NewzIntel.com

Category: Machine Learning

  • MIL-OSI: VelocityEHS Redefines Excellence in Chemical Management Software in Analyst Report

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VelocityEHS, a global leader in enterprise EHS and ESG solutions, has been recognized as a market-leading chemicals management software provider in the latest Smart Innovators: Chemicals Management Software report conducted by Verdantix, an independent research firm.

    In a comprehensive assessment of 13 leading vendors, VelocityEHS achieved the highest overall score across key functional areas critical to chemical safety and compliance.

    “At VelocityEHS, we are dedicated to empowering organizations with the most effective, intuitive, and scalable solutions for managing chemical safety and compliance,” said VelocityEHS CEO Matt Airhart. “This recognition validates our commitment to helping companies navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape to improve worker health safety.”

    The Verdantix report evaluated providers across six core capabilities, with VelocityEHS earning high marks in four of the categories—earning a Market-Leading designation. In the remaining two categories, VelocityEHS was recognized as a Comprehensive Solution, further solidifying its position as an industry leader.

    Market Leading Capabilities

    Chemical Approvals & Inventory Tracking
    Facilitates streamlined approval workflows, real-time inventory tracking, and regulatory screening of chemical ingredients, helping companies maintain compliance and prevent unauthorized chemical use.

    Chemical Spill & Incident Management
    With the industry’s best spill response tools, Velocity enables real-time reporting, automated workflows, and corrective action tracking to mitigate chemical-related risks and improve workplace safety.

    Chemicals Management Compliance Reporting
    Simplifies compliance with Tier II, TRI, and other reporting frameworks by offering automated regulatory tracking and comprehensive data management, ensuring firms meet evolving chemical regulations.

    Hazard Communication & HazMat Labeling
    Provides advanced labeling capabilities, including built-in templates and automatic hazard classification based on SDS data, ensuring organizations remain compliant with global labeling standards such as GHS, OSHA, and WHMIS.

    Comprehensive Capabilities  

    Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Management
    Provides a robust SDS management solution, offering a centralized repository for SDSs, automated indexing, and multi-language support, ensuring organizations can easily access and update chemical safety information.

    Chemical Substitution & Toxicology Analyses
    By providing tools to identify safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals, VelocityEHS helps firms comply with regulations like REACH and TSCA while minimizing environmental and health risks. This commitment to safety and sustainability drives continues innovation, ensuring their solutions not only meet regulatory requirements but also support organizations’ broader EHS goals.

    A key example of this innovation is the recent enhancements to the Chemical Management solution, making it one of the first to align with OSHA’s Hazcom standard updates with Revision 7 of the UN’s Globally Harmonized Systems of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). These updates ensure companies can adapt to evolving compliance requirements while maintaining workplace safety.

    The key changes include:

    • Revised classification criteria
    • Updated label provisions
    • Classification amendments
    • Additional updates to SDS information requirements
    • New provisions for concentration ranges claimed as trade secrets

    VelocityEHS proactively implemented these updates based on the final rule and insights from internal experts, ensuring that EHS professionals had the tools and capabilities exactly when they needed them most.

    “Another recent advancement, our new AI-powered SDS indexing tool, helps companies quickly access critical safety data, improving response times during incidents and potentially saving lives. It’s all about combining innovation with responsibility to create a safer, more efficient and human-centered future for EHS,” said Airhart.

    “Organizations need more than just compliance tools—they need intelligent, connected solutions that help them stay ahead of risks. That’s why we’ve integrated our Chemical Management solution onto the enhanced Accelerate Platform,” he added.

    Unifying Chemical Management with Safety, Industrial Ergonomics, and Operational Risk, Velocity empowers organizations to create reports and integrate data from multiple solutions, enabling them to proactively manage risks and drive safer, more sustainable operations.

    “As chemical regulations continue to expand, firms are turning to chemical management software to help guide them through the increasing complexities and keep pace with change. Chemicals management software vendors, such as VelocityEHS with its advanced technology, enable medium – to high-risk companies to streamline chemical management workflows and exceed compliance requirements,” says Zain Idris, Industry Analyst at Verdantix.

    To learn more about VelocityEHS Accelerate, visit www.ehs.com/accelerate/.

    About VelocityEHS

    Relied on by more than 10 million users worldwide to drive operational excellence and achieve outstanding outcomes, VelocityEHS is the global leader in true SaaS enterprise EHS & ESG technology. The VelocityEHS Accelerate® Platform is the definitive gold standard, delivering best-in-class software solutions for managing Safety, Ergonomics, Chemical Management, and Operational Risk. In addition, Velocity offers world-class applications for Contractor Safety & Permit to Work, Environmental Compliance, and ESG.

    The VelocityEHS team includes unparalleled industry expertise, with more certified experts in health, safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, sustainability, the environment, AI, and machine learning than any other EHS software provider. Recognized by the EHS industry’s top independent analysts as a Leader in the Verdantix 2025 Green Quadrant Analysis, VelocityEHS is committed to industry thought leadership and to accelerating the pace of innovation through its software solutions and vision. Its privacy and security protocols, which include SOC2 Type II attestation, are among the most stringent in the industry.

    VelocityEHS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tampa, Florida; Oakville, Ontario; London, England; Perth, Western Australia; and Cork, Ireland. For more information, visit www.EHS.com. 

    About Verdantix

    Verdantix is the essential thought-leader for world-enhancing innovation. We support change-makers with our proprietary data, unique expertise and executive networks. Our impactful analysis is delivered via a digital platform, consulting engagements and in-person events to thousands of decision-makers in more than 100 countries. From offices in London, New York and Boston, the Verdantix research team applies the principles of rigour, accuracy and curiosity to help our globally distributed clients solve their most complex challenges. Verdantix.com.

    Media Contact

    Jennifer Sinkwitts

    jsinkwitts@ehs.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 27

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL7

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 27
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1025 AM EST Wed Mar 5 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Southern Maryland
    Eastern/Southeastern Virginia
    Coastal Waters

    * Effective this Wednesday morning and evening from 1025 AM until
    600 PM EST.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…A convective line is expected to continue
    eastward/northeastward into more of eastern/southeastern VA and
    southern MD over the next several hours. Strong wind fields across
    the region will support the potential for damaging gusts within this
    line. A low probability for a brief tornado or two also exists.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 45
    statute miles north and south of a line from 75 miles west southwest
    of Richmond VA to 20 miles east of Patuxent River MD. For a complete
    depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
    (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 26…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few
    cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    27035.

    …Mosier

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW7
    WW 27 SEVERE TSTM MD VA CW 051525Z – 052300Z
    AXIS..45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF LINE..
    75WSW RIC/RICHMOND VA/ – 20E NHK/PATUXENT RIVER MD/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 40NM N/S /33ESE LYH – 25W SBY/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..1 INCH. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.

    LAT…LON 37737857 38937605 37637605 36437857

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU7.

    Watch 27 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Low (20%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low (5%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (60%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Low (10%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Low (

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Alli AI Announces Upcoming Public Launch of AI-Powered Content Creation Platform

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LONDON, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AI Soft has announced the upcoming public release of Alli AI, an advanced artificial intelligence-powered platform designed for content creation. Following the conclusion of a closed beta phase, the platform will soon be available with a free trial version, allowing users to explore its capabilities. Alli AI offers a range of tools for image enhancement, background modification, photo animation, video generation, and voice synthesis, catering to designers, photographers, marketers, and digital creators.

    Expanding AI Applications in Content Creation
    Alli AI functions as both an editor and a content generator, with applications spanning social media, digital marketing, and creative design. The technology has reportedly contributed to a growing volume of AI-generated content across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and X. Users have leveraged the tool for various applications, from animated imagery to advertising campaigns.

    Insights from Beta Testing
    The beta testing phase highlighted the platform’s appeal across multiple industries. Designers have used Alli AI to accelerate creative workflows and experiment with different artistic styles, while photographers have explored its animation and enhancement tools. Marketers have utilized the platform to streamline content production, and early adopters in other fields have experimented with its capabilities.

    Upcoming Public Launch
    Alli AI’s developers have announced plans for an upcoming public release, which will include a trial version. The platform is positioned as a tool for content creators seeking AI-driven enhancements for branding, digital media, and other projects.

    About Alli AI
    Alli AI is an AI-powered content creation platform developed by AI Soft. It offers tools for image enhancement, animation, background modification, video generation, and voice synthesis. Designed for professionals and casual users alike, Alli AI aims to streamline creative workflows across multiple industries, including marketing, photography, and design.

    For more information, users can visit Alli AI’s official website or follow updates on X.

    Contact

    AI Soft
    XS Trade
    noelhetherington@proton.me
    +447458196484

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/33fafccd-d76d-47e5-b865-85bb6bbae123

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Penomo & Hoovest Financial Group Partner For Tokenized AI & Infrastructure Institutional Finance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BERLIN, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    Penomo has formed a strategic partnership with Hoovest Financial Group, which collectively administers and manages over $1 billion in assets. This collaboration aims to accelerate institutional capital inflows into tokenized real-world infrastructure, facilitating the connection between asset-heavy renewable energy & physical AI operators and private capital allocators.

    The global shift towards sustainable energy & physical AI is driving significant capital into projects building & operating physical infrastructure, such as solar, Data Centers & machines, and financing remains the key bottleneck. Traditional financing models for critical physical infrastructure—primarily debt financing and structured equity are often slow, bureaucratic, and capital-intensive. Institutions keen to allocate capital into sustainability-focused assets are met with high entry barriers, limited liquidity, and inefficient capital deployment instruments.

    Penomo, an end-to-end financing protocol solves this by transforming heavy infrastructure-backed assets into institution-grade digital assets using tokenization. This lowers entry barriers, allows risk-weighted sustainability investments, and streamlines multi-channel financing for energy and AI infrastructure. While private equity and real estate have embraced tokenization, infrastructure financing is still emerging, with growing institutional adoption from firms like Ant Group and GCL Energy in Asia and Enel Group in Europe. Sustainability infrastructure-as-an-asset class presents as the next financial innovation frontier.

    Recognizing this opportunity, Penomo and Hoovest Financial Group unveil a strategic partnership to bridge institutional capital with tokenized renewable energy and AI infrastructure assets. As the demand for AI Data Centers and energy storage surges, next-generation data centers and high-performance computing hubs require massive capital inflows to scale efficiently. Hoovest, a financial group administering over $1B in assets and $150M worth AUM through its regulated subsidiaries, will leverage Penomo’s digital infrastructure to deploy capital into sustainable energy and AI infrastructure projects, making these tokenized real-world assets more accessible to institutional allocators and financial institutions. Through this collaboration, renewable energy projects and AI-powered infrastructure at both the development and operational stages will gain access to fast, flexible, and cost-efficient capital, reducing the financing gap for global energy transition and sustainable AI expansion initiatives.

    Peter Fang, CEO of Hoovest Financial Group, added: “Sustainable investment mandates continue to evolve, and investors are seeking high-quality, tangible assets with data-backed sustainability impact. Together with Penomo we address that need, providing our capital markets network with streamlined access to tokenized, real infrastructure-backed investments, ensuring both long-term value creation and sustainability.”

    “Energy & AI transition projects need a rescue from stagnated, high-cost TradFi technology,” says Jasvir Dhillon, Co-Founder and CEO of Penomo. “We are opening new avenues for institutional investors to gain streamlined exposure to sustainable infrastructure assets in a liquid, scalable, and fully transparent manner. Hoovest with its exceptional institutional roots makes a perfect partner to move beyond traditional ESG bonds and equity investments and lead the new financial innovation frontier and make sustainable energy- & physical AI infrastructure as a major asset class.”

    About Hoovest Financial Group
    Hoovest Financial Group operates an impact-focused investment business specializing in sustainable and alternative assets. Through its various regulated entities, Hoovest provides capital allocation and structuring solutions for institutional investors, asset managers, and family offices seeking exposure to high-growth, sustainability-driven investment opportunities. Through its joint-venture subsidiary, Unitize Fund Solutions Inc., Hoovest Financial Group administers over $1B in assets and has $150M worth AUM, delivering best-in-class fund structuring, administration, and distribution solutions.

    About Penomo
    Penomo is an end-to-end financing protocol bridging private capital markets with tokenized AI & renewable physical infrastructure to address the $4tn+ energy financing deficit by 2030. It transforms physical infrastructure into an institution-grade digital asset class, delivering a sourcing & allocation solution to sustainability-oriented institutions and asset managers globally. Backed by top institutions, nominated by Standard Chartered for the Earthshot Prize, and with blended expertise from JPMorgan & Chase, Deutsche Bank, and BlackRock’s Recurrent Energy in institutional finance, digital assets, and infrastructure, its mission is to sustainably power humanity on Earth and beyond.
    For more information, users can visit: X | Website | LinkedIn

    Contact

    CEO & Co-founder
    Jasvir Dhillon
    Penomo
    marketing@penomo.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/77740c3b-b699-4cf2-85a7-518d68844aa6

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Revolutionizing Hiring, One Interview at a Time — Employ Acquires Pillar, the Leading AI Interview Intelligence Platform

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DENVER, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Employ, the market-leading intelligent hiring platform and driving force behind JazzHR, Lever, and Jobvite, just supercharged hiring for its 23,000 customers with the acquisition of Pillar, a transformative AI interview intelligence platform.

    Employ is at the forefront of AI-powered innovation— “AI is not just a feature at Employ, it’s in our DNA,” said Dara Brenner, Chief Product Officer at Employ. “AI is fundamental and core to driving efficiency in the hiring process, so much so that we wanted to own the interview intelligence roadmap to drive future developments that meet the needs of our customers. We don’t see AI as a bolt-on; we believe it’s critical to have greater control of natively embedded capabilities to drive efficiencies throughout the entire workflow. With Pillar, customers can continue to harness the power of AI directly in their hiring workflows and finally ditch the guesswork.”

    Employ isn’t just leading the smarter hiring charge—it’s defining it. With intelligent and responsible AI, Employ is setting the gold standard for hiring that is not only faster and smarter but also fair and transparent. The future of talent acquisition isn’t just coming—it’s here, and Employ is rewriting the ‘hire smarter’ playbook with AI that’s both powerful and principled.

    Smarter. Faster. Limitless.

    Pillar’s AI-powered insights are proven to eliminate inefficiencies and bottlenecks and empower faster hiring of more qualified candidates.

    • Time Savings: Recruiters save 40 hours per month
    • Faster Hiring: Reduce time to fill by 26 percent on average
    • Cost Savings: Decrease year-one attrition rates by 32 percent

    “We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring Pillar into the Employ family,” said Steve Cox, Chief Executive Officer at Employ. “This acquisition isn’t just about adding AI-powered interview intelligence capabilities—it’s about supercharging hiring teams, regardless of industry or size, while keeping human connection at the center. With Pillar, we’re accelerating product innovation, giving our customers smarter, faster, and more confident hiring. Technology should enhance, not replace, face-to-face engagement. By eliminating distractions like note taking, second guessing and chasing interviewers for feedback—we empower teams to focus on meaningful conversations and better decisions. No more losing top talent to delays. As hiring evolves, we’re doubling down on people first, industry-leading solutions that give our customers a competitive edge—without sacrificing the personal touch that defines great hiring.”

    Mark Simpson, Founder of Pillar, said, “Pillar was founded to help companies cut the cost and chaos from hiring—without losing the human touch. Employ’s people-first mission takes that vision even further, empowering hiring teams with reliable, efficient and fair hiring processes that actually work.”

    Global industry analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, Josh Bersin, stated, “The integration of interview intelligence with applicant tracking systems will transform the hiring landscape. By combining Pillar’s AI-powered interview intelligence with Employ’s expansive ATS offerings, recruiters will gain deeper insights, streamline workflows and create more personalized candidate experiences. This evolution in hiring technology will enable companies to hire better and faster, ultimately shaping the future of talent acquisition.”

    To learn more, read Employ’s latest blog and visit www.employinc.com.

