the US-led international order since 1945.

Along with other institutions, the UN allowed the US to shape the international system in its own image and spread its domestic values and interests across the world. Along with NATO, the UN was designed as a global security institution to produce global stability.

In theory at least, the political and economic values of the US and other democracies enabled the construction of the postwar order. According to political scientist John Ikenberry, this was based on “multilateralism, alliance partnerships, strategic restraint, cooperative security, and institutional and rule-based relationships”.

But by the 21st century, US actions had undermined many of these principles. The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 bypassed the authority of the UN, causing then secretary-general Kofi Annan to declare that “from the charter point of view [the invasion] was illegal”.

This undermined the legitimacy of the UN and America’s place within it. But it also diminished the organisation as a force for maintaining international security and national sovereignty in global affairs.

The subsequent human rights violations by the US through its use of rendition, torture and detention at facilities such as Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib further weakened the UN’s credibility as a protector of liberal international values.

The US has also been a regular non-payer of UN fees, owing US$2.8 billion in early 2025. And it is one of the lowest contribtuors of military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping operations, despite paying nearly 27% of the overall budget.

US versus UN

Since the 1990s, several Republican politicians have argued for the US to withdraw entirely from the UN. In 1997, senator Ron Paul introduced the American Sovereignty Restoration Act, aimed at ending UN membership, expelling the UN headquarters from New York and ending US funding.

Although it received minimal support and never reached committee hearings, Paul reintroduced the act in every congressional session until his 2011 retirement. It was then taken up by other Republicans, including Paul Broun and Mike Rogers.

In December 2023, senator Mike Lee and representative Chip Roy led the introduction of the “Disengaging Entirely from the United Nations Debacle (DEFUND) Act”.

Roy referenced the perceived negative treatment of Israel, the promotion of China, “the propagation of climate hysteria” and the US$12.5 billion in annual payments. Lee added:

Americans’ hard-earned dollars have been funnelled into initiatives that fly in the face of our values – enabling tyrants, betraying allies, and spreading bigotry.

Public polling in 2024 also showed only 52% of Americans had a favourable view of the UN. This opposition has deeper historical roots, too.

In 1920, US isolationists blocked the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, and with it US participation in the League of Nations (the predecessor to the United Nations). Although the US would interact with the League of Nations until the UN’s formation in 1945, it never became an official member.

Criticism of the UN also has a bipartisan angle, with the US withdrawing funding of UNRWA in 2024 during Joe Biden’s presidency after Israel accused the agency of links to Hamas.

A diminished UN

If Trump harnesses these historical and modern forces to pull the US out of the UN, it would fundamentally – and likely irrevocably – undermine what has been a central pillar of the current international order.

It would also increase US isolationism, reduce Western influence, and legitimise alternative security bodies. These include the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which the US could potentially join, especially given Russia and India are both members.

More broadly, the reduced influence of the UN will endanger general peace and security in the international sphere, and the wider protection and promotion of human rights.

There would be greater unpredictability in global affairs, and the world would be a more dangerous place. For countries big and small, a UN without the US will force new strategic calculations and create new alliances and blocs, as the world leaps into the unknown.

Chris Ogden is a Senior Research Fellow with The Foreign Policy Centre, London.

– ref. Elon Musk thinks the US should leave the UN – what if Trump does it? – https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-thinks-the-us-should-leave-the-un-what-if-trump-does-it-251483

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: £2.6m investment package for adult social care as Westminster City Council approves new budget plans | Westminster City Council
Source: City of Westminster

Budget approved for improvements to key areas such as adult social care and housing as the council launches its new Fairer Westminster delivery plan for the next three years.

Westminster City Council has today announced a major new investment of £2.6m to go into cushioning the cost of adult social care – meaning hundreds of adult social care users will now not pay for care, while hard working care assistants will earn more.

Approved at Full Council (Wednesday March 5), additional funding for adult social care includes £1.4m to increase the pay of the personal care assistants (over 400 staff) who provide care for Westminster residents through direct payments.

This will improve the quality of care for care receivers and help more people who use adult social care to employ the carer they want as they will now be able to pay a competitive salary.

Direct payment recipients will now be able to offer an additional £1.50- £2.00 an hour salary for their personal assistant, so those who opt to receive direct payments to pay for their care needs will see their monthly funds increase.

An additional £1.2m is also being invested to level up the threshold at which people start to pay for their social care costs so that it is the same for everyone regardless of age. This will help over 460 residents aged under 65 to keep more of their income before paying care bills.

Colin, a Westminster resident who receives direct payments to support with his care needs, said:

“At 59, I’ve been fortunate to receive direct payments since graduating from university at 21, enabling me to live independently in my own home and manage my care on my terms.

“While direct payments may not suit every disabled person due to the associated responsibilities, for those willing to take them on, they can be life-enhancing and transformative.

“I believe the additional £1.4 million that Westminster City Council is allocating to personal carers’ pay will make the carer role competitive in the labour market once again, making it easier to attract people to work with me.

“Many disabled people have found it challenging to recruit quality social care workers in recent years.

“The increased funding could help me, as an employer, attract candidates from companies like Amazon and McDonald’s, which traditionally offer higher wages.

“It may also help encourage young people to view social care as a viable career option that offers a respectable and ethical wage. Society’s general underappreciation of care work has made finding and retaining good carers difficult.”

The approval of the budget at Full Council coincides with the launch of the new Fairer Westminster delivery plan, which outlines the council’s ambitions for the future of the city, and what it wants to achieve to make Westminster a great place to live. Led by voices and priorities from the community, the new plan aims to create meaningful change by providing effective, value-for-money services and accessible opportunities for all, so every resident in the city can thrive.

Headline announcements in the approved budget to kick-start the Fairer Westminster delivery plan for 2025 include:
- An extra £1.2m to tackle rough sleeping and help people off the pavements and into safety.
- Help to relieve pressure on Westminster’s housing waiting list by investing an additional £140m into buying and expanding temporary accommodation.
- An extra £1m on cost of living support to turn short-term relief into long-term solutions – such as free school meals during school holidays, supermarket food vouchers, a hardship fund and supporting specialist advice centres.
- Investing £10m into high streets across Paddington and Bayswater to support local economies and make the areas more dynamic.
- Investing in new Community hubs such as Ernest Harris House opening this Spring and the Pimlico Community hub at site of the Old Pimlico Library opening in 2026.
- An additional £2m for anti-social and city management measures across the city, including the recruitment of eight new City Inspectors and doubling the number of CCTV cameras on the streets to 200, including 40 new cameras in the West End.
The Council will also deliver new savings of nearly £30m by 2028 through measures including greater efficiencies in contracts and the switch to an electric cleaning and waste fleet.

The budget sets out detailed spending plans for managing more than 20,000 local authority properties under what is called the Housing Revenue Account. The business plan includes total capital investment of £916m over the next 5 years and a total of £2.5bn over the full 30 years. The budget also sets out the business plan for funding the council’s fairer Westminster programme under its capital strategy. The Council is proposing a gross capital programme up to 2038/39 of £2.5bn, partially offset by nearly £1.2bn of income, giving a net budget of £1.3bn.

Despite the scale of new investment, the Council Tax rise equals just 48p a week for a Band D* property, which means Westminster still has one of the lowest Council Tax rates in the country. The Westminster City Council part of the Council Tax rises by 4.99 per cent overall – 2.99 per cent for council services and 2 per cent for the portion set aside for adult social care.
- Adults under 65 with disabilities will be able to keep at least £272.69 a week after they have paid their care bills – meaning 147 Westminster residents will now pay less for support and 315 will no longer pay anything at all.
- The eight City Inspectors are an additional resource to the creation of the street-based intervention team announced in January https://www.westminster.gov.uk/news/new-front-line-team-tackle-street-based-anti-social-behaviour-asb-westminster
- You can see full details of the approved Budget here: Full Council papers
- The Fairer Westminster delivery plan and the approved investment is split between; housing, temporary accommodation and rough sleeping; schools, children’s social care and youth services; waste, street cleansing, highways and public protection; public health and adult social care; and enabling services. Read the full Fairer Westminster delivery plan here: Delivering a Fairer Westminster
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Men Admit Role in Fatal St. Louis Drug Robbery

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ST. LOUIS – Two men have pleaded guilty to charges connected to the fatal robbery of a drug dealer in St. Louis, Missouri in 2022.

Ralph Ruffin, 21, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two felony counts: conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, resulting in death. Jamie Gore, 37, pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Both men admitted that on Dec. 10, 2022, Gore contacted the victim seeking drugs and asked him to come to Gore’s mother’s house in the 5900 block of Romaine Place. Gore had recently purchased drugs from the victim, and told the victim that he could obtain two guns in exchange for more drugs. Ruffin and an associate were waiting inside the home and began firing at the victim when Gore led him inside. The victim, who fired shots as well, was fatally shot in the throat. Ruffin and his associate then stole the victim’s gun, cash and fentanyl.

Gore admitted aiding Ruffin and others in “numerous” prior drug robberies. Ruffin would give some of the drugs to Gore and sell the rest.

Ruffin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4. Both sides have agreed to recommend 20 years in prison. Gore is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23. He faces at least seven years in prison.

The Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoff Ogden is prosecuting the case.

MIL Security OSI –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former executive of injured child benefit program sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing over $6.7M
Source: Office of United States Attorneys

RICHMOND, Va. – A Providence Forge man was sentenced today to nine years in prison for embezzling funds from his former employer, the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program (Birth-Injury Program).

According to court documents, John Hunter Raines, 38, was the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Director of the Birth-Injury Program. The Birth-Injury Program pays monetary compensation to families of infants who suffer from brain or spinal cord injuries resulting from the birth process that render the infant developmentally and/or cognitively disabled. Raines’ role required that he oversee the finances of the Birth-Injury Program, including approximately $650 million in investments in 2023.

From at least January 2022 through October 2023, Raines stole over $6.7 million from the Birth-Injury Program, including by using his access to the Birth-Injury Program bank account to initiate at least 59 separate wire transactions, sending funds to bank accounts in Raines’ own name. Raines also used the Birth-Injury Program debit card for personal gain. Raines spent embezzled Birth-Injury Program money on various personal expenses. For example:
- Raines purchased numerous vehicles, including eight luxury golf carts for over $160,000 and a 2023 Chevrolet Suburban;
- Raines spent over $100,000 on gambling, including at Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, Virginia, Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent, Virginia, and the Virginia Lottery;
- Raines paid at least $29,000 to an intimate partner and tens of thousands of dollars to a bank account in the name of Raines’ wife;
- Raines spent over $9,000 on private limousine services, including to chauffer Raines and his guests in a Mercedes limousine from Raines’ house to Virginia vineyards;
- Raines made numerous purchases of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin, and transferred funds to his brokerage accounts;
- Raines paid tens of thousands of dollars towards his student loan debt, his mortgage, and other loans;
- Raines paid over $125,000 for private jet travel for Raines’ friends and family. As an example, Raines paid over $34,000 to travel with his wife and his friends to Nashville, Tennessee, for three days in a private jet; and
- Raines spent over $19,000 to purchase eight separate 2022 1-oz American Gold Eagle Bullion coins and a 100-oz silver bar.
As a financial control on the Birth-Injury Program, Virginia Code § 38.2-5015(B) required an independent certified public accountant selected by the Birth-Injury Program’s board of directors to complete an audit of the program’s accounts each fiscal year. Raines deliberately impeded the statutorily mandated audit process by failing to timely provide the Birth-Injury Program’s files to auditors when requested. Due at least in part to Raines’ obstructive conduct, the Birth-Injury Program’s statutorily mandated audits continue to be delayed by over three years.

