NewzIntel.com

Category: KB

  • MIL-OSI Security: South Bend Man Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    SOUTH BEND – Terrence Dockery, 33 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco after pleading guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.

    Dockery was sentenced to 100 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release.

    According to documents in the case, police conducted a traffic stop as Dockery was riding his moped on a late summer night in South Bend. Police found Dockery in possession of two guns and about 30 grams of methamphetamine. Dockery has multiple prior felony convictions, including convictions for dealing methamphetamine and arson, and as such, he is prohibited from possessing the firearm in this case.

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the South Bend Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel Gabrielse.

    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 –

  • MIL-OSI: Nasdaq Announces Mid-Month Open Short Interest Positions in Nasdaq Stocks as of Settlement Date July 15, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, July 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — At the end of the settlement date of July 15, 2025, short interest in 3,260 Nasdaq Global MarketSM securities totaled 13,792,841,090 shares compared with 14,138,758,851 shares in 3,257 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of June 30, 2025. The mid-July short interest represents 2.37 days compared with 2.59 days for the prior reporting period.

    Short interest in 1,647 securities on The Nasdaq Capital MarketSM totaled 2,853,251,720 shares at the end of the settlement date of July 15, 2025, compared with 2,790,159,938 shares in 1,636 securities for the previous reporting period. This represents a 1.00 day average daily volume; the previous reporting period’s figure was 1.00.

    In summary, short interest in all 4,907 Nasdaq® securities totaled 16,646,092,810 shares at the July 15, 2025 settlement date, compared with 4,893 issues and 16,928,918,789 shares at the end of the previous reporting period. This is 1.84 days average daily volume, compared with an average of 1.72 days for the prior reporting period.

    The open short interest positions reported for each Nasdaq security reflect the total number of shares sold short by all broker/dealers regardless of their exchange affiliations. A short sale is generally understood to mean the sale of a security that the seller does not own or any sale that is consummated by the delivery of a security borrowed by or for the account of the seller.

    For more information on Nasdaq Short interest positions, including publication dates, visit
    http://www.nasdaq.com/quotes/short-interest.aspx
    or http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/asp/short_interest.asp.

    About Nasdaq:
    Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. We aspire to deliver world-leading platforms that improve the liquidity, transparency, and integrity of the global economy. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, exchange capabilities, and client-centric services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions, and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.     

    NDAQO

    Media Contact:
    Maximilian Leitenbeger
    Maximilian.leitenberger@nasdaq.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/191e07e7-3c36-44fc-a732-fcbe0fed5e44

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Allotment of Shares under DRIS

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    25 July 2025

    HARGREAVE HALE AIM VCT PLC
    (the “Company”)

    Allotment of Shares under DRIS

    The Company has today allotted 1,474,949 Ordinary Shares pursuant to its dividend reinvestment Scheme (“DRIS”) to Shareholders of the Company who elected to receive Ordinary Shares instead of the interim dividend of 0.75 pence per Ordinary Share and the special dividend of 0.50 pence per Ordinary Share, both paid today.

    The price at which the 1,474,949 Ordinary Shares were allotted was 35.06 pence per Ordinary Share, which was calculated, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the DRIS, on the basis of the last reported ex-dividend net asset value per Ordinary Share in the Company as at the close of business on 11 July 2025, which was announced on 14 July 2025.

    Application for the new shares to be admitted to the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on London Stock Exchange plc’s main market for listed securities has been made and dealings are expected to commence on or around 1 August 2025.

    As a Person Discharging Managerial Responsibility (“PDMR”), the following director of the Company, and his Persons Closely Associated, (“PCA”) were allotted shares at a price of 35.06 pence:

    Name No. of Shares allotted Holding following Allotment Percentage of Issued Share Capital held
    Justin WARD (PDMR) 1,895 55,052  

    0.02%
    Elizabeth WARD (PCA) 739 21,466

    Further information regarding the DRIS offered in respect of the Dividends can be found in the DRIS Mandate (the “DRIS Mandate“) available on the Company’s website to view and/or download at https://www.hargreaveaimvcts.co.uk/document-library/. The DRIS Mandate is also available on the National Storage Mechanism website at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

    As a result of the issue, the total number of Ordinary Shares in issue will be 372,633,288 with each Ordinary Share carrying one vote each. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in Treasury. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company will be 372,633,288. This figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

    END

    For further information, please contact:

    Canaccord Genuity Asset Management Limited
    Abbe Martineau
    Oliver Bedford    		 aimvct@canaccord.com
    +44 207 523 4525  
    +44 207 523 4837

    LEI: 213800LRYA19A69SIT31        

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Centex Technologies Welcomes Former Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp as Strategic Advisor

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    KILLEEN, Texas, July 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Centex Technologies is proud to announce that John Sharp, former Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, has joined the company as a Strategic Advisor. In this role, Mr. Sharp will support the company’s strategic expansion across cybersecurity, digital forensics, artificial intelligence, and managed IT services.

    With nearly two decades of experience, Centex Technologies provides secure, scalable, and transformative IT solutions for clients across both public and private sectors. The company’s expertise includes cybersecurity, IT modernization, cloud infrastructure, application development, digital forensics, and managed services. With teams in five states, Centex Technologies maintains a strong nationwide presence and serves as a trusted partner to federal agencies, state and local governments, higher education institutions, and commercial enterprises.

    “We are honored to welcome John Sharp to the Centex Technologies team,” said Abdul Subhani, CEO of Centex Technologies. “His distinguished record of service, visionary leadership, and deep understanding of state and federal systems make him an ideal strategic partner as we continue to scale our impact and expand our advanced IT solutions nationwide.”

    Mr. Sharp brings a wealth of experience to Centex Technologies. As Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System from 2011 to 2025, he oversaw one of the nation’s largest university systems and championed major initiatives in education, research, and technology. His previous roles in Texas state government including Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Railroad Commissioner, and member of both the Texas House and Senate further cement his reputation as a bold and effective leader.

    “After nearly 15 years leading the Texas A&M University System, I’m excited to begin this next chapter with Centex Technologies,” said Sharp. “Their reputation for innovation, national security work, and commitment to excellence – particularly in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and digital forensics reflects the kind of forward-thinking leadership our country needs. I look forward to helping Centex expand its reach and deepen its impact across both the public and private sectors”

    ABOUT CENTEX TECHNOLOGIES

    Founded in 2006, Centex Technologies is an IT consulting firm specializing in cybersecurity, digital forensics, AI integration, and managed IT solutions. The firm is ISO 9001:2015 certified, SBA 8(a) certified, and serves a wide range of clients across the federal government, state agencies, education systems, and commercial sectors through contract vehicles including GSA MAS, SeaPort NxG, TIPS, and Texas DIR and HUB programs.

    Inquiries about this press release can be sent to: Hailey Hunter, Media Coordinator – press@centextech.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0164283d-4bfe-4b0c-b5b3-79af8a39784d

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson Applauds France’s Decision to Recognize Palestinian Statehood, Calls for Renewed Push Toward Peace

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Jonathan Jackson – Illinois (1st District)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    CHICAGO, IL – Today, Congressman Jonathan Jackson (IL-01) issued the following statement in response to France’s announcement that it will formally recognize a Palestinian state in September:  

    “I commend President Emmanuel Macron and the French government for their courageous and principled decision to recognize Palestinian statehood. This historic step reaffirms France’s commitment to justice, diplomacy, and a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  

    “A two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine coexisting in security and mutual recognition, remains the only viable path to lasting peace. France’s leadership moves the world closer to that reality. The United States and the international community must follow this example by supporting dialogue, de-escalation, and a negotiated settlement that upholds the rights and dignity of all people in the region.  

    “Now is the time for bold action. Let us seize this moment to advance peace, stability, and hope for future generations. We must break this cycle of violence and work towards a lasting peace and prosperity.  The work is not a singular act, but rather a commitment made to bring our world together. “

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI from Fox News: ‘Shirts and Skins’: How one Republican bridged the gap to pass Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)

    ICYMI from Fox News: ‘Shirts and Skins’: How one Republican bridged the gap to pass Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

    “‘Hey, we’re all on the same team,’ is a little tougher than what people think.”
    Washington, D.C. – ICYMI, Fox News published the following piece crediting U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin’s (R-OK) essential role in uniting House and Senate Republicans to accomplish President Trump’s ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill.’ The article highlights Mullin’s important role the “de facto liaison between the chambers” and specifically notes his importance in managing a SALT deal that “helped seal the deal for anxious blue state House Republicans.”
    Additionally, Fox News reported on the evolution of the senator’s negotiating style due to the leadership of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), writing, “for a time his negotiating style was arguing with lawmakers to convince them ‘why you’re wrong.’ But that style softened after watching Thune.”
    Read the full story from Fox News HERE and below:
    ‘Shirts and Skins’: How one Republican bridged the gap to pass Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
    By Alex Miller | July 24, 2025
    Passing President Donald Trump’s agenda was a team effort between the Senate and House, but one Senate Republican was key in smoothing over differences between the two chambers.
    “There’s an inherent mistrust between senators and representatives,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital in an interview. “There’s a deep, deep mistrust, and it’s like we’re playing shirts and skins with our own team.”
    “And trying to break down that barrier and let people know, ‘Hey, we’re all on the same team,’ is a little tougher than what people think,” he continued.
    House Republicans were dead set on crafting one, colossal package, while Senate Republicans preferred splitting the bill into two — even three — pieces. Then there were disagreements over the depth of spending cuts, changes to Medicaid and carveouts to boost the cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT).
    And while the House GOP worked to craft their version of the massive, $3.3 trillion tax cuts and spending package that eventually made its way to the Senate, Mullin was a crucial figure in bridging the roughly 100-yard gap between both sides of the Capitol.
    But it’s a job he never really wanted.
    Mullin, who has been in Washington for over a decade, got his start in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2021. He wanted to maintain “lifelong friendships” with his House colleagues, but becoming the de facto liaison between the chambers was more a decision of practicality than one he truly desired.
    “The first couple of deputy whip meetings we had when [Senate Majority Leader John Thune] was whip was discussing what the House is going to do, and no one knew,” Mullin said. “And I was like, ‘Man, it’s just down the hall, we can go walk and talk to them.’ So the first time I did that, I went to the [House GOP] conference and just talked.”
    “And then it just turned into me going to Thune and saying, ‘Hey, why don’t I just become a liaison between the two?’ So I didn’t, I never envisioned of doing that, other than just keeping a relationship, but it was a natural fit,” he continued.
    That role began when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who Mullin had a longstanding relationship with, led the House GOP, and has continued since House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took the helm in 2023.
    And it paid dividends during the six-month slog to draft and pass Trump’s budget reconciliation bill, which required full buy-in from congressional Republicans to do so given that no Democrats were involved in the process.
    Markwayne said that before the bill even made it to the Senate in early June, he played a role in ensuring that House Republicans didn’t “dump a ton of stuff in there” that would be nixed by Senate rules.
    He effectively ping-ponged back and forth between the chambers, jetting from morning workouts to speak with lawmakers, meeting with House Republicans during their weekly conference confabs or holding smaller discussions with lawmakers, particularly blue state Republicans concerned about changes to SALT, to get everyone on roughly the same page.
    Much of it broke down to explaining how the Senate’s Byrd rule, which governs reconciliation and allows either party to skirt the Senate filibuster to pass legislation, worked.
    “I mean, even though I spent 12 or 10 years in the House, I never understood the Byrd rule, but why would I? I didn’t have to deal with it,” he said. “So really getting to understand that, and breaking down that barrier helped.”
    The flow of information wasn’t just one way, however. His discussions with House Republicans helped him better inform his colleagues in the upper chamber of their priorities, and what could and couldn’t be touched as Senate Republicans began putting their fingerprints on the bill.
    SALT was the main issue that he focused on, and one that most Senate Republicans didn’t care much for. Still, it was a make-or-break agreement to raise the caps, albeit temporarily, to $40,000 for single and joint filers for the next five years, that helped seal the deal for anxious blue state House Republicans.
    “Just keeping them informed through the process was very important,” he said. “But at the same time, talking to the House, and when we’re negotiating over here, I’d be like, ‘No guys, that’s a killer,’” he said. “We can’t do that if you, if you touch this, it’s dead over there for sure.
    Guaranteed, it’s dead.”
    Over time, his approach to the role has changed, an evolution he said was largely influenced by Thune.
    A self-described “bull in a China cabinet,” Mullin said that for a time his negotiating style was arguing with lawmakers to convince them “why you’re wrong.” But that style softened after watching Thune, he said, and saw him talking less and listening more.
    “I took his lead off of it to let people talk,” he said. “Sometimes you’re going to find out that they’re actually upset about something that had nothing to do with the bill, but they’re taking that, and they’re holding the bill hostage to be able to let this one point be heard.”
    “I don’t think it was a good indication that we were butting heads. Everybody was very passionate about this. I mean, they’ve been working for a long time. We looked at it as maybe a once in a generation opportunity for us to be able to get this done,” he continued. “We wanted to get it right, but everybody wanted to have their fingerprint on it and at the end of the day, we knew we [had] to bring it to the floor.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Ms. Anuradha Thakur, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, nominated on RBI Central Board

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    The Central Government has nominated Ms. Anuradha Thakur, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India vice Shri Ajay Seth. The nomination of Ms. Anuradha Thakur is effective from July 24, 2025 and until further orders.

    (Puneet Pancholy)  
    Chief General Manager

    Press Release: 2025-2026/789

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • Why is France recognising Palestinian statehood and who else has?

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will recognise Palestinian statehood, drawing angry rebukes from Israel and the United States and opening the door for other major nations to potentially like Britain and Canada to perhaps follow suit.

    Below are some details about Macron’s announcement, driven by a rising global outcry over starvation and devastation in Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas militants, as well as other nations’ position on having Palestinian statehood recognised.

    WHAT DID MACRON SAY?

    Macron published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France’s intention to press ahead with recognition and work to convince other partners to do the same. He said he would make a formal announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next month.

    France is now the first major Western country to shift its diplomatic stance on a Palestinian state, after Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised one last year.

    WHY IS THIS SIGNIFICANT?

    The decision to recognise Palestinian statehood is mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long aimed to establish that state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

    But the move by France, which is home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, could fuel a movement so far dominated by smaller nations generally more critical of Israel.

    It also makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage over the war in Gaza, which is suffering from a wave of hunger that the World Health Organization’s chief said this week amounts to man-made mass starvation.

    Israel says it is committed to allowing aid into Gaza but must control it to prevent it being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza’s 2.2 million people.

    WHY DID MACRON DO THIS?

    Macron had been leaning towards the move for months as part of a bid to keep the idea of a two-state solution alive, despite the pressure not to do so. He decided to do it ahead of a U.N. conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on the matter next week to try to sway other countries considering that step, or those that are wavering.