    About Employ Inc.
    Employ Inc. provides people-first recruiting solutions that empower companies to overcome their greatest hiring challenges. Serving SMBs to global enterprises, Employ focuses on the unique recruiting needs of each organization—from foundational hiring to sophisticated talent acquisition. Employ is the only organization to offer companies choice in their hiring solutions, providing a curated set of recruiting technologies and services. Together, Employ and its solutions (JazzHR, Lever, Jobvite) serve more than 23,000 customers across multiple industries. For more information, visit www.employinc.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: All Intelligent Operations Enables New Growth

    Source: Huawei

    Headline: All Intelligent Operations Enables New Growth

    [Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2025] Huawei, together with global operators, partners, and industry organizations, discussed how operators can upgrade their operations models, reimagine new experiences, and enable new growth at the Intelligent Operations Summit held during MWC Barcelona 2025. Bruce Xun, President of Huawei Global Technical Service, said, “In the next decade, operators will advance towards all intelligent operations at an unprecedented pace. Through in-depth integration of ‘digital twins’ and ‘GenAI+ Predictive AI’, a new operations model that features collaboration between human and AI agents will be built to realize value in specific scenarios along the end-user journey and operators’ value stream.”
    Bruce Xun, President of Huawei Global Technical Service, delivering a keynote speech

    Customer Journey: Rich Digital Intelligence Services with a Reimagined End-to-End NPS Journey
    Operators leverage Mobile Money and AI applications to create a digital intelligence life entry, offering users a wide range of digital and intelligent services and novel experiences. In Africa, Huawei Mobile Money helped an operator expand its business scope from mobile payment to mobile finance. In 2024, the operator’s revenue from mobile finance exceeded US$900 million. In addition, certain operators have re-energized their end-to-end NPS journey with digital twins and AI. In Asia Pacific, Huawei has helped a customer streamline the process and data breakpoints between AICC and SmartCare through multi-agent collaboration. This resulted in a 30% decrease in user complaints and an improvement in service NPS. In China, Huawei collaborated with an operator to build N-NPS leading network, reducing detractors by 20% and improving the network NPS by 8%.
    Value Stream Journey: Building a 3A Cognitive Network to Monetize Differentiated Experiences
    In addition to delivering a leading network experience, Huawei has created a 3A cognitive network that features real-time service awareness, achievable KPIs/KQIs, and differentiated experience assurance. Converged data and AI are used to accurately identify user profiles, allowing operators to promote the right offer to the right people through the right channel at the right time. This shifts the operations focus from traffic monetization to valuable traffic + experience monetization. Additionally, spatiotemporal digital twins enable transformation from best-effort to differentiated experience assurance for high-value scenarios and services. Huawei has helped an operator build the best driver experience network tailored for delivery drivers. With the network, the operator sold packages to 380,000 delivery drivers and achieved a 6% rise in revenue in only one quarter. Leveraging the SRCON spatiotemporal digital twin, Huawei assisted an operator in building the best live streamer experience network, elevating the uplink rate from 3 Mbit/s to over 5 Mbit/s.
    Value Stream Journey: Upgrading Operations Mode, Transforming from Cost-based to Value-oriented Operations
    The increasingly diverse service scenarios and complex network structures pose higher requirements on network stability and operations. The operations model, which depends on people and tools, needs to evolve to depend on people and AI agents. The ultimate goal is to improve both efficiency and effectiveness, and realize transformation from cost-based to value-orientated operations. Huawei collaborated with an operator to establish a Digital Intelligence Operation Center (DIOC). Through the synergy of Huawei NOC, SOC, NPM, traffic loss reduced by 8.4%, and the operator’s network ranked No. 1 in third-party-tested video and gaming experiences in a country of Asia. In addition, Huawei FME copilot has helped an operator reduce unnecessary site visits and shorten MTTR by 30%.
    At the end of his speech, Bruce Xun stated that, to seize the opportunities of all intelligence, operators need to build three major elements: collaboration between people and AI agents, real-time data awareness, and a high-quality chain of thought (CoT) corpus. In addition, the CoT capabilities of GenAI+ Predictive AI need to be combined with the real-time simulation capabilities of digital twins to truly solve scenario-specific problems and realize value, rather than just answering questions. The future is now. Huawei is ready to collaborate with global operators to expedite the transition towards all intelligent operations and enable new growth.
    MWC Barcelona 2025 will be held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1. In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world. For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Eielson Airman Sentenced to Five Years for Possessing Child Pornography

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    FAIRBANKS, Alaska – An Eielson Airman was sentenced today to five years in prison and will serve 15 years on supervised release for paying to receive child pornography.

    According to court documents, on Nov. 7, 2023, Kyle Cozens, 32, who was stationed on Eielson Air Force Base, was interviewed by the FBI in a related case from Illinois involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Cozens allowed agents to review messages on his phone and they observed CSAM images of a known victim. Agents obtained a search warrant for Cozens’ phone and discovered he was communicating with individuals on messaging apps and buying CSAM images from them. Agents discovered multiple CSAM images and videos on his phone, with some visuals depicting prepubescent females.

    On March 1, 2024, law enforcement searched Cozens’ residence and seized over 30 electronic devices. To date, law enforcement has identified over 80 videos and over 680 images depicting child sexual abuse on Cozens’ devices.

    On Nov. 15, 2024, Cozens pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. In addition to prison time and supervised release, Cozens is required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison as part of his sentence.

    “The widespread dissemination of images of children forced to endure sexual abuse is a horrific crime that law enforcement fights every day. Mr. Cozens contributed to the revictimization of those children by paying for visuals of child sexual abuse,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn R. Vogel for the District of Alaska. “My office will continue to protect our most vulnerable by partnering with law enforcement to find and prosecute anyone who targets children for nefarious purposes.”

    “The defendant purchased and possessed large amounts of CSAM, directly contributing to online child exploitation and the re-victimization of young children,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “This sentencing underscores the FBI’s commitment to ensuring child predators are identified and held accountable for their crimes against children.”

    “Interagency partnerships, like the ones utilized in this case, are vital to fighting child exploitation,” said Special Agent Tyler Pierson, Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 632.  “AFOSI is committed to these partnerships and our mission of protecting the Department of the Air Force from criminal behavior that threatens the mission, equipment and people of the Department.”

    The FBI Anchorage Field Office, Fairbanks Resident Agency, and U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI Springfield Field Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Vosacek prosecuted the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Trust Stamp ® announces the achievement of the D-seal

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    COPENHAGEN, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Trust Stamp (Nasdaq: IDAI), the Privacy-First Identity Company™, has been awarded the D-seal, a recognized label for IT security and responsible data usage. The D-seal is the first of its kind to combine IT security and responsible data usage into a single label. This milestone further solidifies Trust Stamp’s leadership in delivering ethical, privacy-preserving digital identity solutions, particularly in humanitarian aid, financial inclusion, and public sector services, assuring these organizations that Trust Stamp’s privacy-first solutions meet the highest ethical and security standards. By voluntarily undergoing the comprehensive evaluation of the D-seal, Trust Stamp has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to responsible digital practices.

    By adhering to the values of D-seal such as IT security, privacy, and responsible use of data, it can bring a shift to the humanitarian sector. The humanitarian sector has historically prioritized efficiency and fraud prevention over privacy, often collecting and storing vast amounts of biometric data without adequate safeguards. As a result, vulnerable populations face increased risks of data breaches, misuse, and unintended surveillance.
     
    By voluntarily undergoing the comprehensive evaluation of the D-seal, Trust Stamp reinforces its longstanding commitment to responsible digital practices, and continues to lead the way—enhancing fraud prevention and operational efficiency while ensuring the protection of individual rights.  Likewise, in financial inclusion, where billions remain unbanked due to a lack of verifiable identity, Trust Stamp’s privacy-preserving technology empowers individuals with secure, interoperable, and responsible identity solutions that open doors to financial services while minimizing risks of misuse or exploitation.

    Beyond humanitarian and financial sectors, Trust Stamp’s commitment to ethical, secure, and interoperable identity solutions also extends to governments seeking to modernize their digital infrastructure without falling into the trap of vendor lock-in, a significant challenge, especially for developing nations. The achievement of the D-seal aligns with Trust Stamp’s commitment to breaking vendor lock-in and ensuring secure, ethical, and interoperable digital identity solutions. By leveraging privacy-preserving technologies that are adaptable and vendor-agnostic, Trust Stamp empowers public sector entities, as well as the humanitarian and financial sectors —to enhance security, efficiency, and inclusivity without being constrained by proprietary systems removing the constraints of vendor lock-in. This approach not only fosters innovation, it ensures that governments can implement sustainable and future-proof identity solutions that serve their citizens without compromising autonomy or security.

    Scott Francis, Group Chief Technology Officer at Trust Stamp, stated:

    “Receiving the D-seal certification underscores our commitment to security, privacy, and ethical data practices—values that are deeply embedded in our mission to break the cycle of vendor lock-in. The D-seal’s emphasis on IT security and responsible data usage aligns with our approach to interoperability, ensuring that identity solutions remain secure, privacy-preserving, but also interoperable. As interoperability in facial biometrics is non-existent today our recent patent addresses that gap, as it allows users to obtain and compare biometric samples across different vendors. By creating an open-format standard, we empower organizations to implement secure and scalable identity solutions .”

    The D-seal achievement reaffirms a commitment to secure, privacy-first identity verification with interoperable, vendor-agnostic solutions that promote financial inclusion and tackle critical challenges in humanitarian and public sectors, fostering a digital identity ecosystem founded on privacy, trust, and accessibility.

    For more information about Trust Stamp’s privacy-first identity solutions, visit www.truststamp.ai.

    Inquiries

    Trust Stamp                                                   Email: Shareholders@truststamp.ai 
    Jonathan Patscheider
    President, Trust Stamp Denmark

    About Trust Stamp

    Trust Stamp the Privacy-First Identity CompanyTM, is a global provider of AI-powered identity services for use in multiple sectors including banking and finance, regulatory compliance, government, real estate, communications, and humanitarian services. Its technology empowers organizations with advanced biometric identity solutions that reduce fraud, protect personal data privacy, increase operational efficiency, and reach a broader base of users worldwide through its unique data transformation and comparison capabilities.

    Located in six countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Trust Stamp trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq: IDAI). The company was founded in 2016 by Gareth Genner and Andrew Gowasack.

    Safe Harbor Statement: Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Remarks 

    All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The information in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements and information related to, among other things, the company, its business plan and strategy, and its industry. These statements reflect management’s current views with respect to future events-based information currently available and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. The company does not undertake any obligation to revise or update

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alison Behie, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Australian National University

    Madagascar is an island that’s no stranger to natural disasters, in particular cyclones. This is because it’s located in the south-west Indian Ocean cyclone basin, a region of the Indian Ocean where tropical cyclones typically form and develop.

    Madagascar has experienced 69 cyclones between 1912 and 2022, although cyclones have been a pressure on the island for much longer – estimates range from hundreds to more than thousands of years. This regular exposure has resulted in a uniquely harsh and unpredictable environment.

    Madagascar is also the only place in the entire world where lemurs, a group of primates, are naturally found. It’s home to over 100 species of lemurs.

    Due to ongoing threats of disaster impacts, hunting and deforestation, lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals in the world. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 98% of lemur species are threatened with extinction, 31% of which are critically endangered.

    It is therefore important to understand future threats to lemurs so as to protect them.

    Lemurs are unusual among primates. They show a higher degree of traits associated with resilience to living in a disaster-prone environment. For example, very few species rely on a diet of fruit, which is one of the first food items to disappear after a cyclone. Over half of lemur species rely on leaves as their main food item.

    They also exhibit a high degree of energy conserving behaviours, including hibernation and torpor – a shorter period of inactivity characterised by a lower body temperature and metabolic rate.

    It has long been believed that these behaviours are a result of Madagascar’s frequent cyclones. Living in an unpredictable environment over multiple generations could lead to different features being beneficial for survival. Some evolutionary adaptations may happen within a few decades, others could form over thousands of years.

    However, there is variation among species in these traits and, to date, no one has tested whether the unique behavioural features of lemurs actually occur more frequently in species that have experienced more cyclones, or if there may be a different explanation. Our research wanted to clear this up.

    In our study, my colleagues and I found no association between cyclone impact and how resilient lemurs are. We did however find a positive association between cyclone impact and body size. This suggests that the more a lemur species is affected by cyclones, the smaller they are.

    Given the increase globally in disasters, this type of work allows us to better understand the most and least resilient species to prepare for conservation efforts into the future.

    How resilient are lemurs?

    My research focuses on how animals, particularly primates, respond to the threat of climate change and disaster exposure. Previous work my colleagues and I did with howler monkeys showed that historical hurricane exposure was significantly linked to the evolution of behavioural adaptations, like small group size and energy conserving behaviours.

    We set out to design a specific study for lemurs. We wanted to determine whether the variation in behavioural traits in lemurs could be accounted for by the variation in cyclone exposure across the island.

    To carry out this research, we first made a map showing how cyclones affect different parts of Madagascar. We used weather patterns, past cyclone paths, how strong the cyclones were, and how much rain they brought. Data used for this came from the past 58 years, which is the data that was available, although Madagascar has been hit by cyclones over a much longer time period.

    We then placed a map of where lemurs live on top of our cyclone map to see how much cyclones affect each lemur species’ home. Our study covered the 26 species for which enough data was published to be able to determine their overall behavioural traits.

    For each of these species, we created a “resilience score”. To create this score, each species got one point for each behavioural trait they exhibited that is associated with living in a cyclone-prone area. For example, a species that shows hibernation got one point and a species that does not got 0 points. The resilience traits we used included: energy conserving behaviours; habitat use; group size; fruit in the diet; home range size; geographic range; and body size.

    We then added up the score across all resilience traits and compared the resilience score of each species with their habitat range cyclone score. This helped us see if species in high-impact areas had higher resilience. If so, it would strongly suggest that resilience traits evolved as an adaptation to frequent cyclones.

    Our results found no relationship between cyclone impact and overall resilience score. This may be because the historical cyclone data we had access to covered only the past 58 years. This may not be an accurate proxy for longer term cyclone activity associated with evolutionary adaptations.

    It could also be that the traits linked to cyclone resilience may have already existed in the last common ancestor of lemurs due to rapid environmental change on the African continent. Recent research suggests this ancestor rafted to Madagascar from Africa on floating vegetation. These traits could have helped it survive the journey. They’re also seen in other wildlife believed to have rafted to their island habitats and that may have been crucial for island colonisation.

    While overall resilience scores were not associated with cyclone impact, we did find that lemur species with smaller bodies experienced greater cyclone impacts. The north-east of the island was found to experience higher cyclone activity compared to the south-west. This aligns with previous research suggesting that larger primates, which require more food and space and reproduce more slowly, are less resilient and more likely to die after habitat disturbance.

    Importance for conservation

    Ours was the first study to try to find a quantitative link between cyclone exposure and the evolution of behavioural adaptations in lemurs and only the second to do so in primates.

    While results did not show a link to overall resilience, they did provide a template for future studies to explore the concept on other primates at a global scale. The study also provides a cyclone impact grid that could be used to assess impacts on other wildlife in Madagascar.

    In addition, our work has highlighted the importance of body size as a factor associated with less resilience to disaster.

    Read more: Mozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival

    This research helps us to understand more about how species responded to cyclones in the past, which improves our understanding of the sorts of behavioural flexibility needed to survive severe environmental change. This then improves our ability to predict the effects of future events and mitigate impacts through more effective and targeted conservation. This is particularly true in island ecosystems, such as Madagascar, where endemic species are confined.

    Read more: Madagascar supports more unique plant life than any other island in the world – new study

    – Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour?
    – https://theconversation.com/madagascars-lemurs-live-with-the-threat-of-cyclones-has-this-shaped-their-behaviour-249172

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: AONDevices Partners with Faraday to Enhance Production Capabilities

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    IRVINE, Calif., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AONDevices, a leader in super-low-power, high-accuracy edge AI solutions, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Faraday Technology Corporation, a renowned ASIC design service and silicon IP provider. This collaboration aims to bolster AONDevices’ production capabilities, ensuring reliable and scalable manufacturing of its cutting-edge AI processors.

    Leveraging Faraday’s Comprehensive Manufacturing Expertise for Supply Chain Resilience

    Faraday, a publicly traded company, has completed thousands of IC tapeouts resulting in hundreds of millions of chips shipped worldwide a year. As the IC design service partner of United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Faraday offers priority access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes, ensuring consistent and reliable production even amidst fluctuating market conditions. Beyond fabrication, Faraday provides end-to-end custom IC services, including customized low-power IP service, packaging, assembly, and testing. Their packaging solutions range from 2.5D & 3D advanced packaging to high-end Flip Chip BGA and cost-effective Quad Flat Pack, tailored to meet diverse application needs. In testing, Faraday has developed an automated test program generator capable of creating customized test programs within half a day, enhancing efficiency and reliability. This comprehensive suite of services ensures a resilient production pipeline, enabling AONDevices to fulfill customer orders promptly and efficiently.

    Enhancing Product Quality through Comprehensive Silicon Qualification

    To further ensure the quality and reliability of its AI processors, AONDevices will benefit from Faraday’s extensive silicon qualification services. These services encompass wafer process reliability qualification, package reliability qualification, and product reliability qualification, ensuring that all semiconductor devices meet stringent industry standards. By leveraging these capabilities, AONDevices can confidently deliver high-quality, super-low-power AI solutions to its customers.

    “Partnering with Faraday aligns with our commitment to deliver high-quality, super-low-power AI solutions to our customers,” said Mouna Elkhatib, CEO/CTO of AONDevices. “Faraday’s extensive experience and priority access to UMC’s manufacturing capabilities provide us with the scalability and reliability necessary to meet the growing demand for our products.”

    Monte El-Khatib, Director of North American Sales at Faraday Technology, added, “We are excited to collaborate with AONDevices in bringing their innovative edge AI solutions to market. Our proven manufacturing expertise and comprehensive services, including packaging, assembly, and testing, will ensure that AONDevices’ processors are produced with the highest quality and efficiency.”

    About AONDevices

    AONDevices, Inc. is a leader in super-low-power, high-accuracy edge AI solutions, redefining always-on, battery-operated devices. With cutting-edge chip architecture, lightweight neural networks, and RISC-V-based hardware, AONDevices delivers exceptional AI performance at ultra-low power.

    Designed for OEMs, AONDevices’ scalable solutions enable advanced features like wake word detection, voice commands, acoustic event recognition, gestures, motion tracking, and environmental context awareness. From personal devices and smart home systems to automotive technology, AON empowers the creation of intelligent, energy-efficient, and privacy-focused products.

    For more information, visit www.aondevices.com or connect with the company on LinkedIn.