Raines pled guilty to mail fraud and money laundering offenses on Oct. 8, 2024.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office; and Michael C. Westfall, State Inspector General for the Commonwealth of Virginia, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kashan K. Pathan prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-138.

MIL Security OSI –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Budget 2025: Investing in Alberta’s future | Budget 2025 : Investir dans l’avenir de l’Alberta
As Alberta continues work to address increasing domestic and international economic pressures, Budget 2025 works to strengthen Alberta’s economy. This budget helps build communities, secure Alberta’s southern border and boost investments in the province’s economic future.

“While we work closely with partners to find solutions to a possible trade conflict, we will continue our work to make sure Alberta’s economy is strong – in and outside of the energy sector – so that we can manage any turbulence that comes our way. Budget 2025 carves our path forward in the face of this uncertainty.”

Nate Horner, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance

Budget 2025: Supporting a strong workforce

Alberta’s workforce is the backbone of the provincial economy. Budget 2025 continues the commitment to training and developing a skilled and resilient labour force to further grow Alberta’s economy and help businesses succeed, including:
- $26.1 billion over three years from the Capital Plan, to support about 26,500 direct and 12,000 indirect jobs each year through 2027-28.
- $135 million for skilled trade programs such as apprenticeship and adult learning initiatives to help Albertans gain the skills and training needed for successful careers, and support access to job opportunities.
- $2 billion in 2025-26 to support and expand early learning and child-care system so parents and caregivers can participate in training, education or work opportunities.
Budget 2025: Securing our borders
- Alberta’s government is committed to being a good neighbour and trading partner, and part of this commitment involves taking measures to secure the Alberta-US border. Budget 2025 includes $29 million in 2025-26 for a new Interdiction Patrol Team within the Alberta Sheriffs to tackle illegal drug and gun smuggling, human trafficking, apprehension of persons attempting to cross the border illegally, and other illegal activities along Alberta’s international land border. Budget 2025 also includes a $15 million investment over two years for three new vehicle inspection stations located near borders to the USA.
Budget 2025: Investing in post-secondary education

Budget 2025 invests a total of $7.4 billion in post-secondary education, with an operating budget of $6.6 billion in 2025-26. This includes:
- $78 million per year over the next three years to create more seats in apprenticeship classes across the province to build skilled trades and apprenticeship education that will respond to the needs of industry, support the economy and connect Albertans with jobs.
- $113 million to support greater demand for scholarships and the Alberta Student Grant, with $60 million funded from the Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund.
- $4 million to the First Nations Colleges Grant which is distributed equally across five colleges in rural and remote Indigenous communities.
“Our government is ensuring that Alberta students have the skills and training they need to meet the needs of today while preparing for the economy of the future. Budget 2025 makes foundational investments to meet the challenge of a rapidly growing population while supporting a sustainable post-secondary education system.”

Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Advanced Education

Budget 2025: Building communities

Alberta’s vibrant communities make Alberta the best place in Canada to live, work and raise a family. Budget 2025 invests in stronger communities across Alberta, including:
- $17.2 million to increase grants made to municipalities in lieu of property taxes on government-owned property to 75 per cent, up from the current 50 per cent. By next year, the province will cover 100 per cent of the amount that would be paid if the property was taxable.
- $820 million this year and $2.5 billion over three years in Local Government Fiscal Framework capital funding to help fund local infrastructure priorities.
Budget 2025: Supporting trade and diversification

Alberta continues to champion economic growth and policies that support productivity. Through Budget 2025, Alberta’s government will continue to build on current successes through:
- Attracting more investment through low corporate income taxes. At eight per cent, Alberta’s corporate income tax rate is 30 per cent lower than the next lowest province.
- Providing greater incentive for small- and medium-sized firms that increase their spending on research and development, with Alberta’s Innovation Employment Grant.
- Promoting Alberta as a reliable partner in supporting North American and global energy security to investors. The province will optimize new and existing infrastructure to access new markets for Alberta’s energy and mineral resources.
- Supporting Alberta’s agriculture producers and value-added processors, addressing barriers to trade by cultivating export markets, and working to increase market access for Alberta products.
- Reinforcing Alberta as a critical contributor to North American energy security by continuing to advocate for our remarkable energy sector across Canada, the U.S., Germany, Japan and the rest of the world.
Budget 2025: Investing in business and industry

Budget 2025 continues to find ways to help Alberta’s economy grow through investments in business and industry and help our economy grow, including:
- Support to attract investment in Alberta’s energy and mineral resource sector to accelerate opportunities in emerging resources.
- $45 million over three years for the Investment and Growth Fund to attract investment into Alberta’s economy.
- $1.8 million in Western Crop Innovations for industry-leading crop research.
- $780,000 to support small- and medium-sized meat processors.
- $3.1 million for the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine to expand toward a full-service veterinary diagnostic laboratory. This will give livestock producers and vets access to quicker, more affordable livestock diagnostics closer to home.
“Budget 2025 builds a stronger Alberta by growing industries, creating high-quality jobs and expanding opportunities for workers and families. With strategic investments in innovation, infrastructure and workforce development, Alberta is rising to the challenge, strengthening our province for many years to come.”

Matt Jones, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade

“We are advancing cutting-edge research in agriculture and supporting small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, we are strengthening our agricultural infrastructure, ensuring quicker and more affordable services for livestock producers and veterinarians. We’re supporting innovation, attracting investment, and building a resilient economy for the future.”

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation

Budget 2025 is meeting the challenge faced by Alberta with continued investments in education and health, lower taxes for families and a focus on the economy.

Related information
- Budget 2025
Related news
- Budget 2025: Meeting the challenge (Feb 27, 2025)
- Budget 2025: Meeting the challenge in health and education (Feb 27, 2025)
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Le budget de 2025 relève le défi de l’incertitude en matière de commerce et de sécurité en mettant l’accent sur l’économie.

À mesure que l’Alberta continue de répondre aux pressions économiques intérieures et internationales, le budget de 2025 vise à renforcer l’économie albertaine. Il contribue à bâtir des communautés, à assurer la sécurité de la frontière au sud de la province et à renforcer les investissements dans notre avenir économique.

« Alors que nous travaillons en étroite collaboration avec des partenaires pour trouver des solutions à un différend commercial potentiel, nous poursuivons notre travail pour nous assurer que l’économie de l’Alberta est forte, dans le secteur de l’énergie et ailleurs, afin de pouvoir gérer toute perturbation. Le budget de 2025 trace la voie à suivre face à cette incertitude. »

Nate Horner, président du Conseil du Trésor et ministre des Finances

Budget 2025 : Soutenir une main-d’œuvre solide

La main-d’œuvre albertaine est l’épine dorsale de l’économie provinciale. Le budget de 2025 maintient l’engagement envers la formation et le perfectionnement d’une main-d’œuvre qualifiée et résiliente de sorte à faire croître l’économie et aider les entreprises à réussir :
- 26,1 milliards de dollars sur trois ans provenant du plan d’immobilisations afin d’appuyer environ 26 500 emplois directs et 12 000 emplois indirects chaque année jusqu’en 2027-2028.
- 135 millions de dollars pour des programmes de métiers spécialisés, comme des initiatives d’apprentissages et d’éducation des adultes de sorte à aider les Albertains à acquérir les compétences et à suivre la formation nécessaires pour mener des carrières fructueuses, ainsi qu’à soutenir l’accès aux possibilités d’emploi.
- 2 milliards de dollars en 2025-26 pour appuyer et élargir le système d’apprentissage et de garde des jeunes enfants afin que les parents et les gardiens tirent parti de possibilités de formation, d’éducation ou d’emploi.
Budget 2025 : Assurer la sécurité de nos frontières
- Le gouvernement de l’Alberta est résolu à être un bon voisin et un bon partenaire commercial, ce qui implique la prise de mesures pour assurer la sécurité de la frontière entre l’Alberta et les États-Unis. Le budget de 2025 prévoit 29 millions de dollars en 2025-26 pour une nouvelle équipe de « patrouille d’interdiction » (Interdiction Patrol Team) qui fait partie des shérifs de l’Alberta et sera chargée de lutter contre le trafic de drogue et d’armes et la traite de personnes, d’appréhender les personnes qui tentent de traverser la frontière illégalement et de surveiller d’autres activités illégales le long de la frontière internationale de la province. Le budget de 2025 comprend en outre un investissement de 15 millions de dollars sur deux ans pour trois nouveaux postes d’inspection de véhicules près de la frontière des États-Unis.
Budget 2025 : Investir dans l’enseignement postsecondaire

Le budget de 2025 investit en tout 7,4 milliards de dollars dans l’enseignement postsecondaire, le budget d’exploitation étant de 6,6 milliards de dollars en 2025-2026. Cette somme comprend :
- 78 millions de dollars par années sur trois ans pour créer un plus grand nombre de places dans les cours d’apprentissage de toute la province en vue de renforcer les métiers spécialisés et les formations en apprentissage qui répondront aux besoins de l’industrie, soutiendront l’économie et mettront les Albertains en rapport avec des emplois.
- 113 millions de dollars pour contribuer à satisfaire à la demande croissante de bourses et appuyer la bourse aux étudiants de l’Alberta (Alberta Student Grant), dont 60 millions de dollars provenant de l’Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund.
- 4 millions de dollars pour la subvention aux collèges des Premières Nations (First Nations Colleges Grant), cette somme étant répartie également entre cinq collèges dans des communautés autochtones rurales et éloignées.
« Notre gouvernement veille à ce que les étudiants en Alberta possèdent les compétences et la formation nécessaires pour répondre aux besoins actuels, tout en se préparant à l’économie future. Le budget de 2025 réalise des investissements fondamentaux de sorte à relever les défis posés par une population en pleine croissance, tout en appuyant un système d’éducation postsecondaire durable. »

Rajan Sawhney, ministre de l’Enseignement postsecondaire

Budget 2025 : Bâtir des communautés

Les communautés dynamiques de notre province font de l’Alberta le meilleur endroit au Canada où vivre, travailler et élever une famille. Le budget de 2025 investit dans des communautés plus fortes partout en Alberta :
- 17,2 millions de dollars pour augmenter de 50 % à 75 % les subventions accordées aux municipalités en remplacement d’impôts fonciers à l’égard des propriétés qui appartiennent au gouvernement. D’ici l’année prochaine, la province couvrira 100 $ du montant qui serait versé si la propriété était imposable.
- 820 millions de dollars cette année et 2,5 milliards de dollars sur trois ans en dépenses en capital du cadre fiscal des administrations locales (Local Government Fiscal Framework) afin d’aider à financer les travaux d’infrastructures prioritaires.
Budget 2025 : Soutenir le commerce et la diversification