    WHAT IMPACT COULD IT HAVE ON FRENCH TIES WITH ISRAEL

    Ahead of Macron’s announcement, Israeli officials had spent months lobbying to prevent what some had called “a nuclear bomb” for bilateral relations.

    Sources familiar with the matter say Israel’s warnings to France had ranged from scaling back intelligence-sharing to complicating Paris’ regional initiatives – even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank.

    WHO COULD BE NEXT?

    France’s decision may put pressure on major countries like Britain, Germany, Australia, Canada and Japan to take the same path. In the immediate term, Malta and Belgium could be the next countries within the European Union to do so.

    A British cabinet minister said on Friday that Britain supports eventual recognition of a Palestinian state, but the immediate priority should be alleviating the suffering in Gaza and securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

    Germany said on Friday it was not planning to recognise Palestinian statehood in the short term, rather its priority waas to make “long-overdue progress” towards a two-state solution – Israel and a Palestinian state co-existing in peace.

    WHO ELSE HAS RECOGNISED PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD?

    Last year, Ireland, Norway and Spain recognised a Palestinian state with its borders to be demarcated as they were prior to the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

    However, they also recognised that those borders may change in any eventual talks to reach a final settlement, and that their decisions did not diminish their belief in Israel’s fundamental right to exist in peace and security.

    About 144 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise Palestine as a state, including most of the global south as well as Russia, China and India. But only a handful of the 27 European Union members do so, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.

    The U.N. General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to “non-member state” from “entity.”

    HOW DID THE UNITED STATES, ISRAEL, AND PALESTINIANS REACT?

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the decision by France, one of Israel’s closest allies and a G7 member, saying such a move “rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy”.

    Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described it as “a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism”. He added that Israel would not allow the establishment of a “Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence”.

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States “strongly rejects (Macron’s) plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly.”

    “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,” Rubio posted on X. “It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th” – a reference to Hamas’ 2023 cross-border attack on Israel that set off the Gaza war.

    Thanking France, the Palestinian Authority’s Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh said Macron’s decision reflected “France’s commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state”.

    The Palestine Liberation Organization recognised Israel’s right to exist in peace at the start of the U.S.-backed peace process in 1993 that set up the Palestinian Authority in what Palestinians hoped would be a stepping stone towards statehood.

    But Hamas and other Palestinian Islamist militants who have long dominated Gaza and frequently clash with Israeli forces in the West Bank reject recognition of Israel.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sign Up for Free Community College With SUNY Reconnect

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul visited Suffolk County Community College as part of her efforts to highlight the SUNY Reconnect program to provide free community college for adult learners, ages 25-55, who don’t already have a college degree and who are pursuing an associate degree in a high-demand field. The SUNY Reconnect program, which will begin in fall 2025, is part of Governor Hochul’s ongoing efforts to empower New Yorkers to pursue good jobs, and to ensure employers have access to a well-educated workforce to help the state’s economy thrive.

    “In every corner of our state, adult New Yorkers will have access to free community college so they will be able to realize their dreams of better jobs in high-demand industries,” Governor Hochul said. “Through SUNY Reconnect, community colleges like Suffolk County Community College will offer a world-class education to New Yorkers, for free, and will help empower these future leaders to turbo-charge our state economy and pursue paths to upward mobility.”

    Launched in mid-May following passage of the 2025-26 State Budget, SUNY Reconnect will make it possible for eligible adult students, ages 25-55, to pursue degrees in high-demand fields for free at SUNY community colleges throughout the state. To help prospective students learn more, SUNY community colleges are holding informational sessions and recruitment events. An updated listing can be found at: https://www.suny.edu/communitycollege/free-cc/sessions/.

    Governor Hochul was joined by SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. as they visited Suffolk County Community College where they highlighted the school’s Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC/R) program, which is an eligible associate degree program under the free community college initiative. To support adult learner success through SUNY Reconnect, Suffolk County Community College will utilize online and hybrid options for students that need to work while attending classes. Students will also have access to personal support specifically for adult learners, including on-campus childcare centers.

    SUNY Chancellor King said, “Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership, SUNY is on the move and our community colleges are stepping up to help New Yorkers around the state earn a degree in high-need fields. SUNY community colleges are pathways to upward mobility, and with the support of Governor Hochul and state leaders, Suffolk County Community College and all SUNY community colleges are ensuring that every eligible New Yorker interested in a degree in a high-need field will be able to unleash their full potential.”

    The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “SUNY has been New Yorkers’ engine of upward mobility and access to a world-class, affordable higher education for 77 years, and with the support of Governor Hochul SUNY Reconnect represents a bold new chapter in our history of service. By offering a community college education free of charge for adult learners seeking degrees in high-need fields, Governor Hochul and state leaders made a bold investment in the future of our state economy and workforce.”

    New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, “Free community college for adult learners opens new doors for New Yorkers and ensures skilled and knowledgeable workers in sectors that communities statewide rely on, including education, healthcare, and technology. I thank Governor Hochul for advancing workforce development initiatives through SUNY programs that not only set up adult students for success but also help make the state an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family.”

    State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky said, “Everyone’s educational journey is different. Sometimes the path has hurdles and challenges. This initiative will enable students between the ages of 25 to 55 to complete their journey. It also expands workforce development in high demand fields. As a result, everyone benefits.”

    To support the launch of SUNY Reconnect, SUNY has:

    • Allocated $4 million to community colleges to support SUNY Reconnect programmatic implementation through advising, enrollment, outreach, award of credit for prior learning, and other student services, supports, and campus operations.
    • Provided an additional $1 million to cover equipment, materials, supplies, and other one-time needs to increase student enrollment capacity in high-demand programs that are part of SUNY Reconnect.
    • Announced $1.1 million in grant funding for the SUNY Adult Learner Leadership Initiative to help community colleges increase access and ensure degree completion for adult learners.

    SUNY Reconnect will fund degrees in high-demand fields including:

    • Advanced manufacturing
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Engineering
    • Technology
    • Nursing and allied health fields
    • Green and renewable energy
    • Pathways to teaching in shortage areas

    In addition to SUNY Reconnect, the FY25-26 Enacted State Budget provides $8 million in increased operating aid to community colleges – the first back-to-back operating aid increases in decades for these institutions – and maintains the 100% community college funding floor, which protects community colleges from $75 million lost direct state tax support.

    The budget also provides significant funding toward New York’s longstanding Educational Opportunity Program, which has served more than 85,000 students, and increased support for ASAP|ACE, which will make these proven retention and completion programs permanent at SUNY and allow for a significant expansion.

    Assemblymember Tommy John Schiavoni said, “As an educator for 30 years, I know firsthand how transformative access to higher education can be for individuals and entire communities. Governor Hochul’s SUNY Reconnect initiative will open doors for thousands of adult learners across New York, giving them the opportunity to build careers in high-demand fields while strengthening our state’s workforce and economy. I am proud to support this bold investment in New Yorkers’ futures.”

    Suffolk County Community College President Dr. Edward Bonahue said, “Suffolk County Community College is dedicated to the value of lifelong learning, and SUNY Reconnect is a major step forward in helping us fulfill that mission. With this support from the state, we are proud to welcome adult learners preparing for careers in the high-demand fields critical to growing Long Island’s workforce.”

    New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person said, “From Niagara to Suffolk and every community in between, SUNY Reconnect is an historic step toward making higher education truly accessible. By removing financial barriers, it gives thousands of adult learners the chance to return to school, build new careers in high-demand fields, and strengthen their families. NYSUT is proud to stand with Gov. Hochul and Chancellor King to support a future where every New Yorker has the opportunity to thrive.”

    New York State Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen Acquario said, “Community colleges are at the heart of local communities across New York State, offering accessible and affordable education while also serving as critical engines of workforce development. By removing financial barriers for adults to return to college and pursue degrees in high-demand fields, this initiative will help employers fill job openings and enable more New Yorkers to build fulfilling careers right in their communities. We commend Governor Hochul for her leadership in expanding educational access and creating meaningful opportunities for working-age adults across the state.”

    New York Community College Association of Presidents and SUNY Orange President Dr. Kristine Young said, “Access and affordability have long been the hallmarks of New York’s community colleges. Governor Hochul’s support of SUNY Reconnect brings degrees in high-demand fields into reach for adult learners by further removing costs as a barrier. Students will gain access on our campuses to academic excellence and robust support systems, while being able to take advantage of the meaningful connections we’ve built with local and state employers in these critical sectors where skilled employees are needed. My colleagues at each of our 30 SUNY community colleges are more than ready to welcome new and returning adult learners throughout the state and to help them achieve their academic, career and personal goals.”

    About The State University of New York
    The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Inaugural conference to reimagine an efficient, safe transport system 

    Source: Government of South Africa

    By Ivy Masale

    The year 2025 marks a defining moment for South Africa’s transport sector, with the launch of the inaugural National Transport Conference, which is scheduled to take place from 6 – 8 October 2025 in Gauteng.

    Hosted by the Department of Transport, this landmark event brings together government, State-owned enterprises (SOEs), private businesses, academia and civil society in one unified conversation.

    For the first time, all stakeholders in the transport ecosystem will gather under one roof to exchange ideas, align strategies, and shape the future of mobility across aviation, rail, road, maritime and public transport.

    Transport is more than movement: it is the lifeblood of economic growth and social connection.

    It links rural communities to markets, supports trade across borders, and fuels development in cities. Yet, the sector faces mounting challenges. Infrastructure is under pressure and requires modernisation. 

    Passenger rail, once the backbone of public transport, must be restored to full service. Ports need to achieve world-class operational standards. Road fatalities remain unacceptably high. At the same time, technology is changing how goods and people move, and sustainability demands innovative, green solutions.

    Addressing these challenges requires bold thinking and collaboration. It demands a shared national agenda where every role-player — government, industry, academia, and investors — works in step.

    Until now, South Africa has hosted numerous successful conferences on transport — from the Southern African Transport Conference to the Africa Rail and the Smarter Mobility Summit. These forums have produced valuable insights, but discussions often remain within specific sectors. The absence of a unifying platform has made it difficult to consolidate recommendations into a coherent national strategy.

    The National Transport Conference changes this. It is not here to replace existing events but to complement and amplify them. It creates a single forum where knowledge converges, and where ideas can be turned into policies, partnerships and solutions that impact the entire country.

    This strategic step by the Department of Transport reflects government’s commitment to transforming mobility in ways that boost economic competitiveness, improve safety, create jobs and advance sustainability.

    It also aligns with the priorities set out by the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy for her term of office–revitalising rail, expanding air and freight capacity, improving port efficiency, reducing road fatalities and positioning rail as the backbone of transport. These ambitions are not abstract targets; they are performance commitments aimed at unlocking opportunity for millions of South Africans.

    Delegates can look forward to a dynamic programme that includes high-level keynote sessions from government leaders, industry executives, including global transport experts.

    Discussions will explore critical themes such as restoring passenger rail services and expanding freight volumes to reduce road congestion and support economic growth, leveraging digital innovation and intelligent transport systems, unlocking investment through public-private partnerships, improving road safety in line with global targets and implementing low-emission transport solutions to reduce environmental impact.

    Breakaway sessions will give participants a chance to engage deeply with specific challenges. Researchers can share findings that inform policy, while practitioners can explore practical solutions to accelerate implementation. Exhibitions will showcase innovative transport technologies–from electric buses and smart ticketing systems to logistics optimisation tools and green aviation solutions.

    The future of transport 

    This conference is for everyone who has a stake in South Africa’s transport future. Researchers will gain a platform to present studies that influence national policy. Businesses will discover opportunities to partner on infrastructure projects or introduce new technologies.

    Transport operators will access critical insights on regulations, funding models, and innovation. Academics will find networks for collaboration. Policymakers and officials will strengthen ties with global thought leaders and learn from best practices.

    Beyond the professional value, the conference offers unparalleled networking opportunities. It is a chance to meet decision-makers, investors, and innovators–all under one roof–discussing how to build a transport system that works for the economy and for people.

    This is not just a dialogue; it is a platform for action. The conference will adopt a National Transport Agenda — a strategic framework that sets out key priorities for the year ahead and aligns with government’s developmental objectives.

    Delegates will contribute to a formal declaration and an actionable roadmap to ensure follow-through on commitments. These outcomes will also inform the October Transport Month campaign, linking dialogue to implementation timelines.

    Capacity-building workshops will provide training opportunities to strengthen skills across the sector. Knowledge-sharing sessions will highlight global best practices that can be adapted to local realities. Public-private partnerships will be fostered to unlock investment and resources for large-scale projects.
    The ultimate goal is a transport system that is integrated, efficient and sustainable. One that supports economic growth, connects people to opportunities, and enhances safety and accessibility for all.

    The launch of the National Transport Conference signals a new era of partnership and progress.

    It is an opportunity to move beyond fragmented conversations and towards a shared vision for mobility. For government, it is a platform to lead transformation. For industry, it is a chance to invest in growth. For citizens, it promises a future where transport is safe, affordable and reliable.

    South Africa stands at a pivotal point in its journey to reimagine mobility. The question now is not whether change will come–but how fast and how well we can make it happen. The National Transport Conference is where that future begins.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News in Brief: Around the Air Force: Global Teamwork for REFORPAC, Rapid Global Mobility, Modernizing GPS

    Source: United States Spaceforce

    In this week’s look around the Air Force, personnel, equipment and aircraft surge into the Indo-Pacific theatre for Resolute Force Pacific, AMC provides the logistical foundation for the Department-Level Exercise series, and Space Operations Command takes steps to modernize GPS.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: United Kingdom helps Guatemala to combat plastic pollution

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    World news story

    United Kingdom helps Guatemala to combat plastic pollution

    Deputy Head of Mission (DHM) Paul Huggins participated in the launch of Guatemala’s National Plastics Action Partnership (NPAP).

    During the event, he offered closing remarks highlighting the United Kingdom’s commitment to the Global Plastics Action Partnership (GPAP), of which Guatemala has been a member since January 2025, and underscored the importance of international collaborations in addressing global environmental challenges. 

    DHM Huggins praised Guatemala’s leadership in creating inclusive, evidence-based policies and welcomed its recent membership in the UK-founded High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (HAC). He also reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s commitment to concluding negotiations for a legally binding global treaty on plastics by August of this year. 

    The event was attended by the Minister of Environment, Patricia Orantes; the Vice Minister for Climate Change, Edwin Castellanos, and representatives of partner organizations and implementers of the NPAP in Guatemala.

    The UK, through the Blue Planet Fund and in collaboration with other partners has contributed £24 million to the GPAP program since 2018, supporting initiatives that promote the circular economy and improve the conditions of informal waste workers.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI China: Northeast China issues alerts for rainstorms, flooding

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

    CHANGCHUN/HARBIN, July 25 — Northeastern Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin on Friday issued alerts for flood and farmland waterlogging as rainstorms have swollen multiple rivers in the region.