    About Faraday Technology Corporation

    Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035) is dedicated to the mission of benefiting humanity and upholding sustainable values in every IC it handles. The company offers a comprehensive range of ASIC solutions, including total 3DIC packaging, Neoverse CSS design, FPGA-Go-ASIC, and design implementation services. Furthermore, its extensive silicon IP portfolio encompasses a wide array of offerings, such as I/O, Cell Library, Memory Compiler, ARM-compliant CPUs, LPDDR4/4X, DDR4/3, MIPI D-PHY, V-by-One, USB 3.1/2.0, 10/100 Ethernet, Giga Ethernet, SATA3/2, PCIe Gen4/3, and SerDes. For further details, visit www.faraday-tech.com.

    Media Contact:
    Stephanie Olsen
    Lages & Associates
    (949) 453-8080
    stephanie@lages.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Trade Smarter with BexBack: 100% Deposit Bonus, 100x Leverage, No KYC & $50 Bonus for New Users

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SINGAPORE, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With Bitcoin’s price fluctuating below $100,000, many analysts predict a prolonged period of high volatility in the crypto market. Holding spot positions may struggle to generate short-term profits in such conditions. As a result, 100x leverage futures trading has become the preferred tool for seasoned investors looking to maximize potential gains in this volatile market. BexBack Exchange is ramping up its efforts to offer traders unmatched promotional packages.The platform now offers a 100% deposit bonus, a $50 welcome bonus for new users, and up to 100x leverage on cryptocurrency trading—all with No KYC requirements—providing excellent opportunities for investors.

    What Is 100x Leverage and How Does It Work?

    Simply put, 100x leverage allows you to open larger trading positions with less capital. For example:

    Suppose the Bitcoin price is $100,000 that day, and you open a long contract with 1 BTC. After using 100x leverage, the transaction amount is equivalent to 100 BTC.

    One day later, if the price rises to $105,000, your profit will be (105,000 – 100,000) * 100 BTC / 100,000 = 5 BTC, a yield of up to 500%.

    With BexBack’s deposit bonus

    BexBack offers a 100% deposit bonus. If the initial investment is 2 BTC, the profit will increase to 10 BTC, and the return on investment will double to 1000%.

    Note: Although leveraged trading can magnify profits, you also need to be wary of liquidation risks.

    How Does the 100% Deposit Bonus Work?
    The deposit bonus from BexBack cannot be directly withdrawn but can be used to open larger positions and increase potential profits. Additionally, during significant market fluctuations, the bonus can serve as extra margin, effectively reducing the risk of liquidation.

    About BexBack?

    BexBack is a leading cryptocurrency derivatives platform that offers 100x leverage on BTC, ETH, ADA, SOL, XRP, and 50 other major cryptocurrencies for futures contracts.. It is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Hong Kong, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Argentina. It holds a US MSB (Money Services Business) license and is trusted by more than 500,000 traders worldwide. Accepts users from the United States, Canada, and Europe. There are no deposit fees, and traders can get the most thoughtful service, including 24/7 customer support.

    Why recommend BexBack?

    No KYC Required: Start trading immediately without complex identity verification.

    100% Deposit Bonus: Double your funds, double your profits.

    High-Leverage Trading: Offers up to 100x leverage, maximizing investors’ capital efficiency.

    Demo Account: Comes with 10 BTC in virtual funds, ideal for beginners to practice risk-free trading.

    Comprehensive Trading Options: Feature-rich trading available via Web and mobile applications.

    Convenient Operation: No slippage, no spread, and fast, precise trade execution.

    Global User Support: Enjoy 24/7 customer service, no matter where you are.

    Lucrative Affiliate Rewards: Earn up to 50% commission, perfect for promoters.

    Take Action Now—Don’t Miss Another Opportunity!

    If you missed the previous crypto bull run, this could be your chance. With BexBack’s 100x leverage and 100% deposit bonus and $50 bonus for new users (complete one trade within one week of registration), you can be a winner in the new bull run.

    Sign up on BexBack now, claim your exclusive bonus and start accumulating more BTC today!

    Website: www.bexback.com

    Contact: business@bexback.com

    Contact:
    Amanda
    business@bexback.com

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by BexBack. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector–including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining–complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e21fc178-7344-42ca-b670-266d9c3f7531

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6202de8e-d347-431f-8adf-311f08c14aad

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c61032f7-5659-4e45-9303-cfbf114c3816

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/50ebb12a-7da1-4e6f-8a18-4ec9f503aa97

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alison Behie, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Australian National University

    Madagascar is an island that’s no stranger to natural disasters, in particular cyclones. This is because it’s located in the south-west Indian Ocean cyclone basin, a region of the Indian Ocean where tropical cyclones typically form and develop.

    Madagascar has experienced 69 cyclones between 1912 and 2022, although cyclones have been a pressure on the island for much longer – estimates range from hundreds to more than thousands of years. This regular exposure has resulted in a uniquely harsh and unpredictable environment.

    Madagascar is also the only place in the entire world where lemurs, a group of primates, are naturally found. It’s home to over 100 species of lemurs.

    Due to ongoing threats of disaster impacts, hunting and deforestation, lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals in the world. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 98% of lemur species are threatened with extinction, 31% of which are critically endangered.

    It is therefore important to understand future threats to lemurs so as to protect them.

    Lemurs are unusual among primates. They show a higher degree of traits associated with resilience to living in a disaster-prone environment. For example, very few species rely on a diet of fruit, which is one of the first food items to disappear after a cyclone. Over half of lemur species rely on leaves as their main food item.

    They also exhibit a high degree of energy conserving behaviours, including hibernation and torpor – a shorter period of inactivity characterised by a lower body temperature and metabolic rate.

    It has long been believed that these behaviours are a result of Madagascar’s frequent cyclones. Living in an unpredictable environment over multiple generations could lead to different features being beneficial for survival. Some evolutionary adaptations may happen within a few decades, others could form over thousands of years.

    However, there is variation among species in these traits and, to date, no one has tested whether the unique behavioural features of lemurs actually occur more frequently in species that have experienced more cyclones, or if there may be a different explanation. Our research wanted to clear this up.

    In our study, my colleagues and I found no association between cyclone impact and how resilient lemurs are. We did however find a positive association between cyclone impact and body size. This suggests that the more a lemur species is affected by cyclones, the smaller they are.

    Given the increase globally in disasters, this type of work allows us to better understand the most and least resilient species to prepare for conservation efforts into the future.

    How resilient are lemurs?

    My research focuses on how animals, particularly primates, respond to the threat of climate change and disaster exposure. Previous work my colleagues and I did with howler monkeys showed that historical hurricane exposure was significantly linked to the evolution of behavioural adaptations, like small group size and energy conserving behaviours.

    We set out to design a specific study for lemurs. We wanted to determine whether the variation in behavioural traits in lemurs could be accounted for by the variation in cyclone exposure across the island.

    To carry out this research, we first made a map showing how cyclones affect different parts of Madagascar. We used weather patterns, past cyclone paths, how strong the cyclones were, and how much rain they brought. Data used for this came from the past 58 years, which is the data that was available, although Madagascar has been hit by cyclones over a much longer time period.

    We then placed a map of where lemurs live on top of our cyclone map to see how much cyclones affect each lemur species’ home. Our study covered the 26 species for which enough data was published to be able to determine their overall behavioural traits.

    For each of these species, we created a “resilience score”. To create this score, each species got one point for each behavioural trait they exhibited that is associated with living in a cyclone-prone area. For example, a species that shows hibernation got one point and a species that does not got 0 points. The resilience traits we used included: energy conserving behaviours; habitat use; group size; fruit in the diet; home range size; geographic range; and body size.

    We then added up the score across all resilience traits and compared the resilience score of each species with their habitat range cyclone score. This helped us see if species in high-impact areas had higher resilience. If so, it would strongly suggest that resilience traits evolved as an adaptation to frequent cyclones.

    Our results found no relationship between cyclone impact and overall resilience score. This may be because the historical cyclone data we had access to covered only the past 58 years. This may not be an accurate proxy for longer term cyclone activity associated with evolutionary adaptations.

    It could also be that the traits linked to cyclone resilience may have already existed in the last common ancestor of lemurs due to rapid environmental change on the African continent. Recent research suggests this ancestor rafted to Madagascar from Africa on floating vegetation. These traits could have helped it survive the journey. They’re also seen in other wildlife believed to have rafted to their island habitats and that may have been crucial for island colonisation.

    While overall resilience scores were not associated with cyclone impact, we did find that lemur species with smaller bodies experienced greater cyclone impacts. The north-east of the island was found to experience higher cyclone activity compared to the south-west. This aligns with previous research suggesting that larger primates, which require more food and space and reproduce more slowly, are less resilient and more likely to die after habitat disturbance.

    Importance for conservation

    Ours was the first study to try to find a quantitative link between cyclone exposure and the evolution of behavioural adaptations in lemurs and only the second to do so in primates.

    While results did not show a link to overall resilience, they did provide a template for future studies to explore the concept on other primates at a global scale. The study also provides a cyclone impact grid that could be used to assess impacts on other wildlife in Madagascar.

    In addition, our work has highlighted the importance of body size as a factor associated with less resilience to disaster.



    Read more:
    Mozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival

    This research helps us to understand more about how species responded to cyclones in the past, which improves our understanding of the sorts of behavioural flexibility needed to survive severe environmental change. This then improves our ability to predict the effects of future events and mitigate impacts through more effective and targeted conservation. This is particularly true in island ecosystems, such as Madagascar, where endemic species are confined.



    Read more:
    Madagascar supports more unique plant life than any other island in the world – new study

    Alison Behie receives funding from The Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour? – https://theconversation.com/madagascars-lemurs-live-with-the-threat-of-cyclones-has-this-shaped-their-behaviour-249172

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UKHSA publishes latest survey on healthcare-associated infections

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    UKHSA publishes latest survey on healthcare-associated infections

    The report finds that overall healthcare-associated infections were present in 7.6% of patients, a 1% increase on the last reported figures in 2016.

    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published its Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) on healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), antibiotic use (AMU) and antibiotic stewardship (AMS) for England in 2023.

    The survey looks at data from 121 NHS trusts and independent sector organisations across England. It provides a one-day snapshot of prevalence levels in our healthcare system, offering insights on current practices and where targeted intervention across various healthcare settings are needed most.

    The report for 2023 found that overall HCAIs were present in 7.6% of patients, a 1% increase on the last reported figures in 2016. This rise could be associated with increased pressure on the healthcare system following the COVID-19 pandemic and more unwell patients due to an ageing population or more patients with comorbidities. Work is being done to understand the increase further.

    The results suggest England’s HCAI prevalence level is consistent with trends seen in other European countries, including Spain, Sweden and Ireland.

    Prevalence varied across different settings. In acute NHS trusts, 8% of patients tested positive for an HCAI. However, expected higher levels at 16.6% were recorded in acute specialty trusts, such as orthopaedic and children’s trusts where patients can be more susceptible to HCAIs. Among specialty trusts, HCAI prevalence was highest in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at 15.9%.

    Of the total number of 3,493 HCAIs reported by the participating organisations, pneumonia/lower respiratory tract infections (PNLRI) were the most common sites of infection (29.6%), followed by urinary tract infections (UTIs) (17.5%), and sepsis/disseminated infections (10.6%).

    This year’s report included mental health and community sites for the first time, with prevalence levels at 5.1% and 5% respectively. These additional data sets are essential to develop our understanding of the HCAI risks and antibiotic use levels across different healthcare settings in England for comparative purposes.

    The overall prevalence of antibiotic use in all hospital patients surveyed was 34.1% in 2023. This means that out of the 44,372 patients included in the national analysis, 15,134 were treated with an antibiotic on the day of the survey. In NHS acute care hospitals, the overall antibiotic use prevalence was similar in 2023 (37.3%), compared to 2016 (36.7%).

    Further analysis of the antibiotics prescribed showed that ‘Access’ and ‘Reserve’ antibiotics accounted for 31.3% and 6% of total antibiotic use respectively in participating hospitals. The UK’s 2024 AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) categorisation system is a tool used to help healthcare professionals prescribe the most appropriate antibiotics for patients while protecting their future effectiveness. Most patients should receive ‘Access’ antibiotics in the first instance. They offer the most effective treatment while minimising the potential for resistance. However, in some cases, for example seriously ill patients in hospitals, treatment with ‘Watch’ or ‘Reserve’ antibiotics may be required. Watch’ antibiotics are first or second choice antibiotics for a limited number of infections, while ‘Reserve’ are “last resort” or new antibiotics.

    By 2029, the UK is aiming to achieve 70% of total use of antibiotics from ‘Access’ across the human healthcare system to preserve efficacy. According to the latest assessment in 2023, this was 64.1% for England across the healthcare sector.

    Dr Colin Brown, Deputy Director at UKHSA, said:

    It’s good to see that overall levels of healthcare-associated infections remained relatively similar in 2023, compared to 2016. This is likely thanks to the efforts of staff across the healthcare system who work tirelessly to implement effective infection prevention and control measures, and ensure antibiotics are being prescribed and taken appropriately.

    However, levels have still increased in some parts of the health service, which must be addressed – together with continuing to drive down overall levels. Work is being conducted to better understand the drivers so that we can protect patients, especially those who are more susceptible to these types of infection such as the elderly and people with comorbidities.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: British Hallmarking Council appoints three new members

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    British Hallmarking Council appoints three new members

    The new members will be part of the British Hallmarking Council from January 2025 for a period of three years.

    The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has appointed three new members to the British Hallmarking Council from January 2025 for a period of three years.

    They will work with the Chair Noel Hunter, OBE and existing members of Council to ensure the organisation achieves its strategic objectives. 

    New members appointed are:

    • Kerry Gregory
    • Sally Leonard
    • Frederick Toye

    British Hallmarking Council Chair Noel Hunter said:

    I am delighted to welcome our three new members to Council. Their expertise in the precious metal, gemmology and jewellery trades will be invaluable as the Council continues its work to protect consumers, ensure the integrity and adequacy of hallmarking, and support growth in the sector.

    I would also like to express my thanks to our outgoing Secretary of State appointed Council members Joanna Hardy, Patrick Fuller, and Rachel Holloway for their invaluable contributions over the years.

    Kerry Gregory

    Kerry Gregory has been in the UK jewellery and pawnbroking industry for over 25 years. She started her business ‘Gemmology Rocks’ after a varied career of retail jewellery, valuing, pawnbroking and gemmology.

    Kerry holds qualifications in diamonds and gemstones from Gem-A, GIA, AIGS, and FEEG. As well as a certificate in Valuation Practice from NAJ. Kerry also holds a level 6 diploma in Education and Training specialising in teaching adults.

    Kerry is very active in both the UK and US industry, and has delivered presentations, and written articles, to critical acclaim, to many organisations and associations. A past long term tutor and head of ATC for Gem-A, she served on the board of Gem-A, and ran one of the UK Branches. Kerry is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Silversmiths and Jewellers Charity (UK), and a key contributor to the National Association of Jewellers Professional Trade Standards Committee.

    Sally Leonard

    Sally Leonard is a jeweller and consultant with over two decades of experience supporting the jewellery industry. Through her consultancy, she has guided hundreds of businesses, offering practical advice on strategy, market positioning, and sustainability.

    As the founder of Leonard of London, Sally combines her passion for design with a steadfast commitment to ethical sourcing and craftsmanship. Her work is rooted in inclusion and collaboration, helping to ensure that the jewellery sector remains both innovative and vibrant.

    She is honoured to be a Freeman of the Goldsmiths’ Company and the City of London.

    Frederick Toye

    Frederick Toye is chairman and a director of the celebrated British manufacturing firm Toye, Kenning & Spencer. Through the company, Frederick has collaborated with a wide variety of contemporary and well-known designers and brands creating precious metal jewellery, accessories and other items.

    The company uses several techniques at its diverse range of in-house workshops in the UK, including but not limited to stamping, polishing, plating, gold and silversmithing, engraving, toolmaking, enameling, woodwork, weaving, machine and hand-embroidery, gold and silver wire drawing and millinery.

    In addition, Frederick is one of the leading figures in the creation of state insignia, medals and regalia in the UK and holds a Royal Warrant from HM King Charles III for ‘the supply of gold and silver laces, insignia and embroidery’.

    Frederick is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Wearable Devices Unlocks New Market Opportunities Following an Announcement of the Development of AI-Powered Gesture Personalization Technology

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    – Advancing AI-driven interactions for extended reality (“XR”) and wearable technology markets –

    Yokneam Illit, Israel, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wearable Devices Ltd. (the “Company” or “Wearable Devices”) (Nasdaq: WLDS, WLDSW), an award-winning pioneer in artificial intelligence (“AI”)-based wearable gesture control technology, is proud to announce its next-generation gesture personalization technology that is expected to reshape human-device interactions. This breakthrough technology aims to open new commercial and licensing opportunities in the fast-growing XR, smartwatch, and AI-driven device markets.

    The Future of Personalized AI-Driven Gestures

    As AI continues to shape our digital landscape, the way we interact with technology is evolving. Traditional input methods – keyboards, touchscreens, and voice commands – are expected to give way to more natural, seamless interactions. Wearable Devices is developing an AI-powered neural wristband technology for detection of user specific micro-gestures, enabling a future of personalized controls tailored to individual users.

    While gestures such as Pinch, Pinch and Drag, and Drag are now in common use with multiple XR devices using gesture detection cameras, the use of a neural interface requires overcoming the various patterns a user may exhibit. Certain users may display neural patterns which are over the normal distribution patterns. Further, the development of new unique gestures which are personalized to a specific user may be hindered by the above obstacles.