L’Alberta continue de favoriser la croissance économique et des politiques qui appuient la productivité. Par l’entremise du budget de 2025, le gouvernement de l’Alberta continuera de tirer parti des réussites actuelles en faisant ce qui suit :
- Attirer plus d’investissements grâce à un faible taux d’imposition sur le revenu des sociétés. En Alberta, le taux de 8 % est de 30 % inférieur à celui de la province qui se classe deuxième.
- Offrir de plus grands stimulants aux petites et moyennes entreprises qui augmentent leurs dépenses en recherche et développement, par l’entremise de la subvention pour l’emploi et l’innovation (Alberta’s Innovation Employment Grant).
- Promouvoir l’Alberta en tant que partenaire fiable pour soutenir la sécurité énergétique nord-américaine et mondiale auprès des investisseurs. La province optimisera les infrastructures nouvelles et existantes afin d’accéder à de nouveaux marchés pour les ressources énergétiques et minérales de l’Alberta.
- Soutenir les producteurs agricoles albertains et les transformateurs à valeur ajoutée de l’Alberta, s’attaquer aux obstacles au commerce en cultivant les marchés d’exportation et s’employer à améliorer l’accès au marché pour les produits de l’Alberta.
- Renforcer la position de l’Alberta en tant que contributrice essentielle à la sécurité énergétique de l’Amérique du Nord en continuant de promouvoir notre secteur énergétique remarquable au Canada, aux États-Unis, en Allemagne, au Japon et dans le reste du monde.
Budget 2025 : Investir dans les entreprises et les industries

Le budget de 2025 continue de trouver des moyens de favoriser la croissance de l’économie albertaine en investissant dans les entreprises et les industries :
- Soutien visant à attirer des investissements dans le secteur de l’énergie et des ressources minérales de sorte à accélérer les possibilités dans le domaine des ressources émergentes.
- 45 millions de dollars sur trois ans pour le fonds d’investissement et de croissance (Investment and Growth Fund) en vue d’attirer des investissements dans l’économie albertaine.
- 1,8 million de dollars versés à Western Crop Innovations au titre de la recherche de pointe sur les cultures.
- 780 000 $ pour appuyer les petites et moyennes entreprises de transformation de viande.
- 3,1 millions de dollars pour la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’Université de Calgary en vue d’un agrandissement menant à un laboratoire de diagnostic vétérinaire complet. Les éleveurs de bétail et les vétérinaires auront alors accès à un diagnostic plus rapide, plus abordable et plus proche.
« Le budget de 2025 bâtit une Alberta plus forte en développant les industries, en créant des emplois de haute qualité et en élargissant les possibilités offertes aux travailleurs et aux familles. Grâce à des investissements stratégiques en innovation, infrastructure et perfectionnement de la main-d’œuvre, l’Alberta relève le défi pour être plus forte pendant de nombreuses années à venir. »

Matt Jones, ministre de l’Emploi, de l’Économie et du Commerce

« Nous faisons progresser la recherche de point en agriculture et nous appuyons les petites et moyennes entreprises. De plus, nous renforçons notre infrastructure agricole pour offrir des services plus rapides et plus abordables aux éleveurs de bétail et aux vétérinaires. Nous soutenons l’innovation, nous attirons les investissements et nous bâtissons une économie résiliente pour l’avenir. »

RJ Sigurdson, ministre de l’Agriculture et de l’Irrigation

Le budget de 2025 relève le défi auquel fait face l’Alberta grâce à des investissements continus dans l’éducation et la santé, une baisse des impôts pour les familles et un accent sur l’économie.

Renseignements connexes
- Budget 2025
Nouvelles connexes
- Budget 2025: Meeting the challenge | Budget 2025 : Relever le défi (27 février 2025)
- Budget 2025: Meeting the challenge in health and education | Budget 2025 : Relever le défi dans la santé et l’éducation (27 février 2025)
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MIL OSI Canada News –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: 25 Canadian nationals connected to nationwide multi-million dollar “grandparent scam” charged in Vermont
Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Burlington, Vt. – Canadian law enforcement provisionally arrested 23 Canadian nationals March 4 after they were indicted by federal grand jury in Vermont for participation in a “grandparent scam” uncovered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The scam allegedly defrauded elderly individuals in more than 40 states of over $21 million.

According to the indictment returned by the grand jury Feb. 20 and unsealed on March 4, between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024, the defendants engaged in a “grandparent scam” involving phone calls made from call centers in and around Montreal, Québec. During these phone calls, defendants falsely claimed to be an elderly victim’s relative, typically a grandchild, who had been arrested following a car crash and needed money for “bail.” Other defendants posed as an “attorney” representing the elderly victim’s relative. Elderly victims were often told that there was a “gag order” in place to prevent the elderly victim from telling anyone about their family member’s supposed arrest. Elderly victims were convinced to provide bail money to an individual falsely posing as a bail bondsman, who would come to the elderly victim’s home to collect the money. This money was later transmitted to Canada following cash deliveries and financial transactions, sometimes involving cryptocurrency, which, the indictment alleges, obscured the source of the money and the identities of defendants.

When Canadian law enforcement executed search warrants on June 4, 2024, at several call centers, many of the defendants were found in the act of placing phone calls to elderly victims in Virginia. The Indictment alleges the call centers were managed by Gareth West, Usman Khalid, Andrew Tatto, Stephan Moskwyn, and Ricky Ylimaki, and also charges these five defendants with conspiring to commit money laundering. The conspiracy defrauded elderly Americans out of more than $21 million.

“These individuals are accused of an elaborate scheme using fear to extort millions of dollars from victims who believed they were helping loved ones in trouble. Today’s arrests are the result of domestic collaboration as well as our critical international partnerships with our colleagues in Canada, Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Tackling transnational crime is one of our greatest priorities and we’re working hand-in-hand with our neighbors to dismantle organized criminal groups that threaten our safety and security,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge New England Michael J. Krol.

“Today’s operation is an excellent example of ICE Canada’s partnership with the Sûreté du Québec and resulted in the disruption of a significant transnational criminal organization. We will continue to partner with the SQ, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other law enforcement agencies to identify and dismantle criminal organizations operating throughout North America and abroad that exploit our shared border and vulnerable population for illicit gain,” said ICE HSI Attache for Ottawa Magdalena Sigur.

“The transnational criminal conspiracy described in the Indictment preyed on vulnerable Americans throughout the United States,” observed Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher. “These charges reflect the painstaking investigatory work of the Vermont-based agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Review Service-Criminal Investigations. In addition, we recognize the extensive investigative assistance provided by Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”

“Today’s arrest of Gareth West and his co-conspirators demonstrates IRS-CI’s commitment to protecting the American people from bad actors, no matter where they are hiding.” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “West and his associates lead a transnational criminal enterprise with the sole intent of defrauding hundreds of retirees of their life savings by preying on their emotions and deceiving them into thinking that their loved ones were in peril. IRS-CI is committed to continued collaboration with our law enforcement partners, both at home and abroad, to stop and deter anyone who seeks to profit off the hard work of U.S. citizens.”

“For the Quebec Provincial Police and Homeland Security Investigations, transnational criminal organizations are a significant concern that requires close collaboration. Criminal networks operate beyond borders; thus, it is crucial to have strong partnerships among law enforcement. Today’s arrests highlight the efficiency of our joint efforts, demonstrating that our cooperation delivers concrete results in enhancing public safety on both sides of the border,” said Chief Inspector Michel Patenaude

An indictment contains only allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

West, Khalid, Tatto, Moskwyn and Ricky Ylimaki face up to 40 years of imprisonment if convicted, and the remaining defendants face up to 20 years of imprisonment if convicted.

The investigation was led by ICE and IRS-CI with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Quebec Provincial Police (Sûreté du Québec) in Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducted the provisional arrests in Canada. Significant assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs as well as the International Assistance Group at Justice Canada. This case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

More information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces

Individuals charged in the indictment:
- Gareth West, a.k.a. “Buddy” and “Muscles,” (38 – Burlington, Ontario)
- Usman Khalid, a.k.a. “Paul” and “Pauly,” (36 – Les Coteaux, Québec)
- Andrew Tatto, a.k.a. “Chevy” and “Truck,” (43 – Pierrefonds, Québec)
- Stephan Moskwyn, a.k.a. “HK,” (42 – Pierrefonds, Québec)
- Ricky Ylimaki, a.k.a. “Ruffles,” (31 – Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec)
- Richard Frischman, a.k.a. “Styx,” (31 – Montréal, Québec)
- Adam Lawrence, a.k.a. “Carter,” (41 – Lasalle, Québec)
- Michael Filion, a.k.a. “Elvis,” (45 – Pierrefonds, Québec)
- Jimmy Ylimaki, a.k.a. “Coop,” (35 – Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec)
- Nicolas Gonzalez, a.k.a. “Brady,” (27 – Kirkland, Québec)
- Ryan Melanson, a.k.a. “Parker,” (27 – Montréal, Québec)
- Joy Kalafatidis, a.k.a. “Blondie,” (31 – Pointe-Claire, Québec)
- David Arcobelli, a.k.a. “Phil,” (36 – Pierrefonds, Québec)
- Jonathan Massouras, a.k.a. “Borze,” (35 – Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Québec)
- Nicholas Shiomi, a.k.a. “Keanu,” (42 – Montréal, Québec)
- Antonio Iannacci, a.k.a. “DJ,” (33 – Pierrefonds, Québec)
- Jonathan Ouellet, a.k.a. “Sunny,” (29 – Saint-Eustache, Québec)
- Kassey-Lee Lankford, a.k.a. “Lex,” (28 – Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec)
- Sara Burns, a.k.a. “Ginger,” (31 – Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Québec)
- Justin Polenz, a.k.a. “Happy,” (34 – Montréal, Québec)
- Ryan Thibert, a.k.a. “Toast,” (37 – Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec)
- Michael Farella, a.k.a. “Honda,” (29 – Sainte-Geneviève, Québec)
- Sebastian Guenole, a.k.a. “Tweeter,” (30 – Pierrefonds, Québec)
- Ryan Bridgman, a.k.a. “Clint,” (37 – Deux-Montagnes, Québec)
- Stephanie-Marie Samaras, a.k.a. “North” (29 – Laval, Québec)
All but two of the above-named individuals were arrested in Canada on March 4. West and Jimmy Ylimaki remain at large.

An additional nine individuals have previously been charged in the District of Vermont in connection with this grandparent scam, including Otmane Khalladi (32 – Miami, Florida), Jean Richard Audate (39 – New York, New York), Philippe Alvarez (34 – Montréal, Québec), Paul Conneh (37 – Guangzhou, China), Dave Leblanc (37 – Greenacres, Florida), Zavier Buchanan (27 – Wellington, Florida), William Comfort (29 – Los Angeles, California), Alejandro Garcia (34 – Miami, Florida), and Enmanuel Castillo (31 – Miami, Florida).

If you or someone you know has been a victim of elder fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-FRAUD-11). This hotline is a free resource created by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime for people to report fraud against anyone age 60 or older.

View the indictment

MIL OSI USA News –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICE returns Dominican national wanted for human smuggling which led to the death of 3 minors

Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

MIAMI – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Edgar Batista Matos, 36, a Dominican national wanted in his home country for human smuggling leading to the death of three minors, on March 4 when he departed Miami International Airport on board an ICE removal flight to his destination at Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was turned over to law enforcement authorities upon his arrival.

Batista Matos has been removed from the United States on three previous occasions. His first removal was on Oct. 8, 2010, when he was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol after he entered illegally near Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. He was then encountered and removed again in 2011, 2019 and 2023.

He was arrested by police in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in September 2024 after a warrant was issued by law enforcement in the Dominican Republic for his connection with the fatal alien smuggling venture. Batista Matos came into ICE custody Feb. 6 and was transferred to Miami pending his removal.