    Heavy rainfall is expected from Thursday to Saturday in parts of the Songhua River and Liaohe River basins, including their tributaries, likely causing significant water level rises in multiple rivers across the affected regions, according to the Songhua-Liaohe water resources commission under the Ministry of Water Resources.

    Authorities overseeing the flood-control work for the two rivers have activated Level IV emergency responses for flood prevention and control, urging particular attention paid to the safety of small reservoirs as well as the prevention of mountain torrents.

    Early on Friday morning, the water resources department and meteorological administration in Jilin Province jointly issued an orange alert, indicating a high likelihood of flood disasters, including river flooding and farmland waterlogging, over the next 24 hours in the southwestern region of Changchun, capital of Jilin, and in the central-western areas of Siping City.

    A yellow alert for flood disaster risks was issued later, covering central Changchun and northern part of Jilin City. Local authorities have been urged to strengthen preventive measures, promptly activate emergency response plans, and ensure public safety.

    China has a four-tier weather warning system — with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

    Heilongjiang issued a red alert for rainstorms at 8 a.m. on Friday.

    According to the Heilongjiang Meteorological Observatory, it is expected that some southern townships of the Mongolian Autonomous County of Dorbod could receive accumulated precipitation of up to 100 mm within the space of just three hours.

    Local weather authorities advised all relevant departments to implement emergency flood prevention and disaster response measures — including timely evacuation of personnel from high-risk areas. Comprehensive measures to prevent urban waterlogging, river floods and mountain torrents should be reinforced, with intensified inspections and reinforcement of bridges, culverts, roadbeds, embankments and reservoirs.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s largest land port handles 30,000 China-Europe freight train trips since 2013

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

    China’s largest land port handles 30,000 China-Europe freight train trips since 2013

    Updated: July 25, 2025 21:32 Xinhua
    An aerial drone photo taken on July 25, 2025 shows freight trains preparing to depart from the railway station in Manzhouli, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Manzhouli railway port, China’s largest land port, has handled 30,000 China-Europe freight train trips and nearly 3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of goods since 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]
    This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows a freight train loaded with goods arriving at the railway station in Manzhouli, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo shows containers being loaded at Manzhouli railway station in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    This photo shows containers being loaded at Manzhouli railway station in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 25, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows a freight train departing from the railway station in Manzhouli, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on July 25, 2025 shows freight trains preparing to depart from the railway station in Manzhouli, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China logs steady increase in cross-regional passenger trips in H1

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

    China logged 33.76 billion cross-regional passenger trips in the first half of 2025, a 4.2 percent increase over the same period last year, the Ministry of Transport said on Friday.

    Rail journeys rose 6.7 percent, road travel grew 4 percent, and the number of air passengers climbed 6 percent. International flights led the rebound, surging 28.5 percent.

    Freight traffic remained solid amid resilient global logistics. Commercial freight totaled 28.03 billion tonnes, up 3.9 percent year on year.

    The total port cargo throughput continued to rise, with the number of foreign trade containers growing at a relatively fast pace. China’s ports handled 8.9 billion tonnes of cargo during the period, up 4 percent from the year prior.

    Fixed-asset investment in transport held steady at 1.65 trillion yuan (about 231 billion U.S. dollars), underscoring continued infrastructure momentum. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Development Minister sets out new United Kingdom (UK) approach to development at G20 meeting in South Africa

    Source: APO – Report:

    .

    • Development Minister Baroness Chapman will reset the UK’s approach to international development at the G20 Development Meeting in South Africa today (Friday, 25 July).
    • Economic development underpins the UK’s new approach, as the Minister visits a South African food producer supported by the FCDO’s development arm BII.
    • The UK is supporting countries to transition from traditional aid to innovative financing for development, as the Minister visits a centre for survivors of gender-based violence funded by both the UK and the private sector.

    The UK is resetting its relationship with countries in the Global South and helping countries exit the need for aid, as Baroness Chapman attends the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting in South Africa today (Friday 25 July 2025).

    This follows the publication of ODA allocations earlier this week (Tuesday 22 July 2025), which indicate how the UK is going to spend its aid budget for the next year.

    The UK will move from being a donor to a genuine partner and investor, ensuring every pound spent on aid delivers for the UK taxpayer and the people we support.

    Economic development underpins the UK’s new approach, to help countries grow fairer, more resilient economies and ultimately exit the need for aid, in support of the government’s Plan for Change.

    The Minister saw this in action yesterday (Thursday 24 July 2025) as she visited an Agristar farm which produces macadamia nuts in Mbombela, eastern South Africa. British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, is supporting Agristar to expand – supporting jobs and growth and helping to stock British supermarket shelves. 

    The Minister also visited a UK supported care centre for survivors of gender-based violence in Mbombela, alongside South African Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disability, Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga. The centre is supported by a multi-donor fund which has seen increased backing from South African and international private investors. The innovative funding approach has supported over 200 community-based organisations in South Africa working to prevent violence in schools and communities and provide response services for survivors of gender-based violence. This demonstrates the UK and South Africa’s shared commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

    By mobilising private finance and empowering partners to take charge of their own development, the UK is moving away from a paternalistic approach to aid.

    Minister for Development, Baroness Chapman said:

    We want to help countries move beyond aid. In South Africa, I’ve seen the impact we can have with genuine partnerships, rather than paternalism. Our work is supporting jobs and generating global economic growth – and bringing high quality South African produce to UK shops. 

    At the G20 in South Africa, I have one simple message: the world has changed and so must we. The UK is taking a new approach to development, responding to the needs of our partners and delivering real impact and value for money for UK taxpayers.

    At the G20, the Minister is due to discuss the UK’s new approach to international development with counterparts from Egypt, India and Germany.

    The Agristar farm in Mbombela, which the Minister visited yesterday, has benefitted from UK investment as part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). BII support has enabled the macadamia nut producer to expand its operations across Africa, invest in measures to mitigate climate risks, and support nearly 400 jobs. BII is also supporting Agristar’s expansion into Malawi.

    BII, which aims to make a return on its investments, has so far supported 92 companies in South Africa and over 35,000 jobs.   

    Its success highlights how the UK’s investment in international development is driving green growth and jobs, boosting global prosperity and stability to help create the conditions to deliver the government’s Plan for Change at home.   

    The Minister will also announce today a new £2 million commitment to support local agribusiness projects by partnering with South African investment funds to drive more private finance for the farming sector.

    In G20 talks on tackling illicit financial flows, the Minister will highlight how money and assets siphoned away as part of criminal activity deprive lower-income countries of vital resources which could otherwise support growth and development. The Foreign Secretary is leading a campaign against illicit finance, mobilising the best UK expertise and international partnerships, so dirty money has nowhere to hide. This is also vital to deterring threats to the safety and security of Britain, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

    – on behalf of United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Deportation tactics from 4 US presidents have done little to reduce the undocumented immigrant population

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kevin Johnson, Dean and Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, University of California, Davis

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escort a detained immigrant into an elevator on June 17, 2025, in New York. AP Photo/Olga Fedorova

    All modern U.S. presidents, both Republican and Democratic, have attempted to reduce the population of millions of undocumented immigrants. But their various strategies have not had significant results, with the population hovering around 11 million from 2005 to 2022.

    President Donald Trump seeks to change that.

    With harsh rhetoric that has sowed fear in immigrant communities, and policies that ignore immigrants’ due process rights, Trump has pursued deportation tactics that differ dramatically from those of any other modern U.S. president.

    As a scholar who examines the history of U.S. immigration law and enforcement, I believe that it remains far from clear whether the Trump White House will significantly reduce the undocumented population. But even if the administration’s efforts fail, the fear and damage to the U.S. immigrant community will remain.

    Presidents Bush and Obama

    To increase deportations, in 2006 President George W. Bush began using workplace raids. Among these sweeps was the then-largest immigration workplace operation in U.S. history at a meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa in 2008.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deployed 900 agents in Postville and arrested 398 employees, 98% of whom were Latino. They were chained together and arraigned in groups of 10 for felony criminal charges of aggravated identity theft, document fraud and use of stolen Social Security numbers. Some 300 were convicted, and 297 of them served jail sentences before being deported.

    Men wait in a holding cell on June 21, 2006, in Nogales, Arizona.
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    In 2008, Bush also initiated Secure Communities, a policy that sought to deport noncitizens – both lawful permanent residents as well as undocumented immigrants – who had been arrested for crimes. Some 2 million immigrants were deported during Bush’s two terms in office.

    The Obama administration limited Secure Communities to focus on the removal of noncitizens convicted of felonies. It deported a record 400,000 noncitizens in fiscal year 2013, which led detractors to refer to President Barack Obama as the “Deporter in Chief.”

    Obama also targeted recent entrants and national security threats and pursued criminal prosecutions for illegal reentry to the U.S. Almost all of these policies built on Bush’s, although Obama virtually abandoned workplace raids.

    Despite these enforcement measures, Obama also initiated Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, in 2012. The policy provided relief from deportation and gave work authorization to more than 500,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children.

    Obama deported about 3 million noncitizens, but the size of the undocumented population did not decrease dramatically.

    The first Trump administration and Biden

    Trump’s first administration broke new immigration enforcement ground in several ways.

    He began his presidency by issuing what was called a “Muslim ban” to restrict the entry into the U.S. of noncitizens from predominantly Muslim nations.

    Early in Trump’s first administration, federal agents expanded immigration operations to include raids at courthouses, which previously had been off-limits.

    In 2017, Trump tried to rescind DACA, but the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s effort in 2020.

    In 2019, Trump implemented the Remain in Mexico policy that for the first time forced noncitizens who came to the U.S. border seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while their claims were being decided. He also invoked Title 42 in 2020 to close U.S. borders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Trump succeeded in reducing legal immigration numbers during his first term. However, there is no evidence that his enforcement policies reduced the size of the overall undocumented population.

    President Joe Biden sought to relax – although not abandon – some immigration enforcement measures implemented during Trump’s first term.

    His administration slowed construction of the border wall championed by Trump. Biden also stopped workplace raids in 2021, and in 2023, he ended Title 42.

    In 2023, Biden sought to respond to migration surges in a measured fashion, by temporarily closing ports of entry and increasing arrests.

    In attempting to enforce the borders, his administration at times pursued tough measures. Biden continued deportation efforts directed at criminal noncitizens. Immigrant rights groups criticized his administration when armed Border Patrol officers on horseback were videotaped chasing Haitian migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.

    As of 2022, the middle of the Biden’s term, an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants lived in the U.S.

    Immigration-rights activists stage a rally outside President Barack Obama’s Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser in Los Angeles, after the president signed a bill that tightened security at the Mexico border in August 2010.
    Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

    A second chance

    Since his second inauguration, Trump has pursued a mass deportation campaign through executive orders that are unprecedented in their scope.

    In January 2025, he announced an expanded, expedited removal process for any noncitizen apprehended anywhere in the country – not just the border region, as had been U.S. practice since 1996.

    In March, Trump issued a presidential proclamation to deport Venezuelan nationals who were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. In doing so, he invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 – an act used three times in U.S. history during declared wars that empowers presidents to remove foreign nationals from countries at war with the U.S.

    Declaring an “invasion” of migrants into the U.S. in June, Trump deployed the military to assist in immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.

    Trump also sought to dramatically upend birthright citizenship, the Constitutional provision that guarantees citizenship to any person born in the U.S. He issued an executive order in January that would bar citizenship to people born in the U.S. to undocumented parents.

    California National Guard members stand in formation during a protest in Los Angeles on June 14, 2025.
    David Pashaee/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

    The birthright executive order has been challenged in federal court and is mostly likely working its way up to the Supreme Court.

    Under the second Trump administration, immigration arrests are up, but actual deportation numbers are in flux.

    ICE in June arrested the most people in a month in at least five years, roughly 30,000 immigrants. But deportations of noncitizens – roughly 18,000 – lagged behind those during the Obama administration’s record-setting year of 2013 in which more than 400,000 noncitizens were deported.

    The gap between arrests and deportations shows the challenges the Trump administration faces in making good on his promised mass deportation campaign.

    Undocumented immigrants often come to the U.S. to work or seek safety from natural disasters and mass violence.

    These issues have not been seriously addressed by any modern U.S. president. Until it is, we can expect the undocumented population to remain in the millions.

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

    – ref. Deportation tactics from 4 US presidents have done little to reduce the undocumented immigrant population – https://theconversation.com/deportation-tactics-from-4-us-presidents-have-done-little-to-reduce-the-undocumented-immigrant-population-261640

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: DAO 05/25 letter: Green Book Review 2025: Findings

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Correspondence

    DAO 05/25 letter: Green Book Review 2025: Findings

    ‘Dear Accounting Officer’ letters provide advice on accountability, regularity, propriety, value for money and annual accounting exercises.

    Documents

    DAO 05/25 letter: Green Book Review 2025: Findings

    PDF, 119 KB, 4 pages

    This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

    Request an accessible format.
    If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

    Details

    In January 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a review of the Green Book and how it is used to support fair, objective and transparent appraisal of projects outside of London and the south-east of England. The conclusions of the Green Book Review were published alongside the Spending Review on 11 June 2025.  It sets out that the Green Book, and the way that it is used, need to change.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 July 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Around the Air Force: Global Teamwork for REFORPAC, Rapid Global Mobility, Modernizing GPS

    Source: United States Air Force

    Headline: Around the Air Force: Global Teamwork for REFORPAC, Rapid Global Mobility, Modernizing GPS

    In this week’s look around the Air Force, personnel, equipment and aircraft surge into the Indo-Pacific theatre for Resolute Force Pacific, AMC provides the logistical foundation for the Department-Level Exercise series, and Space Operations Command takes steps to modernize GPS.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Commission highlights progress and challenges in EU anti-fraud efforts in 2024 PIF Report

    Source: European Anti-Fraud Offfice

    Press release 22/2025
    PDF version 

    Today the European Commission adopted its 2024 Annual Report on the protection of the EU’s financial interests (‘PIF’ report). The report shows the progress made by the anti-fraud bodies at EU and national level in strengthening their coordination, promoting the digitalisation of the fight against fraud, and reporting detected cases of fraud and irregularities to the Commission. As the Commission focuses on further strengthening the EU anti-fraud architecture and fostering the digitalisation of the fight against fraud, it recommends Member States to pursue a similar path at national level.

    The 2024 PIF report takes stock of the various initiatives adopted at EU and national level to strengthen the EU anti-fraud governance and the fight against fraud affecting the EU’s financial interests through digital tools and innovative technologies. This process takes a renewed momentum with the structured reflection process for the review of the EU Anti-Fraud Architecture launched by the Commission on 16 July 2025.