    Through leveraging Large Motor Unit Action Potential (MUAP) Models, Wearable Devices is enhancing its ability to create a higher gesture classification experience to all users. Micro gestures, in-which the fingers only perform a minute movement, and user-defined gestures can be added to a control scheme on a device, thus enhancing the comfort of control and the ease of use on multiple devices.

    A New Era for AI-Powered Devices and XR Platforms

    Wearable Devices’ neural-based gesture personalization is being developed to revolutionize XR, smartwatches, and other AI-driven interfaces. The technology aims to enable:

    • Micro-Gesture Precision: AI refining recognition of tiny movements, such as small and fine finger swipes or pinches, ensuring reliable, real-time responsiveness.
    • Cross-Device Integration: Personalized gestures seamlessly operating across augmented reality (“AR”)/virtual reality headsets, AR glasses, smartwatches, and other AI-powered devices, creating a unified interaction experience.
    • Context-Aware Interactions: As the  large language  model gets tailored to the specific user behavior and gesture samples, the system becomes more adaptive to users’ habits of performing a gesture.

    Positioning for Growth in High-Value Markets

    Wearable Devices is targeting rapidly growing markets, including AR, virtual reality (“VR”), smartwatches, and AI-driven wearables, where personalized input solutions are increasingly in demand. By developing user-specific, AI-adaptive control interfaces, the Company aims to:

    • Enhance usability and accessibility for consumers and enterprise applications.
    • Drive adoption of neural-based interfaces in the expanding AI and XR sectors.
    • Establish licensing and commercialization opportunities for its proprietary technology.

    Collaboration and Market Expansion

    With over a decade of R&D and a growing patent portfolio, Wearable Devices is inviting AI and XR industry leaders to explore collaboration and integration opportunities.

    For more information about Wearable Devices’ AI-powered gesture control solutions under development, visit www.wearabledevices.co.il

    About Wearable Devices Ltd.

    Wearable Devices Ltd. is a pioneering growth company revolutionizing human-computer interaction through its AI-powered neural input technology for both consumer and business markets. Leveraging proprietary sensors, software, and advanced AI algorithms, the Company’s innovative products, including the Mudra Band for iOS and Mudra Link for Android, enable seamless, touch-free interaction by transforming subtle finger and wrist movements into intuitive controls. These groundbreaking solutions enhance gaming, and the rapidly expanding AR/VR/XR landscapes. The Company offers a dual-channel business model: direct-to-consumer sales and enterprise licensing. Its flagship Mudra Band integrates functional and stylish design with cutting-edge AI to empower consumers, while its enterprise solutions provide businesses with the tools to deliver immersive and interactive experiences. By setting the input standard for the XR market, Wearable Devices is redefining user experiences and driving innovation in one of the fastest-growing tech sectors. Wearable Devices’ ordinary shares and warrants trade on the Nasdaq under the symbols “WLDS” and “WLDSW,” respectively.

    Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, we are using forward-looking statements when we discuss our next-generation gesture personalization technology and the development of our AI-powered neural wristband technology for detection of user specific micro-gestures, expected to enable a future of personalized controls tailored to individual users; our expectations that such technology will reshape human-device interactions, open new commercial and licensing opportunities in the fast-growing XR, smartwatch, and AI-driven device markets; the benefits and advantages of our technology compared to other solutions and technologies currently available; and our goal to enhance accessibility, usability, and engagement in AI-driven environments, drive adoption of neural-based interfaces in the expanding AI and XR sectors and establish licensing and commercialization opportunities for its proprietary technology. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: the trading of our ordinary shares or warrants and the development of a liquid trading market; our ability to successfully market our products and services; the acceptance of our products and services by customers; our continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for our products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; our ability to successfully develop new products and services; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; our ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed on March 15, 2024 and our other filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

    Investor Relations Contact

    Michal Efraty

    IR@wearabledevices.co.il

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Industry Visionaries to Unveil What’s Next in AI at GTC 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NVIDIA today announced GTC 2025, the world’s premier AI conference, will return March 17-21 to San Jose, Calif. — bringing together the brightest minds in AI to showcase breakthroughs happening now in physical AI, agentic AI and scientific discovery. GTC will bring together 25,000 attendees in person — and 300,000 attendees virtually — for an in-depth look at the technologies shaping the future.

    NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will deliver the keynote from SAP Center on Tuesday, March 18, at 10 a.m. PT focused on AI and accelerated computing technologies changing the world. It will be livestreamed and available on demand at nvidia.com. Registration is not required to view the keynote online.

    Onsite attendees can arrive at SAP Center early to enjoy a live pregame show hosted by the “Acquired” podcast and other surprise festivities. Virtual attendees can catch the pregame show live online.

    “AI is pushing the limits of what’s possible — turning yesterday’s dreams into today’s reality,” Huang said. “GTC brings together the brightest scientists, engineers, developers and creators to imagine and build a better future. Come and be first to see the new advances in NVIDIA computing and breakthroughs in AI, robotics, science and the arts that will transform industries and society.”

    AI is here, and it’s mainstream — powering the everyday brands that shape people’s lives. At GTC, some of the world’s largest companies, groundbreaking startups and leading academic minds will convene to explore the transformative impact of AI across industries.

    With over 1,000 sessions, 2,000 speakers and nearly 400 exhibitors, GTC will showcase how NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing platforms tackle the world’s biggest and toughest challenges — spanning climate research to healthcare, cybersecurity, humanoid robotics, autonomous vehicles and more. From large language models and physical AI to cloud computing and scientific discovery, NVIDIA’s full-stack platform is driving the next industrial revolution.

    At the conference, attendees can also look forward to curated experiences, including dozens of demos spanning every industry, hands-on training, autonomous vehicle exhibits and rides, and a new GTC Night Market featuring street food and wares from 20 local vendors and artisans.

    Notable speakers include:

    • Pieter Abbeel, director of the UC Berkeley Robot Learning Lab and co-director of the UC Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Lab
    • Drago Anguelov, vice president and head of research, Waymo
    • Frances Arnold, Nobel Laureate in chemistry and Linus Pauling Professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry, California Institute of Technology
    • Gülen Bengi, chief marketing officer, Mars Snacking
    • Esi Eggleston Bracey, chief growth and marketing officer, Unilever
    • Noam Brown, research scientist, OpenAI
    • Nadia Carlsten, CEO, Danish Centre for AI Innovation, Novo Nordisk Foundation
    • Max Jaderberg, chief AI officer, and Sergei Yakneen, chief technology officer, Isomorphic Labs
    • Athina Kanioura, executive vice president and chief strategy and transformation officer, PepsiCo
    • Jeffrey Katzenberg, founding partner, WndrCo
    • The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, United Kingdom
    • Yann LeCun, vice president and chief AI scientist, Meta; professor, New York University
    • Arthur Mensch, CEO, Mistral AI
    • Joe Park, chief digital and technology officer, Yum! Brands; president, Byte by Yum!
    • Rajendra “RP” Prasad, chief information and asset engineering officer, Accenture
    • Raji Rajagopalan, vice president, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft
    • Aaron Saunders, chief technology officer, Boston Dynamics
    • RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO, Rivian
    • Clara Shih, head of business AI, Meta
    • Alicia Tillman, chief marketing officer, Delta Air Lines
    • Pras Velagapudi, chief technology officer, Agility Robotics

    More than 900 organizations will participate, including Accenture, Adobe, Arm, Airbnb, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BMW Group, The Coca-Cola Company, CoreWeave, Dell Technologies, Disney Research, Field AI, Ford, Foxconn, Google Cloud, Kroger, Lowe’s, Mercedes-Benz, Meta, Microsoft, MLB, NFL, OpenAI, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Pfizer, Rockwell Automation, Salesforce, Samsung, ServiceNow, SoftBank, TSMC, Uber, Volvo, Volkswagen, Wayve and Zoox.

    Quantum Day Arrives
    NVIDIA will host its first Quantum Day at GTC on March 20. The event will bring together the global quantum computing community and key industry figures.

    Leaders from the quantum computing industry will join a panel with Huang from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT, shedding light on the current state and future of quantum computing. The panel will be livestreamed and available on demand, and feature pioneers in quantum computing, including:

    • Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave
    • Ben Bloom, CEO, Atom Computing
    • Peter Chapman, executive chair, IonQ
    • Rajeeb Hazra, CEO, Quantinuum
    • Loïc Henriet, co-CEO, Pasqal
    • Matthew Kinsella, CEO, Infleqtion
    • Subodh Kulkarni, CEO, Rigetti
    • John Levy, CEO, SEEQC
    • Andrew Ory, CEO, QuEra Computing
    • Théau Peronnin, CEO, Alice & Bob
    • Rob Schoelkopf, chief scientist, Quantum Circuits
    • Simone Severini, general manager, quantum technologies, AWS
    • Pete Shadbolt, chief scientific officer, PsiQuantum
    • Krysta Svore, technical fellow, Microsoft

    Quantum Day will also feature technical sessions with partners, NVIDIA researchers and more.

    AI Training and Certification for Developers
    NVIDIA is training the workforce of the future to equip them with critical skills for navigating and leading in an AI-driven future.

    GTC attendees can participate in more than 80 hands-on instructor-led workshops and training labs provided by NVIDIA Training.

    For the first time, onsite attendees can take certification exams for free — gaining a tremendous opportunity to validate their AI and accelerated computing skills and advance their careers.

    In addition, new professional certifications will be available in accelerated data science and AI networking, as well as workshops in generative AI, agentic AI and accelerated computing with CUDA® C++.

    Learn more about training offerings at GTC on the event webpage.

    Startup and Venture Capital Ecosystem
    For startups and VCs, GTC will feature an AI Day with expert panels, live demos from top startups, session tracks designed for investors, a VC reverse pitch session and exclusive networking opportunities with investors.

    The NVIDIA Inception Pavilion will spotlight cutting-edge innovation from the NVIDIA Inception program, home to more than 22,000 startups. Nearly 250 Inception members will showcase their breakthroughs with demos, exhibitions and sessions spanning areas such as healthcare, climate science and robotics.

    NVIDIA Financial Analyst Q&A
    NVIDIA will hold a Q&A session for investors on March 19 at 8:30 a.m. PT. The webcast will be available at investor.nvidia.com.

    About NVIDIA
    NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in accelerated computing.

    For further information, contact:
    Clarissa Eyu
    Corporate Communications
    NVIDIA Corporation
    ceyu@nvidia.com

    Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the timing, size, themes, sessions, speakers, participants, availability and impact of GTC, including the GTC keynote and the Quantum Day; AI pushing the limits of what’s possible — turning yesterday’s dreams into today’s reality; from large language models and conversational AI to cloud computing and scientific breakthroughs, NVIDIA’s full-stack platform driving the next industrial revolution; AI powering the everyday brands that shape people’s lives; NVIDIA training the workforce of the future; the availability of professional certifications for onsite attendees; and the timing and availability of the financial analyst Q&A are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic conditions; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test our products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to our existing product and technologies; market acceptance of our products or our partners’ products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems; as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

    © 2025 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo and CUDA are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/922e27de-6626-4818-9a6d-d3108f818e25.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Docker Appoints Mark Cavage as President and Chief Operating Officer to Accelerate Next Phase of Growth

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALO ALTO, Calif., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Docker, Inc.®, the company behind the leading development suite of products built specifically for cloud-native development, today announced the appointment of Mark Cavage as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately. Cavage, a proven technology executive with deep expertise in cloud infrastructure, developer experience, and enterprise-scale solutions, will play a key role in expanding Docker’s impact across modern application development, security, and cloud-native workflows.

    “Mark is an exceptional leader who brings a unique combination of technical depth and business acumen,” said Don Johnson, CEO of Docker. “His experience in building and scaling developer platforms and communities, coupled with his passion for driving execution, makes him the perfect addition to our leadership team. We’re thrilled to welcome him aboard as we continue to redefine how modern applications are developed and delivered.”

    With over 25 years in business, product development, and engineering, Cavage has played pivotal roles in shaping modern cloud and developer technologies. His career spans leadership positions at AWS, Joyent, Oracle, Salesforce (Heroku), Stripe, and Nuna. His experience in developer platforms, cloud-scale operations, and security-driven software delivery aligns seamlessly with Docker’s mission.

    At Oracle, Cavage co-founded Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) alongside Don Johnson, building it from the ground up into a hyperscale cloud platform supporting mission-critical applications and AI workloads. He also led Oracle’s application development and container strategy, making Oracle the first enterprise ISV to containerize its flagship databases and applications, and creating a renaissance for Java. At Salesforce, he spearheaded engineering for Heroku, and at Stripe, he was instrumental in launching the Stripe App Marketplace and leading its Financial Services division. Most recently, as CTO of Nuna, he drove innovation in healthcare via technology focused on patient engagement and outcomes.

    “Developer experience has always been a passion of mine, and Docker is among the few companies that truly defines a paradigm shift in how modern software is built and delivered,” said Cavage. “Docker’s platform is deeply loved by developers and thus fundamentally positioned to solve some of the hardest challenges in software development today—whether it’s making AI model deployment seamless, securing the software supply chain, or optimizing development workflows. The opportunities for Docker are massive, and I couldn’t be more excited to help drive the next phase of growth.”

    Cavage emphasized that Docker’s unparalleled mindshare in the developer community presents an extraordinary opportunity to scale its impact. “Nearly every developer interacts with Docker in some form, and Docker has an unparalleled ecosystem for containers – no matter where I look, a Dockerfile and Docker run is the default answer. The next step is to take what developers already know and trust and make it even easier to build, secure, and deploy modern, AI and cloud native applications.”

    Cavage joins Docker at a pivotal moment as the company expands beyond containers, building a future where modern application development is faster, more secure, and more efficient. With deep experience in cloud infrastructure, developer platforms, and enterprise solutions, he will play a key role in shaping Docker’s next chapter. His leadership will help Docker further improve developer experience, solve increasingly complex challenges, and expand its role across the software development lifecycle bringing greater automation, security, and scalability to modern software teams. As Docker strengthens its cloud-native capabilities, enhances AI-driven development, and deepens its investment in security and production-ready solutions, Cavage’s expertise will help drive execution, ensuring developers can focus on what they do best: building great software.

    About Docker
    Docker drives modern software development by making it easy to adopt container technology to radically boost productivity, security, testing, and collaboration at every step of the developer experience. Embraced by over 20 million developers worldwide, Docker’s unmatched flexibility and choice make it the preferred tool for developers seeking efficiency and innovation for creating modern applications. Learn more about Docker at www.docker.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Haivision Showcases World-Leading Live Video Contribution Solutions at the 2025 NAB Show

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MONTREAL, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Haivision Systems Inc. (“Haivision”) (TSX: HAI), a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual collaboration solutions, today announced that it will showcase its ecosystem of world-leading live video contribution solutions at the 2025 NAB Show at booth W2221 in the West Hall from April 6-9.

    Trusted by the world’s leading broadcasters, Haivision is a pioneer in live video contribution, providing ultra-low latency solutions for live broadcasting and multi-camera remote productions. From source to production, its ecosystem of video transmitters, encoders, receivers, and cloud solutions empowers broadcasters with flexibility, operational efficiency, and the ability to reliably capture and transmit high-quality live video from any location to productions on-premise or in the cloud.

    At the NAB Show, Haivision will demonstrate its comprehensive ecosystem of broadcast contribution solutions, including the following:

    • Mobile Video Transmission with Haivision Pro: See the latest updates to Haivision’s mobile video transmitters – the industry’s lowest-latency and most reliable choice for transmitting high-quality video over IP and cellular networks in HD, 4K, and HDR from virtually any location.
    • Efficient SRT Workflows with Makito X4: Test the latest innovations of Haivision’s ultra-low latency Makito X4 encoder and decoder, including SMPTE ST 2110 with NMOS for IP-based production workflows, along with pioneering and native support for the industry-leading SRT video protocol.
    • Smartphone Live Video Contribution Over 5G with MoJoPro: Explore the latest version of Haivision’s MoJoPro live contribution app, now featuring unique remote-control capabilities for camera settings, delivering greater flexibility for remote productions.
    • Cloud-Based Master Control for Contribution with Haivision Hub 360: Learn how cloud-based Haivision Hub 360 simplifies the configuration, control, and monitoring of geographically distributed live contribution encoders, transmitters, and mobile apps.
    • Live Sports and Private 5G Zone: Experience Haivision’s award-winning solutions for large-scale live video transmission over private 5G networks, as used in the biggest sporting events.

    To book a one-on-one meeting with a Haivision video expert at the 2025 NAB Show, please visit https://www3.haivision.com/nab-2025-pr.

    About Haivision

    Haivision is a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual collaboration solutions. Our connected cloud and intelligent edge technologies enable organizations worldwide to engage audiences, enhance collaboration, and support decision-making. We provide high-quality, low-latency, secure, and reliable live video at a global scale. Haivision open-sourced its award-winning SRT low-latency video streaming protocol and founded the SRT Alliance to support its adoption. Awarded four Emmys® for Technology and Engineering from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Haivision continues to drive the future of IP video transformation. Founded in 2004, Haivision is headquartered in Montreal and Chicago, with offices, sales, and support located throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. To learn more, visit Haivision at haivision.com.

    Jennifer Gazin
    514.334.5445 ext 8309
    jgazin@haivision.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Varonis Announces Varonis for Agentforce to Enable Safe AI Rollouts

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Varonis Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNS) today announced Varonis for Agentforce. The launch expands Varonis’ security offering by giving IT and security teams critical visibility into the agentic AI layer.

    Agentforce is the agentic layer of the Salesforce platform for deploying autonomous AI agents across any business function. Agentforce includes a set of tools to create and customize agents, as well as a library of pre-built skills for any use case across sales, service, marketing and commerce, MuleSoft, Tableau, Slack, partners and more.

    Organizations use Agentforce to build and deploy AI agents that connect to enterprise data and automate a wide range of business processes at scale. With Varonis for Agentforce, organizations can get a single pane of glass for all AI agents, including what they were built for and what actions they can perform. Teams can monitor connections to enterprise data sources to identify potential security risks.

    Varonis for Agentforce builds on Varonis’ Salesforce security solutions, which allow companies to understand their risk, automatically fix exposures, and stop attacks on their CRM. By securing critical data and resources, Varonis gives IT and security teams a clear, real-time view of agents and activities in one place.

    “Agentic AI will revolutionize routine work but introduces new security challenges that can expose sensitive data,” said Varonis EVP of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer David Bass. “Security starts with understanding the AI agents you have, knowing what data your AI robots can access, and monitoring changes over time for risk. With the launch of Varonis for Agentforce, we’re continuing to expand our holistic security approach for Salesforce — and across SaaS and IaaS — with one unified Data Security Platform.”

    Organizations can request a complimentary Varonis Data Risk Assessment to evaluate their Salesforce security posture.

    Varonis for Agentforce is available on Salesforce’s AppExchange.

    Additional Resources

    Salesforce, Agentforce and others are among the trademarks of Salesforce, Inc.

    About Varonis
    Varonis (Nasdaq: VRNS) is the leader in data security, fighting a different battle than conventional cybersecurity companies. Our cloud-native Data Security Platform continuously discovers and classifies critical data, removes exposures, and detects advanced threats with AI-powered automation.

    Thousands of organizations worldwide trust Varonis to defend their data wherever it lives — across SaaS, IaaS, and hybrid cloud environments. Customers use Varonis to automate a wide range of security outcomes, including data security posture management (DSPM), data classification, data access governance (DAG), data detection and response (DDR), data loss prevention (DLP), AI security, and insider risk management.

    Varonis protects data first, not last. Learn more at www.varonis.com.

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Tim Perz
    Varonis Systems, Inc.
    646-640-2112
    investors@varonis.com 
    News Media Contact:
    Rachel Hunt
    Varonis Systems, Inc.
    877-292-8767 (ext. 1598)
    pr@varonis.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: India expands UK footprint as £41 billion partnership boosts countries’ growth

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    India expands UK footprint as £41 billion partnership boosts countries’ growth

    Britain and India bolster trade ties during Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar’s visit to UK.

    • Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar visits UK to boost £41 billion trading relationship  
    • UK welcomes the opening of 2 new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester  
    • move set to enhance economic growth and support further regional Indian investments in the UK delivering on the government’s Plan for Change   

    The UK-India partnership will strengthen further with the opening of 2 new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester, boosting regional economic ties and delivering on the growth agenda.  

    It comes as the UK welcomes Indian investment deals worth more than £100 million which is creating jobs, strengthening growth, and helping working people by putting more money in their pockets.   

    Before opening the consulates, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar will meet with Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House.   

    At Chevening, the foreign ministers will drive forward the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This will focus on fostering mutual economic growth, technological innovation, and collaboration on global challenges including climate change. They will also discuss Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the Middle East and other global affairs.  

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:   

    One of my first visits as Foreign Secretary was to India because deepening our partnership for our shared growth and security is a key part of this government’s Plan for Change. 

    Dr Jaishankar and I are supercharging our £41 billion trading relationship with India, after trade talks were relaunched in Delhi. It is the floor, not the ceiling of our ambitions that will benefit both our economies.  

    The opening of new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester demonstrate the growing links between our peoples and how we are working together to deliver growth not only in London, but right across the UK. This expansion of India’s diplomatic presence will further boost our trading relationship and support the valued Indian community in the UK.

    Ministers are also set to discuss the Technology Security Initiative, launched during the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Delhi in July 2024. They will touch on the opportunities for citizens in both countries that will come from closer collaboration in sectors such as artificial intelligence, telecoms and critical minerals. Opportunities include more effective and affordable healthcare and more resilient supply chains, as well as greater innovation, investment and job creation.  

    And the visit will highlight the living bridge between the UK and India, including a special reception with Chevening scholars at Chevening House, celebrating India’s position as home to the world’s largest Chevening programme.  

    Background  

    • Chevening is the UK government’s flagship international scholarships and fellowships programme. It offers fully funded scholarships (including tuition, travel and living expenses) for a one-year postgraduate course in the UK
    • it also offers short term fellowships to mid-career professionals in cyber security, science and innovation, journalism, and leadership and excellence
    • it is mandatory for scholars and fellows to return to their home country upon completion of their course
    • the Chevening programme in India is the largest in the world, benefiting over 3,900 scholars and fellows since 1983. Over 40% of Chevening scholars in India come from outside metro cities, are first generation learners, and belong to lesser privileged groups

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Apple reveals M3 Ultra, taking Apple silicon to a new extreme

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple reveals M3 Ultra, taking Apple silicon to a new extreme

    March 5, 2025

    PRESS RELEASE

    Apple reveals M3 Ultra, :br(xl)::br(l):taking Apple silicon to a new extreme

    The new chip delivers up to 2.6x the performance of M1 Ultra, along with Thunderbolt 5 connectivity and support for more than half a terabyte of unified memory — the most ever in a personal computer

    CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced M3 Ultra, the highest-performing chip it has ever created, offering the most powerful CPU and GPU in a Mac, double the Neural Engine cores, and the most unified memory ever in a personal computer. M3 Ultra also features Thunderbolt 5 with more than 2x the bandwidth per port for faster connectivity and robust expansion. M3 Ultra is built using Apple’s innovative UltraFusion packaging architecture, which links two M3 Max dies over 10,000 high-speed connections that offer low latency and high bandwidth. This allows the system to treat the combined dies as a single, unified chip for massive performance while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading power efficiency. UltraFusion brings together a total of 184 billion transistors to take the industry-leading capabilities of the new Mac Studio to new heights.

    “M3 Ultra is the pinnacle of our scalable system-on-a-chip architecture, aimed specifically at users who run the most heavily threaded and bandwidth-intensive applications,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “Thanks to its 32-core CPU, massive GPU, support for the most unified memory ever in a personal computer, Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, and industry-leading power efficiency, there’s no other chip like M3 Ultra.”

    Ultra Performance and Efficiency

    M3 Ultra provides the most performance of any Mac chip, while maintaining the industry-leading power-efficiency of Apple silicon. It features up to a 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, delivering up to 1.5x the performance of M2 Ultra, and up to 1.8x that of M1 Ultra. It also has the largest GPU in any Apple chip, with up to 80 graphics cores that bring up to 2x faster performance than M2 Ultra, and up to 2.6x faster than M1 Ultra.1

    The advanced graphics architecture in M3 Ultra features dynamic caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, so it can fly through the most demanding content creation workloads and games. A powerful 32-core Neural Engine fuels AI and machine learning (ML), and powers Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models right at the core of the new Mac Studio. In fact, M3 Ultra is built for AI, including ML accelerators in the CPU, Apple’s most powerful GPU, the Neural Engine, and over 800GB/s of memory bandwidth. AI professionals can use Mac Studio with M3 Ultra to run large language models (LLMs) with over 600 billion parameters directly on device, making it the ultimate desktop for AI development.

    Unparalleled Memory

    The unified memory architecture of M3 Ultra integrates the most high-bandwidth, low-latency memory ever available in a personal computer. Starting at 96GB, it can be configured up to 512GB, or over half a terabyte. This outpaces the memory available in today’s most advanced workstation graphics cards, removing limitations for pro workloads that demand large amounts of graphics memory like 3D rendering, visual effects, and AI.

    Thunderbolt 5 for Next-Generation Connectivity

    M3 Ultra brings Thunderbolt 5 to Mac Studio for up to 120 Gb/s data transfer speeds — more than double that of Thunderbolt 4. Each Thunderbolt 5 port is supported by its own custom-designed controller directly on the chip. This provides dedicated bandwidth for each port on Mac Studio, making it the industry’s most capable implementation of Thunderbolt 5.

    Thunderbolt 5 ports on Mac Studio are a game changer for pro users who require faster data transfer speeds for external storage, docking, and hub solutions, and want to be ready for the next generation of expansion chassis. Thunderbolt 5 also enables connecting multiple Mac Studio systems together for workflows that push the limits of content creation and computer science exploration.

    Cutting-Edge Technologies Built In

    In the pursuit of maximizing performance and efficiency, M3 Ultra integrates Apple’s advanced technologies right on the chip:

    • Apple’s custom-built UltraFusion packaging technology uses an embedded silicon interposer that connects two M3 Max dies across more than 10,000 signals, providing over 2.5TB/s of low-latency interprocessor bandwidth, and making M3 Ultra appear as a single chip to software.
    • With 2x the resources of M3 Max, the media engine within M3 Ultra is capable of far more concurrent video processing. The chip offers dedicated, hardware-enabled H.264, HEVC, and four ProRes encode and decode engines, allowing M3 Ultra to play back up to 22 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video.
    • The display engine supports up to eight Pro Display XDRs, driving more than 160 million pixels.
    • The Secure Enclave works with hardware-verified secure boot and runtime anti-exploitation technologies to provide state-of-the-art security.

    Better for the Environment

    The power-efficient performance of M3 Ultra helps the new Mac Studio meet Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and reduces the total amount of energy consumed over the product’s lifetime. Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations and, as part of its ambitious Apple 2030 goal, plans to be carbon neutral across its entire carbon footprint by the end of this decade.

    About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

    1. Results are compared to previous-generation Mac Studio systems with Apple M1 Ultra, 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and 128GB of RAM; and Mac Studio systems with Apple M2 Ultra, 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU, and 192GB of RAM.

    Press Contacts

    Todd Wilder

    Apple

    wilder@apple.com

    Lauren Klug

    Apple

    l_klug@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with the M4 chip and a sky blue color

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with the M4 chip and a sky blue color

    March 5, 2025

    PRESS RELEASE

    Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with the soaring performance of the M4 chip, a gorgeous new sky blue color, and a lower starting price of $999

    The world’s most popular laptop delivers more value than ever with greater performance, up to 18 hours of battery life, a 12MP Center Stage camera, and enhanced external display support — all in its strikingly thin and light design

    CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new MacBook Air, featuring the blazing-fast performance of the M4 chip, up to 18 hours of battery life,1 a new 12MP Center Stage camera, and a lower starting price. It also offers support for up to two external displays in addition to the built-in display, 16GB of starting unified memory, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence — all packed into its strikingly thin and light design that’s built to last. The new MacBook Air now comes in an all-new color — sky blue, a metallic light blue that joins midnight, starlight, and silver — giving MacBook Air its most beautiful array of colors ever. It also now starts at just $999 — $100 less than before — and $899 for education, making it an incredible value for students, business professionals, or anyone looking for a phenomenal combination of world-class performance, portability, design, and durability. With two sizes to choose from, the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air are available to pre-order today, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 12.

    “MacBook Air is by far the world’s most popular laptop, and today we’re giving everyone even more reasons to love it, including a big boost in performance with the M4 chip, a new Center Stage camera, and a beautiful new sky blue color,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Combined with its thin and light, fanless design, all-day battery life, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence, MacBook Air is unlike any other laptop. And with a new lower starting price of $999, MacBook Air delivers more value to consumers than ever before, making this the perfect moment to upgrade or experience the Mac for the first time.”

    A Fresh New Hue: Hello, Sky Blue  

    Adding a new choice to the lineup of MacBook Air colors is the all-new sky blue. A beautiful, metallic light blue that creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface, sky blue joins midnight, starlight, and silver to complete the brilliant array of color choices for MacBook Air. All color options, including sky blue, come with a color-matched MagSafe charge cable.

    M4: Performance to the Next Level 

    With M4 in MacBook Air, everything from daily activities like multitasking between apps to more demanding tasks like photo and video editing is faster and more fluid. The M4 chip features a powerful 10-core CPU, an up to 10-core GPU, and support for up to 32GB of unified memory, making the new MacBook Air up to 2x faster than the M1 model.1 When compared to the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, the M4 model delivers up to 23x faster performance.1 With battery life on the new MacBook Air up to 18 hours, Intel-based upgraders will get up to six additional hours, so they can get more done on a single charge.1 The powerful Neural Engine in the M4 chip, which accelerates AI-based tasks, is also up to 3x faster than on MacBook Air with M1, significantly increasing speed in tasks like automatically enhancing photos and removing background noise from a video.

    MacBook Air with M4 delivers a new level of performance:

    • Spreadsheet calculation performance in Microsoft Excel is up to 4.7x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 1.6x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.1
    • Video editing in iMovie is up to 8x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.2
    • Photo editing in Adobe Photoshop is up to 3.6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.1
    • Web browsing is up to 60 percent faster when compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and more demanding tasks get up to 2x faster performance.1

    Built for Apple Intelligence

    MacBook Air is built for Apple Intelligence, unlocking exciting new capabilities that make Mac even more helpful and powerful. Users can explore creative new ways to express themselves visually with Image Playground, create the perfect emoji with Genmoji, and make their writing even more dynamic with Writing Tools. With new Siri improvements, users can move fluidly between spoken and typed requests to accelerate tasks throughout their day, and Siri can answer thousands of questions about Mac features and settings, with step-by-step instructions for how to do something on Mac. With access to ChatGPT seamlessly integrated into Writing Tools and Siri, users can choose to access ChatGPT’s expertise so they can get things done faster and easier than ever before. Users can access ChatGPT for free without creating an account, and privacy protections are built in — their IP addresses are obscured and OpenAI won’t store requests. Users can choose whether to enable ChatGPT integration, and are in full control of when they use it and what information is shared with ChatGPT.

    Designed to protect users’ privacy at every step, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing, meaning that many of the models that power it run entirely on device. For requests that require access to larger models, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of Mac into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request.

    Always Camera-Ready

    A new 12MP Center Stage camera with improved video quality keeps MacBook Air users looking their best, whether at home, school, or work. Center Stage automatically keeps users centered in the frame as they move around — great for connecting with friends and family over FaceTime or joining an important meeting. It also supports Desk View, which simultaneously displays the user and a top-down view of their desk, making video calls even more engaging for those who want to show off their latest DIY project or present a prototype at work.

    Enhanced Display Support 

    MacBook Air can easily power a multi-display setup to make viewing and interacting with content a breeze, for anyone from business professionals at the office multitasking across multiple windows, to students in a dorm room tackling a big project across several apps. For users who like to spread their work out, MacBook Air now supports up to two 6K external displays, in addition to its built-in Liquid Retina display.

    Everything Users Already Love

    More people choose MacBook Air over any other laptop. In addition to what’s new, MacBook Air with M4 includes all of the useful features and capabilities that have made it so popular, including:

    • Reliability and durability: The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air feature a durable aluminum unibody enclosure that’s built to last, and are both less than half an inch thin, so users can work, play, or create from anywhere. The 13-inch model provides the ultimate in portability for users on the go, while the 15-inch model offers even more room to multitask.
    • Touch ID and Magic Keyboard: With the advanced security of Touch ID, users can easily and securely unlock their MacBook Air, make online purchases with Apple Pay, and download apps. The comfortable and quiet Magic Keyboard is backlit and comes with a full-height function row.
    • Gorgeous display: MacBook Air features a brilliant 13.6- or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display with up to 500 nits of brightness, support for 1 billion colors, and up to 2x the resolution of comparable PC laptops. Content looks vivid with sharp detail, and text appears super crisp.
    • Versatile connectivity: MacBook Air with M4 features fast Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. It also includes MagSafe charging and two Thunderbolt ports for connecting accessories like external storage and security keys, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
    • Mics and speakers: Users will sound their best with a three-mic array and enhanced voice clarity on audio and video calls. And with an immersive sound system that has support for Spatial Audio along with Dolby Atmos, users will enjoy a three-dimensional soundstage for music and movies.

    An Unrivaled Experience: macOS Sequoia

    macOS Sequoia completes the new MacBook Air experience with a host of exciting features, including iPhone Mirroring, allowing users to wirelessly interact with their iPhone, its apps, and notifications directly from their Mac.3 Safari, the world’s fastest browser,4 now surfaces relevant information on sites in Highlights; summarizes articles in the redesigned Reader; keeps videos front and center in a new Video Viewer; and lets users hide distracting items with Distraction Control. Gaming gets even more immersive with features like Personalized Spatial Audio and improvements to Game Mode, along with a breadth of exciting titles, including Civilization VII, Wuthering Waves, and more. Easier window tiling means users can stay organized with a window layout that works best for them. The all-new Passwords app gives convenient access to passwords, passkeys, and other credentials — all stored in one place. And users can apply new, beautiful built-in backgrounds for video calls, which include a variety of color gradients, or use their own photos.

    Next month, macOS Sequoia 15.4 will make it easier than ever to set up the new MacBook Air with iPhone. By simply bringing iPhone close to Mac, users can quickly and conveniently sign in to their Apple Account to get their files, photos, messages, passwords, and more on their new MacBook Air.5

    Better for the Environment

    MacBook Air is designed with the environment in mind. As part of Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral across its entire carbon footprint by the end of this decade, Apple is transitioning to renewable electricity for manufacturing, and investing in wind and solar projects around the world to address the electricity used to charge all Apple products, including MacBook Air. Today, all Apple facilities run on 100 percent renewable electricity — including the data centers that power Apple Intelligence.

    To achieve Apple 2030, the company is designing products with more recycled and renewable materials, which further drives down the carbon footprint. MacBook Air features over 55 percent recycled content overall, the most in any Apple product. This includes 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. The battery contains 100 percent recycled cobalt and — in a first for any Mac — over 95 percent recycled lithium. MacBook Air meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is entirely fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by the end of 2025.6

    Pricing and Availability

    • Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Air with M4 starting today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 12.
    • The 13-inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $999 (U.S.) and $899 (U.S.) for education, and the 15‑inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $1,199 (U.S.) and $1,099 (U.S.) for education. Both are available in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.
    • Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and accessories are available at apple.com/mac.
    • Apple Intelligence is available on all Mac models with M1 and later, in localized English for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, and the U.S. Additional languages — including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified), English (Singapore), and English (India) — will be available in April, with more languages coming over the course of the year, including Vietnamese. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages.
    • With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth.
    • AppleCare+ for Mac provides unparalleled service and support. This includes unlimited incidents of accidental damage, battery service coverage, and 24/7 support from the people who know Mac best.
    • Every customer who buys directly from Apple Retail gets access to Personal Setup. In these guided online sessions, a Specialist can walk them through setup, or focus on features that help them make the most of their new device. Customers can also learn more about getting started with their new device with a Today at Apple session at their nearest Apple Store.
    • Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all up front. More information — including details on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card terms — is available at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.

    About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

    1. Testing was conducted by Apple in January 2025. See apple.com/macbook-air for more information. Battery life varies by use and configuration. See apple.com/batteries for more information.
    2. Results are compared to previous-generation MacBook Air systems with Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD; and 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based MacBook Air systems with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD.
    3. Available on Mac computers with Apple silicon and Intel-based Mac computers with a T2 Security Chip. See requirements on apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia. Some iPhone features (for example, camera and microphone) are not compatible with iPhone Mirroring.
    4. Testing was conducted by Apple in August 2024. See apple.com/safari for more information.
    5. Available next month on macOS Sequoia 15.4 with iPhone and iPad running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or a later version.
    6. Based on retail packaging as shipped by Apple. Breakdown of U.S. retail packaging by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from our calculations of plastic content and packaging weight.

    Press Contacts

    Starlayne Meza

    Apple

    starlayne_meza@apple.com

    Lizette Viviana Du Pond

    Apple

    ldupond@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever

    March 5, 2025

    PRESS RELEASE

    Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever, featuring M4 Max and new M3 Ultra

    With Thunderbolt 5, up to 512GB of unified memory, and an up to 16TB SSD, all in a compact design, the ultimate pro desktop delivers even more performance

    CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever made, featuring M4 Max and the new M3 Ultra chip. The ultimate pro desktop delivers groundbreaking pro performance, extensive connectivity now with Thunderbolt 5, and new capabilities in its compact and quiet design that can live right on a desk. Mac Studio can tackle the most intense workloads with its powerful CPU, Apple’s advanced graphics architecture, higher unified memory capacity, ultrafast SSD storage, and a faster and more efficient Neural Engine. It provides a big boost in performance compared to the previous generation, and a massive leap for users coming from older Macs.

    Mac Studio is a powerhouse for AI, capable of running large language models (LLMs) with over 600 billion parameters entirely in memory, thanks to its advanced GPU and up to 512GB of unified memory with M3 Ultra — the most ever in a personal computer. It’s also built for Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that transforms how users work, communicate, and express themselves, while protecting their privacy. The new Mac Studio is available to pre-order today, with availability beginning March 12.

    “The new Mac Studio is the most powerful Mac we’ve ever made,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “A complete game-changer for pros around the world — powering both home and pro studios — Mac Studio sits in a class of its own, offering a staggering amount of performance in a compact, quiet design that fits beautifully on your desk. With this new Mac Studio, we’re delivering even more extreme performance with M4 Max and M3 Ultra, support for half a terabyte of unified memory, up to 16TB of superfast storage, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. Mac Studio truly is the ultimate pro desktop.”

    Mac Studio with M4 Max: A Performance Juggernaut

    The new Mac Studio with M4 Max is the perfect choice for video editors, colorists, developers, engineers, photographers, creative pros, and other users who need to blaze through intensive workflows. It delivers phenomenal single-threaded CPU performance with the world’s fastest CPU core, along with outstanding multithreaded CPU performance for complex workloads. Featuring an up to 16-core CPU, an up to 40-core GPU, over half a terabyte per second of unified memory bandwidth, and a Neural Engine that is over 3x faster than M1 Max, Mac Studio with M4 Max can run on-device AI models incredibly fast. Mac Studio with M4 Max is up to 3.5x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Max, and is up to 6.1x faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac.1

    The GPU in M4 Max also brings Apple’s advanced graphics architecture to Mac Studio for the first time, including dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated mesh shading, and a second-generation ray-tracing engine for more seamless content creation and gaming. Mac Studio with M4 Max starts at 36GB of unified memory, with support for up to 128GB, so users can do everything from sorting through thousands of images with speed and precision, to producing complex compositions with hundreds of tracks, plug-ins, and virtual instruments, all played in real time. And with the powerful Media Engine in M4 Max, which features two ProRes accelerators, Mac Studio performance is outstanding for videographers who can effortlessly work with multiple streams of 4K ProRes.

    Mac Studio with M4 Max enables:1

    • Up to 1.6x faster image processing in Adobe Photoshop when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 2.9x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9. 
    • Up to 2.1x faster build performance when compiling code in Xcode when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 3.1x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9. 
    • Up to 1.2x faster ProRes transcode performance in Compressor when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 2.8x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9. 
    • Up to 1.6x faster video processing performance in Topaz Video AI when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 5x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9.

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra: The Pinnacle of Pro Performance

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra pushes demanding workflows to a whole new level. It delivers nearly 2x faster performance than M4 Max in workloads that take advantage of high CPU and GPU core counts, and massive amounts of unified memory.2 Mac Studio with M3 Ultra is up to 2.6x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6.4x faster than the 16-core Intel Xeon W-based Mac Pro.1 With the new M3 Ultra, Mac Studio features an up to 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores, 50 percent more than any previous Ultra chip and the most CPU cores ever in a Mac. It also offers an up to 80-core GPU, more than any Apple silicon chip; a powerful 32-core Neural Engine for on-device AI and machine learning (ML); and a high-bandwidth memory architecture that delivers over 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra starts with 96GB of unified memory, which can be configured up to 512GB — the most unified memory ever in a personal computer — and up to 16TB of ultrafast SSD storage, so content and data can be kept locally. That’s enough storage for over 12 hours of 8K ProRes video. The advanced graphics architecture brings Dynamic Caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, so graphics workflows like GPU-based renderers are up to 2.6x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra.

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra enables:1

    • Up to 16.9x faster token generation using an LLM with hundreds of billions of parameters in LM Studio when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, thanks to its massive amounts of unified memory.
    • Up to 2.6x faster scene rendering performance in Maxon Redshift when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6.4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.
    • Up to 1.1x faster basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 21.1x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X. 
    • Up to 1.4x faster 8K video rendering performance in Final Cut Pro when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.

    Thunderbolt 5 for High-Bandwidth Accessories and Expansion

    The new Mac Studio features Thunderbolt 5 ports that deliver transfer speeds up to 120 Gb/s, up to 3x faster than the prior generation, enabling faster external storage, expansion chassis, and powerful hub solutions. For those who rely on PCIe expansion cards for their workflows, Thunderbolt 5 allows users to connect an external expansion chassis with higher bandwidth and lower latency. And with M3 Ultra, Mac Studio now drives up to eight Pro Display XDRs at the full 6K resolution. Mac Studio also offers a wide array of connectivity within easy reach for pros, including a 10Gb Ethernet port, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot on the front to conveniently import photos and video, along with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

    Built for Apple Intelligence

    Mac Studio helps pros push the boundaries of what they can do, and Apple Intelligence elevates those experiences even further. Writing is even more dynamic with Writing Tools, which can help users rewrite, proofread, or summarize — whether they are responding to emails or using summarization to draft an abstract in seconds in apps like Scrivener. Pros can minimize unnecessary distractions with Priority Notifications and use live transcription in Notes to record and easily recap important meetings. With new Siri improvements, users can move fluidly between spoken and typed requests to accelerate tasks throughout their day, and Siri can answer thousands of questions about Mac features and settings, with step-by-step instructions like how to combine PDF files in Preview. With access to ChatGPT seamlessly integrated into Writing Tools and Siri, users can tap into ChatGPT’s expertise, so they can get things done even faster and easier. Users can choose to enable ChatGPT integration, and are in full control of when to use it and what information is shared with ChatGPT. Users can also explore creative new ways to express themselves visually with Image Playground, and drop their original image right into their paper, mood board, or Keynote presentation. Whether users are researching their next project, editing a video, creating new designs, or preparing for their next lecture, these new tools will help pros be even more productive.

    Designed to protect users’ privacy at every step, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing, meaning that many of the models that power it run entirely on device. For requests that require access to larger models, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of Mac into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request.

    macOS Sequoia: An Unrivaled Experience

    macOS Sequoia completes the new Mac Studio experience with a host of exciting features, including iPhone Mirroring, which allows users to wirelessly interact with their iPhone, its apps, and notifications directly from their Mac.3 Pros can now move files, photos, and videos between iPhone and Mac as easily as they can drag and drop between apps on Mac. Easier window tiling means users can stay organized with a window layout that works best for them. The all-new Passwords app gives convenient access to passwords, passkeys, and other credentials, all stored in one place. And users can apply beautiful built-in backgrounds for video calls, which include a variety of color gradients and system wallpapers, or upload their own photos. Safari, the world’s fastest browser,4 now surfaces relevant information on sites in Highlights; summarizes articles in the redesigned Reader; keeps videos front and center in a new Video Viewer; and lets users hide distracting items with Distraction Control. Gaming gets even more immersive with features like Personalized Spatial Audio and improvements to Game Mode, along with a breadth of exciting titles, including Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition by CD PROJEKT RED, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and more.

    Next month, macOS Sequoia 15.4 will make it easier than ever to set up the new Mac Studio with iPhone.5 By simply bringing iPhone close to Mac, users can quickly and conveniently sign in to their Apple Account to get their files, photos, messages, passwords, and more on their new Mac Studio.

    The Ultimate Studio Setup

    Mac Studio, together with Studio Display, empowers creative users to build the studio of their dreams. Studio Display perfectly pairs with Mac Studio with its expansive 27-inch 5K Retina display, 12MP Center Stage camera, studio-quality three-mic array, and six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio. For users working on HDR workflows, Pro Display XDR offers a 32-inch Retina 6K display with up to 1600 nits of peak HDR brightness. Customers can also add matching Magic accessories — including Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse — that beautifully complement the elegant design of Mac Studio and Studio Display.

    Better for the Environment

    The new Mac Studio is designed with the environment in mind. As part of Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral across its entire carbon footprint by the end of this decade, Apple is transitioning to renewable electricity for its manufacturing, and investing in wind and solar projects around the world to address the electricity used to power all Apple products, including Mac Studio. Today, all Apple facilities run on 100 percent renewable electricity — including the data centers that power Apple Intelligence.

    To achieve Apple 2030, the company is designing products with more recycled and renewable materials, which further drives down the carbon footprint. Mac Studio features over 30 percent recycled content overall, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. Mac Studio uses far less energy and materials than desktops in its class, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is entirely fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by the end of 2025.6

    Pricing and Availability

    • Customers can pre-order the new Mac Studio starting today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 12.
    • Mac Studio starts at $1,999 (U.S.) and $1,799 (U.S.) for education. Additional configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/store. 
    • More information on Studio Display, Pro Display XDR, and Magic accessories is available at apple.com/shop/buy-mac.
    • Apple Intelligence is available on all Mac models with M1 and later, in localized English for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, and the U.S. Additional languages — including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified), English (Singapore), and English (India) — will be available in April, with more languages coming over the course of the year, including Vietnamese. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. 
    • With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth. 
    • AppleCare+ for Mac provides unparalleled service and support. This includes unlimited incidents of accidental damage, battery service coverage, and 24/7 support from the people who know Mac best. 
    • Every customer who buys directly from Apple Retail gets access to Personal Setup. In these guided online sessions, a Specialist can walk them through setup, or focus on features that help them make the most of their new device. Customers can also learn more about getting started with their new device with a Today at Apple session at their nearest Apple Store.
    • Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all up front. More information — including details on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card terms — is available at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.

    About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

    1. Testing was conducted by Apple in January and February 2025. See apple.com/mac-studio for more information.
    2. Results are compared to Mac Studio systems with Apple M4 Max, 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 128GB of RAM, and 8TB SSD.
    3. Available on Mac computers with Apple silicon and Intel-based Mac computers with a T2 Security Chip. See requirements on apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia. Some iPhone features (for example, camera and microphone) are not compatible with iPhone Mirroring.
    4. Testing was conducted by Apple in August 2024. See apple.com/safari for more information.
    5. Available next month on macOS Sequoia 15.4 with iPhone and iPad running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or a later version.
    6. Based on retail packaging as shipped by Apple. Breakdown of U.S. retail packaging by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from calculations of plastic content and packaging weight.

    Press Contacts

    Michelle Del Rio

    Apple

    mr_delrio@apple.com

    Starlayne Meza

    Apple

    starlayne_meza@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Learning ethics − one Marvel movie at a time

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James Calvin Davis, Professor of Religion, Middlebury

    Philosophically, there’s more to many superhero movies than first meets the eye. Daniel Fung/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

    Title of course:

    Ethics in the MCU

    What prompted the idea for the course?

    As a die-hard fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I rewatch the movies and series on a regular basis. As an ethicist, I can’t help but notice that the MCU raises some really tough moral questions.

    Yes, the movies are about monsters and magic and things exploding, but they are also about racial prejudice, power and obligation, artificial intelligence, biotechnological enhancement and colonization. They center complicated questions about right and wrong, moral character and unintended consequences.

    The more I rewatched them, the more I was convinced that this would be a great way to introduce students to the study of ethics. So when my time came again to offer a first-year seminar, I constructed one around watching superheroes at work. Leading new college students through an ethical analysis of Marvel movies seemed like an opportunity to work on useful intellectual skills in a low-pressure environment. Not a bad way to start college!

    What does the course explore?

    I structured the course around specific moral questions and then used an MCU film or series to get the students thinking about those questions.

    For instance, the challenges faced by the female protagonist in “Captain Marvel” gave us an opportunity to talk more broadly about gender, empowerment and respect for women’s leadership, as did the brutal reaction to the movie by some comic book bros.

    The antagonist in “Black Panther” takes over the African country of Wakanda in order to ignite a global anticolonial uprising, and we used his perspective to think about the ethics of racial oppression, reparations and violent resistance.

    Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes, who was captured and brainwashed into serving as a covert assassin for decades, has to deal with the consequences of his actions once he recovers his true self. Bucky’s situation invited us to talk about the relationship between intention and complicity in our moral judgments.

    And the most fascinating conversation I had in the entire semester was about the utilitarian calculus of the supervillain Thanos, who appears in the “Infinity War” and “Endgame” films. Overpopulation led to the destruction of Thanos’ home planet, and his fear that the whole cosmos could meet a similar fate drives him to wipe out half of all life in the universe.

    Was he justified? Our discussions explored the ethical limits of utilitarian calculations. To my shock, half of the class eventually came to the conclusion that Thanos may have had a moral point.

    Why is this course relevant now?

    While it is helpful to talk about moral responsibility theoretically, or with reference to real headlines, narrative is another useful way to get students to think about the ethical choices people make and how we make them. This is one way the arts and humanities can serve the liberal arts project, preparing young people for democratic citizenship.

    Stories serve as fictional but concrete “case studies” through which students can think about themselves and others as moral actors. By focusing on other characters, stories encourage our moral imagination and empathy. Rather than reducing ethical issues to abstraction, stories remind us that moral choices are made within particular circumstances and relationships.

    What materials does the course feature?

    Our main “texts” for the semester were movies and series we watched and discussed with certain moral questions in mind. In conjunction, we read short pieces on ethical theory to give students a tool kit for analyzing those issues. Authors ranged from classical writers such as Aristotle and 19th-century philosopher John Stuart Mill to more modern perspectives such as Martin Luther King Jr., theologian James Cone and philosopher Martha Nussbaum.

    We also read parts of two awesome books making similar connections: “The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” edited by Nicholas Carnes and Lilly J. Goren, and “Marveling Religion,” edited by Jennifer Baldwin and Daniel White Hodge.

    What will the course prepare students to do?

    I hope the course provides students a fun chance to develop capacities for ethical thinking at the beginning of their college career. Public discourse in the United States, which is the focus of my teaching and scholarship, could use more citizens with greater skill in moral discernment, and these days we all could use more fun. Why not do something that is entertaining but also has intellectual integrity and social usefulness?

    James Calvin Davis 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. Learning ethics − one Marvel movie at a time – https://theconversation.com/learning-ethics-one-marvel-movie-at-a-time-247308

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: New sales agents accessible in Microsoft 365 Copilot help teams close more deals, faster

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: New sales agents accessible in Microsoft 365 Copilot help teams close more deals, faster

    Our ambition is to empower every employee with a Copilot and transform every business process with agents. We’re announcing two new agents that apply this ambition to sales—the revenue engine for every business—and can be used right in the flow of work.

    Our ambition is to empower every employee with a Copilot and transform every business process with agents. Today, we’re announcing two new agents that apply this ambition to sales—the revenue engine for every business—that can be used right in the flow of work:

    • Sales Agent turns contacts into qualified leads, letting your reps close the biggest deals while the agent ensures that no lead is left behind. It can work autonomously around the clock to grow your pipeline—researching leads, setting up meetings, and reaching out to customers. For some low-impact leads, it can even complete a sale. The agent draws on your CRM, company data like price sheets, and the web—along with Microsoft 365 data such as emails and meetings—to personalize every response.
    • Sales Chat helps accelerate the sales cycle, from getting up to speed on new accounts to preparing for customer meetings. It gives sales reps actionable takeaways from CRM data, pitch decks, meetings, emails, and the web—so they can spend less time digging and more time selling. All it takes is a simple, natural language prompt like “give me a list of deals that are at risk of falling through,” “what should I know going into tomorrow’s meeting with this customer?” or “help me create a plan to close this deal.”

    These agents can be accessed in both Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. They connect to both Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce, so sales reps can nurture and close deals without even opening their CRM. And they can be fine-tuned to connect to all your business data, ensuring accurate, actionable responses. Both agents will be available in public preview in May.

    Try Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat today

    Companies of all sizes are going big with Copilot and agents

    Nearly 70% of Fortune 500 companies use Copilot, and in the last quarter alone, organizations built more than 400,000 custom agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio. Today, on WorkLab, we’re sharing stories from 31 companies across industries—from The Estée Lauder Companies to Newman’s Own to Holland America Line—using Copilot and agents to optimize costs, grow revenue, and transform their business. Vodafone projects to double or triple the number of requests for proposals its sales team can respond to each week. And Campari Group is cutting marketing campaign copy costs by 18%.

    “We’ve seen tremendous growth since migrating from Salesforce to Dynamics 365 Sales. Our sales organization has experienced an increase of 133% year-over-year revenue per head with 111% year-over-year growth overall. When we layered on Microsoft 365 Copilot, sellers realized 30 minutes of time saved per day, while pipeline generation has increased by 20%.”

    –Richard Thompson, CEO, ANS

    New Microsoft AI Accelerator for Sales program

    To help more customers accelerate their AI transformation, we’re also excited to announce Microsoft AI Accelerator for Sales. This exclusive offering includes access to AI experts at Microsoft to help customers migrate from legacy CRM systems and aid with seller adoption, plus fine-tuning to personalize the output of agents to meet your unique business needs. Participating organizations will have access to AI Accelerator for Sales beginning April 1. Contact your Microsoft representative to learn more.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Lofty Unveils AI Copilot to Help Real Estate Professionals Streamline Daily Business Operations

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PHOENIX, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Award-winning real estate technology innovator, Lofty today announced the company’s latest AI Innovation, Lofty AI Copilot. The new offering is designed to eliminate the guess work – and the grind – of managing and converting leads, ensuring agents have time to spend on high-value tasks that will drive the most appointments and transactions. Relied on by some of the most forward-thinking enterprises, brokerages, and agents in the industry, Lofty continues to prioritize practical AI innovations that fit into agent workflows, support brokerage operations, and make running a real estate business easier. To learn more about Lofty AI Copilot and how you can put your business growth functions on autopilot, visit lofty.com/ai/copilot.

    Lofty AI Copilot is architected to help agents be more efficient and productive. By working 24×7, Copilot helps agents streamline daily business operations and maximize productivity by identifying the best opportunities to pursue and prioritizing high-value tasks. The AI tool not only makes working in Lofty easier and less time-consuming, but optimizes every decision made and every action taken to drive the highest volume of transactions with the least amount of effort.

    “Lofty AI Copilot is a next level game changer! It’s reading my emails and adding tasks and appointments for me in my calendar and sending follow up communications to the client as well. I’m excited to see what else this powerful tool can do,” noted Tameka Ross of Liv Real Estate.

    Lofty AI Copilot is comprised of three specialized AI “workers” that include:

    • Navigator – Optimizes user interactions and the overall Lofty experience. Provides insights, recommendations, next steps, anywhere in the platform where a user needs direction. IT also performs and manages a variety of tasks including list filters, communications, and priorities.
    • Copywriter – Creates high-quality content for email and text communications, SEO, blogs, landing pages and more.
    • TechXpert – Provides a conduit to all things Lofty technical support such as product inquiries, billing, customer support, lead imports, and account management.

    Lofty AI Copilot, available today, is part of Lofty’s new and improved framework for delivering AI capabilities in the Lofty platform. Dubbed Lofty AI Workforce, these enhancements feature specialized AI agents to assist with platform navigation, marketing, social media, listing promotion, lead management, and more. The result is that customers can choose where and how to apply AI to their business and do so at their own pace.

    “With the industry’s most comprehensive suite of AI capabilities, our platform offers real estate professionals the flexibility and scalability they need to apply AI in the specific areas of their business where they can reap the most return,” noted Henry Li, Chief Technology Officer at Lofty. “In the coming months, we will release three additional AI agents to complement Lofty AI Copilot. Collectively, these tools will underscore our commitment to helping those in the real estate industry optimize their efforts to grow as they look to drive the highest volume of transactions with the least amount of friction.”

    To learn more about how Lofty’s unmatched AI capabilities can help your business grow, visit lofty.com/ai/overview.

    About Lofty Inc.
    Lofty Inc. (formerly Chime Technologies) provides an AI-powered platform that helps real estate professionals increase their productivity and accelerate business growth. Featuring award-winning technology, the Lofty platform is designed to optimize every step of the real estate journey, from search to settlement. By leveraging one unified hub, customers can automate marketing programs, streamline the sales process, and maximize collaboration between agents empowering them to spend more time building relationships and their business. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Lofty operates as a US subsidiary of Moatable, Inc. (OTCPK: MTBLY). For more information, visit lofty.com.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aac50479-4000-4da0-8425-6a2c182fa264.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Phillips 66 Issues Letter to Shareholders

    Source: Phillips

    Confirms Elliott Investment Management’s Nomination of Director Candidates

    HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) (the “Company”) today issued the following letter to its shareholders. The Company values shareholder feedback and is fully committed to continuing open engagement with all shareholders. This has been consistently demonstrated and expressed over the course of nearly two dozen meetings with Elliott Investment Management (“Elliott”) since October 2023, including the most recent meeting on March 3, 2025.
    The Company also confirmed Elliott has nominated seven directors for election to Phillips 66’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) at the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting. As the Company disclosed on February 19, the Board will present its recommendation regarding the director nominations with its definitive proxy statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and made available to all shareholders eligible to vote at the 2025 Annual Meeting.
    Following the proper procedures and in accordance with the Company’s By-Laws, the Board intends to put forward another management proposal to declassify the Board at our 2025 Annual Meeting and notes that it has done so five times since its 2015 Annual Meeting.
    Fellow Shareholders:
    At Phillips 66, we are committed to maximizing value for our shareholders through operational excellence and disciplined capital allocation.
    We have a strong track record since our formation in 2012. We have built out a large-scale, competitive, high return Midstream platform, enhanced our chemicals position through Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (CPChem) and have made sustainable improvement to refining operations. These actions have positioned Phillips 66 as the leading energy business it is today.
    Moreover, these actions have delivered substantial value for our shareholders. This includes total shareholder returns of 474%1 and returning $43 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Most importantly, we have done all this while sustaining industry-leading safety performance.
    We Have Made Significant Progress on our Strategic Priorities
    Phillips 66 has taken substantial action to deliver on our objectives that we laid out in 2022, and further enhanced in 2023. Our actions have led to significant progress and achievements, enhancing shareholder returns and operational efficiency. We are a business that will always act decisively when we can realize sustainable long-term growth to the benefit of our shareholders and all stakeholders.
    Delivering strong total shareholder returns of 65%2since Mark Lashier became President and CEO of Phillips 66 on July 1, 2022, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 Energy Index (33%2) and our proxy peer group median (22%2)
    Returning significant capital to shareholders with $13.6 billion in share repurchases and dividends from July 2022 through year-end 2024, exceeding our shareholder distribution target
    Reducing refining costs by $1 per barrelsince 2022 and committing to continued improvement
    Maximizing value from our wellhead-to-market strategyby capturing $500 million of run rate synergies from our DCP Midstream acquisition (above our initial target of $300 million) and increasing our Midstream segment’s adjusted EBITDA by $1.5 billion since 2022
    Maintaining our financial resiliencewith strong investment grade credit ratings (A3 / BBB+), engaging in a business optimization that has resulted in over $3 billion in non-core asset divestitures to date and capturing significant cost reductions since 2022 totaling $1.2 billion on a run-rate basis
    Earning industry recognition for our exemplary safety performancein Midstream, Refining and Chemicals in 2022 and 2023
    We Continue to Strengthen Our Business and Our Board
    Below is an update on a number of our key strategic objectives and the actions underway:
    Optimizing Our Business We have demonstrated a commitment to evolving the business over time. We continue to high-grade our assets and capitalize on our growth platform to generate strong returns and significant free cash flow. We have simplified our business with over $3 billion in divestitures in the past year and returned over $5 billion to shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and dividends. We anticipate that our integrated NGL value chain growth strategy will be significantly strengthened with the pending EPIC acquisition.
    Maintaining a Culture of Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence and Cost Discipline Our culture of continuous improvement demands, and will continue to demand, that we consistently and rigorously evaluate opportunities to optimize our cost structure and operational efficiency to maximize value for shareholders. While we have successfully reduced refining costs per barrel since 2022, as noted above, we recognize that we have more work to do in operations and costs. We are prioritizing our most competitive refineries and continuing to identify and execute cost-savings opportunities. Recently, we announced that we would cease operations at our Los Angeles Refinery in the fourth quarter of 2025, which will allow us to further high-grade our business. We continue to evaluate additional opportunities for efficiency enhancements.
    Returning Cash to Our Shareholders As previously outlined, our 2025–2027 strategic targets include returning over 50% of net operating cash flow to shareholders while driving strong operational performance, implementing further cost reductions and continuing our focus on disciplined capital allocation.
    Ensuring Strong Corporate Governance and Board Oversight We recognize the importance of strong corporate governance and have taken proactive steps to ensure that our Board remains aligned with shareholder interests and is best positioned to oversee the Company’s strategy. Over the past four years, we have welcomed five new independent directors to the Board, including two in 2024. Bob Pease, a director we identified in partnership with Elliott Investment Management (“Elliott”), brings extensive experience in refining and the energy industry broadly. Grace Puma, our most recent addition to the Board, brings strong supply chain experience. Additionally, as we have many times before in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2023, we will be seeking shareholder approval of a management proposal to declassify the Board at our 2025 Annual Meeting. Our Board is committed to an evolution that will be responsive to shareholders and beneficial to the business for the long-term.
    We are Listening to Our Shareholders
    We regularly engage with our shareholders through our cross-functional shareholder engagement program to obtain feedback and respond to investor input. In 2024, we engaged with shareholders representing over 60% of our outstanding shares and we will continue to build on that momentum in 2025. It was in this spirit that we first engaged with Elliott in October 2023, to hear their ideas and work together collaboratively. Constructive discussions led to the realization of a common focus on our ambitious goals to maximize shareholder value. We continued constructive dialogue with Elliott throughout 2024, including adding Bob Pease to our Board in February 2024 with Elliott’s support.
    Despite several attempts to reach agreement on adding another director to Phillips 66’s Board, Elliott has chosen to forego constructive dialogue with us and launch their activist playbook. This included a series of attacks and proposals regarding the monetization of certain business units and, for the first time in our discussions, floating the idea of a separation.
    Nevertheless, we remain fully committed to constructive engagement and finding a path forward with Elliott that will benefit all shareholders.
    On Monday, March 3, our team travelled to New York and met with Elliott to express our continued commitment to finding a constructive path forward and offering to interview their director nominees. The meeting ended with Elliott representatives stating there were no immediate next steps. The next day, Elliott leaked their slate of director nominees to the media, issued a press release and filed a preliminary proxy statement. Our leadership team and Board stand ready to engage constructively when Elliott is ready despite these actions, which showed no genuine interest in engagement with Phillips 66.
    The Board continuously and aggressively evaluates the portfolio and other alternatives with a view to maximizing long-term shareholder value – and is willing to take decisive action to achieve this goal. As always, we seriously and comprehensively review shareholder feedback with a focus on creating long-term value.
    The Bottom Line
    Phillips 66 is dedicated to transparency, accountability, and sustainable value creation for shareholders.
    We have made substantial progress and realize there is more work to be done. We will continue to pursue opportunities that strengthen our position to the benefit of our shareholders. We look forward to your input and to provide further updates on our progress.
    Sincerely,
    Mark E. Lashier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
    Glenn F. Tilton Lead Independent Director

    1 Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) from May 1, 2012 to March 4, 2025.

    2 Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) from June 30, 2022 to March 4, 2025.

    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.
    Forward-Looking Statements
    This document 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,” “commitments,” “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 or laws that relate to our operations, including regulations that seek to limit or restrict refining, marketing and midstream operations or regulate profits, pricing, or taxation of our products or feedstocks, or other regulations that restrict feedstock imports or product exports; our ability to timely obtain or maintain permits necessary for projects; fluctuations in NGL, crude oil, refined petroleum, renewable fuels and natural gas prices, and refining, marketing and petrochemical margins; the effects of any widespread public health crisis and its negative impact on commercial activity and demand for refined petroleum or renewable fuels products; changes to worldwide 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 renewable fuels; potential liability from pending or future litigation; liability for remedial actions, including removal and reclamation obligations under existing or future environmental regulations; unexpected changes in costs for constructing, modifying or operating our facilities; our ability to successfully complete, or any material delay in the completion of, any asset disposition, acquisition, shutdown or conversion that we have announced or may pursue, including receipt of any necessary regulatory approvals or permits related thereto; unexpected difficulties in manufacturing, refining or transporting our products; the level and success of drilling and 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; lack of, or disruptions in, adequate and reliable transportation for our products; failure to complete construction of capital projects on time or within budget; our ability to comply with governmental regulations or make capital expenditures to maintain compliance with laws; limited access to capital or significantly higher cost of capital related to illiquidity or uncertainty in the domestic or international financial markets, which may also impact our ability to repurchase shares and declare and pay dividends; potential disruption of our operations due to accidents, weather events, including as a result of climate change, acts of terrorism or cyberattacks; general domestic and international economic and political developments, including armed hostilities (such as the Russia-Ukraine war), expropriation of assets, and other diplomatic developments; international monetary conditions and exchange controls; changes in estimates or projections used to assess fair value of intangible assets, goodwill and property and equipment and/or strategic decisions with respect to our asset portfolio that cause impairment charges; investments required, or reduced demand for products, as a result of environmental rules and regulations; changes in tax, environmental and other laws and regulations (including alternative energy mandates); 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 equity affiliates we do not control; 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.
    Additional Information
    Phillips 66 plans to file a proxy statement and accompanying WHITE proxy card with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “2025 Annual Meeting”) and its solicitation of proxies for Phillips 66’s director nominees and for other matters to be voted on. Phillips 66 may also file other relevant documents with the SEC regarding its solicitation of proxies for the 2025 Annual Meeting. PHILLIPS 66 SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT (AND ANY AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT SOLICITATION MATERIALS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Shareholders may obtain copies of the proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and other documents (including the WHITE proxy card) as and when filed by Phillips 66 with the SEC without charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed by Phillips 66 with the SEC also may be obtained free of charge at Phillips 66’s investor relations website at https://investor.phillips66.com or upon written request sent to Phillips 66, 2331 CityWest Boulevard, Houston, TX 77042, Attention: Investor Relations.
    Certain Information Regarding Participants
    Phillips 66, its directors, certain of its executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in connection with the solicitation of proxies from Phillips 66 shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the 2025 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the names of such directors and executive officers and their respective interests in Phillips 66, by securities holdings or otherwise, is available in Phillips 66’s proxy statement for the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 3, 2024 (the “2024 Proxy Statement”), including in the sections captioned “Executive Compensation Program Overview,” “Director Compensation,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Executive Compensation Tables” and “Beneficial Ownership of Phillips 66 Securities.” To the extent that Phillips 66’s directors and executive officers have acquired or disposed of securities holdings since the applicable “as of” date disclosed in the 2024 Proxy Statement, such transactions have been or will be reflected on Statements of Changes in Ownership of Securities on Form 4 or Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership of Securities on Form 3 filed with the SEC, including: Form 4s filed by Gregory Hayes on April 2, 2024, May 2, 2024, June 4, 2024, July 2, 2024, August 2, 2024, September 4, 2024, October 2, 2024, November 4, 2024, December 4, 2024, January 3, 2025, January 17, 2025, February 4, 2025 and March 4, 2025 ; Form 4s filed by Richard G. Harbison on December 9, 2024, February 11, 2025 and February 13, 2025 ; Form 4s filed by Mark E. Lashier on April 2, 2024, May 16, 2024, December 9, 2024, February 11, 2025 and February 13, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Glenn F. Tilton on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4s filed by Brian Mandell on December 9, 2024, February 11, 2025 and February 13, 2025 ; Form 4s filed by Kevin J. Mitchell on August 19, 2024, December 9, 2024, February 11, 2025 and February 13, 2025 ; Form 4s filed by Zhanna Golodryga on December 9, 2024, February 11, 2025 and February 13, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Marna C. Whittington on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4s filed by Vanessa A. Sutherland on January 21, 2025, February 11, 2025 and February 13, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Douglas T. Terreson on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Denise R. Singleton on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Denise L. Ramos on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Julie L. Bushman on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Lisa A. Davis on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by John E. Lowe on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4/A filed by Gary K. Adams on March 20, 2024 and Form 4 filed by Gary K. Adams on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Charles M. Holley on January 17, 2025 ; Form 4 filed by Robert W. Pease on January 17, 2025 ; Form 3 filed by Ann M. Kluppel on May 16, 2024 and Form 4s filed by Ann M. Kluppel on December 9, 2024, February 11, 2025 and February 13, 2025 ; Form 3 filed by Don Baldridge on June 5, 2024 and Form 4s filed by Don Baldridge on December 9, 2024, January 3, 2025, February 13, 2025 and March 3, 2025 ; Form 3 filed by Grace Puma on October 11, 2024 and Form 4s filed by Grace Puma on October 11, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Additional information can also be found in Phillips 66’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on February 21, 2024.

    Source: Phillips 66

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: USAID’s history shows decades of good work on behalf of America’s global interests, although not all its projects succeeded

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Christian Ruth, America in the World Consortium Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Florida

    Volunteers at a camp for internally displaced people in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, carry wheat flour donated by USAID in December 2021. J. Countess/Getty Images

    The Trump administration’s sudden dismantling of nearly all foreign aid, including the work carried out by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has upended the government agency’s longtime strategic role in implementing American foreign policy.

    The Trump administration said at the end of February 2025 that it is freezing 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts, leaving few projects intact. It has also recalled nearly 10,000 USAID staff from countries around the world.

    USAID is a government agency that, for more than 63 years, has led the United States’ foreign aid work on disaster recovery, poverty reduction and democratic reforms in many developing and middle-income countries.

    Reuters reported that a senior USAID official wrote in a March 2 internal memo that a yearlong pause in USAID’s work on health, food and agriculture in the world’s poorest countries would raise malaria deaths by 40%, to between 71,000 and 166,000 annually. It would also result in an increase of between 28% and 32% in tuberculosis cases, among other negative effects.

    As a historian of USAID, I know well that the agency has long faced a surprisingly high degree of scrutiny for its relatively tiny portion of the national budget.

    USAID’s budget has always been small – recently, in 2023, making up a roughly US$50 billion drop in the $6 trillion ocean of the federal budget. But USAID’s projects have had an outsized effect on the world.

    From a foreign policy standpoint, USAID’s greatest contribution to American influence abroad has always been its intangible soft-power effects. It helps to create an image of the U.S. as a positive, helpful world power worth partnering with.

    A poster for USAID in Beirut marks the U.S. donation for rebuilding lighting infrastructure near a destroyed city port in August 2023.
    Scott Peterson/Getty Images

    Responding to a Soviet threat in the 1960s

    USAID dates back to 1961, born from Cold War confrontations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

    In 1961, President John F. Kennedy merged several separate foreign aid agencies and offices – including the Mutual Security Agency, the Point Four Program and the Foreign Operations Administration – into one new agency.

    Kennedy, like other American presidents in the early years of the Cold War, fretted over the spread of communism.

    A well-known development economist, Walt Rostow, who served in Kennedy’s administration, was among the experts who argued that the Soviet Union could easily influence poor countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It was possible, Rostow argued, to help these countries grow their economies and become more modern.

    This possibility pushed Kennedy in 1961 to sign the Foreign Assistance Act, creating USAID that November.

    USAID immediately began to oversee U.S. foreign aid programs to develop farming, irrigation and dam construction projects throughout Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, taking over the existing projects of the various other aid departments that were now defunct.

    USAID was also responsible for public works projects in Cold War conflict zones, particularly Vietnam. There, USAID struggled in its efforts to build dams, improve rural agriculture techniques and construct South Vietnamese infrastructure. There were various environmental challenges working in the dense jungles, the physical threats caused by the ongoing Vietnam War and the realities of rural poverty.

    For example, USAID introduced new farming technologies to Vietnam, including modern fertilizers and tractors. This helped some farmers produce more crops, faster. But it also created disparities between wealthy and poor farmers, as modern fertilizer and other improvements were expensive. A growing number of poor farmers simply gave up and moved to nearby cities.

    Throughout the 1960s, USAID also funded the construction of hydropower water dams in Asia and Africa. This led to higher energy production in those regions, but also resulted in environmental degradation, as recklessly dammed rivers flooded forests and arable fields.

    Rostow and other development experts had unrealistically high goals for helping poor countries grow their economies. By the end of the decade, across the board, USAID beneficiary countries in Asia and Africa fell short of the economic growth expectations the U.S. set at the beginning of the 1960s.

    Still, USAID made substantial progress in developing food production and some economic growth, and improving the health of people in rural parts of countries such as India and Ghana.

    But that progress had limits and did not magically turn these economies into modern, Western-style capitalist democracies.

    With the help of a USAID grant, people lay pipework to bring water from a mountain spring to a town called Korem in Ethiopia in 1968.
    Paul Conklin/Getty Images

    Mixed results and focus

    As a result of USAID’s uneven progress in modernizing poor countries, the agency’s approach shifted in the 1970s and ‘80s.

    In the early 1970s, Congress and development experts pushed USAID away from grand, gross domestic product-focused modernization projects like dams, which they ostracized for their high costs and lack of tangible results.

    Instead, with the support of the Carter administration, USAID began to work more on meeting poor people’s basic human needs, including food, shelter and education, so they could lift themselves out of poverty.

    The agency shifted priorities once again in 1981, after President Ronald Reagan took office. His administration created programs meant to advertise American businesses and draw developing countries into the global marketplace.

    Rather than USAID giving money to a local government to build a well in a rural village, for example, the agency increasingly started contracting local or American businesses to do so. The U.S., in other words, began outsourcing its foreign aid.

    U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Stapleton Roy, right, presents Indonesia’s food and agriculture minister, A.M. Saefuddin, with food donated by USAID in Bandar Lampung, South Sumatra, in July 1998.
    Bernard Estrade/AFP via Getty Images

    USAID’s next phase

    At the end of the Cold War in 1991, the United States’ interest in spending money on helping poorer countries develop and modernize declined around the world.

    USAID shifted priorities once again.

    Without the threat of the Soviet Union, USAID’s mission throughout the 1990s became increasingly focused on new issues. These included democracy promotion in former Soviet countries in Eastern Europe. Sustainable development – a broad term that means promoting economic growth while respecting environmental concerns and long-term natural resource usage – was another focus in different regions.

    After the U.S. invaded Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s, USAID struggled to fulfill its existing international projects while also rebuilding critical infrastructure to resurrect the Iraqi and Afghani economies during wartime.

    USAID’s funding remained stagnant in the 2010s after the recession. At the time, its annual budget was roughly $25 billion.

    At the same time, China expanded its own international development program to entice governments toward its side and to tether them to the Chinese economy.

    China’s aid work in South America has expanded rapidly over the past several years, and it is now the region’s top trading partner and also a major contributor to investment, energy and infrastructure projects. China’s aid and investment work in Africa has also grown considerably over the past few decades.

    Now, with USAID’s dissolution, Chinese influence throughout poor and middle-income countries is expected to grow.

    A lasting mark

    Despite its limitations and frustrations, in my view, USAID has had an undeniable, and often massive, positive impact on the world.

    USAID’s efforts to promote American businesses and exports abroad have resulted in the creation of thousands of jobs, both domestically and abroad, in a wide variety of industries, ranging from farming to medical sciences.

    The tens of thousands of water wells and other forms of critical rural infrastructure the agency has funded, or created itself, have provided clean, safe drinking water for millions in Africa. The agency’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance has provided decades of critical disaster assistance during famines, earthquakes and hurricanes around the world.

    These humanitarian efforts cost money, however. Some Republicans, including politicians and voters, say they have found the idea of American tax dollars being sent abroad, whether during the Cold War or today, wasteful, and others have worried over how aid funds may have been [abused].

    USAID has always straddled a difficult line, as development is a messy field. But ending U.S. foreign aid will be much messier, and it could also cost millions of people who are reliant on USAID their health or lives.

    Christian Ruth receives funding from America in the World Consortium.

    – ref. USAID’s history shows decades of good work on behalf of America’s global interests, although not all its projects succeeded – https://theconversation.com/usaids-history-shows-decades-of-good-work-on-behalf-of-americas-global-interests-although-not-all-its-projects-succeeded-249337

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Powel H. Kazanjian, Professor of Infectious Diseases and of History, University of Michigan

    COVID-19 has become a part of modern life that many people don’t pay much attention to. Spencer Platt via Getty Images News

    The COVID-19 pandemic transformed over the past five years from a catastrophic threat that has killed over 7 million people to what most people regard today as a tolerable annoyance that doesn’t require precaution. Nonetheless, COVID-19 continues to kill over 2,000 people per month globally and cause severe illness in the infirm or elderly.

    The evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic – from devastation, to optimism for eradication, to persistent, uneven spread of disease – may seem unprecedented. As an infectious disease doctor and medical historian, however, I see similarities to other epidemics, including syphilis, AIDS and tuberculosis.

    Vaccines, medications and other biomedical breakthroughs are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases. But as I explore in my book, “Persisting Pandemics,” social, economic and political factors are equally important. On its own, medical science is not enough.

    Syphilis, AIDS and TB have stuck around

    Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease first identified in 1495. It causes skin rashes and may progress to causing paralysis, blindness or both. For centuries, syphilis weakened nations by disabling parents, workers and soldiers in the prime of their lives. Innovative drugs – first Salvarsan (1909), then penicillin (1943) – offered a path toward eradication when used together with widespread testing.

    A 1940s poster focuses on the medical cure for the disease.
    National Archives, CC BY

    Public health programs conducted from the 1930s through the 2000s, however, failed – not because of the efficacy of the treatments but because of socioeconomic conditions.

    One challenge has been persistent stigma around getting tested for the disease and tracing sexual partners. Poverty is another; it can force women into commercial sex activities and prevent people from learning how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections. Population migration due to commerce or war can cause high-risk behaviors such as sexual promiscuity. Women in some cultures lack authority to negotiate for condom use. And governments have not consistently prioritized the sustained funding needed to support efforts to eliminate the disease.

    Despite societal indifference toward syphilis, in the 2020s over 8 million new cases occur globally each year, particularly among racial minorities and low-income populations.

    The history of HIV/AIDS is shorter than that of syphilis, but the trajectory has similarities. Doctors first described HIV/AIDS in 1981, when it was a nearly uniformly fatal sexually transmitted disease. Novel antiretroviral drugs introduced in 1996 offered medical scientists the hope of disease elimination through public health campaigns, centered on widespread testing and treatment, implemented in 2013.

    But these programs, for reasons like with syphilis, are not meeting their treatment targets across all countries, especially among low-income populations and racial minorities. Sustaining funding for health care infrastructure and the multidrug regimens for 39 million people living with HIV poses an added challenge. Today, despite a cavalier public attitude toward the disease, AIDS causes over 630,000 deaths globally. That number will likely increase substantially given the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding for United States Agency for International Development programs.

    Tuberculosis is a third disease that also depleted workforces and weakened nations, particularly in postindustrial revolution 19th-century cities. The disease spread widely because poverty placed people in poorly ventilated working conditions and crowded tenement dwellings. The development of new combination antimicrobial drug regimens offered an avenue for disease eradication in the 1960s.

    Nonetheless, the inability to sustain funding to complete complex treatment courses, problems isolating people who could not afford suitable homes, and poor adherence due to homelessness, incarceration or migration during war or trade have compromised public health campaigns. Despite societal nonchalance, tuberculosis today kills up to 1.6 million globally yearly.

    Memories of the early, emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic have faded.
    Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    The COVID-19 case study

    The trajectories of these epidemics show how campaigns based solely on biomedical approaches that target pathogens are not enough to eliminate disease.

    COVID-19 provides the latest example. In the U.S., the pandemic and its lockdowns disproportionately affected low-income people and racial minorities, especially those employed in front-line jobs that did not allow remote work from home. These groups were more likely to reside in crowded residences with poor ventilation or no space for isolation.

    Despite the rapid development of a breakthrough mRNA vaccine that offered hope for what President Joe Biden euphorically termed “independence from the virus,” the promise never fully materialized.

    Too few people received shots, in large part due to socioeconomic factors.

    Wealthy countries purchased vaccines that lower-income countries could not afford. Allocation difficulties kept vaccines from remote regions of the world.

    Vaccine hesitancy due to mistrust in science, along with sentiment that vaccine mandates violated individual freedoms, also prevented people from getting the shot. Similar attitudes reduced rates of mask-wearing and isolation.

    Consequently, surges that could have been avoided took more lives.

    Drugs and vaccines can’t do it alone

    Modern medical science is unmatched in treating pathogens and disease symptoms. But to stop disease, it’s also critical to address the social, economic and political conditions that enable its spread.

    Public health officials have started to implement a variety of structural solutions:

    A peer educator talks about HIV/AIDS with his colleagues at a maintenance shop in Kenya.
    Wendy Stone/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

    Early 20th-century public health officials had hoped that efficient scientific solutions alone could take the place of 19th-century, pre-germ-theory environmental sanitation efforts. COVID-19, syphilis, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis show that while biomedical breakthroughs are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases, sustained focus and resources aimed at helping the most socially and economically vulnerable are essential.

    Powel H. Kazanjian 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. COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease – https://theconversation.com/covid-19-is-the-latest-epidemic-to-show-biomedical-breakthroughs-arent-enough-to-eliminate-a-disease-245827

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: NextNRG, Inc. Announces Estimated 136% Year-over-Year Revenue Growth for January 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NextNRG, Inc. (“NextNRG” and the “Company”) (Nasdaq: NXXT), a pioneer in utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to redefine energy innovation with its cutting-edge utility operating system, smart microgrid solutions, wireless electric vehicle charging, and fuel delivery technologies, today announced record year-over-year (“YoY”) and sequential unaudited revenue growth for the month of January 2025 in its EzFill division. The tables below provide details regarding the YoY and month-over-month (“MoM”) comparisons.

     
      January 2025 – YoY Comparison
        January 2024   January 2025 Growth  
    Revenue $ 2,110,843 $ 4,992,090 136%  
    Gallons   546,292   1,438,824 163%  
       
      January 2025 – MoM Comparison
      December 2024 January 2025 Growth  
    Revenue $ 2,272,058 $ 4,992,090 120%  
    Gallons   620,578   1,438,824 132%  
                 

    NextNRG, Inc. Executive Chairman and CEO, Michael D. Farkas, commented, “This record-breaking month underscores the strength of our carefully designed growth strategy, which we are executing with discipline. We believe the acquisition of Shell Oil’s truck fleet, doubling our operational capacity, strategically positions us to maintain this momentum. January 2025 marked the initiation of fuel deliveries to the world’s leading e-commerce company under a substantial long-term agreement. Additionally, we are experiencing consistent revenue growth across our key markets and fleet accounts nationwide. With the recent financing and share exchange finalized, we believe we are well-equipped to advance the next stage of our strategic expansion.”

    About NextNRG, Inc.

    NextNRG Inc. (NextNRG) is Powering What’s Next by implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into renewable energy, next-generation energy infrastructure, battery storage, wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-demand mobile fuel delivery to create an integrated ecosystem.

    At the core of NextNRG’s strategy is its Utility Operating System which leverages AI and ML to help make existing utilities’ energy management as efficient as possible; and the deployment of NextNRG Smart Microgrids, which utilize AI-driven energy management alongside solar power and battery storage to enhance energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve grid resiliency. These microgrids are designed to serve commercial properties, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, parking garages, rural and tribal lands, recreational facilities, and government properties, expanding energy accessibility while supporting decarbonization initiatives.

    NextNRG continues to expand its growing fleet of fuel delivery trucks and national footprint, including the acquisition of Yoshi Mobility’s fuel division and Shell Oil’s trucks, further solidifying its position as a leader in the on-demand fueling industry. NextNRG is also integrating sustainable energy solutions into its mobile fueling operations. The company hopes to be an integral part of assisting its fleet customers in their transition to EV supporting more efficient fuel delivery while advancing clean energy adoption. The transition process is expected to include the deployment of NextNRG’s innovative wireless EV charging solutions.

    To find out more visit: www.nextnrg.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Any statement describing NextNRG’s goals, expectations, financial or other projections, intentions, or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Words such as “expect,” “intends,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to NextNRG’s business and macroeconomic and geopolitical events. These and other risks are described in NextNRG’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. NextNRG’s forward-looking statements involve assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove correct, could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although NextNRG’s forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by NextNRG. Except as required by law, NextNRG undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements.

    Investor Relations Contact:

    NextNRG, Inc.
    Sharon Cohen
    SCohen@nextnrg.com

    The MIL Network –