“The return of this fugitive to the Dominican Republic is a prime example of how ICE works closely with our international law enforcement partners to identify, locate and remove criminal aliens who are wanted in their country for allegedly committing crimes,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Miami acting Field Office Director Juan Lopez Vega. “ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of criminal alien fugitives. As a result, our communities are safer and more secure.”

ICE coordinated the removal of Batista Matos with the Dominican National Police.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

For more news and information on ICE ERO’s efforts to enforce our nation’s immigration laws follow us on X at @EROMiami.

MIL OSI USA News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Clairton Resident Sentenced for Escape from Residential Reentry Center

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A former resident of Clairton, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to time served of approximately seven months on his conviction of escape, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Jamiel Green, 28.

According to information presented to the Court, while serving the last portion of a 37-month term of imprisonment for his conviction for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, Green was housed at a residential reentry center designed to assist defendants in their transitions back into society. In early November 2023, the center provided Green with a work release pass, but Green failed to return to the center when required, remaining a fugitive for several months until he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the U.S. Marshals Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Green.

MIL Security OSI –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: St. Louis County Felon Who Triggered Standoff Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon who triggered a law enforcement standoff in St. Louis County to 40 months in prison.

Randy Wilkes, 43, pleaded guilty in November to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted being caught with a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol on Oct. 5, 2022, by the U.S. Marshals Service and St. Louis County police.

Deputy U.S. Marshals and police were at Wilkes’ home in the 10400 block of Gardo Court in Bellefontaine Neighbors to arrest him for outstanding felony warrants stemming from two violent domestic assaults, according to a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin. Wilkes refused officers’ commands to come to the door and instead hid in the basement, triggering a standoff that lasted more than two hours, the memo says. After escorting multiple children out of the house, law enforcement officers tried to safely locate Wilkes, using a K-9, a robot equipped with a camera and multiple nonlethal pepper balls and gas canisters to avoid approaching Wilkes in a way that would risk their safety, the memo says. Wilkes was arrested after officers forced entry into an exterior basement door.

After his release from prison, Wilkes will be on supervised release for three years.

The U.S. Marshals Service and St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin prosecuted the case.

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.

MIL Security OSI –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kaine, Klobuchar & Warner Unveil Legislation to Undo President Trump’s Senseless Taxes on Canadian Goods

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) unveiled legislation to undo President Donald Trump’s wildly unpopular tariffs on Canadian goods, which amount to a 25 percent tax on goods imported from one of America’s top trading partners and closest allies.

“Americans want prices to go down—not skyrocket, which is exactly what will happen if Congress lets President Trump slap new taxes on goods from one of our largest trading partners and closest allies,” said Kaine. “We don’t need to guess what kind of damage these senseless new taxes will do. During Trump’s first term, his trade wars spelled disaster for Virginians, particularly for farmers and foresters who were hit especially hard. Congress has a responsibility to stop that from happening again, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in blocking Trump from destroying our economy.”

“This Administration is igniting a reckless trade war and regular Americans are paying the price,” said Klobuchar. “Costs for everyone will go up and our farmers and businesses will suffer. Canada is Minnesota’s top trading partner and is a key U.S. ally. We must reverse these damaging tariffs before it’s too late.”

“Virginians can’t afford the cost of President Trump’s tariffs, which will raise prices on everything from groceries to houses and cars,” said Warner. “Congress must step in before President Trump tanks our economy.”

In Virginia in 2024, Canada was the largest export market and accounted for 15 percent of Virginia exports. In Virginia in 2022, top goods exports to Canada included motor vehicles and transportation equipment, such as medium- and heavy-duty trucks. 56.1 percent of Southwest Virginia’s economic output is dependent on trade.

Polls have overwhelmingly demonstrated that the American people do not support Trump’s trade wars. According to a recent survey by Public First, just 28 percent of American adults supported specifically applying tariffs to Canada, while 43 percent opposed.

Specifically, the senators’ legislation would work by terminating the February 1 emergency that Trump used to launch his trade war with Canada, and thus eliminate the tariffs on Canadian imports implemented as a result. Trump’s order cites the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA), an unprecedented use of IEEPA in its nearly half century history. After an initial one-month delay, President Trump decided to move forward with the tariffs, with the import taxes starting to be collected on March 4, 2025. In total, President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs will cost the average American household up to $2,000 a year, with the Canada tariffs making up a significant portion of that. These IEEPA tariffs represent the largest tax increase on American families in recent history.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders, Scott, Schumer, Jeffries, Murray, Bipartisan Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Protect the Rights of American Workers
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

WASHINGTON, March 5 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, alongside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Congressional and labor leaders, today reintroduced the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), comprehensive labor legislation to protect the rights of workers to stand together and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits and safer workplaces. The legislation was renamed in honor of former AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka.

Joining Sanders, Scott, Schumer, Jeffries and Murray on the PRO Act are Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), as well as 210 cosponsors in the House.

“Never before in the history of our nation have income and wealth inequality been greater than today. Workers are falling further and further behind. In response, millions of Americans have expressed their desire to join a union,” said Sanders. “However, the billionaire class is fighting with all its might to put down attempts by workers to exercise their constitutional right to unionize. That includes the decision by President Trump to illegally fire National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox and effectively shut down the NLRB. Without a functioning NLRB, corporate bosses can illegally fire unionizing workers, flagrantly violate labor laws and render free and fair union elections near impossible. Supporting the immediate reinstatement of Member Wilcox and the swift passage of the PRO Act would be major steps toward building real worker power. The PRO Act is long overdue and I am proud to be introducing this bill in the Senate.”

“Unions are essential for building a strong middle class and improving the lives of workers and families. Regrettably, for too long, workers have suffered from anti-union attacks and toothless labor laws that undermined their right to form a union,” said Scott. “As union approval remains at record highs, Congress has an urgent responsibility to ensure that workers can join a union and negotiate for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces. The PRO Act is the most critical step Congress can take to uplift American workers. I urge my House and Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in advancing the most significant update for workers’ labor organizing rights in over eighty years.”

“As we speak Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies are stealing the American dream away from working families, rigging every lever of society in favor of the billionaire class,” said Schumer. “That’s why we need the PRO Act, to empower hardworking Americans to bargain for better wages, benefits, and safer working conditions. I’ve been involved in this fight for a very, very long time, and I will stay in this fight for as long as it takes – until every worker gets the wage they deserve, until the right to organize is protected and encouraged and secure, and until we finally make the PRO Act the law of the land.”

“Right now, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are attacking workers, including mass firing people by the tens of thousands, left and right, regardless of how important that work is,” said Murray. “Reintroducing the PRO Act is more important now than ever. This is about making sure we are not just pushing back—but also pushing forward: charting a positive vision for workers and daring Republicans to make their actions match their words. Who do you stand with—the billionaires like Elon Musk and Donald Trump—whose favorite two words are ‘you’re fired?’ Or do you stand with hard working American women and men. People who just want fair pay, decent treatment, and a government that works to make their lives better, not worse? That should not be too much to ask! I’m going to keep fighting, come hell or high water, to make it easier for workers to join together and fight for the better pay and working conditions they deserve.”

“When our unions are strong, the United States of America is strong,” said Jeffries. “While Republicans are focused on giving handouts to their billionaire donors, Democrats will continue to fight to make sure that every American worker can organize and thrive and fight for better wages, better pay, better safety conditions and better benefits. Thanks to the leadership of Ranking Member Bobby Scott, that is exactly what the PRO Act does and we will not rest until we get this legislation across the finish line.”

“Billionaires know there’s no greater threat to their power than a union card,” said Clark. “That’s why they’re using miles of red tape to deny the American people their basic, constitutional right to organize. We can cut that red tape for good. The PRO Act is yet another chance for Republicans to show where they stand: with working people or their billionaire donors.”

“The PRO Act will safeguard the fundamental right of American workers to collectively bargain and organize and will ensure workers receive fair treatment while holding their employers to just standards,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). “I am proud to lead this bipartisan effort to strengthen the right of our nation’s hardest-working men and women to organize and negotiate for better wages, benefits, and conditions. A strong workforce is the foundation of a strong nation, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to see this vital legislation through.”

“Americans believe in the power of unions and tens of millions of working people would become union members tomorrow if they could. But American labor law is broken, weighted on the side of the bosses and against the workers. In too many workplaces, in too many industries across the country, big corporations and billionaire CEOs still retaliate against us for organizing. They refuse to negotiate our contracts, force us to sit through hours of anti-union propaganda, and engage in illegal union-busting every day. Now they have an unelected, unaccountable, union-buster trying to illegally fire tens of thousands of our fellow workers in federal jobs and an administration rolling back the workplace protections. The PRO Act is long overdue, and the American people agree. We urge elected leaders of both parties to move this critical legislation forward so that all workers have the chance to stand together and build better lives for themselves and their families,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.

Large corporations and the wealthy continue to capture the rewards of a growing economy while working families and middle-class Americans are left behind. From 1979 to 2023, annual wages for the bottom 90% of households increased just 44 percent, while average incomes for the wealthiest 1% increased more than 180 percent.

Unions are critical to increasing wages and creating a strong economy that rewards hardworking people. Through the power of collective bargaining, the typical union worker earns 16 percent more than the typical non-union worker.

The American people’s support for unions is surging. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 70 percent of Americans approve of labor unions — remaining at near record highs. Despite growing support for unions, billionaire- and special interest-funded attacks on the rights of workers, unions and labor laws have eroded union density and made it harder for workers to organize. The share of American workers who are union members has fallen from roughly one in three workers in 1956 to a new low of 9.9 percent in 2024. The PRO Act restores fairness to the economy by strengthening the federal law that protects the right of workers to join a union and bargain for higher pay, better benefits and safer workplaces.

The PRO Act would protect the right to organize and collectively bargain by:
- Bolstering remedies and punishing violations of the rights of workers through authorizing meaningful penalties for employers that violate their rights, strengthening support for workers who suffer retaliation for exercising their rights and authorizing a private right of action for violation of the rights of workers.
- Strengthening the rights of workers to join together and negotiate for better working conditions by enhancing their right to support secondary boycotts, ensuring unions can collect “fair share” fees, modernizing the union election process and facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements.
- Restoring fairness to an economy rigged against workers by closing loopholes that allow employers to misclassify their employees as supervisors and independent contractors and increasing transparency in labor-management relations.
More than 18 organizations endorsed the PRO Act, including the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Autoworkers (UAW), United Steelworkers (USW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), National Nurses United (NNU), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), the American Federation of Musicians, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), Transport Workers Union (TWU), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT).

Read the bill text here.

Read a fact sheet here.

Read a section-by-section summary here.
MIL OSI USA News –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Alberta pushes back on illegal U.S. tariffs
As part of its non-tariff retaliatory measures, Alberta is altering its procurement practices to ensure Alberta’s government, as well as agencies, school boards, Crown corporations and Alberta municipalities, purchase their goods and services from Alberta companies, Canadian companies or countries with which Canada has a free trade agreement that is being honoured.

“I will always put the best interests of Alberta and Albertans first. These non-tariff actions are measured, proportionate and put an emphasis on defending Alberta and Canada against these economically destructive tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, while breaking down restrictive provincial trade barriers so we can fast-track nation building resource projects and allow for the unrestricted movement of goods, services and labour across the country. I understand this is an uncertain time for many Albertans, and our government will continue to do all it can to prioritize Alberta’s and Canada’s world-class products and businesses as we face this challenge together. I also look forward to working with my provincial counterparts to help unite Canada and ensure free and fair trade throughout our country.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

Alberta’s government has also directed Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis to suspend the purchase of U.S. alcohol and video lottery terminals (VLTs) from American companies until further notice. This will ensure Alberta and Canadian brands take priority in restaurants, bars and on retail shelves.