    Piotr Serafin, Commissioner for Budget, Anti-fraud and Public Administration, said: “The Commission has presented an ambitious new long-term budget that will equip Europe to become an independent, prosperous, secure, and thriving society and economy over the coming decade. To protect these resources from fraud, we need an EU anti-fraud architecture that can better address the challenges ahead, bridge existing gaps, and streamline cooperation between its various actors, at both EU and national level.”

    The report offers an overview of the development of anti-fraud legislation and policies across the EU. In 2024, for example, addressing conflicts of interest emerged as a common theme across several Member States. 

    According to the report, while the number of irregularities – 13 589 in total – reported by the competent EU and national authorities slightly decreased in 2024 compared to 2023, the number of reported cases of fraud increased to 1 364, 26% more than in 2023. This increase may be the result of the reiterated recommendations addressed by the Commission to the Member States in the past years to better report detected fraud. The Commission will continue monitoring this trend in the coming years also to assess whether Member States follow-up effectively on these detected cases, another frequently reiterated Commissions recommendation.

    To ensure further improvement of reporting and follow-up of cases of suspected fraud and irregularities, the Commission recommends that Member States establish appropriate communication channels between the actors involved. In the Commission’s view, the adoption of national anti-fraud strategies remains a pillar for anti-fraud governance at the national level. Every Member State shall adopt such a strategy, ideally integrating the development of IT tools and the use of innovative technologies at its core to fight fraud more effectively. 

    The 36th Annual Report on the protection of the EU’s financial interests, published today, is available on OLAF’s website.

    Background

    The EU and Member States share responsibility for protecting the EU’s financial interests and fighting fraud. Member State authorities manage more than 85 percent of EU expenditure and collect the EU’s traditional own resources. The Commission oversees both areas, sets standards, and verifies compliance.

    Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Art 325(5)), the Commission is required to produce an Annual Report on the Protection of the EU’s Financial Interests (known as the PIF Report), detailing the measures taken at European and national level to counter fraud affecting the EU budget. The report is based on information reported by the Member States, including data on detected irregularities and fraud. The analysis of this information allows assessing which areas are most at risk, thereby allowing for better targeted actions at both EU and national levels. The report is accompanied by six working documents, providing additional and detailed information on several topics addressed in the report itself.

    OLAF mission, mandate and competences:
    OLAF’s mission is to detect, investigate and stop fraud with EU funds.    

    OLAF fulfils its mission by:
    •    carrying out independent investigations into fraud and corruption involving EU funds, so as to ensure that all EU taxpayers’ money reaches projects that can create jobs and growth in Europe;
    •    contributing to strengthening citizens’ trust in the EU Institutions by investigating serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU Institutions;
    •    developing a sound EU anti-fraud policy.

    In its independent investigative function, OLAF can investigate matters relating to fraud, corruption and other offences affecting the EU financial interests concerning:
    •    all EU expenditure: the main spending categories are Structural Funds, agricultural policy and rural development funds, direct expenditure and external aid;
    •    some areas of EU revenue, mainly customs duties;
    •    suspicions of serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU institutions.

    Once OLAF has completed its investigation, it is for the competent EU and national authorities to examine and decide on the follow-up of OLAF’s recommendations. All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a competent national or EU court of law.

    For further details:

    Pierluigi CATERINO
    Spokesperson
    European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
    Phone: +32(0)2 29-52335  
    Email: olaf-media ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (olaf-media[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
    euantifraud.bsky.social

    If you’re a journalist and you wish to receive our press releases in your inbox, please leave us your contact data.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Bitget’s GetAgent AI Trading Assistant Sees Explosive Adoption, Ignites Community Frenzy

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, July 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, has witnessed explosive demand following the launch of GetAgent, the world’s first crypto-native AI trading assistant. In just a few days, GetAgent has taken the crypto world by storm driving record-breaking user engagement, viral social media buzz, and significant token burns.

    GetAgent is an AI trading assistant that combines real-time market intelligence with personalized trading strategies. Built on a large language model trained by Bitget, GetAgent allows users to interact with the market using natural language, asking questions like “What’s trending today?” or “Buy $1,000 USDT of ETH” and receive actionable insights and execution support. The assistant can generate tailored trading strategies based on user preferences, and even help execute trades on Bitget.

    The launch in early July sparked unprecedented demand, with Bitget projecting a token burn of $300,000 to $500,000 in the first 30 days. This burn reflects not only the overwhelming interest in AI-powered crypto trading, but also Bitget’s deep commitment to creating sustainable value for its community and ecosystem.

    Social media platforms have been flooded with positive sentiment, as users share screenshots of profitable trades made with GetAgent’s support. With over 30,000 mentions in the first 14 days of launch, 1.2 billion media impressions, and nearly 20,000 users still on the waitlist, access codes have quickly become one of the most sought-after commodities in the crypto community.

    User engagement metrics further underscore GetAgent’s momentum. Those with access are averaging 15+ daily interactions, with a 7-day retention rate exceeding 30%—a remarkable benchmark in any digital product category. Users are increasingly relying on GetAgent as an everyday trading companion.

    “GetAgent is more than just a tool—it’s the beginning of a new trading paradigm where AI empowers every crypto trader, regardless of experience level,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget. “The overwhelming response from our community reaffirms our vision to bring smart, accessible, and user-centric products to the market. We’re excited to see how GetAgent reshapes the future of trading.”

    Looking ahead, GetAgent is expected to be made available to all Bitget users in Q3. The product will also be upgraded to support contract trading, earn products, and trading bots, enabling users to complete a wide range of crypto investment activities through simple, conversational interactions.

    As the first product of its kind in the industry, GetAgent combines conversational AI with real market execution, making crypto trading smarter, faster, and more intuitive. Bitget will continue to roll out access to waitlisted users and enhance the product’s capabilities.

    About Bitget

    Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 120 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a leading non-custodial crypto wallet supporting 130+ blockchains and millions of tokens. It offers multi-chain trading, staking, payments, and direct access to 20,000+ DApps, with advanced swaps and market insights built into a single platform.

    Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM markets, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.

    Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. In the world of motorsports, Bitget is the exclusive cryptocurrency exchange partner of MotoGP™, one of the world’s most thrilling championships.

    For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord | Bitget Wallet

    For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com

    Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bitget accepts no liability for any potential losses incurred. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to our Terms of Use.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b4eea7a8-0492-4f6f-83a3-0d36e3837d42

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Sagtec Global (NASDAQ SAGT) Achieves Key Milestone in UAE Smart Hospitality Deal; On Track for 2025 Revenue Recognition

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sagtec Global Limited (NASDAQ: SAGT) (“Sagtec” or the “Company”), a provider of enterprise software solutions for high-growth verticals, today announced the successful delivery of the first phase of its previously disclosed US$10 million smart hospitality contract in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in partnership with SMD Tech – FZCO. The Company has received the first milestone payment, validating both project execution and commercial delivery.

    The deal, originally announced in July 2025, is structured with over 60% of total value as multi-year recurring revenue, covering software licensing, analytics, hosting, and long-term service. The project remains on schedule for full delivery in 2025, with corresponding revenue capture anticipated within the current fiscal year.

    “This milestone represents more than operational progress—it reinforces our ability to monetize large-scale SaaS contracts, generate recurring cash flow, and expand strategically in a high-growth international market,” said Kevin Ng, Chairman, Executive Director & CEO of Sagtec Global. “It reflects our disciplined execution and strong regional partnerships.”

    Momentum Across Vertical SaaS Offerings

    In addition to progress in the UAE, Sagtec confirms that its Speed+ Smart Ordering System, which supports a US$30 million pipeline across Southeast Asia, has now been successfully deployed to commercial end-users. Speed+ is a cloud-based solution tailored for the F&B and hospitality industries, designed to improve service efficiency and increase revenue per transaction.

    These dual deployments reinforce Sagtec’s strategy to scale vertically integrated SaaS platforms across multiple industries—hospitality, F&B, and smart infrastructure—with a strong focus on monetizable outcomes.

    “We are executing on multiple fronts with clear revenue visibility,” added Ng. “These wins strengthen our position ahead of our next earnings cycle and demonstrate the scalability of our recurring revenue model.”

    Well-Positioned in a US$30B+ Market

    With the UAE hospitality sector forecasted to reach US$37.7 billion by 2033 (IMARC Group), Sagtec’s expansion into the Middle East positions the Company at the center of a regional transformation toward smart tourism and digital-first guest experiences.

    Backed by a resilient balance sheet and growing recurring revenue base, Sagtec remains focused on margin-accretive growth, product innovation, and geographic expansion to drive long-term shareholder value.

    About Sagtec Global Limited

    Sagtec Global is a technology company delivering customizable software solutions to the hospitality, F&B, and enterprise sectors. The Company also operates digital infrastructure businesses, data hosting & analysis services through its Malaysian Subsidiary, CL Technologies.

    For more information on the Company, please log on to https://www.sagtec-global.com/.

    Contact Information:

    Sagtec Global Limited Contact:
    Ng Chen Lok
    Chairman, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer
    Telephone +6011-6217 3661  
    Email: info@sagtec-global.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Decorated Veteran and Top-Producing Loan Officer Brian Bloete Joins Rate

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MONTVILLE, N.J., July 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rate, a leading fintech company, proudly announces the addition of Brian Bloete, a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran and top-producing loan officer, to its team in Montville, NJ. Bloete joins Rate as part of the company’s continued commitment to attracting elite originators who prioritize service, integrity, and performance.

    Since joining the mortgage industry in 2016, Bloete has closed more than $250 million in loans, earning recognition as a Scotsman Guide Top 1% Originator every year from 2020 through 2025. Known for delivering tailored financing solutions and guiding clients through complex lending decisions with confidence, Bloete brings a customer-first mindset and proven production to Rate’s expanding Northeast footprint.

    “I moved to Rate to join a winning team, one with cutting-edge technology and product offerings that allow me to better serve every client,” said Bloete. “This platform empowers me to provide personalized mortgage solutions that make a real difference for borrowers.”

    “We’re very excited to welcome Brian, a proud U.S. Marine Corps veteran and top-producing loan officer, to Rate,” said Jeff Nelson, Chief Production Officer, East at Rate. “His success stems from ensuring borrowers receive tailored mortgage options that are specific to their home needs while always prioritizing the customer-first philosophy. Welcome to Rate, Brian!”

    Rate continues to attract elite producers looking to grow their businesses while delivering exceptional borrower outcomes. The addition of Brian Bloete reinforces Rate’s strong presence in the Montville area and its appeal to highly accomplished, service-driven professionals.

    About Rate

    Rate Companies is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, Rate has over 850 branches across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Rate has helped more than 2 million homeowners with home purchase loans, refinances, and home equity loans. The company has cemented itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates, and delivering unparalleled customer service. Recent honors and awards include: a Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 by Fortune; Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for First-Time Homebuyers by Forbes; a Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for FHA Loans, Home Equity Loans, and Lower Credit Scores by NerdWallet; Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for Digital Experience and Down Payment Assistance by Motley Fool; Chicago Agent Magazine’s Lender of the Year for seven consecutive years. Visit rate.com for more information.

    Media Contact:
    press@rate.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fc943baf-2e5a-4e9a-a769-cbdfb4d4179e

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Fears that falling birth rates in US could lead to population collapse are based on faulty assumptions

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Leslie Root, Assistant Professor of Research, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder

    Unfortunately for demographers, birth rates are hard to predict far into the future. gremlin/E+ via Getty Images

    Pronatalism – the belief that low birth rates are a problem that must be reversed – is having a moment in the U.S.

    As birth rates decline in the U.S. and throughout the world, voices from Silicon Valley to the White House are raising concerns about what they say could be the calamitous effects of steep population decline on the economy. The Trump administration has said it is seeking ideas on how to encourage Americans to have more children as the U.S. experiences its lowest total fertility rate in history, down about 25% since 2007.

    As demographers who study fertility, family behaviors and childbearing intentions, we can say with certainty that population decline is not imminent, inevitable or necessarily catastrophic.

    The population collapse narrative hinges on three key misunderstandings. First, it misrepresents what standard fertility measures tell us about childbearing and makes unrealistic assumptions that fertility rates will follow predictable patterns far into the future. Second, it overstates the impact of low birth rates on future population growth and size. Third, it ignores the role of economic policies and labor market shifts in assessing the impacts of low birth rates.

    Fertility fluctuations

    Demographers generally gauge births in a population with a measure called the total fertility rate. The total fertility rate for a given year is an estimate of the average number of children that women would have in their lifetime if they experienced current birth rates throughout their childbearing years.

    Fertility rates are not fixed – in fact, they have changed considerably over the past century. In the U.S., the total fertility rate rose from about 2 births per woman in the 1930s to a high of 3.7 births per woman around 1960. The rate then dipped below 2 births per woman in the late 1970s and 1980s before returning to 2 births in the 1990s and early 2000s.

    Since the Great Recession that lasted from late 2007 until mid-2009, the U.S. total fertility rate has declined almost every year, with the exception of very small post-COVID-19 pandemic increases in 2021 and 2022. In 2024, it hit a record low, falling to 1.6. This drop is primarily driven by declines in births to people in their teens and early 20s – births that are often unintended.

    But while the total fertility rate offers a snapshot of the fertility landscape, it is not a perfect indicator of how many children a woman will eventually have if fertility patterns are in flux – for example, if people are delaying having children.

    Picture a 20-year-old woman today, in 2025. The total fertility rate assumes she will have the same birth rate as today’s 40-year-olds when she reaches 40. That’s not likely to be the case, because birth rates 20 years from now for 40-year-olds will almost certainly be higher than they are today, as more births occur at older ages and more people are able to overcome infertility through medically assisted reproduction.

    A more nuanced picture of childbearing

    These problems with the total fertility rate are why demographers also measure how many total births women have had by the end of their reproductive years. In contrast to the total fertility rate, the average number of children ever born to women ages 40 to 44 has remained fairly stable over time, hovering around two.

    Americans continue to express favorable views toward childbearing. Ideal family size remains at two or more children, and 9 in 10 adults either have, or would like to have, children. However, many Americans are unable to reach their childbearing goals. This seems to be related to the high cost of raising children and growing uncertainty about the future.

    In other words, it doesn’t seem to be the case that birth rates are low because people are uninterested in having children; rather, it’s because they don’t feel it’s feasible for them to become parents or to have as many children as they would like.

    The challenge of predicting future population size

    Standard demographic projections do not support the idea that population size is set to shrink dramatically.

    One billion people lived on Earth 250 years ago. Today there are over 8 billion, and by 2100 the United Nations predicts there will be over 10 billion. That’s 2 billion more, not fewer, people in the foreseeable future. Admittedly, that projection is plus or minus 4 billion. But this range highlights another key point: Population projections get more uncertain the further into the future they extend.