“We are committed to putting Canadian businesses first. By suspending the purchase of U.S. produced alcohol, slot machines and VLTs, we are ensuring that Alberta and Canadian brands take priority in our restaurants, bars and retail stores. We will continue to take bold steps to support local industries and strengthen our economy.”

Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction

To encourage the purchase of stock from vendors in Alberta, Canada and other countries with which Canada has a free trade agreement, the government will help all Alberta grocers and other retailers with labelling Canadian products in their stores. In the coming weeks, Alberta’s government will augment these efforts by launching a “Buy Alberta” marketing campaign. Spearheaded by Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson, this campaign will remind Albertans of their options for local food and the importance of supporting Alberta’s agriculture producers and processers.

“Alberta’s agriculture producers and processers are the best in the world. Although these U.S. tariffs are incredibly concerning, this “Buy Alberta” campaign will put a spotlight on Alberta’s farmers, ranchers and agri-food businesses and support Albertans in choosing goods from right here at home.”

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation

Building on Alberta’s reputation as a leader in removing barriers to trade within Canada, Alberta’s government will continue to push other provinces to match our ambition in providing full labour mobility and eliminating trade barriers through work like mutual recognition of regulations. This will allow for goods, services and labour from other provinces to flow into and out of Alberta without having to undergo additional regulatory assessments.

“While no one wins in a tariff war, this situation underscores the need to develop Canada’s trade infrastructure and the diversification of our trading partners and could be the catalyst to unlocking Canada’s true potential. As we look at how best to support Albertans and our businesses, we must also work to reduce internal trade and labour mobility barriers while expanding markets for Alberta energy, agricultural and manufactured products into Europe, Asia, the Americas and beyond. Albertans and Canadians are counting on us.”

Matt Jones, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade

Alberta’s government is also focused on doubling oil production. With U.S. tariffs in place on Canadian energy products, Alberta is looking elsewhere for additional pipeline infrastructure, including east and west, in order to get our products to new markets.

Alberta’s government will continue to engage with elected officials and industry leaders in the U.S. to reverse these tariffs on Canadian goods and energy and rebuild Canada’s relationship with its largest trading partner and ally.

Quick facts
- On March 4, U.S. President Trump implemented a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy.
- The U.S. is Alberta’s – and Canada’s – largest trading partner.
- Alberta is the second largest provincial exporter to the U.S. after Ontario.
  - In 2024, Alberta’s exports to the U.S. totalled C$162.6 billion, accounting for 88.7 per cent of total provincial exports.
  - Energy products accounted for approximately C$132.8 billion or 82.2 per cent of Alberta’s exports to the U.S. in 2024.
- About 10 per cent of liquor products in stock in Alberta are imported from the United States.
  - U.S. products represent a small minority of the beer and refreshment beverage categories; however, a significant number of wines originate in the U.S.
  - In 2023-24, about $292 million in U.S. liquor products were sold in Alberta.
- Alberta has been a longstanding supporter of reducing barriers to trade within Canada. In 2019, the province removed 21 of 27 exceptions, including all procurement exceptions, and narrowed the scope of two others. Since then, the province has only added 2 exceptions, which allow for the management the legalization of cannabis.
  - Removing party-specific exemptions has helped facilitate even greater access to the Alberta market for Canadian companies in the areas of government tenders, Crown land acquisition, liquor, energy and forest products, among others.
Related information
- Premier Smith’s speaking notes
- Response to U.S. tariffs: Premier Smith
MIL OSI Canada News –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: 6 March 2025 New home, new outlook on life Cece felt like she’d struck it lucky when she walked into her new Kāinga Ora home in Christchurch after living in emergency housing.

Source: New Zealand Government Kainga Ora

“When they showed me the house I was crying. I felt like I was living in a dream and that I’d won Lotto. I moved in here on December 17 just in time for Christmas,” she says.

Cece and her dog Ray Charles are now happily settled into their new home, which Cece has tastefully furnished with community donations and colourful op shop finds. Even the garden is sprinkled with bright ornaments.

“When I moved in here, I only had two plates and Ray [the dog]. I’m so thankful for all the donations of furniture I’ve received,” she says.

In 2011, Cece was walking across a pedestrian crossing on her way to work one morning when she was hit by a car and broke her hip. After having a hip replacement, she now lives with chronic back pain and uses a mobility scooter to get around when she’s not at home.

Cece and Ray Charles

When Cece had to move out of a private rental home three years ago, she struggled to find another suitable place to live. Emergency housing was the only option until she was matched to her new Kāinga Ora home.

Cece says her new home is perfect for her. It has a concrete path up one side that allows her to drive her mobility scooter straight inside the gate to her house. There is also space inside her front door to park her mobility scooter if she needs it and the bathroom has a walk-in shower.

Cece is also loving being part of a community in the new development where she lives, which includes several family homes. Until recently, she was a child and youth worker specialising in arts and crafts.

Just a few days after moving into her new home, Cece held an impromptu arts and crafts session for her neighbours’ kids in the development’s communal area. “I’ve been given so much that I want to give it back. After the Christmas party, the kids left a gift on my doorstep on Christmas Day,” Cece says.

Now that she’s settled into her new home, Cece is thinking about what to do next. “I’m planning to get another job and have been looking at teacher aide jobs. Or I might do my master’s degree,” she says.

In the meantime, she’s enjoying every moment in her new home.

“This house is such a blessing. Every morning, I clean any spot I can see. It’s a privilege to have this house.”

Page updated: 6 March 2025

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICE removes human rights violator, sex offender to Rwanda

Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement successfully removed Napolean Ahmed Mbonyunkiza, a 56-year-old Rwandan convicted sex offender and human rights violator, to his home country, March 4.

Ahmed Mbonyunkiza was charged in 2010 with sexual abuse in the third degree, neglect of a dependent person, and dependent adult abuse in the United States. He was released on bond but fled prior to the completion of his criminal court proceedings.

ICE paroled Ahmed Mbonyunkiza into the U.S. in 2013 to face justice for his crimes. ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center uncovered during the investigation his ties to the Mouvement Republicain National pour la Democratie et le Developpement, a political party affiliated with the notorious Interahamwe militia which played a significant role in the Rwandan genocide.

Ahmed Mbonyunkiza pled guilty in 2014 to all charges and was sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison. He ultimately served 10 years before being taken into ICE custody in January 2024, at which time he was placed into removal proceedings.

An immigration judge from the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered his removal to Rwanda on April 15, 2024. ICE successfully executed the removal, turning the criminal alien over to Rwandan authorities without incident.

The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center is led by ICE and leverages the expertise of criminal investigators, attorneys, historians, intelligence analysts and federal partners to provide a whole of government approach to prevent the U.S. from becoming a safe haven for individuals who commit war crimes, genocide, torture and other human rights abuses around the globe. Currently, ICE has more than 180 active investigations into suspected human rights violators and is pursuing more than 1,945 leads and removals cases involving suspected human rights violators from 95 different countries. The center has issued more than 79,000 lookouts since 2003, for potential perpetrators of human rights abuses and stopped over 390 human rights violators and war crimes suspects from entering the U.S.

Individuals can report suspicious criminal activity to the ICE Tip Line 24 hours a day, seven days a week by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE or (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form. Highly trained specialists take reports from both the public and law enforcement agencies on more than 400 laws enforced by ICE.

Learn more about ICE mission to remove human rights violators from your community on X @ICEgov.

MIL OSI USA News –

March 6, 2025

MIL-OSI: Rigetti Computing Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

BERKELEY, Calif., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) (“Rigetti” or the “Company”), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2024.

Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Highlights

Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2024 were $2.3 million
Operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2024 were $19.5 million
Operating loss for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $18.5 million
Net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $153.0 million, including $135.1 million of non-cash charges for the fair value change in the earn-out and derivative warrant liabilities
For the year ended December 31, 2024, revenues were $10.8 million, operating expenses were $74.2 million, operating loss was $68.5 million and net loss was $201.0 million, including $133.9 million of non-cash charges for the fair value change in the earn-out and derivative warrant liabilities
As of December 31, 2024 cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities totaled $217.2 million
Received net proceeds of $153.3 million during the three months ended December 31, 2024 from the sale of 88.1 million shares of common stock through a registered direct offering and completion of our at-the-market equity offering
Prepaid in full all remaining amounts owed under our loan agreement with Trinity Capital, Inc.

Business & Strategic Collaboration Updates

New strategic collaboration with Quanta Computer
Rigetti has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Quanta Computer, Inc. (“Quanta”), a Taiwan-based Global Fortune 500 company and the global leader of computer server manufacturing, with the goal of accelerating the development and commercialization of superconducting quantum computing. The companies have committed to investing more than $100 million each over the next five years pursuant to the collaboration agreement, with both sides focusing on their complementary strengths to develop superconducting quantum computing technologies. In addition, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement, Quanta will invest $35 million to purchase shares of Rigetti common stock, subject to regulatory clearance. The agreements were signed on February 27, 2025.

“Quanta’s collaboration with Rigetti is designed to strengthen our position in this flourishing market. Our companies’ complementary strengths — Rigetti as a pioneer in superconducting quantum technology, with open, modular architecture enabling integration of innovative solutions across the stack, and Quanta as the world’s leading notebook/server manufacturer with $43 billion in annual sales — will support us in our goal to be at the forefront of the quantum computing industry,” says Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti CEO.

Montana State University purchases a Novera QPU
Rigetti sold a Novera QPU to Montana State University (MSU) in December 2024, which was the Company’s first QPU sale to an academic institution. The Novera will be located at MSU’s QCORE to educate and train scientists and engineers on quantum computing technologies, in addition to being used to create a testbed for quantum computing R&D. MSU’s QCORE is a new center of excellence for quantum enabling technologies established to accelerate workforce development and the regional quantum innovation ecosystem.

Technology Milestones

84-qubit Ankaa-3 system launches with record high fidelity
Rigetti launched its 84-qubit Ankaa™-3 system in December 2024. Ankaa-3 features an extensive hardware redesign that enables superior performance. Rigetti achieved major two-qubit gate fidelity milestones with Ankaa-3: successfully halving error rates in 2024 to achieve a 99.0% median iSWAP gate fidelity and demonstrating 99.5% median fidelity with fSim gates. Rigetti’s newest flagship quantum computer continues to feature Rigetti’s scalable, industry-leading chip architecture with 3D signal delivery while incorporating major enhancements to key technologies.

Ankaa-3 is available to Rigetti’s partners via the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform (QCS^®) and to the general public via Microsoft Azure and Amazon Braket.

“We believe that superconducting qubits are the winning modality for quantum computers given their fast gate speeds and scalability. We’ve developed critical IP to scale our systems and remain confident in our plans to scale to 100+ qubits by the end of the year with a targeted 2x reduction in error rates from the error rates we achieved at the end of 2024. We believe our leadership in superconducting quantum computing continues to be reinforced as we push the boundaries of our system performance, as evidenced by the success of Ankaa-3,” says Dr. Kulkarni.

Successful AI-powered calibration of a Rigetti QPU
AI-powered tools from Quantum Elements and Qruise remotely automated the calibration of a Rigetti QPU integrated with Quantum Machines’ control system. This work was part of the “AI for Quantum Calibration Challenge” (the “Challenge”) hosted at the Israeli Quantum Computing Center. The two companies participating in the Challenge, Quantum Elements and Qruise, automated the calibration of a 9-qubit Rigetti Novera™ QPU integrated with Quantum Machines’ advanced OPX1000 control system and NVIDIA DGX Quantum, a unified system for quantum-classical computing that NVIDIA built with Quantum Machines. This achievement showcases the potential of AI in quantum computer calibration and also highlights the growing collaboration within the quantum computing ecosystem.

Quantum Elements, Cruise, and Quantum Machines are members of Rigetti’s Novera QPU Partner Program — an ecosystem of quantum computing hardware, software, and service providers who build and offer integral components of a functional quantum computing system.

“We believe that another advantage we leverage is our modular approach to developing our technology. By enabling our partners to integrate their technology with ours, we can explore and advance creative and flexible ways to improve quantum computing capabilities,” says Dr. Kulkarni.

Research demonstrating optical reading technique published in Nature Physics
Joint research with QphoX and Qblox demonstrating the ability to readout superconducting qubits with an optical transducer was recently published in Nature Physics. This approach to qubit signal processing could have benefits in building scalable quantum computers as it could be a more compact, modular approach for measuring qubit performance in quantum computing systems that rely on microwave amplification. Current qubit readout techniques used by superconducting quantum computer systems in cryogenic environments can be resource intensive from a thermal and power usage perspective. A potential solution to this problem may be to replace coaxial cables and other cryogenic components with optical fibers, which have a considerably smaller footprint and negligible thermal conductivity. To demonstrate the potential of this technology, QphoX, Rigetti and Qblox connected a transducer to a superconducting qubit, with the goal of measuring its state using light transmitted through an optical fiber. It was discovered that the transducer is capable of converting the signal that reads out the qubit and the qubit can also be sufficiently protected from decoherence introduced by thermal noise or stray optical photons from the transducer during operation.

Conference Call and Webcast
Rigetti will host a conference call later today, March 5, 2025, at 5:00 pm ET, or 2:00 pm PT, to discuss its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results.

You can listen to a live audio webcast of the conference call at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/5jaikwa8/ or the “Events & Presentations” section of the Company’s Investor Relations website at https://investors.rigetti.com/. A replay of the conference call will be available at the same locations following the conclusion of the call for one year.

To participate in the live call, you must register using the following link: https://register.vevent.com/register/BIc3642ee5e70e4bea9d3311a88c4e128a. Once registered, you will receive dial-in numbers and a unique PIN number. When you dial in, you will input your PIN and be routed into the call. If you register and forget your PIN, or lose the registration confirmation email, simply re-register to receive a new PIN.

About Rigetti
Rigetti is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing. The Company has operated quantum computers over the cloud since 2017 and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. In 2021, Rigetti began selling on-premises quantum computing systems with qubit counts between 24 and 84 qubits, supporting national laboratories and quantum computing centers. Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera QPU was introduced in 2023 supporting a broader R&D community with a high-performance, on-premises QPU designed to plug into a customer’s existing cryogenic and control systems. The Company’s proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides high-performance integration with public and private clouds for practical quantum computing. Rigetti has developed the industry’s first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. The Company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, the industry’s first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. Learn more at https://www.rigetti.com/.

Contacts

Rigetti Computing Investor Contact:
IR@Rigetti.com

Rigetti Computing Media Contact:
press@rigetti.com

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements with respect to the Company’s future success and performance, including expectations with respect to future revenues and the timing, availability and impact of government programs relating to quantum information science; expectations regarding the advantages and impact of the strategic collaboration agreement with Quanta Computer on our operations, technology roadmap, milestones, and our position in the industry; the expectation that Rigetti and Quanta will each invest more than $100 million over the next five years; expectations regarding Quanta’s anticipated $35 million investment in Rigetti through a purchase of Rigetti’s common stock; anticipated regulatory clearance; expectations related to the Company’s ability to achieve milestones including the development of future generations of hardware, including any future generations developed to achieve our targeted fidelities and qubit counts, or to demonstrate narrow quantum advantage or broad quantum advantage, each of which is an important anticipated milestone for our technology roadmap and commercialization of our quantum computers; expectations with respect to scaling to create larger qubit systems without sacrificing gate performance using the Company’s modular chip architecture, including expectations with respect to the Company’s anticipated systems and targeted error rate reduction; expectations with respect to future sales or leases of the Novera QPU, customer adoption of the Ankaa-3 systems and Novera QPU; the possibility that reading out superconducting qubits with an optical transducer could have benefits in building scalable quantum computers; the possibility that replacing coaxial cables and other cryogenic components with optical fibers could result in less thermal and power usage; expectations with respect to the Company’s partners and customers and the quantum computing plans and activities thereof; and expectations with respect to the anticipated stages of quantum technology maturation, including the Company’s ability to develop a quantum computer that is able to solve practical, operationally relevant problems significantly better, faster, or cheaper than a current classical solution and achieve quantum advantage on the anticipated timing or at all. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company and its management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability to achieve milestones, technological advancements, including with respect to its technology roadmap; the ability of the Company to obtain government contracts successfully and in a timely manner and the availability of government funding; the potential of quantum computing; the ability of the Company to expand its QPU sales and the Novera QPU Partnership Program; the success of the Company’s partnerships and collaborations, including the strategic collaboration with Quanta Computer; the Company’s ability to accelerate its development of multiple generations of quantum processors; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company or others; the ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and attract and retain management and key employees; costs related to operating as a public company; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; the Company’s estimates of expenses and profitability; the evolution of the markets in which the Company competes; the ability of the Company to implement its strategic initiatives and expansion plans; the expected use of proceeds from the Company’s past and future financings or other capital; the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources; unfavorable conditions in the Company’s industry, the global economy or global supply chain, including rising inflation and interest rates, deteriorating international trade relations, political turmoil, natural catastrophes, warfare and terrorist attacks; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law. The Company does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

RIGETTI COMPUTING, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except number of shares and par value)

	December 31,			December 31,
	2024			2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	67,674		$	21,392
Available-for-sale investments – short-term		124,420			78,537
Accounts receivable		2,427			5,029
Prepaid expenses		3,156			1,938
Other current assets		9,081			771
Total current assets		206,758			107,667
Available-for-sale investments – long-term		25,068			—
Property and equipment, net		44,643			44,483
Operating lease right-of-use assets		7,993			7,634
Other assets		325			129
Total assets	$	284,787		$	159,913

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	1,590		$	5,772
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		8,005			8,563
Current portion of deferred revenue		113			343
Current portion of debt		—			12,164
Current portion of operating lease liabilities		2,159			2,210
Total current liabilities		11,867			29,052
Debt, less current portion		—			9,894
Deferred revenue, less current portion		698			—
Operating lease liabilities, less current portion		6,641			6,297
Derivative warrant liabilities		93,095			2,927
Earn-out liabilities		45,897			2,155
Total liabilities		158,198			50,325
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized, none outstanding		—			—
Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 1,000,000,000 shares authorized, 283,546,871 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024 and 147,066,336 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2023		29			14
Additional paid-in capital		681,202			463,089
Accumulated other comprehensive income		105			244
Accumulated deficit		(554,747	)		(353,759	)
Total stockholders’ equity		126,589			109,588
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	284,787		$	159,913

RIGETTI COMPUTING, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share data)


	Three Months Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
	2024			2023			2024			2023
Revenue	$	2,274		$	3,376		$	10,790		$	12,008
Cost of revenue		1,271			860			5,093			2,800
Total gross profit		1,003			2,516			5,697			9,208
Operating expenses:
Research and development		13,657			12,787			49,750			52,768
Selling, general and administrative		5,840			6,936			24,457			27,744
Restructuring		—			—			—			991
Total operating expenses		19,497			19,723			74,207			81,503
Loss from operations		(18,494	)		(17,207	)		(68,510	)		(72,295	)
Other income (expense), net
Interest expense		(446	)		(1,268	)		(3,255	)		(5,779	)
Interest income		1,546			1,330			5,113			5,076
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities		(90,885	)		3,160			(90,168	)		(1,160	)
Change in fair value of earn-out liabilities		(44,256	)		1,413			(43,742	)		(949	)
Loss on extinguishment of debt		(426	)		—			(426	)		—
Total other expense, net		(134,467	)		4,635			(132,478	)		(2,812	)
Net loss before provision for income taxes		(152,961	)		(12,572	)		(200,988	)		(75,107	)
Provision for income taxes		—			—			—			—
Net loss	$	(152,961	)	$	(12,572	)	$	(200,988	)	$	(75,107	)
Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders – basic and diluted	$	(0.68	)	$	(0.09	)	$	(1.09	)	$	(0.57	)
Weighted average shares used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders – basic and diluted		226,364			140,537			184,666			131,977

RIGETTI COMPUTING INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOW
(in thousands)

	Year Ended December 31,
	2024			2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss	$	(200,988	)	$	(75,107	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		6,906			7,426
Stock-based compensation		13,069			12,409
Change in fair value of earn-out liabilities		43,742			949
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities		90,168			1,160
Change in fair value of forward contract		—			2,229
Impairment of deferred offering costs		—			836
Accretion of available-for-sale securities		(3,622	)		(3,121	)
Loss on extinguishment of debt		426			—
Amortization of debt issuance costs, commitment fees and accretion of final payment fees		844			1,453
Non-cash lease expense		1,909			1,682
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable		2,602			1,206
Prepaid expenses, other current assets and other assets		(2,434	)		(259	)
Deferred revenue		468			(618	)
Accounts payable		(1,036	)		895
Accrued expenses and operating lease liabilities		(2,681	)		(1,719	)
Net cash used in operating activities		(50,627	)		(50,579	)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment		(11,098	)		(9,059	)
Purchases of available-for-sale securities		(224,764	)		(109,252	)
Maturities of available-for-sale securities		157,500			119,084
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities		(78,362	)		773
Cash flows from financing activities:
Principal repayments and prepayment and final payment fees of notes payable		(23,328	)		(8,333	)
Net payments of tax withholdings on sell-to-cover equity award transactions		(6,272	)		—
Proceeds from sale of common stock through Common Stock Purchase Agreement		12,838			20,544
Proceeds from sale of common stock through At-The-Market (ATM) Offering		97,500			—
Proceeds from sale of common stock through registered direct offering		96,000			—
Payments of offering costs		(1,833	)		(107	)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options and warrants		554			1,126
Net cash provided by financing activities		175,459			13,230
Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		(188	)		80
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		46,282			(36,496	)
Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period		21,392			57,888
Cash and cash equivalents – end of period	$	67,674		$	21,392
Supplemental disclosures of other cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest	$	2,350		$	4,340
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Capitalization of deferred costs to equity upon share issuance		—			13
Purchases of property and equipment recorded in accounts payable		466			3,612
Purchases of property and equipment recorded in accrued expenses		150			1,019
Non-cash addition to operating lease right-of-use assets and lease liability		2,268			—
Unrealized gain on short term investments		66			325

The MIL Network –

March 6, 2025

MIL-OSI Canada: More tax relief on the way for Jasper
Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)
Alberta’s government is committed to ensuring Jasper residents and businesses are supported as the community recovers from last summer’s wildfire. Since the beginning of the wildfire, more than $178 million has been provided from across the provincial government to support Jasper residents and businesses as the community recovers and rebuilds.

Budget 2025, if passed, further supports the province’s commitment to the recovery of the Municipality of Jasper by providing more than $3 million in additional revenue stabilization funding to help compensate for lower municipal revenues, reducing the burden on municipal taxpayers.

“As people visit and move back home to Jasper, more people are relying on the municipality to deliver the essential services they need. That’s why we are providing more revenue stabilization to the municipality to counteract the municipal revenue that they lost during the wildfires. This will help reduce the tax burden on the remaining homes and businesses in Jasper.”

Ric McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs

With more than $3 million in additional support for the Municipality of Jasper, Alberta’s government has now provided a total assistance package of more than $181 million. The additional municipal revenue stabilization funding builds upon the more than $3 million that was previously provided, bringing the total to over $6 million. This additional funding will help the Municipality of Jasper deliver essential services such as snow clearing, transit, roadwork and more to its residents.

“These funds for revenue stabilization are a welcome support for Jasper and will help further economic recovery. Last year’s wildfires were devastating, but I am continually encouraged with the tenacity and resolve of residents and businesses. Every piece of support helps along the journey to rebuild and recover, and I am grateful for this funding to help further reduce financial burdens.”

Martin Long, Minister of Infrastructure and MLA for West Yellowhead

“On behalf of the Municipality of Jasper, I extend our sincere gratitude to the Government of Alberta for its continuing support. The additional revenue stabilization funding announced today, for the 2025 tax year, will provide much-needed relief as our community continues to recover from last summer’s wildfire. This support ensures that we can maintain essential services for our residents and businesses while easing the financial strain on taxpayers.”

Richard Ireland, mayor, Municipality of Jasper

Alberta’s total assistance package of over $181 million during and after the wildfire includes:
- Up to $149 million in Disaster Recovery Program funding.
- $7.5 million in emergency evacuation payments to more than 6,500 Jasperites.
- More than $12 million in matching funds to support the Canadian Red Cross in providing support to residents and business owners in Jasper.
- $2.5 million in tourism support.
- $121,400 to support the Jasper Food Bank.
- $3.02 million in tax relief for lease holders of residential and business properties.
- $6.5 million in revenue stabilization for the Municipality of Jasper.
- $2 million one-time grant to support contracted transit services.
Budget 2025 is meeting the challenge faced by Alberta with continued investments in education and health, lower taxes for families and a focus on the economy.
MIL OSI Canada News –
March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former small business office manager sentenced to 4+ years in federal prison for embezzlement, identity theft

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

A district judge sentenced a Collinsville woman to 51 months’ imprisonment after she embezzled more than $158,000 and stole the identity of a coworker while employed by AMK Heating and Cooling in Edwardsville.

Angela L. Cooper, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and three counts of tax fraud. In addition to imprisonment, the judge ordered her to pay $168,536.12 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office aggressively prosecutes identity theft because the crime causes so much harm. Its victims suffer not only drained bank accounts, but they also endure sleepless nights, and it can sometimes take years to undo the damage,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is proud of our partnership with IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI, and we will continue to hold those who harm small businesses accountable.”

According to court documents, Cooper served as the office manager for AMK and had access to the company’s checkbook and accounting software. Using these tools, Cooper fraudulently wrote more than 100 checks payable to herself and forged the signature of the business’s owner. Cooper tried to conceal her fraud by disguising the checks as payroll and loans to her from AMK. Over a two-year period, Cooper embezzled $158,658.41 from AMK.

“By nature, greed continues to grow if left unchecked. For two years, Angela Cooper found multiple ways to steal from her employer. Cooper’s greed even extended to a coworker,” said FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson. “The FBI is proud to work alongside our IRS law enforcement partners to thwart corporate fraud and ensure justice for victims.”

While employed by AMK, Cooper also had access to employee files and personal information like birthdates and social security numbers. Cooper used a coworker’s information to apply for and fraudulently obtain a Discover credit card. Cooper maxed out the credit card, accruing $9,877.71 in charges on the card in a matter of weeks. In doing so, she committed bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, which carried a mandatory two year minimum sentence.

“Ms. Cooper broke the trust of her employer by embezzling well over $100,000 from them in her role as a bookkeeper,” said Special Agent in Charge Bill Steenson, IRS Criminal Investigation’s St. Louis Field Office. “The crime was compounded when she failed to report the stolen funds as income on her tax returns. All income is taxable, even stolen income and this sentence helps drive that point home.”

Finally, Cooper failed to report the additional income in her 2019, 2020 and 2021 tax returns to the IRS. Although fraudulently obtained, the income was required to be reported on her tax returns. Her omission of the additional income caused a tax loss of over $35,000 to the IRS.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI Springfield Field Office contributed to the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Gross prosecuted the case.

MIL Security OSI –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI: Tactile Medical to Present at the Oppenheimer 35th Annual Healthcare MedTech & Services Conference

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MINNEAPOLIS, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. (“Tactile Medical”; the “Company”) (Nasdaq: TCMD), a medical technology company providing therapies for people with chronic disorders, today announced that management will participate in the Oppenheimer 35th Annual Healthcare MedTech & Services Conference, which is being virtually held from March 17^th – 20^th. Management will participate in a virtual presentation on Tuesday, March 18^th at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

A live audio webcast of the presentation will be accessible under the “Events & Webcasts” section of the Company’s investor relations website at http://investors.tactilemedical.com. An archive of the webcast will be available for replay following the conference.

About Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. (DBA Tactile Medical)

Tactile Medical is a leader in developing and marketing at-home therapies for people suffering from underserved, chronic conditions including lymphedema, lipedema, chronic venous insufficiency and chronic pulmonary disease by helping them live better and care for themselves at home. Tactile Medical collaborates with clinicians to expand clinical evidence, raise awareness, increase access to care, reduce overall healthcare costs and improve the quality of life for tens of thousands of patients each year.

Investor Inquiries:
Sam Bentzinger
Gilmartin Group
investorrelations@tactilemedical.com

The MIL Network –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Ending US birthright citizenship could have consequences for LGBTQ+ couples, lower-income parents and the surrogacy market

Source: The Conversation – France – By Ashley Mantha-Hollands, Max Weber Fellow, Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies, European University Institute

The first month of US President Donald Trump’s second term saw an onslaught of executive orders. The order aiming to change how birthright citizenship – the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to most children born within US territory – is granted could be the most consequential. Federal judges in Maryland, Washington state, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have issued nationwide injunctions against the order, and the San Francisco-based US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the Trump administration’s appeal.

To date, most media outlets, civil and human rights organisations, and activist groups have expressed concern about how a change to birthright citizenship would impact undocumented people and their children. However, a change could also have a series of further consequences, particularly for children of LGBTQ+ couples and children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as surrogacy.

There are at least three related outcomes to consider: tension between federal and state definitions of parentage, a heightened administrative burden for establishing proof of citizenship, and the potential harm to what is the world’s largest surrogacy market.

Who are the parents? Not so simple

In countries where children obtain citizenship based on the citizenship of their parents, the legal parameters of the family are of utmost importance. For this reason, countries often provide specific definitions of who “counts” as a parent. In the US, this responsibility falls to the states, which provide their own definitions. One common practice is known as the “parturient” rule, which holds that the person giving birth is the legal “mother” and her spouse the legal “father”. This practice is increasingly contested. With the rise of ART and, in particular, surrogacy, the person giving birth is not always the intended parent. In fact, at least 14 US states have recognized that the parturient rule does not encompass many types of family arrangements and have altered their administrative frameworks so that “intended parents” can be immediately placed on birth certificates.

While the establishment of parentage occurs at the state level, establishing citizenship is a federal responsibility. As a result, the federal government also provides its own legal definition of parenthood. This definition includes the following family roles: a genetic parent, a non-genetic gestational parent, a non-genetic and non-gestational spouse of a genetic and/or gestational parent, and parents of an adopted child. By contrast, the definitions in Trump’s executive order would spark a return to traditional heteronormative definitions of parentage. The mother is defined as “the immediate female biological progenitor” and the father as “the immediate male biological progenitor”. Such definitions leave out not only most LGBTQ+ couples, but also some families seeking ART, because children born through these modalities may not be biologically related to the intended parents.

If the order comes into force, it would result in a mismatch between federal and state definitions of parentage and likely invite many legal disputes, while leaving some children born through ART at risk of statelessness if their parents are unrecognized as such. Citizenship is vital to an individual’s personal security: stateless children can, in some cases, be separated from their intended parents. Moreover, without a legal status, children and their families cannot benefit from the full range of federal and state services, including access to the child welfare system, funding opportunities for higher education and health care. For example, according to officials in 24 states, children would lose benefits from the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which all US-born babies are currently eligible to receive.

The bureaucratic burden

The administrative burden of citizenship recognition for newborns is another overlooked issue in discussions about Trump’s order. In most cases, a birth certificate from a US state is sufficient to prove one’s citizenship status. After a child is born, hospitals normally transmit birth-certified information to the local municipality. The child’s birth certificate is then issued three-to-five business days later. The certificate suffices for recognition of citizenship and for federal documentation such as a passport.

The executive order would increase the administrative burden for recognising citizenship. It is unclear, however, whether this burden would fall on the states or the federal government.

In the first scenario, state bureaucracies would need to check the parents’ immigration status prior to issuing a birth certificate. This would undoubtedly cause confusion, as each state would need to provide new guidance and training to local bureaucrats on the medley of US immigration statuses and their attendant rights. The processing times for issuing birth certificates would increase, as verification procedures would require additional documentation. The fees for issuing certificates, currently between $7 and $35, would likely rise as well, since bureaucrats would need to investigate each birth rather than issue certificates automatically.

If the administrative burden falls on the federal government, birth certificates would be issued in the same way and at the same cost by the states, but they would no longer be sufficient to prove a child’s citizenship. In this case, the government would need to issue citizenship certificates, which are normally reserved for proof of citizenship for children born abroad. Each case would require an individual investigation rather than being automatic, and while it’s hard to say how much fees could rise, current fees for citizenship certificates for children born abroad are north of $1,300. The processing of passport applications would take longer and likely be more costly, too, because a system to verify the immigration status of a child’s parents will need to be set up.

In 2012, the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) released a report that outlined the potential impacts of ending the current approach to birthright citizenship. The report estimates, based on the costs of US citizenship certificates for children born abroad, that changing the existing law – which Trump’s order seeks to reinterpret – would cost parents “approximately $600 in government fees to prove the citizenship status of each baby and likely an additional $600 to $1,000 in legal fees”. The report describes these costs as a “tax” on “each baby born in the United States”.

Alternately, the US could establish a new national ID card system, but this would also have bureaucratic costs. This type of ID card is common in European countries: with some variation between systems, cards can be used for travel within the EU (as an alternative to a passport) and are generally used to prove citizenship status to vote or receive certain social services. But unlike in the European states that issue these cards, the US government has no registry of vital records and would need a new administrative structure to create one. When the UK government discussed such a system in 2007, its total cost was estimated to be at least 5.75 billion pounds.