    Predicting the population level five years from now is far more reliable than 50 years from now – and beyond 100 years, forget about it. Most population scientists avoid making such long-term projections, for the simple reason that they are usually wrong. That’s because fertility and mortality rates change over time in unpredictable ways.

    The U.S. population size is also not declining. Currently, despite fertility below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, there are still more births than deaths. The U.S. population is expected to grow by 22.6 million by 2050 and by 27.5 million by 2100, with immigration playing an important role.

    Despite a drop in fertility rates, there are still more births than deaths in the U.S.
    andresr/E+ via Getty Images

    Will low fertility cause an economic crisis?

    A common rationale for concern about low fertility is that it leads to a host of economic and labor market problems. Specifically, pronatalists argue that there will be too few workers to sustain the economy and too many older people for those workers to support. However, that is not necessarily true – and even if it were, increasing birth rates wouldn’t fix the problem.

    As fertility rates fall, the age structure of the population shifts. But a higher proportion of older adults does not necessarily mean the proportion of workers to nonworkers falls.

    For one thing, the proportion of children under age 18 in the population also declines, so the number of working-age adults – usually defined as ages 18 to 64 – often changes relatively little. And as older adults stay healthier and more active, a growing number of them are contributing to the economy. Labor force participation among Americans ages 65 to 74 increased from 21.4% in 2003 to 26.9% in 2023 — and is expected to increase to 30.4% by 2033. Modest changes in the average age of retirement or in how Social Security is funded would further reduce strains on support programs for older adults.

    What’s more, pronatalists’ core argument that a higher birth rate would increase the size of the labor force overlooks some short-term consequences. More babies means more dependents, at least until those children become old enough to enter the labor force. Children not only require expensive services such as education, but also reduce labor force participation, particularly for women. As fertility rates have fallen, women’s labor force participation rates have risen dramatically – from 34% in 1950 to 58% in 2024. Pronatalist policies that discourage women’s employment are at odds with concerns about a diminishing number of workers.

    Research shows that economic policies and labor market conditions, not demographic age structures, play the most important role in determining economic growth in advanced economies. And with rapidly changing technologies like automation and artificial intelligence, it is unclear what demand there will be for workers in the future. Moreover, immigration is a powerful – and immediate – tool for addressing labor market needs and concerns over the proportion of workers.

    Overall, there’s no evidence for Elon Musk’s assertion that “humanity is dying.” While the changes in population structure that accompany low birth rates are real, in our view the impact of these changes has been dramatically overstated. Strong investments in education and sensible economic policies can help countries successfully adapt to a new demographic reality.

    Leslie Root receives funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) for work on fertility rates.

    Karen Benjamin Guzzo has received funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the United States.

    Shelley Clark receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Fears that falling birth rates in US could lead to population collapse are based on faulty assumptions – https://theconversation.com/fears-that-falling-birth-rates-in-us-could-lead-to-population-collapse-are-based-on-faulty-assumptions-261031

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: The 3 worst things you can say after a pet dies, and what to say instead

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Brian N. Chin, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Trinity College

    Loss of a pet falls into what researchers call disenfranchised grief in which the pain is often minimized or discounted. Claudia Luna/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    I saw it firsthand after my cat Murphy died earlier this year. She’d been diagnosed with cancer just weeks before.

    She was a small gray tabby with delicate paws who, even during chemotherapy, climbed her favorite dresser perch – Mount Murphy – with steady determination.

    The day after she died, a colleague said with a shrug: “It’s just part of life.”

    That phrase stayed with me – not because it was wrong, but because of how quickly it dismissed something real.

    Murphy wasn’t just a cat. She was my eldest daughter – by bond, if not by blood. My shadow.

    Why pet grief doesn’t count

    More than two-thirds of U.S. households include pets. Americans tend to treat them like family with birthday cakes, shared beds and names on holiday cards.

    But when someone grieves them like family, the cultural script flips. Grief gets minimized. Support gets awkward. And when no one acknowledges your loss, it starts to feel like you weren’t even supposed to love them that much in the first place.

    I’ve seen this kind of grief up close – in my research and in my own life.
    I am a psychologist who studies attachment, loss and the human-animal bond.

    And I’ve seen firsthand how often grief following pet loss gets brushed aside – treated as less valid, less serious or less worthy of support than human loss. After a pet dies, people often say the wrong thing – usually trying to help, but often doing the opposite.

    Many Americans consider pets family members.
    vesi_127/Moment via Getty Images

    When loss is minimized or discounted

    Psychologists describe this kind of unacknowledged loss as disenfranchised grief: a form of mourning that isn’t fully recognized by social norms or institutions. It happens after miscarriages, breakups, job loss – and especially after the death of a beloved animal companion.

    The pain is real for the person grieving, but what’s missing is the social support to mourn that loss.

    Even well-meaning people struggle to respond in ways that feel supportive.
    And when grief gets dismissed, it doesn’t just hurt – it makes us question whether we’re even allowed to feel it.

    Here are three of the most common responses – and what to do instead:

    ‘Just a pet’

    This is one of the most reflexive responses after a loss like this. It sounds harmless. But under the surface is a cultural belief that grieving an animal is excessive – even unprofessional.

    That belief shows up in everything from workplace leave policies to everyday conversations. Even from people trying to be kind.

    But pet grief isn’t about the species, it’s about the bond. And for many, that bond is irreplaceable.

    Pets often become attachment figures; they’re woven into our routines, our emotional lives and our identities. Recent research shows that the quality of the human-pet bond matters deeply – not just for well-being, but for how we grieve when that connection ends.

    What’s lost isn’t “just an animal.” It’s the steady presence who greeted you every morning. The one who sat beside you through deadlines, small triumphs and quiet nights. A companion who made the world feel a little less lonely.

    But when the world treats that love like it doesn’t count, the loss can cut even deeper.

    It may not come with formal recognition or time off, but it still matters. And love isn’t less real just because it came with fur.

    If someone you care about loses a pet, acknowledge the bond. Even a simple “I’m so sorry” can offer real comfort.

    ‘I know how you feel’

    “I know how you feel” sounds empathetic, but it quietly shifts the focus from the griever to the speaker. It rushes in with your story before theirs has even had a chance to land.

    That instinct comes from a good place. We want to relate, to reassure, to let someone know they’re not alone. But when it comes to grief, that impulse often backfires. Grief doesn’t need to be matched. It needs to be honored and given time, care and space to unfold, whether the loss is of a person or a pet.

    Instead of responding with your own story, try simpler, grounding words:

    You don’t need to understand someone’s grief to make space for it. What helps isn’t comparison – it’s presence.

    Let them name the loss. Let them remember. Let them say what hurts.

    Sometimes, simply staying present – without rushing, problem-solving or shifting the focus away – is the most meaningful thing you can do.

    Pets frequently make a showing in family photos and holiday cards.
    Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

    ‘You can always get another one’

    “You can always get another one” is the kind of thing people offer reflexively when they don’t know what else to say – a clumsy attempt at reassurance.

    Underneath is a desire to soothe, to fix, to make the sadness go away. But that instinct can miss the point: The loss isn’t practical – it’s personal. And grief isn’t a problem to be solved.

    This type of comment often lands more like customer service than comfort. It treats the relationship as replaceable, as if love were something you can swap out like a broken phone.

    But every pet is one of a kind – not just in how they look or sound, but in how they move through your life. The way they wait for you at the door and watch you as you leave. The small rituals that you didn’t know were rituals until they stopped. You build a life around them without realizing it, until they’re no longer in it.

    You wouldn’t tell someone to “just have another child” or “just find a new partner.” And yet, people say the equivalent all the time after pet loss.

    Rushing to replace the relationship instead of honoring what was lost overlooks what made that bond irreplaceable. Love isn’t interchangeable – and neither are the ones we lose.

    So offer care that endures. Grief doesn’t follow a timeline. A check-in weeks or months later, whether it’s a heart emoji, a shared memory or a gentle reminder that they’re not alone, can remind someone that their grief is seen and their love still matters.

    When people say nothing

    People often don’t know what to say after a pet dies, so they say nothing. But silence doesn’t just bury grief, it isolates it. It tells the griever that their love was excessive, their sadness inconvenient, their loss unworthy of acknowledgment.

    And grief that feels invisible can be the hardest kind to carry.

    So if someone you love loses a pet, don’t change the subject. Don’t rush them out of their sadness. Don’t offer solutions.

    Instead, here are a few other ways to offer support gently and meaningfully:

    • Say their pet’s name.

    • Ask what they miss most.

    • Tell them you’re sorry.

    • Let them cry.

    • Let them not cry.

    • Let them remember.

    Because when someone loses a pet, they’re not “just” mourning an animal. They’re grieving for a relationship, a rhythm and a presence that made the world feel kinder. What they need most is someone willing to treat that loss like it matters.

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

    – ref. The 3 worst things you can say after a pet dies, and what to say instead – https://theconversation.com/the-3-worst-things-you-can-say-after-a-pet-dies-and-what-to-say-instead-258531

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How bachata rose from Dominican Republic’s brothels and shantytowns to become a global sensation

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Wilfredo José Burgos Matos, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, Lehman College, CUNY

    Once viewed by elites with disdain, bachata has become popular worldwide. Erika Santelices/AFP via Getty Images

    What began as songs about heartbreak in the brothels and barrios of the Dominican Republic in the 1960s has become a worldwide sensation.

    Even the Bee Gees have gotten a bachata spin. Prince Royce’s bilingual take on the 1977 hit “How Deep Is Your Love” has topped the Latin music charts this summer and proves bachata is no longer chasing the mainstream but reimagining the pop canon.

    Bachata dance classes, parties and festivals have sprung up across the U.S. in recent years, everywhere from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, and Omaha, Nebraska, to Oklahoma City.

    It’s easy to find abroad as well. Upcoming bachata festivals are happening in cities in Austria, Egypt, Australia and China.

    Instructors teach a bachata class in Warsaw, Poland, in July 2025.
    Neil Milton/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    I’m a scholar of Dominican culture and the senior researcher for the History of Dominican Music in the U.S. project at the City University of New York’s Dominican Studies Institute. I see bachata as a revealing window into modern post-1960s Dominican history – and one that spotlights the emotional truths and everyday experiences of poor and Black Dominicans in particular.

    Music from the margins

    Bachata was born in the Dominican countryside and later developed in the shantytowns of Santo Domingo, the capital. In most Latin American dictionaries, the word “bachata” is loosely defined as “revelry” or “a spree.”

    The distinctive sound is formed from guitars, bongos, bass and the güira – a percussion instrument also used in merengue music – and accompanied by typically romantic or bittersweet lyrics.

    The music was long associated with the lower classes and Black Dominicans.

    The genre’s first recording came in 1962, just over a year after Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, a brutal dictator who ruled the island for 31 years, was assassinated. Trujillo’s death marked the beginning of a new cultural and political era in the Dominican Republic, although democratic hopes were soon shattered by a military coup, civil war and a second U.S. intervention following an earlier one between 1916-1924.

    Urban and middle-class Dominicans looked down on bachata as the music played in brothels and favored by poor, rural people who started to migrate to urban areas in large numbers in the 1960s. It was played almost exclusively on Radio Guarachita, a Santo Domingo station run by Radhamés Aracena, a key promoter of the genre.

    Amid a country reeling from political upheaval, bachata emerged as a soundtrack to working-class survival. The guitar-based rhythms were shaped by Cuban bolero and son and Mexican ranchera music, while the lyrics chronicled daily struggles, grief and marginalization.

    In most Latin American dictionaries, the word ‘bachata’ is loosely defined as ‘revelry’ or ‘a spree.’ This reflects its early development in informal social spaces where friends gathered to sing their hearts out, share drinks and escape daily hardships.
    CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library, The Deborah Pacini Hernández Bachata Music Collection

    Bachata’s shifting language

    In the 1960s, bachata lyrics centered on heartache and were often directed at a romantic partner.

    “Understand me, you know I love only you. Don’t deny me the hope of kissing you again,” Rafael Encarnación sang in Spanish in his 1964 song “Muero Contigo,” or “I Die With You.”

    By the late 1970s and early 1980s, sexual innuendos were common, adding to the genre’s low standing among Dominican elites.

    “I gave you everything you ever wanted, but it was all useless because you went looking for another man,” Blas Durán sang in 1985. “I was left like the orange vendor – peeling so someone else could suck the fruit.”

    To reclaim respect for bachata, some artists, such as Luis Segura and Leonardo Paniagua, in the mid-1980s began calling their music música de amargue, or “music of romantic bitterness.”

    What began as a genre label gradually transformed into a sensibility. “Amargue” came to name a feeling marked by longing, loss and quiet introspection – akin to “feeling the blues” in the U.S.

    American blues similarly emerged from the hardships faced by Black Americans in the South and expressed themes of sorrow, resilience and reflection.

    By the 1990s, the stigma surrounding bachata began to fade, partly due to the international success of Dominican star Juan Luis Guerra and his album Bachata Rosa. The album sold more than 5 million copies worldwide by 1994, earned Guerra a Grammy Award for best tropical Latin album, and was certified platinum in the U.S.

    As acceptance of the genre grew, traditional bachateros in the Dominican Republic continued releasing bachata albums. However, Dominican pop, rock and other artists also began recording bachatas – such as 1990’s “Yo Quiero Andar” by Sonia Silvestre and 1998’s “Bufeo” by Luis “El Terror” Días.

    Aventura performs for a crowd in Madrid in 2024. It was the group’s first tour since their split in 2011.
    Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images

    Bachata goes mainstream

    Migration to the U.S. is a pivotal chapter in Dominican history after the 1960s. The U.S. Immigration Act of 1965 functioned as a de facto immigration policy and encouraged a large-scale exodus from the Dominican Republic.

    By the mid-1990s, a strong and vibrant Dominican diaspora was firmly established in New York City. The Bronx became the birthplace of Grupo Aventura, a group that revolutionized bachata by blending its traditional rhythms with urban genres such as hip-hop.

    “Obsesión,” released in 2002, was an international hit.

    Their music reflected the bicultural diaspora, often torn between nostalgia for their homeland and everyday challenges of urban American life. Against the backdrop of city life, bachata found a new voice that mirrored the immigrant experience. The genre shifted from a shared feeling of loss and longing to a celebration of cultural community.

    In 2002, the song “Obsesión” by Aventura and featuring Judy Santos topped music charts in France, Germany, Italy, the U.S. and elsewhere. The group Aventura and, later, lead singer Romeo Santos as a solo artist sold out Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium, respectively.

    As they rose in fame, Aventura became global ambassadors for Dominican culture and made bachata mainstream.

    Puerto Rican bachatero Toby Love performs during an event held by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on April 9, 2016, in New York City.
    Andrew Renneisen via Getty Images

    Global spin on bachata

    Bachata’s popularity has also spread to other countries in Latin America, and especially among working-class and Afro-descendant communities in Central America that see their own realities reflected in the music.

    At the same time, Dominican diasporic communities in countries such as Spain and Italy carried the genre with them, where it continued to evolve.

    In Spain, for example, bachata experienced a creative transformation. By the mid-2000s, bachata sensual had emerged as a dance style influenced by zouk and tango, emphasizing smooth, body-led movements and close partner connection.

    Around the same time, modern bachata also developed between Spain and New York City. This style is a departure from traditional bachata, which focuses on the box step and fast footwork, and incorporates more turns and other elements from salsa.

    In 2019 bachata was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which also lists Jamaican reggae and Mexican mariachi.

    Today, bachata’s influence is truly global. International conferences dedicated to the genre attract dancers, musicians and scholars from around the world. Puerto Rican, Colombian and other artists from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds continue to nurture and reinvent bachata.

    At the same time, more women, such as Andre Veloz, Judy Santos and Leslie Grace, are building careers as bachata performers and challenging a traditionally male-dominated genre.

    Natti Natasha performs at an album release party for ‘En Amargue,’ her 2025 album produced by bachata icon and former Aventura singer Romeo Santos.
    John Parra/WireImage via Getty Images

    Bachata holds a place not only on the world stage but in the hearts of Latino, Black, Asian and many other communities in the U.S. that recognize the genre’s power to tell stories of love, loss, migration and resilience.

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

    – ref. How bachata rose from Dominican Republic’s brothels and shantytowns to become a global sensation – https://theconversation.com/how-bachata-rose-from-dominican-republics-brothels-and-shantytowns-to-become-a-global-sensation-260886

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Trump’s push for more deportations could boost demand for foreign farmworkers with ‘guest worker’ visas

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Scott Morgenstern, Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

    Mexican farmworkers with H-2A visas weed a North Carolina tobacco field in 2016. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

    The U.S. has an important choice to make regarding agriculture.

    It can import more people to pick crops and do other kinds of agricultural labor, it can raise wages enough to lure more U.S. citizens and immigrants with legal status to take these jobs, or it can import more food. All three options contradict key Trump administration priorities: reducing immigration, keeping prices low and importing fewer goods and services.

    The big tax-and-spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, included US$170 billion to fund the detention and deportation of those living in the U.S. without authorization. And about 1 million of them work in agriculture, accounting for more than 40% of all farmworkers.

    As the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants ramps up, one emerging solution is to replace at least some deported farmworkers with foreigners who are given special visas that allow them to help with the harvest but require them to go home after their visas expire.

    Such “guest worker” programs have existed for decades, leading to today’s H-2A visa program. As of 2023, more than 310,000 foreigners, around 13% of the nation’s 2.4 million farmworkers, were employed through this program. About 90% of the foreign workers with these visas come from Mexico, and nearly all are men. The states where the largest numbers of them go are California, Florida, Georgia and Washington.

    As a professor of Latin American politics and U.S.-Latin American relations, I teach my students to consider the difficult trade-offs that governments face. If the Trump administration removes a significant share of the immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission from the agricultural labor force to try to meet its deportation goals, farm owners will have few options.

    Few options available

    First, farm owners could raise wages and improve working conditions enough to attract U.S. citizens and immigrants who are legal permanent residents or otherwise in the U.S. with legal status.

    But many agricultural employers say they can’t find enough people to hire who can legally work – at least without higher wages and much-improved job requirements. Without any undocumented immigrant farmworkers, the prices of U.S.-sourced crops and other agricultural products would spike, creating an incentive for more food to be imported.

    Second, farm owners could employ fewer people. That would require either growing different crops that require less labor or becoming more reliant on machinery to plant and harvest. But that would mean the U.S. could have to import more food. And automation for some crops is very expensive. For others, such as for berries, it’s currently impossible.

    It’s also possible that some farm owners could put their land to other uses, ceasing production, but that would also necessitate more imported food.

    Trump administration’s suggested fixes

    U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has predicted that farm owners will soon find plenty of U.S. citizens to employ.

    She declared on July 8 that the new Medicaid work requirements included in the same legislative package as the immigration enforcement funds would encourage huge numbers of U.S. citizens to start working in the fields instead of losing their health insurance through that government program.

    Farm trade groups say this scenario is far-fetched.

    For one thing, most adults enrolled in the Medicaid program who can work already do. Many others are unable to do so due to disabilities or caregiving obligations.

    Few people enrolled in Medicaid live close enough to a farm to work at one, and even those who do aren’t capable of doing farmwork. When farm owners tried putting people enrolled in a welfare program to work in the fields in the 1990s, it failed. Another experiment in the 1960s, which deployed teenagers, didn’t pan out either because the teens found the work too hard.

    It seems more likely that farm owners will try to hire many more foreign farmworkers to do temporary but legal jobs through the H-2A program.

    Although he has not made it an official policy, Trump seems to be moving toward this same conclusion.

    In June, for example, Trump said his administration was working on “some kind of a temporary pass” for immigrants lacking authorization to be in the U.S. who are working on farms and in hotels.

    Farmworkers with H-2A visas spend time in their employer-provided dormitory on April 28, 2020, in King City, Calif.
    Brent Stirton/Getty Images

    Established in 1952, numbers now rising quickly

    The guest worker system, established in 1952 and revised significantly in 1986, has become a mainstay of U.S. agriculture because it offers important benefits to both the farm owners who need workers and the foreign workers they hire.

    There is no cap on the number of potential workers. The number of H-2A visas issued is based only on how many employers request them. Farm owners may apply for visas after verifying that they are unable to locate enough workers who are U.S. citizens or present in the U.S. with authorization.

    To protect U.S. workers, the government mandates that H-2A workers earn an “adverse effect wage rate.” The Labor Department sets that hourly wage, which ranges from $10.36 in Puerto Rico to about $15 in several southern states, to more than $20 in California, Alaska and Hawaii. These wages are set at relatively high levels to avoid putting downward pressure on what other U.S. workers are paid for the same jobs.

    After certification, farm owners recruit workers in a foreign country who are offered a contract that includes transportation from their home country and a trip back – assuming they complete the contract.

    The program provides farm owners with a short-term labor force. It guarantees the foreign workers who obtain H-2A visas relatively high wages, as well as housing in the U.S. That combination has proven increasingly popular in recent years: The annual number of H-2A visas rose to 310,700 in 2023, a more than fivefold increase since 2010.

    Possible downsides

    Boosting the number of agricultural guest workers would help fill some gaps in the agricultural labor force and reduce the risk of crops going unharvested. But it seems clear to me that a sudden change would pose risks for workers and farm owners alike.

    Workers would be at risk because oversight of the H-2A program has historically been weak. Despite that lax track record, some unscrupulous farmers have been fined or barred from participating in the H-2A program because of unpaid wages and other abuses.

    Relying even more on guest farmworkers than the U.S. does today would also swap workers who have built lives and families north of the border with people who are in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Immigration opponents are unlikely to object to this trade-off, but to immigrant rights groups, this arrangement would be cruel and unfair to workers with years of service behind them.

    What’s more, the workers with guest visas can be at risk of exploitation and abuse. In 2022, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia described conditions for H-2A workers at an onion farm the government had investigated as “modern-day slavery.”

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has researched the H-2A visa program and observed many problems it recommends be fixed.

    For farm owners, the downside of ramping up guest worker programs is that it could increase costs and make production less efficient and more costly. That’s because transporting Mexican farmworkers back and forth each year is complicated and expensive. Farm groups say that compliance with H-2A visa requirements is cumbersome. It can be particularly difficult for small farms to participate in this program.

    Some farm owners have objected to the costs of employing H-2A workers. Rollins has said that the Trump administration believes that the mandatory wages are too high.

    To be sure, these problems aren’t limited to agriculture. Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses, which rely heavily on undocumented workers, can also temporarily employ some foreigners through the H-2B visa program – which is smaller than the H-2A program, limits the number of visas issued and is available only for jobs considered seasonal.

    Home health care providers and many other kinds of employers who rely on people who can’t legally work for them could also struggle. But so far, there is no temporary visa program available to help them fill those gaps.

    If the U.S. does deport millions of workers, the price of tomatoes, elder care, restaurant meals and roof repairs would probably rise substantially. A vast increase in the number of guest workers is a potential but partial solution, but it would multiply problems that are inherent in these temporary visa programs.

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

    – ref. Trump’s push for more deportations could boost demand for foreign farmworkers with ‘guest worker’ visas – https://theconversation.com/trumps-push-for-more-deportations-could-boost-demand-for-foreign-farmworkers-with-guest-worker-visas-259868

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Phillips 66 Reports Second-Quarter Results

    Source: Phillips

    Reported second-quarter earnings of $877 million or $2.15 per share; adjusted earnings of $973 million or $2.38 per share; including $239 million of pre-tax accelerated depreciation on Los Angeles Refinery
    Operated at 98% capacity utilization in Refining with 86% clean product yield
    Completed Midstream acquisition of EPIC NGL, now renamed Coastal Bend
    Announced sale of 65% interest in our Germany and Austria retail marketing business
    Generated $845 million of net operating cash flow, $1.9 billion excluding working capital
    Returned $906 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases

    HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) announced second-quarter earnings.
    “Phillips 66 delivered strong financial and operating results across our integrated value chain, reflecting the continued execution of our strategy. During the quarter, Refining ran at the highest utilization since 2018, achieved its lowest cost per barrel since 2021, strong market capture and record year-to-date clean product yield. Our results were made possible through disciplined execution and investment,” said Mark Lashier, chairman and CEO of Phillips 66.
    “We also continued our strong growth trajectory in Midstream, which generated approximately $1 billion of adjusted EBITDA following the acquisition of Coastal Bend. The Dos Picos II gas processing plant in the Midland Basin recently came online ahead of schedule and on budget. These assets further our stable earnings growth, enhance returns and increase shareholder value as we progress our wellhead-to-market strategy. Looking ahead, we are focused on organic Midstream growth as we advance toward our 2027 targets.”
    Financial Results Summary (in millions of dollars, except as indicated)

     

     

    2Q 2025

    1Q 2025

    Earnings

    $

    877

    487

    Adjusted Earnings (Loss)1

     

    973

    (368)

    Adjusted EBITDA1

     

    2,501

    736

    Earnings (Loss) Per Share

     

     

    Earnings Per Share – Diluted

     

    2.15

    1.18

    Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Per Share – Diluted1

     

    2.38

    (0.90)

    Cash Flow From Operations

     

    845

    187

    Cash Flow From Operations, Excluding Working Capital1

     

    1,920

    259

    Capital Expenditures & Investments

     

    587

    423

    Acquisitions, net of cash acquired

     

    2,220

    —

    Return of Capital to Shareholders

     

    906

    716

    Repurchases of common stock

     

    419

    247

    Dividends paid on common stock

     

    487

    469

    Cash and Cash Equivalents, including cash classified within Assets held for sale2

     

    1,144

    1,489

    Debt

     

    20,935

    18,803

    Debt-to-capital ratio

     

    42%

    40%

    Net debt-to-capital ratio1

     

    41%

    38%

    1 Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are included within this release.

    2 Includes cash and cash equivalents of $92 million classified within Assets held for sale at June 30, 2025.

     

    Segment Financial and Operating Highlights (Millions of dollars, except as indicated)

     

     

    2Q 2025

    1Q 2025

    Change

    Earnings (Loss)1

    $

    877

    487

    390

    Midstream

     

    731

    751

    (20)

    Chemicals

     

    20

    113

    (93)

    Refining

     

    359

    (937)

    1,296

    Marketing and Specialties

     

    571

    1,282

    (711)

    Renewable Fuels

     

    (133)

    (185)

    52

    Corporate and Other

     

    (428)

    (376)

    (52)

    Income tax (expense) benefit

     

    (212)

    (122)

    (90)

    Noncontrolling interests

     

    (31)

    (39)

    8

     

     

     

     

    Adjusted Earnings (Loss)1,2

    $

    973

    (368)

    1,341

    Midstream

     

    731

    683

    48

    Chemicals

     

    20

    113

    (93)

    Refining

     

    392

    (937)

    1,329

    Marketing and Specialties

     

    660

    265

    395

    Renewable Fuels

     

    (133)

    (185)

    52

    Corporate and Other

     

    (383)

    (355)

    (28)

    Income tax (expense) benefit

     

    (283)

    78

    (361)

    Noncontrolling interests

     

    (31)

    (30)

    (1)

     

     

     

     

    Adjusted EBITDA2

    $

    2,501

    736

    1,765

    Midstream

     

    972

    885

    87

    Chemicals

     

    148

    244

    (96)

    Refining

     

    867

    (452)

    1,319

    Marketing and Specialties

     

    718

    315

    403

    Renewable Fuels

     

    (110)

    (162)

    52

    Corporate and Other

     

    (94)

    (94)

    —

     

     

     

     

    Operating Highlights

     

     

     

    Pipeline Throughput – Y-Grade to Market (MB/D)3

     

    956

    704

    252

    Chemicals Global O&P Capacity Utilization

     

    92%

    100%

    (8%)

    Refining

     

     

     

    Turnaround Expense4

     

    53

    270

    (217)

    Realized Margin ($/BBL)2

     

    11.25

    6.81

    4.44

    Crude Capacity Utilization

     

    98%

    80%

    18%

    Clean Product Yield

     

    86%

    87%

    (1%)

    Renewable Fuels Produced (MB/D)

     

    40

    44

    (4)

    1 Segment reporting is pre-tax.

     

     

     

    2 Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are included within this release.

    3 Represents volumes delivered to fractionation hubs, including Mont Belvieu, Sweeny and Conway. Includes 100% of DCP Midstream Class A Segment and Phillips 66’s direct interest in DCP Sand Hills Pipeline, LLC and DCP Southern Hills Pipeline, LLC.

    4 Excludes turnaround expense of all equity affiliates.

     

     

     

    Second-Quarter 2025 Financial Results
    Reported earnings were $877 million for the second quarter of 2025 versus $487 million in the first quarter of 2025. Second-quarter earnings included pre-tax special item adjustments of $(89) million in the Marketing and Specialties segment, $(45) million impacting Corporate and Other and $(33) million in the Refining segment. Adjusted earnings for the second quarter were $973 million versus an adjusted loss of $368 million in the first quarter.

    Midstream second-quarter 2025 adjusted pre-tax income increased compared with the first quarter mainly due to higher volumes, largely driven by the acquisition of Coastal Bend, partially offset by seasonal maintenance expense and property taxes.

    Chemicals adjusted pre-tax income decreased mainly due to lower margins driven by lower sales prices.

    Refining adjusted pre-tax results increased mainly due to higher realized margins resulting from improved market crack spreads, as well as higher volumes and lower costs.