The NFAP report mentions the federal systems that rely on the current practice of state-administered birth certificates and automatic citizenship to function. These systems include the Social Security Administration, which handles retirement, disability and family benefits, and the E-Verify system, which determines whether a person has authorisation to work in the US. The report states that systems such as E-Verify “have cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars. There is no reason to believe that a change to the Citizenship Clause requiring the verification of parents’ immigration status would be any less expensive.”

Costs to the US surrogacy market

The US surrogacy industry is the largest in the world. It is valued at over $20 billion (and is expected to grow to $195 billion by 2034), and attracts families from European and Asian countries where surrogacy is not as prevalent or is illegal. An important factor in the size of this market is the attractive environment for surrogacy arrangements. First, surrogacy is relatively mainstreamed in the US, and there are many companies that help with finding donors, surrogates and with navigating the legal process. Second, intended parents have the security of knowing their children will have immediate access to travel documents, such as a US passport, after birth. If a new definition of parentage goes into effect, thus removing the guarantee of US citizenship, the status of children born through surrogacy could be at risk. The attractiveness of the US surrogacy market would likely suffer, because parents would face time-consuming and costly steps to secure status and immigration documents to allow travel between the US and their home country.

An unclear fate

The approach to parenthood in the executive order on birthright citizenship aligns with the Trump administration’s overall push toward pronatalism and traditional heterosexual family models. Trump has also signed another executive order expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for “longing mothers and fathers”. The definition of parentage in this order also leaves out same-sex couples, who often receive IVF treatments.

The fate of the birthright citizenship order is unclear, and it will likely end up reaching the Supreme Court. Legal debates must include the constitutionality of denying automatic citizenship to US-born children, the effect on children born via assisted reproductive technologies, and the bureaucratic and financial burdens placed on states and parents. While an end to birthright citizenship would immediately affect the children of undocumented people, taking a step back reveals other consequences that could impact the broader US public for generations to come.

Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.

– ref. Ending US birthright citizenship could have consequences for LGBTQ+ couples, lower-income parents and the surrogacy market – https://theconversation.com/ending-us-birthright-citizenship-could-have-consequences-for-lgbtq-couples-lower-income-parents-and-the-surrogacy-market-250846

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Investors value green labels — but not always for the right reasons

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Vasundhara Saravade, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of the Environment, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Imagine you are choosing between two similar investment options. One has a green label, promising to fund climate-friendly projects and assets. The other offers a slightly higher return, but has no green label. Which do you choose?

My recent study explored this question. My co-researchers and I found that, for most retail investors — individual, non-professional investors — the presence of a green label mattered more than the actual environmental impact of the bond or the higher financial return of a non-green option.

This finding raises critical questions about how sustainable finance is marketed and whether green labels alone are enough to drive real environmental change.

Green bonds and retail investors

Green bonds are a financial tool designed to fund environmentally friendly projects. Institutional investors and governments have embraced them, but their adoption by everyday retail investors remains low.

The Canadian market was one of the first to provide access to retail-level green bonds, but demand for such bonds was always oversubscribed. Low interest rates made it difficult to balance investor returns with lending profits. This imbalance squeezed sustainable investment firms like CoPower, which ultimately led to its green bond model winding down.

With the urgent need to attract capital for climate financing, the role of retail investors is now a key topic of discussion. In 2021, these investors accounted for 52 per cent of global assets under management in 2021 — a figure expected to jump to nearly 61 per cent by 2030. This presents a massive opportunity to mobilize private capital toward sustainable finance.

However, before retail investors venture into the green bond market, the sustainable finance sector must address a key question: do people invest in green bonds because they believe in their environmental benefits or simply because of the “green” label?

And, more importantly, does the green label alone persuade retail investors to accept a “greenium” — choosing a lower-return green bond over a higher-return non-green bond — like professional investors do?

The ‘green-label effect’ is real

To determine this, my co-researchers and I conducted an experiment with over 1,000 self-identified retail investors to see how different framing techniques — such as labels, environmental impact and reporting descriptions — shaped their willingness to invest in green bonds.

Our study identified a “green label effect.” Most retail investors relied on green labels as a shortcut to save time and avoid having to evaluate the environmental impact of a bond. Investors often relied on simplified decision cues like labels and financial returns to navigate complex financial information.

Read more:
Sustainable finance: Canada risks being left behind in low-carbon economy

However, a small subset of environmentally conscious investors researched the validity of green bonds and aligned their investments with their values, even at the cost of lower returns.

This highlights the need for green bonds that offer a competitive return, given that a majority still invest based on financial returns in addition to labelling. Labelling alone is not enough to drive mainstream retail investment in sustainable finance.

Our study also found that certain types of personal characteristics made people more likely to invest in labelled green bonds, even if those bonds had the lowest financial returns. Investors with a high-risk tolerance were more likely to invest in green bonds.

Additionally, previous investment experience played a role. Those who had moderately invested in stocks, had none to high levels of experience investing in bonds.

The greenwashing challenge

Our findings highlight both the potential and pitfalls of sustainable finance. The popularity of green-labelled bonds suggests that retail investors are open to sustainable investment and would help to drive growth in this market considerably.

However, the fact that many choose labels without finding out whether the bond is actually green raises concerns about greenwashing. This practice occurs when companies exploit sustainability branding and use green labels on non-green bonds to avoid delivering environmental impact.

If investors rely too much on green labels without verifying the actual impact of their investments, they may inadvertently support projects that fail to make a meaningful difference.

As green finance regulations evolve, governments must strengthen labelling standards and transparency. This would ensure that labelled green bonds deliver on their promises.

Stronger green taxonomies and consumer oversight mechanisms would help prevent misleading claims, protect investors and ensure sustainable finance can scale quickly. Without these safeguards, green bonds could lose credibility and fail to scale effectively.

What should policymakers do?

To expand the green bond market and align it with Canada’s climate goals, policymakers could introduce tax-free government green bonds or green infrastructure bonds. These would incentivize retail investors and raise their awareness of sustainable finance.

Policymakers could allow banks to add green bonds to registered products like tax-free savings accounts or registered retirement savings plans. They could create new green registered products that would encourage individual-level savings and investment, like the first home savings account.

Making verified climate-related financial disclosures easier to use could help retail investors better understand the impact of green products. This would reduce reliance on labels alone and encourage more informed decision-making.

Green bonds have the potential to be a powerful tool in the fight against climate change, but only if they’re backed by real accountability. As our study shows, labels matter a lot — but what’s behind them matters most.

Vasundhara Saravade is affiliated with the Smart Prosperity Institute.

– ref. Investors value green labels — but not always for the right reasons – https://theconversation.com/investors-value-green-labels-but-not-always-for-the-right-reasons-251021

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICE Chicago removes Sierra Leonean convicted of visa fraud

Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

ST. LOUIS – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement completed the removal of Prince Solomon Knox, 62, a Sierra Leonean national, to his home country March 1. Knox was arrested by ICE in St. Louis Feb. 4; he has previous convictions for visa fraud and domestic assault after lying about his prior affiliation with armed terrorist groups.

Knox entered the U.S. at Chicago O’Hare International Airport April 14, 2004, and came to the attention of ICE in 2006 through an investigation involving allegations of fraud by ineligible combatants or imposter refugees to participate in the refugee resettlement program. The investigation revealed witnesses who provided testimony about involvement with multiple combatant groups in Western Africa, including the Revolutionary United Front, a group that made extensive use of child soldiers while committing acts such as amputating the hands, arms, and legs of tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans using machetes.

“Foreign nationals, from any country, cannot be allowed to abuse the visa system and migrate to the U.S. fraudulently,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Chicago Field Office Director Sam Olson. “This is an example of someone not only attempting to escape responsibility in their home country, but also depriving those in the global community of the opportunity to seek desperately needed relief.”

The investigation resulted in a federal grand jury indicting Knox on two counts of visa fraud and two counts of false statements, and ICE arrested him Dec. 21, 2006. Knox was convicted June 20, 2007, by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and sentenced to twelve months incarceration.

An immigration judge ordered Knox removed June 6, 2008, while in custody, and he was later placed under an order of supervision pending removal.

MIL OSI USA News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Kaine, and Klobuchar Unveil Legislation to Undo President Trump’s Senseless Taxes on Canadian Goods

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON– Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, (D-VA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), unveiled legislation to undo President Donald Trump’s wildly unpopular tariffs on Canadian goods, which amount to a 25 percent tax on goods imported from one of America’s top trading partners and closest allies.
“Virginians can’t afford the cost of President Trump’s tariffs, which will raise prices on everything from groceries to houses and cars,” said Sen. Warner. “Congress must step in before President Trump tanks our economy.”
“Americans want prices to go down—not skyrocket, which is exactly what will happen if Congress lets President Trump slap new taxes on goods from one of our largest trading partners and closest allies,” said Sen. Kaine. “We don’t need to guess what kind of damage these senseless new taxes will do. During Trump’s first term, his trade wars spelled disaster for Virginians, particularly for farmers and foresters who were hit especially hard. Congress has a responsibility to stop that from happening again, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in blocking Trump from destroying our economy.”
“This Administration is igniting a reckless trade war and regular Americans are paying the price,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “Costs for everyone will go up and our farmers and businesses will suffer. Canada is Minnesota’s top trading partner and is a key U.S. ally. We must reverse these damaging tariffs before it’s too late.”
In Virginia in 2024, Canada was the largest export market and accounted for 15 percent of Virginia exports. In Virginia in 2022, top goods exports to Canada included motor vehicles and transportation equipment, such as medium- and heavy-duty trucks. 56.1 percent of Southwest Virginia’s economic output is dependent on trade.
Polls have overwhelmingly demonstrated that the American people do not support Trump’s trade wars. According to a recent survey by Public First, just 28 percent of American adults supported specifically applying tariffs to Canada, while 43 percent opposed.
Specifically, the senators’ legislation would work by terminating the February 1 emergency that Trump used to launch his trade war with Canada, and thus eliminate the tariffs on Canadian imports implemented as a result. Trump’s order cites the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA), an unprecedented use of IEEPA in its nearly half century history. After an initial one-month delay, President Trump decided to move forward with the tariffs, with the import taxes starting to be collected on March 4, 2025. In total, President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs will cost the average American household up to $2,000 a year, with the Canada tariffs making up a significant portion of that. These IEEPA tariffs represent the largest tax increase on American families in recent history.

MIL OSI USA News –

March 6, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Putnam County Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Crimes

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Dean E. Dawson, 65, of Hurricane, pleaded guilty today to one count of willful failure to pay over employment taxes on behalf of his business.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Dawson operated RPC Group LLC, a Hurricane, West Virginia, real estate appraisal business. Dawson was responsible for withholding employment taxes from RPC Group’s employees and paying over those funds to the IRS. Between 2015 and 2022, however, Dawson willfully failed to pay over to the IRS the employment taxes withheld from his employees’ paychecks. He also used the RPC Group’s business accounts to pay for personal expenses, including personal credit cards and his wife’s home mortgage, and issued checks to his wife from RPC Group even though she was not an employee of the business. In addition, from 2018 to 2023, Dawson did not file personal tax returns or pay income taxes. In total, Dawson caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $250,000.

Dawson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Dawson also owes restitution in an amount to be determined by the Court.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.

The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) is investigating the case.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Trial Attorneys Brian E. Flanagan and Rebecca A. Caruso of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan T. Storage for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting 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. 3:24-cr-120.

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MIL Security OSI –

March 6, 2025

Category: housing

Security and growth at the centre of the UK-Ireland Summit

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

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