    Marketing and Specialties adjusted pre-tax income increased primarily due to higher margins and volumes.

    Renewable Fuels pre-tax results improved primarily due to higher realized margins including inventory impacts, as well as increased credits.

    Corporate and Other adjusted pre-tax loss increased mainly due to higher net interest expense, partially offset by impacts from our investment in NOVONIX.

    As of June 30, 2025, the company had $1.1 billion of cash and cash equivalents and $3.7 billion of committed capacity available under credit facilities.
    Business Highlights and Strategic Priorities Progress

    Advanced NGL wellhead-to-market strategy by acquiring Coastal Bend and nearing completion of a related pipeline expansion project, expected to increase capacity from 175 MBD to 225 MBD

    Expanded natural gas gathering and processing capacity with the startup of Dos Picos II, a 220 MMCF/D plant in the Midland Basin

    Maintained disciplined operations in Refining and achieved $5.46 per barrel in Refining Adjusted Controllable Costs 1, excluding adjusted turnaround expense in the second quarter and $6.17 per barrel year-to-date

    Achieved a record year-to-date clean product yield of 87%, reflecting a 2% increase from the same period in 2024

    On track to cease operations at the Los Angeles Refinery, as well as complete the Germany and Austria transaction by year-end.

    1 Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are included within this release.

    Investor Webcast
    Members of Phillips 66 executive management will host a webcast at noon ET to provide an update on the company’s strategic initiatives and discuss the company’s second-quarter performance. To access the webcast and view related presentation materials, go to phillips66.com/investors and click on “Events & Presentations.” For detailed supplemental information, go to phillips66.com/supplemental.
    About Phillips 66
    Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a leading integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, Marketing and Specialties, and Renewable Fuels businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future. For more information, visit phillips66.com or follow @Phillips66Co on LinkedIn.
    Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information—This news release includes the terms “adjusted earnings (loss),” “adjusted pre-tax income (loss),” “adjusted EBITDA,” “adjusted earnings (loss) per share,” “adjusted controllable cost,” “cash from operations, excluding working capital,” “net debt-to-capital ratio,” and “realized refining margin per barrel.” These are non-GAAP financial measures that are included to help facilitate comparisons of operating performance across periods, to help facilitate comparisons with other companies in our industry and to help facilitate determination of enterprise value. Where applicable, these measures exclude items that do not reflect the core operating results of our businesses in the current period or other adjustments to reflect how management analyzes results. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are included within this release.
    References in the release to earnings refer to net income attributable to Phillips 66.
    Basis of Presentation— Effective April 1, 2024, we changed the internal financial information reviewed by our chief executive officer to evaluate performance and allocate resources to our operating segments. This included changes in the composition of our operating segments, as well as measurement changes for certain activities between our operating segments. The primary effects of this realignment included establishment of a Renewable Fuels operating segment, which includes renewable fuels activities and assets historically reported in our Refining, Marketing and Specialties (M&S), and Midstream segments; change in method of allocating results for certain Gulf Coast distillate export activities from our M&S segment to our Refining segment; reclassification of certain crude oil and international clean products trading activities between our M&S segment and our Refining segment; and change in reporting of our investment in NOVONIX from our Midstream segment to Corporate and Other. Accordingly, prior period results have been recast for comparability.
    In the third quarter of 2024, we began presenting the line item “Capital expenditures and investments” on our consolidated statement of cash flows exclusive of acquisitions, net of cash acquired. Accordingly, prior period information has been reclassified for comparability.
    Cautionary Statement for the Purposes of the “Safe Harbor” Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995—This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws relating to Phillips 66’s operations, strategy and performance. Words such as “anticipated,” “estimated,” “expected,” “planned,” “scheduled,” “targeted,” “believe,” “continue,” “intend,” “will,” “would,” “objective,” “goal,” “project,” “efforts,” “strategies” and similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on management’s expectations, estimates and projections as of the date they are made. These statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, and you should not unduly rely on them as they involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements include: changes in governmental policies relating to NGL, crude oil, natural gas, refined petroleum or renewable fuels products pricing, regulation or taxation, including exports; our ability to timely obtain or maintain permits, including those necessary for capital projects; fluctuations in NGL, crude oil, refined petroleum products, renewable fuels, renewable feedstocks and natural gas prices, and refined product, marketing and petrochemical margins; the effects of any widespread public health crisis and its negative impact on commercial activity and demand for our products; changes to government policies relating to renewable fuels and greenhouse gas emissions that adversely affect programs including the renewable fuel standards program, low carbon fuel standards and tax credits for biofuels; liability resulting from pending or future litigation or other legal proceedings; liability for remedial actions, including removal and reclamation obligations under environmental regulations; unexpected changes in costs or technical requirements for constructing, modifying or operating our facilities or transporting our products; our ability to successfully complete, or any material delay in the completion of, any asset disposition, acquisition, shutdown or conversion that we may pursue, including receipt of any necessary regulatory approvals or permits related thereto; unexpected technological or commercial difficulties in manufacturing, refining or transporting our products, including chemical products; the level and success of producers’ drilling plans and the amount and quality of production volumes around our midstream assets; risks and uncertainties with respect to the actions of actual or potential competitive suppliers and transporters of refined petroleum products, renewable fuels or specialty products; changes in the cost or availability of adequate and reliable transportation for our NGL, crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum and renewable fuels products; failure to complete definitive agreements and feasibility studies for, and to complete construction of, announced and future capital projects on time or within budget; our ability to comply with governmental regulations or make capital expenditures to maintain compliance; limited access to capital or significantly higher cost of capital related to our credit profile or illiquidity or uncertainty in the domestic or international financial markets; damage to our facilities due to accidents, weather and climate events, civil unrest, insurrections, political events, terrorism or cyberattacks; domestic and international economic and political developments including armed hostilities, such as the war in Eastern Europe, instability in the financial services and banking sector, excess inflation, expropriation of assets and changes in fiscal policy, including interest rates; international monetary conditions and exchange controls; changes in estimates or projections used to assess fair value of intangible assets, goodwill and properties, plants and equipment and/or strategic decisions or other developments with respect to our asset portfolio that cause impairment charges; substantial investments required, or reduced demand for products, as a result of existing or future environmental rules and regulations, including greenhouse gas emissions reductions and reduced consumer demand for refined petroleum products; changes in tax, environmental and other laws and regulations (including alternative energy mandates) applicable to our business; political and societal concerns about climate change that could result in changes to our business or increase expenditures, including litigation-related expenses; the operation, financing and distribution decisions of our joint ventures that we do not control; the potential impact of activist shareholder actions or tactics; and other economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Phillips 66’s businesses generally as set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Phillips 66 is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Earnings (Loss)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Millions of Dollars

     

    2025

     

    2024

     

    2Q

    1Q

    Jun YTD

     

    2Q

    Jun YTD

    Midstream

    $

    731

     

    751

     

    1,482

     

     

    767

     

    1,321

     

    Chemicals

     

    20

     

    113

     

    133

     

     

    222

     

    427

     

    Refining

     

    359

     

    (937

    )

    (578

    )

     

    302

     

    518

     

    Marketing and Specialties

     

    571

     

    1,282

     

    1,853

     

     

    415

     

    781

     

    Renewable Fuels

     

    (133

    )

    (185

    )

    (318

    )

     

    (55

    )

    (110

    )

    Corporate and Other

     

    (428

    )

    (376

    )

    (804

    )

     

    (340

    )

    (662

    )

    Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

     

    1,120

     

    648

     

    1,768

     

     

    1,311

     

    2,275

     

    Less: Income tax expense (benefit)

     

    212

     

    122

     

    334

     

     

    291

     

    494

     

    Less: Noncontrolling interests

     

    31

     

    39

     

    70

     

     

    5

     

    18

     

    Phillips 66

    $

    877

     

    487

     

    1,364

     

     

    1,015

     

    1,763

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Adjusted Earnings (Loss)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Millions of Dollars

     

    2025

     

    2024

     

    2Q

    1Q

    Jun YTD

     

    2Q

    Jun YTD

    Midstream

    $

    731

     

    683

     

    1,414

     

     

    753

     

    1,366

     

    Chemicals

     

    20

     

    113

     

    133

     

     

    222

     

    427

     

    Refining

     

    392

     

    (937

    )

    (545

    )

     

    302

     

    615

     

    Marketing and Specialties

     

    660

     

    265

     

    925

     

     

    415

     

    722

     

    Renewable Fuels

     

    (133

    )

    (185

    )

    (318

    )

     

    (55

    )

    (110

    )

    Corporate and Other

     

    (383

    )

    (355

    )

    (738

    )

     

    (340

    )

    (662

    )

    Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

     

    1,287

     

    (416

    )

    871

     

     

    1,297

     

    2,358

     

    Less: Income tax expense (benefit)

     

    283

     

    (78

    )

    205

     

     

    278

     

    504

     

    Less: Noncontrolling interests

     

    31

     

    30

     

    61

     

     

    35

     

    48

     

    Phillips 66

    $

    973

     

    (368

    )

    605

     

     

    984

     

    1,806

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Millions of Dollars

     

    Except as Indicated

     

    2025

     

    2024

     

    2Q

    1Q

    Jun YTD

     

    2Q

    Jun YTD

    Reconciliation of Consolidated Earnings to Adjusted Earnings (Loss)

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Consolidated Earnings

    $

    877

     

    487

     

    1,364

     

     

    1,015

     

    1,763

     

    Pre-tax adjustments:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Impairments

     

    —

     

    21

     

    21

     

     

    224

     

    387

     

    Net (gain) loss on asset dispositions1

     

    89

     

    (1,085

    )

    (996

    )

     

    (238

    )

    (238

    )

    Legal accrual

     

    33

     

    —

     

    33

     

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Legal settlement

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

     

    —

     

    (66

    )

    Professional advisory fees

     

    45

     

    —

     

    45

     

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Tax impact of adjustments2

     

    (40

    )

    200

     

    160

     

     

    13

     

    (10

    )

    Other tax impacts

     

    (31

    )

    —

     

    (31

    )

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Noncontrolling interests

     

    —

     

    9

     

    9

     

     

    (30

    )

    (30

    )

    Adjusted earnings (loss)

    $

    973

     

    (368

    )

    605

     

     

    984

     

    1,806

     

    Earnings per share of common stock (dollars)

    $

    2.15

     

    1.18

     

    3.32

     

     

    2.38

     

    4.10

     

    Adjusted earnings (loss) per share of common stock (dollars)

    $

    2.38

     

    (0.90

    )

    1.47

     

     

    2.31

     

    4.21

     

    Adjusted Weighted-Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (thousands)

     

    407,934

     

    409,182

     

    409,012

     

     

    425,734

     

    429,003

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Reconciliation of Segment Pre-Tax Income (Loss) to Adjusted Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Midstream Pre-Tax Income

    $

    731

     

    751

     

    1,482

     

     

    767

     

    1,321

     

    Pre-tax adjustments:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Impairments

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

     

    224

     

    283

     

    Net gain on asset dispositions1

     

    —

     

    (68

    )

    (68

    )

     

    (238

    )

    (238

    )

    Adjusted pre-tax income

    $

    731

     

    683

     

    1,414

     

     

    753

     

    1,366

     

    Chemicals Pre-Tax Income

    $

    20

     

    113

     

    133

     

     

    222

     

    427

     

    Pre-tax adjustments:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    None

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Adjusted pre-tax income

    $

    20

     

    113

     

    133

     

     

    222

     

    427

     

    Refining Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

    $

    359

     

    (937

    )

    (578

    )

     

    302

     

    518

     

    Pre-tax adjustments:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Impairments

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

     

    —

     

    104

     

    Legal settlement

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

     

    —

     

    (7

    )

    Legal accrual

     

    33

     

    —

     

    33

     

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Adjusted pre-tax income (loss)

    $

    392

     

    (937

    )

    (545

    )

     

    (302

    )

    (615

    )

    Marketing and Specialties Pre-Tax Income

    $

    571

     

    1,282

     

    1,853

     

     

    415

     

    781

     

    Pre-tax adjustments:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Net (gain) loss on asset dispositions1

     

    89

     

    (1,017

    )

    (928

    )

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Legal settlement

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

     

    —

     

    (59

    )

    Adjusted pre-tax income

    $

    660

     

    265

     

    925

     

     

    415

     

    722

     

    Renewable Fuels Pre-Tax Loss

    $

    (133

    )

    (185

    )

    (318

    )

     

    (55

    )

    (110

    )

    Pre-tax adjustments:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    None

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Adjusted pre-tax loss

    $

    (133

    )

    (185

    )

    (318

    )

     

    (55

    )

    (110

    )

    Corporate and Other Pre-Tax Loss

    $

    (428

    )

    (376

    )

    (804

    )

     

    (340

    )

    (662

    )

    Pre-tax adjustments:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Impairments

     

    —

     

    21

     

    21

     

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Professional advisory fees

     

    45

     

    —

     

    45

     

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Adjusted pre-tax loss

    $

    (383

    )

    (355

    )

    (738

    )

     

    (340

    )

    (662

    )

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    1. Gain on disposition of our 49% non-operated equity interest in Coop Mineraloel AG in 1Q 2025. In connection with our pending disposition of our Germany and Austria retail marketing business, in the second quarter of 2025 we recognized a before-tax unrealized loss from foreign currency derivatives.

    2. We generally tax effect taxable U.S.-based special items using a combined federal and state annual statutory income tax rate of approximately 24%. Taxable special items attributable to foreign locations likewise generally use a local statutory income tax rate. Nontaxable events reflect zero income tax. These events include, but are not limited to, most goodwill impairments, transactions legislatively exempt from income tax, transactions related to entities for which we have made an assertion that the undistributed earnings are permanently reinvested, or transactions occurring in jurisdictions with a valuation allowance.

     

    Millions of Dollars

     

    Except as Indicated

     

    2025

     

    2Q

    1Q

    Reconciliation of Consolidated Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Phillips 66

     

     

    Net Income

    $

    908

     

    526

     

    Plus:

     

     

    Income tax expense

     

    212

     

    122

     

    Net interest expense

     

    230

     

    187

     

    Depreciation and amortization

     

    816

     

    791

     

    Phillips 66 EBITDA

    $

    2,166

     

    1,626

     

    Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Impairments

     

    —

     

    21

     

    Net (gain) loss on asset dispositions

     

    89

     

    (1,085

    )

    Legal accrual

     

    33

     

    —

     

    Professional advisory fees

     

    45

     

    —

     

    Total Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax)

     

    167

     

    (1,064

    )

    Change in Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

     

    2

     

    15

     

    Phillips 66 EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items and Change in Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

    $

    2,335

     

    577

     

    Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

     

    17

     

    18

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

     

    15

     

    14

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

     

    184

     

    187

     

    Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests

     

    (50

    )

    (60

    )

    Phillips 66 Adjusted EBITDA

    $

    2,501

     

    736

     

     

     

     

    Reconciliation of Segment Income before Income Taxes to Adjusted EBITDA

     

     

    Midstream Income before income taxes

    $

    731

     

    751

     

    Plus:

     

     

    Depreciation and amortization

     

    260

     

    233

     

    Midstream EBITDA

    $

    991

     

    984

     

    Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Net gain on asset dispositions

     

    —

     

    (68

    )

    Midstream EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

    $

    991

     

    916

     

    Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

     

    4

     

    3

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

     

    3

     

    3

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

     

    24

     

    23

     

    Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests

     

    (50

    )

    (60

    )

    Midstream Adjusted EBITDA

    $

    972

     

    885

     

    Chemicals Income before income taxes

    $

    20

     

    113

     

    Plus:

     

     

    None

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Chemicals EBITDA

    $

    20

     

    113

     

    Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    None

    —

     

    —

     

    Chemicals EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

    $

    20

     

    113

     

    Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

     

    13

     

    13

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

     

    (1

    )

    (1

    )

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

     

    116

     

    119

     

    Chemicals Adjusted EBITDA

    $

    148

     

    244

     

    Refining Income (loss) before income taxes

    $

    359

     

    (937

    )

    Plus:

     

     

    Depreciation and amortization

     

    443

     

    456

     

    Refining EBITDA

    $

    802

     

    (481

    )

    Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Legal accrual

     

    33

     

    —

     

    Refining EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

    $

    835

     

    (481

    )

    Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

     

    3

     

    2

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

     

    29

     

    27

     

    Refining Adjusted EBITDA

    $

    867

     

    (452

    )

    Marketing and Specialties Income before income taxes

    $

    571

     

    1,282

     

    Plus:

     

     

    Depreciation and amortization

     

    33

     

    20

     

    Marketing and Specialties EBITDA

    $

    604

     

    1,302

     

    Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Net gain on asset disposition

     

    89

     

    (1,017

    )

    Marketing and Specialties EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

    $

    693

     

    285

     

    Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

     

    —

     

    2

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

     

    10

     

    10

     

    Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

     

    15

     

    18

     

    Marketing and Specialties Adjusted EBITDA

    $

    718

     

    315

     

    Renewable Fuels Loss before income taxes

    $

    (133

    )

    (185

    )

    Plus:

     

     

    Depreciation and amortization

     

    23

     

    23

     

    Renewable Fuels EBITDA

    $

    (110

    )

    (162

    )

    Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    None

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Renewable Fuels EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

    $

    (110

    )

    (162

    )

    Corporate and Other Loss before income taxes

    $

    (428

    )

    (376

    )

    Plus:

     

     

    Net interest expense

     

    230

     

    187

     

    Depreciation and amortization

     

    57

     

    59

     

    Corporate and Other EBITDA

    $

    (141

    )

    (130

    )

    Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

    Impairments

     

    —

     

    21

     

    Professional advisory fees

     

    45

     

    —

     

    Total Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax)

     

    45

     

    21

     

    Change in Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

     

    2

     

    15

     

    Corporate EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items and Change in
    Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

    $

    (94

    )

    (94

    )

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Millions of Dollars
    Except as Indicated

     

    June 30, 2025

    March 31, 2025

    Debt-to-Capital Ratio

     

     

    Total Debt

    $

    20,935

     

    18,803

     

    Total Equity

     

    28,626

     

     

    28,353

     

    Debt-to-Capital Ratio

     

    42

    %

     

    40

    %

    Cash and Cash Equivalents, including cash classified within Assets held for sale1

     

    1,144

     

     

    1,489

     

    Net Debt-to-Capital Ratio

     

    41

    %

     

    38

    %

    1. Includes cash and cash equivalents of $92 million classified within Assets held for sale at June 30, 2025.

     

    Millions of Dollars

     

    Except as Indicated

     

    2025

     

    2Q

    1Q

    Reconciliation of Refining Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes to Realized Refining Margins

     

     

    Income (loss) before income taxes

    $

    359

     

    (937

    )

    Plus:

     

     

    Taxes other than income taxes

     

    94

     

    110

     

    Depreciation, amortization and impairments

     

    446

     

    457

     

    Selling, general and administrative expenses

     

    32

     

    46

     

    Operating expenses

     

    848

     

    1,074

     

    Equity in earnings of affiliates

     

    2

     

    105

     

    Other segment expense, net

     

    (47

    )

    (5

    )

    Proportional share of refining gross margins contributed by equity affiliates

     

    234

     

    141

     

    Special items:

     

     

    None

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Realized refining margins

    $

    1,968

     

    991

     

    Total processed inputs (thousands of barrels)

     

    152,005

     

    124,453

     

    Adjusted total processed inputs (thousands of barrels)*

     

    174,772

     

    145,559

     

    Income (loss) before income taxes (dollars per barrel)**

    $

    2.36

     

    (7.53

    )

    Realized refining margins (dollars per barrel)***

    $

    11.25

     

    6.81

     

    *Adjusted total processed inputs include our proportional share of processed inputs of an equity affiliate.

    **Income (loss) before income taxes divided by total processed inputs.

    ***Realized refining margins per barrel, as presented, are calculated using the underlying realized refining margin amounts, in dollars, divided by adjusted total processed inputs, in barrels. As such, recalculated per barrel amounts using the rounded margins and barrels presented may differ from the presented per barrel amounts.

     

    Millions of Dollars

     

    Except as Indicated

     

    2025

     

    2Q

    1Q

    June YTD

    Reconciliation of Refining Operating and SG&A Expenses to Refining Adjusted Controllable Costs

     

     

     

    Turnaround expenses

    $

    53

     

    270

    323

     

    Other operating expenses

     

    795

     

    804

    1,599

     

    Total operating expenses

     

    848

     

    1,074

    1,922

     

    Selling, general and administrative expenses

     

    32

     

    46

    78

     

    Refining Controllable Costs

     

    880

     

    1,120

    2,000

     

    Plus:

     

     

     

    Proportional share of equity affiliate turnaround expenses1

     

    24

     

    27

    51

     

    Proportional share of equity affiliate other operating and SG&A expenses1

     

    161

     

    173

    334

     

    Total proportional share of equity affiliate operating and SG&A expenses1

     

    185

     

    200

    385

     

    Special item adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

     

    Legal accrual

     

    (33

    )

    —

    (33

    )

    Refining Adjusted Controllable Costs

     

    1,032

     

    1,320

    2,352

     

     

     

     

     

    Total processed inputs (MB)

     

    152,005

     

    124,453

    276,458

     

    Adjusted total processed inputs (MB)2

     

    174,772

     

    145,559

    320,331

     

     

     

     

     

    Refining turnaround expense ($/BBL)3

     

    0.35

     

    2.17

    1.17

     

    Refining controllable costs, excluding turnaround expense ($/BBL)3

     

    5.44

     

    6.83

    6.07

     

    Refining Controllable Costs per Barrel ($/BBL)3

     

    5.79

     

    9.00

    7.24

     

     

     

     

     

    Refining adjusted turnaround expense ($/BBL)4

     

    0.44

     

    2.04

    1.17

     

    Refining adjusted controllable costs, excluding adjusted turnaround expense ($/BBL)4

     

    5.46

     

    7.03

    6.17

     

    Refining Adjusted Controllable Costs ($/BBL)4

     

    5.90

     

    9.07

    7.34

     

     

     

     

     

    1. Represents proportional share of operating and SG&A of equity affiliates for our Refining segment that are reflected as a component of equity in earnings of affiliates on our consolidated statement of income.

    2. Adjusted total processed inputs include our proportional share of processed inputs of an equity affiliate.

    3. Denominator is total processed inputs.

    4. Denominator is adjusted total processed inputs.

     

    Millions of Dollars

     

    Except as Indicated

     

    2024

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Reconciliation of Refining Operating and SG&A Expenses to Refining Adjusted Controllable Costs

     

     

     

     

    Turnaround expenses

    $

    484

     

    538

     

    772

     

    497

     

    Other operating expenses

     

    3,243

     

    3,707

     

    3,958

     

    3,663

     

    Total operating expenses

     

    3,727

     

    4,245

     

    4,730

     

    4,160

     

    Selling, general and administrative expenses

     

    209

     

    169

     

    152

     

    131

     

    Refining Controllable Costs

     

    3,936

     

    4,414

     

    4,882

     

    4,291

     

    Plus:

     

     

     

     

    Proportional share of equity affiliate turnaround expenses1

     

    68

     

    93

     

    118

     

    118

     

    Proportional share of equity affiliate other operating and SG&A expenses1

     

    626

     

    641

     

    721

     

    619

     

    Total proportional share of equity affiliate operating and SG&A expenses1

     

    694

     

    734

     

    839

     

    737

     

    Special item adjustments (pre-tax):

     

     

     

     

    Hurricane-related (costs) recovery

     

    —

     

    —

     

    21

     

    (40

    )

    Winter-storm-related costs

     

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

    (17

    )

    Alliance shutdown-related costs

     

    —

     

    —

     

    (20

    )

    (32

    )

    Legal accrual

     

    (22

    )

    (30

    )

    —

     

    —

     

    Los Angeles Refinery cessation costs

     

    (44

    )

    —

     

    —

     

    —

     

    Refining Adjusted Controllable Costs

     

    4,564

     

    5,118

     

    5,722

     

    4,939

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Total processed inputs (MB)

     

    588,316

     

    607,958

     

    612,741

     

    638,145

     

    Adjusted total processed inputs (MB)2

     

    680,043

     

    685,435

     

    691,855

     

    715,780

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Refining turnaround expense ($/BBL)3

     

    0.82

     

    0.88

     

    1.26

     

    0.78

     

    Refining controllable costs, excluding turnaround expense ($/BBL)3

     

    5.87

     

    6.38

     

    6.71

     

    5.95

     

    Refining Controllable Costs per Barrel ($/BBL)3

     

    6.69

     

    7.26

     

    7.97

     

    6.72

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Refining adjusted turnaround expense ($/BBL)4

     

    0.81

     

    0.92

     

    1.29

     

    0.86

     

    Refining adjusted controllable costs, excluding adjusted turnaround expense ($/BBL)4

     

    5.90

     

    6.55

     

    6.98

     

    6.04

     

    Refining Adjusted Controllable Costs ($/BBL)4

     

    6.71

     

    7.47

     

    8.27

     

    6.90

     

     

     

     

     

     

    1. Represents proportional share of operating and SG&A of equity affiliates for our Refining segment that are reflected as a component of equity in earnings of affiliates on our consolidated statement of income.

    2. Adjusted total processed inputs include our proportional share of processed inputs of an equity affiliate.

    3. Denominator is total processed inputs.

    4. Denominator is adjusted total processed inputs.

    Source: Phillips 66

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: W&T Offshore Announces Timing of Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Release and Conference Call

    Source: W & T Offshore Inc

    Headline: W&T Offshore Announces Timing of Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Release and Conference Call

    HOUSTON, July 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) (the “Company”) today announced the timing of its second quarter 2025 earnings release and conference call.

    The Company said it will issue its second quarter 2025 earnings release on Monday, August 4, 2025, after the close of trading on the NYSE and host a conference call to discuss financial and operational results on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.)

    Interested parties may participate by dialing (844) 739-3797. International parties may dial (412) 317-5713. Participants should request to be joined to the “W&T Offshore, Inc. Conference Call.” This call will also be webcast and available on W&T Offshore’s website at www.wtoffshore.com under “Investors.” An audio replay will be available on the Company’s website following the call.

    About W&T Offshore
    W&T Offshore, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas producer with operations offshore in the Gulf of America and has grown through acquisitions, exploration and development. As of March 31, 2025, the Company had working interests in 52 fields in federal and state waters (which include 45 fields in federal waters and seven in state waters). The Company has under lease approximately 634,700 gross acres (496,900 net acres) spanning across the outer continental shelf off the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, with approximately 487,200 gross acres on the conventional shelf, approximately 141,900 gross acres in the deepwater and 5,600 gross acres in Alabama state waters. A majority of the Company’s daily production is derived from wells it operates. For more information on W&T, please visit the Company’s website at www.wtoffshore.com.

    CONTACTS: Al Petrie
    Investor Relations Coordinator
    investorrelations@wtoffshore.com
    713-297-8024    		 Sameer Parasnis
    Executive VP and CFO
    sparasnis@wtoffshore.com
    713-513-8654

    Source: W&T Offshore, Inc.

    Released July 25, 2025

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Centenary Colour Runner raises thousands for Caudwell Children

    Source: City of Stoke-on-Trent

    Published: Friday, 25th July 2025

    Caudwell Children’s annual Colour Runner has successfully raised over £7,500 for disabled and autistic children as part of the city’s Centenary celebrations with donations still coming in.

    It comes after 169 participants ran, walked or wheeled through Hanley Park at the event on Saturday 19 July – as they were covered in environmentally friendly paints on a fully accessible 5km fun run.

    Developed as a fundraiser in support of Caudwell Children, the run saw people of all ages come together to raise vital funds to provide a range of practical and emotional support services for children and young people.

    The event formed part of Stoke-on-Trent’s Centenary celebrations – marking 100 years of city status – and also commemorated Caudwell Children’s 25th anniversary.

    Kathryn Turner-Morgan, Challenges Manager at Caudwell Children said “We were incredibly excited to bring back the Caudwell Children Colour Runner for our 25th Anniversary and to celebrate Stoke on Trent’s Centenary, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.

    “Despite the weather, 169 children and their families came rain or shine to celebrate Caudwell Children with 5K of colour explosions! It was incredible to see so many children smiling and laughing throughout the event! Be sure to keep your eyes out for 2026.”

    The event was sponsored by Ken Jervis and Synectics Solutions.

    David Norwood, Managing Director at Ken Jervis, who sponsored the Colour Runner, said: “Ken Jervis are grateful to have had the opportunity to sponsor, and to be a part of, such a wonderful event. Everyone involved has done a spectacular job with the organisation and the buzz on the day itself was exceptional.

    “Ken Jervis can’t thank everyone enough for making the event a huge success and a big well done to those who ran the race! We’re more than sure the money raised will help no end and we’re proud to have been a part of it.”

    Councillor Steve Watkins, Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, said: “The Colour Runner was a fantastic event to attend and a brilliant addition to our Centenary celebrations. I am proud it has formed part of the celebrations this year and I want to thank Caudwell Children for organising it.

    “Caudwell Children do incredible work supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities and the funds raised will go towards supporting more of this amazing work. I look forward to seeing this success continue at future Colour Runner events.”

    For more information about Caudwell Children and the work they do, go to: https://www.caudwellchildren.com/

    For more on our Centenary events, visit: https://sot100.org.uk/

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –