NewzIntel.com

Category: United States of America

  • MIL-OSI: Vivakor Confirms Special Dividend of Adapti, Inc. Record Date Set for August 20, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Dallas, TX, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vivakor, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIVK) (“Vivakor” or the “Company”), an integrated provider of energy transportation, storage, reuse, and remediation service, today announced the record date of August 20, 2025 for its previously disclosed plan to issue a special dividend to Vivakor shareholders.

    Vivakor currently holds 206,595 (approximately 13.5% of the outstanding common) shares of Adapti, Inc. (OTCID: ADTI), a company that manages the marketing of products, data and companies through its AdaptAI software platform that leverages advanced AI technology to match products and brands with influencers to attempt to generate superior marketing results.

    Based on Vivakor’s current shares outstanding of approximately 47,297,347 and excluding 20,963,229 shares held by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and former Chief Financial Officer who waived their right to the dividend, each Vivakor shareholder will be entitled to receive approximately 0.0079 shares of Adapti, Inc. common stock per Vivakor share. Based on the current $3.50 share price of Adapti’s common stock, the special dividend is currently valued at approximately $0.75 million.

    Adapti, Inc., formerly known as Scepter Holdings, Inc., filed its Form 10 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September 2024 and has since become a mandatory SEC reporting company. Adapti, Inc. filed its Annual Report on 10K for the period ended March 31, 2025 on July 3, 2025.

    The Ballengee Group, LLC, a Dallas-based baseball sports management agency which represents approximately 200 professional athletes, an entity previously controlled by Vivakor’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. James Ballengee, was acquired by Adapti, Inc. on July 14, 2025. Additional information regarding this transaction can be found in Adapti, Inc.’s filings with the SEC.

    About Vivakor, Inc.

    Vivakor, Inc. is an integrated provider of sustainable energy transportation, storage, reuse, and remediation services, operating one of the largest fleets of oilfield trucking services in the continental United States. Its corporate mission is to develop, acquire, accumulate, and operate assets, properties, and technologies in the energy sector. Vivakor’s integrated facilities assets provide crude oil and produced water gathering, storage, transportation, reuse, and remediation services under long-term contracts.

    Once operational, Vivakor’s oilfield waste remediation facilities will facilitate the recovery, reuse, and disposal of petroleum byproducts and oilfield waste products.

    For more information, please visit our website: http://vivakor.com

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control. Actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified but not limited by the use of the words “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “will,” “believes,” “estimates,” “potential,” or “continue” and variations or similar expressions. Our actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, , the expected transaction and ownership structure, the valuation of the transaction, the likelihood and ability of the parties to successfully and timely consummate planned acquisitions, the risk that any required regulatory approvals are not obtained, are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect Vivakor or the expected benefits of the such transaction, our ability to maintain the listing of our securities on The Nasdaq Capital Market, the parties failure to realize the anticipated benefits of pending transactions, disruption and volatility in the global currency, capital, and credit markets, changes in federal, local and foreign governmental regulation, changes in tax laws and liabilities, tariffs, legal, regulatory, political and economic risks, our ability to successfully develop products, rapid change in our markets, changes in demand for our future products, and general economic conditions.

    These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties discussed in Vivakor’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which factors may be incorporated herein by reference. Actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially, and potentially adversely, from any projections and forward-looking statements and the assumptions on which those forward-looking statements are based. There can be no assurance that the data contained herein is reflective of future performance to any degree. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a predictor of future performance as projected financial information and other information are based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to various significant risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. All information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof in the case of information about Vivakor and the Endeavor Entities or the date of such information in the case of information from persons other than Vivakor and the Endeavor Entities, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication. Forecasts and estimates regarding the Endeavor Entities industries and markets are based on sources we believe to be reliable; however, there can be no assurance these forecasts and estimates will prove accurate in whole or in part.

    Investors Contact:
    P:949-281-2606
    info@vivakor.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: CleanCounts Announces former EPA lead James Critchfield as Head of Registry and Market Integrity

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ASPEN, Colo., July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aspen Energy Forum – CleanCounts, a nonprofit with the industry leading environmental attribute certificate (EAC) tracking platform for voluntary and compliance claims of renewable energy projects across North America, today announced James Critchfield as the Head of Registry & Market Integrity. In his role, Critchfield will lead the development and governance of high-fidelity registries that safeguard transparency and trust across clean-energy and carbon markets. CleanCounts shared the news on Critchfield joining the team from Aspen Energy Forum, where the nonprofit is taking part in discussions on decarbonization and renewable energy strategies.

    Critchfield joins CleanCounts after spending two decades at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he was an authority on energy-attribute certificates, registry architecture, and greenhouse-gas accounting, advising Fortune 500 companies, state regulators, and international bodies. Most recently, Critchfield scaled the EPA’s Green Power Partnership from its infancy to hundreds of organizations, pushing annual voluntary green-power procurement to more than 100 billion KWh annually and catalyzing nearly 19 GW of new renewable capacity nationwide.

    “CleanCounts has advocated for standards in the renewable energy market and the environmental attribute tracking industry to drive better decision making by corporate buyers and provide transparency for regulators,” said James Critchfield, CleanCount’s Head of Registry & Market Integrity. “I look forward to stepping into this new role to bring my experience to support CleanCounts’ continued reputation as the true validator for environmental markets.”

    CleanCounts, formerly known as M-RETS, tracks generated energy outputs across North America, enabling market participants to place a dollar value on the environmental benefits of renewable energy and renewable thermal outputs. Through rigorous validation of the environmental benefits, verifiable data, and unbiased third-party verification, CleanCounts is now North America’s leading platform to obtain, transfer, or retire renewable energy certificates (RECs), renewable thermal certificates (RTCs), and alternative energy certificates (AECs).

    “James Critchfield’s work in the federal government to support tracking system infrastructure for clean energy in the United States has led to the development of next generation tracking capabilities that feature the granularity needed for market transparency,” said Benjamin Gerber, CEO of CleanCounts. “With James joining our executive team, we look forward to engaging stakeholders throughout North America for conversations about how a continuity-first, climate-aligned, and tech-forward clean energy registry can create benefits for, and strengthen trust in, both the voluntary and compliance markets.”

    Prior to joining CleanCounts full time on August 21, Critchfield will join an upcoming webinar with senior leaders from Singularity Energy and EnergyTag titled, How Western States Can Achieve Grid Decarbonization, on August 13, 2025 at 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM ET. The energy industry leaders will discuss how granular energy data and verified certificates can enable the hourly electricity accounting needed to drive investment and deployment of decarbonization technologies for an around-the-clock clean grid. Those interested in attending can register here.

    To learn more about CleanCounts, please visit www.cleancounts.org

    About CleanCounts
    CleanCounts, formerly known as Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M‑RETS) Inc., is North America’s most expansive clean energy registry and a trusted gateway to environmental markets. As a nonprofit organization, CleanCounts empowers participants across the energy ecosystem to track, trade, and validate clean energy production and consumption with confidence and transparency.

    Media Contact:
    FischTank PR
    cleancounts@fischtankpr.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dd918d85-5f5a-493e-9a32-31974fc5a615

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: The quiet war: What’s fueling Israel’s surge of settler violence – and the lack of state response

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

    An Israeli soldier prays in the Evyatar outpost in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 7, 2024. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

    Since Oct. 7, 2023, as Israel’s war against Hamas drags on in the Gaza Strip, a quieter but escalating war has unfolded in the West Bank between Israelis and Palestinians.

    While precise figures are elusive, United Nations estimates indicate that Jewish settlers have carried out around 2,000 attacks against Palestinians since the war in Gaza began. That number represents a dramatic surge compared with any previous period during the nearly six decades Israel has controlled the West Bank.

    Attacks include harassment of Palestinian villagers trying to access their crops or work outside their villages, as well as more extreme and organized violence, such as raiding villages to vandalize property. While many of the attacks are unprovoked, some are what settlers call “price tag” actions: retaliation for Palestinian violence against Israelis, such as car-rammings, rock-throwing and stabbings.

    Settlers’ attacks displaced more than 1,500 Palestinians in the first year of the war in Gaza, and gun violence is increasingly common. Since October 2023, more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed. While most of these fatalities resulted from military operations, some were killed by settlers.

    Mourners attend the funeral of three Palestinians who were killed when Jewish settlers stormed the West Bank village of Kafr Malik, on June 26, 2025.
    AP Photo/Leo Correa

    As a scholar who has studied Jewish religious extremism for over two decades, I contend this campaign is not merely a result of rising tension between the settlers and their Palestinian neighbors amid the Gaza conflict. Rather, it is fueled by a confluence of ideological fervor, opportunism and far-right Israelis’ political vision for the region.

    Religious redemption

    Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967’s Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, transforming this small region of around 2,000 square miles (5,200 square kilometers) to an amalgam of Jewish and Palestinian enclaves. Most countries other than Israel consider Jewish settlements illegal, but they have rapidly expanded in recent decades, becoming a major challenge for any settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    The ideological roots of violence lie within religious Zionism: a worldview embraced by about 20% of Israel’s Jewish population, including most West Bank settlers.

    The great majority of the leaders of the early Zionist movement held strong secular views. They pushed for the creation of a Jewish state over the objections of Orthodox figures, who argued that it should be a divine creation rather than a human-made polity.

    Religious Zionists, on the other hand, view the creation of modern-day Israel and its military victories as steps in a divine redemption, which will culminate in a Jewish kingdom led by a heaven-sent Messiah. Adherents believe contemporary events, particularly those asserting Jewish control over the entire historical land of Israel, can accelerate this process.

    In recent decades, influential religious Zionist leaders have argued that final redemption requires Israel’s total military triumph and the annihilation of its enemies, particularly the Palestinian national movement. From this perspective, the devastation of Oct. 7 and the subsequent war are a divine test – one the nation can only pass by achieving a complete victory.

    This belief system fuels most religious Zionists’ opposition to ending the war, as well as their advocacy for scorched-earth policies in Gaza. Some hope to rebuild the Jewish settlements in the strip that Israel evacuated in 2005.

    Some religious Zionists hope to reestablish Jewish settlements in Gaza.‘
    Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    The violence in the West Bank reflects an extension of the same beliefs. Extreme groups within the settler population aim to solidify Jewish control by making Palestinian communities’ lives in the region unsustainable.

    Opportunistic violence

    Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, traumatized the nation. It also hardened many Jewish Israelis’ conviction that a Palestinian state would be an existential threat, and thus Palestinians cannot be partners for peace.

    This shift in sentiment created a permissive environment for violence. While settler attacks previously drew criticism from across the political spectrum, extremist violence faces less public condemnation today – as does the government’s lack of effort to curb it.

    This increase in violence is also enabled by a climate of impunity. Israeli security forces have been stretched thin by operations in Gaza, Syria, Iran and beyond. In the West Bank, the military increasingly relies on settler militias known as “Emergency Squads,” which are armed by the Israeli military for self-defense, and army units composed primarily of religious Zionist settlers, such as the Netzah Yehuda Battalion. Such groups have little incentive to stop attacks on Palestinians, and at times, they have participated.

    This dynamic has dangerously blurred the line between the state military and militant settlers. The Israeli police, meanwhile, under the command of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, appear focused on protecting settlers. Police leadership has been accused of ignoring intelligence about planned attacks and failing to arrest violent settlers or enforce restraining orders. Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group, asserts that just 3% of attacks have resulted in a conviction.

    In June 2025, military attempts to curb settler militancy triggered a violent backlash, as extremist settlers attacked military commanders and tried to set fire to military facilities. Settlers view efforts to restrict their actions as illegitimate and a betrayal of Jewish interests in the West Bank.

    Political vision

    Violence by extremist settlers is not random; it is one arm of a coordinated pincer strategy to entrench Jewish control over the West Bank.

    Emergency volunteers put out a fire during an attack by Israeli right-wing settlers on the West Bank village of Turmusaya on June 26, 2025.
    Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

    While militant settlers create a climate of fear, Israeli authorities have undermined legal efforts to stop the violence – ending administrative detention for settler suspects, for example. Meanwhile, the government has intensified policies that undermine Palestinians’ economic development, freedom of movement and land use. In May, finance minister and far-right leader Bezalel Smotrich approved 22 new settlements, calling it a “historic decision” that signaled a return to “construction, Zionism, and vision.”

    Together, violence from below and policy from above advance a clear strategic goal: the coerced depopulation of Palestinians from rural areas to solidify Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank.

    Levers for change

    The militant elements of the settler movement constitute a fractional segment of Israeli society. When it comes to improving the situation in the West Bank, broad punitive measures against the entire country, such as economic boycotting and divestment, or blocking access to scientific, economic and cultural programs and organizations, have historically proved ineffective.

    Instead, such policies seem to entrench many Israelis’ perception of international bias and double standards: the sense that critics are antisemitic, or that few outsiders understand the country’s challenges – particularly in light of threats from entitles like Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, which openly seek Israel’s elimination.

    More targeted policies aim specifically at the Israeli far right, including sanctions – economic, political or cultural – directed at settler communities and their infrastructure. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and the U.K. have imposed travel bans on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and frozen their assets in those countries. Similarly, I believe decisions to ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements, as Ireland has recently debated, would be more effective than banning all Israeli products.

    This targeted approach, I would argue, would allow the international community to cultivate stronger alliances with the many Israelis concerned about the settlements and Palestinians’ rights in the West Bank.

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

    – ref. The quiet war: What’s fueling Israel’s surge of settler violence – and the lack of state response – https://theconversation.com/the-quiet-war-whats-fueling-israels-surge-of-settler-violence-and-the-lack-of-state-response-261990

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Roman Empire and the fall of Nero offer possible lessons for Trump about the cost of self-isolation

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Kirk Freudenburg, Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Classics, Yale University

    A marble statue of Nero on loan from the Louvre in Paris is seen at the Landesmuseum in Germany in 2016. Harald Tittel/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

    President Donald Trump’s first term saw a record-high rate of turnover among his Cabinet members and chief advisers. Trump’s second term has, to date, seen far fewer Cabinet departures.

    But some political commentators have observed that the president this time around has primarily appointed loyal advisers who will not challenge him.

    As Thomas Friedman pointed out in The New York Times on June 3, 2025, “In Trump I, the president surrounded himself with some people of weight who could act as buffers. In Trump II, he has surrounded himself only with sycophants who act like amplifiers.”

    As a scholar of Greco-Roman antiquity, I have spent many years studying the demise of truth-telling in periods of political upheaval. Spanning the period from 27 B.C.E. to 476 C.E., the Roman Empire still offers insights into what happens to political leaders when they interpret possibly helpful advice as dissent.

    Particularly telling is the case of Nero, Rome’s emperor from 54 to 68 C.E., who responded to a disastrous fire in 64 with extreme cruelty and self-worship that did nothing to help desperate citizens.

    Suppressing honest advice under Nero

    Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, established a handpicked circle of advisers – called the consilium principis in Latin, meaning emperor’s council – to give a republican look to his autocratic regime. Augustus became the emperor of Rome in 27 B.C.E. and ruled over the empire, which stretched from Europe and North Africa to the Middle East at its peak, until his death in 14 C.E.

    Augustus wanted to hear what others thought about the empire’s needs and his policies. At least some of Augustus’ advisers were bold enough to assert themselves and risk incurring his displeasure. Some, such as Cornelius Gallus, paid for their boldness with their lives, Gallus apparently took his own life, so that might not be the best example – unless it was a forced suicide while others, such as Cilnius Maecenas, managed to push their political agendas in softer ways that allowed them to maintain their influence.

    But the Roman emperors who came after Augustus were either less skilled at maintaining a republican facade, or less interested in doing so.

    Nero was the last of the emperors from the noble Julio-Claudian dynasty in ancient Rome at its peak of power. Historians who describe Nero’s rise and fall from power describe the first five years of his reign, or the quinquennium neronis in Latin, as a period of relative calm and prosperity for the empire.

    Because Nero was just 16 years old when he acceded to power, he was assigned advisers to guide his policies. Their opinions carried significant weight.

    But five years into his reign, chafing at their continued oversight, Nero began to purge these advisers from his life, via execution, forced suicide and exile.

    Nero instead collected a small cadre of self-interested enablers who derived power for themselves by encouraging their leader’s delusions, such as his desire to project himself as the incarnation of the sun god, Apollo.

    The single most unspeakably corrupt and nefarious of these preferred advisers was Ofonius Tigellinus. Tigellinus had caught Nero’s eye early in 62 by urging the senate to convict a Roman magistrate of treason for having composed poems that he deemed insulting to the emperor. Later that year, Tigellinus was appointed the head of the emperor’s personal army.

    As praetorian prefect, Tigellinus was charged not only with protecting Nero from physical harm, but also with crafting and guarding the leader’s public image. Tigellinus urged Nero to stage an ongoing series of public spectacles – like theatrical performances and athletic competitions – that featured him as a divine ruler and a god on Earth.

    The Roman Emperor Nero surveys the city of Rome after the disastrous fire in 64 C.E.
    Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    Up in flames

    It was likely at Tigellinus’ urging that, in the aftermath of the great fire of 64 that raged for six days in Rome, Nero staged an exorbitant garden party where Christians were soaked in flammable oils and lit as human torches to illuminate a decadent late-night feast.

    But, try as he might, Nero couldn’t outrun the fire and its aftermath by indulging in clever cruelties. Huge swathes of the city had been razed by the fire. Thousands of citizens lacked clothing. They were hungry, displaced and homeless.

    For answers, the fire’s countless victims looked to Nero, their earthly Apollo, for help. But they did not encounter a sympathetic leader sweeping in to address their needs. Instead, they found a man desperate to place blame on others – in this case, foreigners from the east.

    In order to squelch rumors that Nero had lit the fire, Tigellinus’ army unit rounded up Christians, falsely blamed them for starting the fire and executed them.

    But this move just showcased Nero’s failure to focus on the dire needs of the poor, the very people who worshipped him. Instead, he sought to rise above the ashes by doubling down on his divine pretensions.

    Once the rubble left by the fire was cleared away, Nero built a magnificent new home for himself. This palace, called the domus aurea in Latin, meaning house of gold, covered more than 120 acres in the heart of Rome. It featured spectacular water fountains, elaborate works of art and, standing tall in the entryway, a 120-foot bronze statue of Nero as the sun god, Apollo.

    No truth-teller was there to tell Nero that maybe he shouldn’t rub his people’s noses in their suffering. (can we say ‘Maybe he shouldn’t exploit his people’s suffering in this way’?) this suggestion needs either accepted or rejected

    Nero’s delusional response to the fire did not put an end to his career, but it did much to hasten its end.

    Less than four years later, with armies bearing down on the city, Nero committed suicide. Rome tumbled into civil war.

    President Donald Trump appears at an Independence Day event at the Mount Rushmore national monument near Keystone, S.D., in 2020.
    Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    Self-worship in the Trump era

    Trump has long expressed a desire to have his face carved on Mount Rushmore, a national memorial in South Dakota that features the likenesses of legendary American presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt.

    This dream became a bit closer to reality when Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles in July 2025 urged the Department of the Interior to explore adding Trump’s image to Mount Rushmore – even though such an addition might not be possible because of geological issues.
    Trump’s critics have long noted the president’s propensity to focus on himself and his own greatness and power, rather than the needs of citizens.

    As far away as the Roman Empire might seem, Nero’s rise and fall offers a lesson in what can happen when honest criticism of a political leader is sidelined in favor of idolatry.

    Instead of honest solutions to real problems, what Romans got was a colossal statue that portrayed their leader as a god on Earth.

    Kirk Freudenburg 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. Roman Empire and the fall of Nero offer possible lessons for Trump about the cost of self-isolation – https://theconversation.com/roman-empire-and-the-fall-of-nero-offer-possible-lessons-for-trump-about-the-cost-of-self-isolation-257871

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Are you really allergic to penicillin? A pharmacist explains why there’s a good chance you’re not − and how you can find out for sure

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Elizabeth W. Covington, Associate Clinical Professor of Pharmacy, Auburn University

    Penicillin is a substance produced by penicillium mold. About 80% of people with a penicillin allergy will lose the allergy after about 10 years. Clouds Hill Imaging Ltd./Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

    Imagine this: You’re at your doctor’s office with a sore throat. The nurse asks, “Any allergies?” And without hesitation you reply, “Penicillin.” It’s something you’ve said for years – maybe since childhood, maybe because a parent told you so. The nurse nods, makes a note and moves on.

    But here’s the kicker: There’s a good chance you’re not actually allergic to penicillin. About 10% to 20% of Americans report that they have a penicillin allergy, yet fewer than 1% actually do.

    I’m a clinical associate professor of pharmacy specializing in infectious disease. I study antibiotics and drug allergies, including ways to determine whether people have penicillin allergies.

    I know from my research that incorrectly being labeled as allergic to penicillin can prevent you from getting the most appropriate, safest treatment for an infection. It can also put you at an increased risk of antimicrobial resistance, which is when an antibiotic no longer works against bacteria.

    The good news? It’s gotten a lot easier in recent years to pin down the truth of the matter. More and more clinicians now recognize that many penicillin allergy labels are incorrect – and there are safe, simple ways to find out your actual allergy status.

    A steadfast lifesaver

    Penicillin, the first antibiotic drug, was discovered in 1928 when a physician named Alexander Fleming extracted it from a type of mold called penicillium. It became widely used to treat infections in the 1940s. Penicillin and closely related antibiotics such as amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanate, which goes by the brand name Augmentin, are frequently prescribed to treat common infections such as ear infections, strep throat, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and dental infections.

    Penicillin antibiotics are a class of narrow-spectrum antibiotics, which means they target specific types of bacteria. People who report having a penicillin allergy are more likely to receive broad-spectrum antibiotics. Broad-spectrum antibiotics kill many types of bacteria, including helpful ones, making it easier for resistant bacteria to survive and spread. This overuse speeds up the development of antibiotic resistance. Broad-spectrum antibiotics can also be less effective and are often costlier.

    Figuring out whether you’re really allergic to penicillin is easier than it used to be.

    Why the mismatch?

    People often get labeled as allergic to antibiotics as children when they have a reaction such as a rash after taking one. But skin rashes frequently occur alongside infections in childhood, with many viruses and infections actually causing rashes. If a child is taking an antibiotic at the time, they may be labeled as allergic even though the rash may have been caused by the illness itself.

    Some side effects such as nausea, diarrhea or headaches can happen with antibiotics, but they don’t always mean you are allergic. These common reactions usually go away on their own or can be managed. A doctor or pharmacist can talk to you about ways to reduce these side effects.

    People also often assume penicillin allergies run in families, but having a relative with an allergy doesn’t mean you’re allergic – it’s not hereditary.

    Finally, about 80% of patients with a true penicillin allergy will lose the allergy after about 10 years. That means even if you used to be allergic to this antibiotic, you might not be anymore, depending on the timing of your reaction.

    Why does it matter if I have a penicillin allergy?

    Believing you’re allergic to penicillin when you’re not can negatively affect your health. For one thing, you are more likely to receive stronger, broad-spectrum antibiotics that aren’t always the best fit and can have more side effects. You may also be more likely to get an infection after surgery and to spend longer in the hospital when hospitalized for an infection. What’s more, your medical bills could end up higher due to using more expensive drugs.

    Penicillin and its close cousins are often the best tools doctors have to treat many infections. If you’re not truly allergic, figuring that out can open the door to safer, more effective and more affordable treatment options.

    A penicillin skin test can safely determine whether you have a penicillin allergy, but a health care professional may also be able to tell by asking you some specific questions.
    BSIP/Collection Mix: Subjects via Getty Images

    How can I tell if I am really allergic to penicillin?

    Start by talking to a health care professional such as a doctor or pharmacist. Allergy symptoms can range from a mild, self-limiting rash to severe facial swelling and trouble breathing. A health care professional may ask you several questions about your allergies, such as what happened, how soon after starting the antibiotic did the reaction occur, whether treatment was needed, and whether you’ve taken similar medications since then.

    These questions can help distinguish between a true allergy and a nonallergic reaction. In many cases, this interview is enough to determine you aren’t allergic. But sometimes, further testing may be recommended.

    One way to find out whether you’re really allergic to penicillin is through penicillin skin testing, which includes tiny skin pricks and small injections under the skin. These tests use components related to penicillin to safely check for a true allergy. If skin testing doesn’t cause a reaction, the next step is usually to take a small dose of amoxicillin while being monitored at your doctor’s office, just to be sure it’s safe.

    A study published in 2023 showed that in many cases, skipping the skin test and going straight to the small test dose can also be a safe way to check for a true allergy. In this method, patients take a low dose of amoxicillin and are observed for about 30 minutes to see whether any reaction occurs.

    With the right questions, testing and expertise, many people can safely reclaim penicillin as an option for treating common infections.

    Elizabeth W. Covington 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. Are you really allergic to penicillin? A pharmacist explains why there’s a good chance you’re not − and how you can find out for sure – https://theconversation.com/are-you-really-allergic-to-penicillin-a-pharmacist-explains-why-theres-a-good-chance-youre-not-and-how-you-can-find-out-for-sure-253839

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How FDA panelists casting doubt on antidepressant use during pregnancy could lead to devastating outcomes for mothers

    Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Nicole Amoyal Pensak, Researcher of Caregiver Stress Management and Clinical Psychologist, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

    Research shows that the risks of untreated depression in pregnancy is much larger than the risks posed by SSRIs. RyanKing999/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    At a meeting held by the Food and Drug Administration on July 21, 2025, a panel convened by the agency cast doubt on the safety of antidepressant medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, in pregnancy.

    Panel members discussed adding a so-called black box warning to the drugs – which the agency uses to indicate severe or life-threatening side effects – about the risk they pose to developing fetuses. Some of the panelists who attended had a history of expressing deep skepticism on antidepressants.

    SSRIs include drugs like Prozac and Zoloft and are the most commonly used medicines for treating clinical depression. They are considered the first-line medications for treating depression in pregnancy, with approximately 5% to 6% of North American women taking an SSRI during pregnancy.

    We are a psychologist certified in perinatal mental health and a reproductive psychiatrist and neuroscientist who studies female hormones and drug treatments for depression. We are concerned that many claims made at the meeting about the dangers of those drugs contradict decades of research evidence showing that antidepressant use during pregnancy is low risk when compared with the dangers of mental illness.

    As clinicians, we have front-row seats to the maternal mental health crisis in the U.S. Mental illness, including suicide and overdose, is the leading cause of maternal deaths. Like all drugs, SSRIs carry both risks and benefits. But research shows that the benefits to pregnant patients outweigh the risks of the SSRIs, as well as the risks of untreated depression.

    The panel did not address the safety of SSRIs following delivery, but numerous studies show that taking SSRI antidepressants while breastfeeding is low risk, usually producing low to undetectable drug levels in infants.

    The biology of maternal brain health

    Pregnancy and the months following childbirth are characterized by so many emotional, psychological and physical changes that the transition to motherhood has a specific name: matrescence. During matrescence, the brain changes rapidly as it prepares to efficiently take care of a baby.

    The capacity for change within the brain is known as “plasticity.” Enhanced plasticity during pregnancy and the postpartum period is what allows the maternal brain to become better at attuning to and carrying out the tasks of motherhood. For example, research indicates that during this period, the brain is primed to respond to baby-related stimuli and improve a mother’s ability to regulate her emotions. These brain shifts also act as a mental buffer against aging and stress in the long term.

    On the flip side, these rapid brain changes, fueled by hormonal shifts, can make people especially vulnerable to the risk of mental illness during and after pregnancy. For women who have a prior history of depression, the risk is even greater.

    Clinical depression interferes with brain plasticity, such that the brain becomes “stuck” in patterns of negative thoughts, emotions and behaviors.

    This leads to impairment in brain functions that are essential to motherhood. New mothers with depression have decreased brain activity in regions responsible for motivation, regulation of emotion and problem-solving. They are often withdrawn or overprotective of their infants, and they struggle with the relentless effort needed for tasks that arise with child-rearing like soothing, feeding, stimulating, planning and anticipating the child’s needs.

    Research shows that SSRIs work by promoting brain plasticity. This in turn allows individuals to perceive the world more positively, increases the experience of gratification as a mother and facilitates cognitive flexibility for problem-solving.

    SSRI antidepressants are thought to work by restoring healthy communication between brain cells.
    wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Assessing the risks of SSRIs in pregnancy

    Prescription drugs like SSRIs are just one aspect of treating pregnant women struggling with mental illness. Evidence-based psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, can also induce adaptive brain changes. But women with severe symptoms often require medication before they can reap the benefits of psychotherapy, and finding properly trained, accessible and affordable psychotherapists can be challenging. So sometimes, SSRIs may be the most appropriate treatment option available.

    Multiple studies have examined the effects of SSRIs on the developing fetus. Some data does show a link between these drugs and preterm birth, as well as low birth weight. However, depression during pregnancy is also linked to these effects, making it difficult to disentangle what’s due to the drug and what’s due to the illness.

    SSRIs are linked to a condition called neonatal adaption syndrome, in which infants are born jittery, irritable and with abnormal muscle tone. About one-third of infants born to mothers taking SSRIs experience it. However, research shows that it usually resolves within two weeks and does not have long-term health implications.

    The FDA-convened panel heavily focused on potential risks of SSRI usage, with several individuals incorrectly asserting that these drugs cause autism in exposed youth, as well as birth defects. At least one panelist discussed clinical depression as a “normal” part of the “emotional” experience during pregnancy and following birth. This perpetuates a long history of of women being dismissed, ignored and not believed in medical care. It also discounts the rigorous assessment and criteria that medical professionals use to diagnose reproductive mental health disorders.

    A summary of the pivotal studies on SSRIs in pregnancy by the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Women’s Health discusses how research has shown SSRIs to not be associated with miscarriage, birth defects or developmental conditions in children, including autism spectrum disorder.

    Antidepressants such as SSRIs are thought to work by promoting brain plasticity.
    Cappi Thompson/Moment via Getty Images

    The risks of untreated mental illness

    Untreated clinical depression in pregnancy has several known risks. As noted above, babies born to mothers with clinical depression have a higher risk of preterm birth and low birth weight.

    They are also more likely to require neonatal intensive care and are at greater risk of behavioral problems and impaired cognition in childhood.

    Women who are clinically depressed have an increased risk of developing preeclampsia – a condition involving high blood pressure that, if not identified and treated quickly, can be fatal to both mother and fetus. Just as concerning is the heightened risk of suicide in depression. Suicide accounts for about 8% of deaths in pregnancy and shortly after birth.

    Compared with these very serious risks, the risks of using SSRIs in pregnancy turn out to be minimal. While women used to be encouraged to stop taking SSRIs during pregnancy to avoid some of these risks, this is no longer recommended, as it exposes women to a high chance of depression relapse. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all perinatal mental health treatments, including SSRIs, continue to be available.

    Many women are already reluctant to take antidepressants during pregnancy, and given the choice, they tend to avoid it. From a psychological standpoint, exposing their fetus to the side effects of antidepressant medications is one of many common reasons for women in the U.S. to feel maternal guilt or shame. However, the available data suggests such guilt is not warranted.

    Taken together, the best thing one can do for pregnant women and their babies is not to avoid prescribing these drugs when needed, but to take every measure possible to promote health: optimal prenatal care, and the combination of medications with psychotherapy, as well as other evidence-based treatments such as bright light therapy, exercise and adequate nutrition.

    The panel failed to address the latest neuroscience behind depression, how antidepressants work in the brain and the biological rationale for why doctors use them in the first place. Patients deserve education on what’s happening in their brain, and how a drug like an SSRI might work to help.

    Depression during pregnancy and in the months following birth is a serious barrier to brain health for mothers. SSRIs are one way of promoting healthy brain changes so that mothers can thrive both short- and long-term.

    Should the FDA, as a result of this recent panel, decide to place a black-box warning on antidepressants in pregnancy, researchers like us already know from history what will happen. In 2004, the FDA placed a warning on antidepressants describing potential suicidal ideation and behavior in young people.

    In the following years, antidepressant-prescribing decreased, while the consequences of mental illness increased. And it’s easy to imagine a similar pattern in pregnant women.

    I receive royalties for the sales of my book RATTLED, How to Calm New Mom Anxiety with the Power of the Postpartum Brain.

    Dr Novick has a career development award from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (K23HD110435) to study the neurobiology of hormonal contraception. This funding was not used to support the preparation or publication of this article. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent those of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

    – ref. How FDA panelists casting doubt on antidepressant use during pregnancy could lead to devastating outcomes for mothers – https://theconversation.com/how-fda-panelists-casting-doubt-on-antidepressant-use-during-pregnancy-could-lead-to-devastating-outcomes-for-mothers-261825

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: What is personalized pricing, and how do I avoid it?

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor Questrom School of Business, Boston University

    Recently, Delta Air Lines announced it would expand its use of artificial intelligence to provide individualized prices to customers. This move sparked concern among flyers and politicians. But Delta isn’t the only business interested in using AI this way. Personalized pricing has already spread across a range of industries, from finance to online gaming.

    Customized pricing – where each customer receives a different price for the same product – is a holy grail for businesses because it boosts profits. With customized pricing, free-spending people pay more while the price-sensitive pay less. Just as clothes can be tailored to each person, custom pricing fits each person’s ability and desire to pay.

    I am a professor who teaches business school students how to set prices. My latest book, “The Power of Cash: Why Using Paper Money is Good for You and Society,” highlights problems with custom pricing. Specifically, I’m worried that AI pricing models lack transparency and could unfairly take advantage of financially unsophisticated people.

    The history of custom pricing

    For much of history, customized pricing was the normal way things happened. In the past, business owners sized up each customer and then bargained face-to-face. The price paid depended on the buyer’s and seller’s bargaining skills – and desperation.

    An old joke illustrates this process. Once, a very rich man was riding in his carriage at breakfast time. Hungry, he told his driver to stop at the next restaurant. He went inside, ordered some eggs and asked for the bill. When the owner handed him the check, the rich man was shocked at the price. “Are eggs rare in this neighborhood?” he asked. “No,” the owner said. “Eggs are plentiful, but very rich men are quite rare.”

    Custom pricing through bargaining still exists in some industries. For example, car dealerships often negotiate a different price for each vehicle they sell. Economists refer to this as “first-degree” or “perfect” price discrimination, which is “perfect” from the seller’s perspective because it allows them to charge each customer the maximum amount they’re willing to pay.

    Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia was a pricing pioneer.
    Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    Currently, most American shoppers don’t bargain but instead see set prices. Many scholars trace the rise of set prices to John Wanamaker’s Philadelphia department store, which opened in 1876. In his store, each item had a nonnegotiable price tag. These set prices made it simpler for customers to shop and became very popular.

    Why uniform pricing caught on

    Set prices have several advantages for businesses. For one thing, they allow stores to hire low-paid retail workers instead of employees who are experts in negotiation.

    Historically, they also made it easier for stores to decide how much to charge. Before the advent of AI pricing, many companies determined prices using a “cost-plus” rule. Cost-plus means a business adds a fixed percentage or markup to an item’s cost. The markup is the percentage added to a product’s cost that covers a company’s profits and overhead.

    The big-box retailer Costco still uses this rule. It determines prices by adding a roughly 15% maximum markup to each item on the warehouse floor. If something costs Costco $100, they sell it for about $115.

    The problem with cost-plus is that it treats all items the same. For example, Costco sells wine in many stores. People buying expensive Champagne typically are willing to pay a much higher markup than customers purchasing inexpensive boxed wine. Using AI gets around this problem by letting a computer determine the optimal markup item by item.

    What personalized pricing means for shoppers

    AI needs a lot of data to operate effectively. The shift from cash to electronic payments has enabled businesses to collect what’s been called a “gold mine” of information. For example, Mastercard says its data lets companies “determine optimal pricing strategies.”

    So much information is collected when you pay electronically that in 2024 the Federal Trade Commission issued civil subpoenas to Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase and other financial companies demanding to know “how artificial intelligence and other technological tools may allow companies to vary prices using data they collect about individual consumers’ finances and shopping habits.” Experiments at the FTC show that AI programs can even collude among themselves to raise prices without human intervention.

    To prevent customized pricing, some states have laws requiring retailers to display a single price for each product for sale. Even with these laws, it’s simple to do custom pricing by using targeted digital coupons, which vary each shopper’s discount.

    How you can outsmart AI pricing

    There are ways to get around customized pricing. All depend on denying AI programs data on past purchases and knowledge of who you are. First, when shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, use paper money. Yes, good old-fashioned cash is private and leaves no data trail that follows you online.

    Second, once online, clear your cache. Your search history and cookies provide algorithms with extensive amounts of information. Many articles say the protective power of clearing your cache is an urban myth. However, this information was based on how airlines used to price tickets. Recent analysis by the FTC shows the newest AI algorithms are changing prices based on this cached information.

    Third, many computer pricing algorithms look at your location, since location is a good proxy for income. I was once in Botswana and needed to buy a plane ticket. The price on my computer was about $200. Unfortunately, before booking I was called away to dinner. After dinner my computer showed the cost was $1,000 − five times higher. It turned out after dinner I used my university’s VPN, which told the airline I was located in a rich American neighborhood. Before dinner I was located in a poor African town. Shutting off the VPN reduced the price.

    Last, often to get a better price in face-to-face negotiations, you need to walk away. To do this online, put something in your basket and then wait before hitting purchase. I recently bought eyeglasses online. As a cash payer, I didn’t have my credit card handy. It took five minutes to find it, and the delay caused the site to offer a large discount to complete the purchase.

    The computer revolution has created the ability to create custom products cheaply. The cashless society combined with AI is setting us up for customized prices. In a custom-pricing situation, seeing a high price doesn’t mean something is higher quality. Instead, a high price simply means a business views the customer as willing to part with more money.

    Using cash more often can help defeat custom pricing. In my view, however, rapid advances in AI mean we need to start talking now about how prices are determined, before customized pricing takes over completely.

    Jay L. Zagorsky 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. What is personalized pricing, and how do I avoid it? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-personalized-pricing-and-how-do-i-avoid-it-262195

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Strengthening collective labor rights can help reduce economic inequality

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Skip Mark, Assistant professor of political science, University of Rhode Island

    Only about 1 in 10 U.S. workers belong to unions today. champc/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Despite the strength of the U.S. economy, the gap between rich and poor Americans is increasing.

    The wealthiest 1% of Americans have more than five times as much wealth as the bottom 50%, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. That’s up from four times as much in the year 2000. In 2024 alone, the wealthiest 19 families got a total of US$1 trillion richer – the largest one-year increase on record.

    And yet 59% of Americans don’t have enough money saved up to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense.

    We are political scientists who study human rights and political economy.

    In a 2023 study, our team looked at 145 countries, including the U.S., to understand the link between labor rights and inequality. We found evidence that strengthening collective labor rights may reduce economic inequality.

    Empowering workers

    Collective labor rights include the rights to form and join a union, bargain collectively for higher pay and better working conditions, go on strike, and get justice if employers punish workers who exercise these rights.

    In the U.S., where less than 10% of workers belong to unions, union members typically earn higher wages than their nonunion counterparts.

    Through negotiations on behalf of their members, unions can pressure employers to provide fair wages and benefits. If negotiations break down, the union can call for a strike – sometimes winning better benefits and higher wages as a result.

    Some U.S. unions don’t have the right to strike, including air traffic controllers, teachers and those working on national security issues. But most unions have some ability to implement work stoppages and impose costs on employers to negotiate for raises and better benefits and conditions.

    Reducing inequality

    For our study, we analyzed the human rights in the CIRIGHTS dataset, which uses human rights reports from the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International and other sources to measure government respect for 24 human rights, including the rights to unionize and bargain collectively. The dataset is produced by the University of Rhode Island, Binghamton University and the University of Connecticut. One of us, Skip Mark, serves as a co-director of the project.

    Using a scoring guide, a team of researchers reads human rights reports and gives each country a score of zero if they have widespread violations, one point if they have some violations, or two if they have no evidence of violations. The team has assigned scores for all 24 rights from 1994 through 2022.

    Using this data, we created a measure of collective labor rights by adding scores for the right to workplace association and the right to collective bargaining. The resulting collective labor rights score ranges from zero to four.

    Countries where workers’ rights are routinely violated, such as Afghanistan, China and Saudi Arabia, scored a zero. The United States, Macedonia and Zambia, three countries with little in common, were among those that tended to get two points, placing them in the middle. Countries with no reported violations of the rights to workplace association and collective bargaining, including Canada, Sweden and France, got four points.

    According to the CIRIGHTS dataset, the strength of respect for collective labor rights around the world declined by 50%, from 2.06 in 1994 to 1.03 in 2022.

    At the same time, according to the World Inequality Dataset, the share of income earned by the 1% with the biggest paychecks increased by 11%.

    We used advanced statistical methods to figure out whether better worker protections actually reduce inequality or are just associated with it.

    Gaps between individuals and ethnic groups

    We also measured what’s been happening to economic inequality, using two common ways to track it.

    One of them is vertical inequality, the gap between what people earn within a country – the rich versus the poor. The more unequal a society becomes, the higher its vertical inequality score gets. We measured it using the disposable income measure from the Gini index, a commonly used indicator of economic inequality that captures how much money individuals have to spend after taxes and government transfers.

    We found that a one-point increase in collective labor rights on our four-point scale reduces vertical inequality by 10 times the average change in inequality. For the U.S., a one-point increase in collective labor rights would be about enough to undo the increase in inequality that occurred between 2008 and 2010 due to the Great Recession and its aftermath. It would also likely help stem the growing wealth gap between Black and white Americans. That’s because income disparities compound over time to create wealth gaps.

    We also assessed the connection between horizontal inequality, which measures income inequality between ethnic or other groups, and collective labor rights.

    Negative horizontal inequality measures the amount of a country’s income held by the poorest ethnic group. Higher scores for this metric indicate that the lowest-earning ethnic group has less income relative to the rest of society. Black Americans have the lowest median income of any racial or ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

    Positive horizontal inequality measures the income earned by the richest ethnic group. When positive horizontal inequality rises, that means the richest ethnic group has more income relative to the rest of society. According to the same Census Bureau report, Asian Americans had the highest median earnings.

    We found that stronger collective labor rights, both in law and in practice around the world, also reduce both types of horizontal inequality. This means they raise the floor by helping to improve the income of the poorest ethnic groups in society. They also close the gap by limiting the incomes of the richest ethnic group, which can reduce the likelihood of conflicts.

    That is, our findings suggest that when workers are free to advocate for higher wages and better benefits for themselves, it also benefits society as a whole.

    Stephen Bagwell is a researcher with the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, a charitable trust registered in New Zealand

    Skip Mark 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. Strengthening collective labor rights can help reduce economic inequality – https://theconversation.com/strengthening-collective-labor-rights-can-help-reduce-economic-inequality-254258

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Black teachers are key mentors for Philly high school seniors navigating college decisions

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Joseph Sageman, Postdoctoral Researcher in Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

    In Pennsylvania, nearly 15% of students are Black, but less than 4% of teachers are. JohnnyGreig/E+ Collection via Getty Images

    Zikia, a 12th grader in Philadelphia, was stressing over where she would attend college in the fall. Her charter school’s college decision ceremony was the next day, and she was torn between her two top choices.

    At a crossroads, she reached out to her favorite teacher, the only Black educator on her course schedule. “I texted him at nighttime,” she recalled. “I didn’t feel like I could do that with my other teachers.”

    In my research
    on college and career readiness, I did not initially set out to study the impact of Black teachers, but students like Zikia readily brought up the topic.

    In interviews, students insisted on the importance of having Black educators. They consistently named their Black teachers and counselors as the most influential adults in their planning for life after graduation.

    Black educators, though, are severely underrepresented in the local teaching workforce. At Zikia’s school, over 75% of students are Black compared to only about 15% of teachers.

    The picture is just as striking in Pennsylvania as a whole. Statewide, the share of Black students is four times the share of Black teachers – 14.5% of students are Black, while only 3.7% of teachers are. A majority of public schools in Pennsylvania do not employ a single teacher of color despite serving racially diverse communities.

    These statistics are particularly concerning because strong evidence suggests that minority students benefit greatly from working with same-race teachers.

    Over the past two decades, a wave of studies from economists and education scholars have documented that when Black students are assigned to Black teachers, their math and reading scores improve, their rates of absenteeism and suspensions drop, and over the long run, they are more likely to enroll in honors classes, complete high school and go to college.

    This research is mostly quantitative and does more to establish that Black teachers are effective than explain why they are able to deliver such impressive results.

    To answer this latter question, I went directly to the source.

    I conducted interviews with roughly 100 Philadelphia 12th graders, asking them how they came to trust and depend on Black educators when weighing one of the most consequential decisions of their lives: whether and where to go to college. I spoke with students at five city high schools, including district-run and charter schools, as well as some of the teachers and counselors involved in their college decisions.

    Zikia and the other names used in this story are pseudonyms to protect the confidentiality of research participants.

    Inspiration, empathy and insight

    The presence of Black educators mattered to students for several reasons.

    Some of my respondents felt inspired by seeing Black people in school leadership positions. LaMont, for instance, said that taking classes from Black teachers motivated him: “Just to see success is achievable. A teacher is something in life. And it shows that people that look like me are able to overcome something. Having Black teachers gives you a sense of confidence.”

    LaMont’s seeing his own identity and background reflected in his teachers is what sociologists and political scientists call descriptive representation. His classmates agreed that it was important to have teachers who looked like them. Their connection, they insisted, was more than skin deep. Most of them gravitated to Black teachers because of how those teachers did their jobs and advocated for minority students, a concept called substantive representation.

    For instance, many students felt most comfortable asking for help from Black teachers because they regarded them as more empathetic listeners and felt they were invested in their holistic well-being, not just in their grades or academic performance.

    When I asked Ramir to tell me about the teachers he had strong relationships with, he offered a typical answer: “Most of them are African American,” he said. “But it’s not even just about that. I like a teacher who tries to understand you for who you are. Not look at you as a student but as a human being and build with you.”

    Students also credited Black teachers with making them feel like they belonged at school. They sought out advice from teachers who believed in their potential and held them to high academic and behavioral standards. These qualities were by no means unique to Black teachers, but white teachers sometimes found it difficult to balance authority with warmth in their relationships with students.

    “There are some teachers that act like siblings and some that act like parents,” said Emily, a white social studies teacher. “And it’s very rare that a white teacher can act like a parent and have the kids still like them.”

    Black educators also had culturally relevant insights into college that students valued highly. They often had deeper knowledge of local historically Black colleges and universities, or they could speak to the experience of being a racial minority at a predominantly white institution. Students valued guidance more when it came from a source they felt was relatable.

    These findings suggest that Black educators are effective not only because of shared identity or experiences, but also because of the skills and dispositions they bring into the classroom: proactively building relationships, coupling high expectations with high levels of support, and bringing schoolwork to life. As a result, minority students held out hope not only for more representation in the classroom but also that all their teachers – regardless of race – would integrate these practices into their tool kits.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

    Joseph Sageman 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. Black teachers are key mentors for Philly high school seniors navigating college decisions – https://theconversation.com/black-teachers-are-key-mentors-for-philly-high-school-seniors-navigating-college-decisions-261732

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Yosemite embodies the long war over US national park privatization

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Michael Childers, Associate Professor of History, Colorado State University

    The Ahwahnee is a privately run hotel inside Yosemite National Park. George Rose/Getty Images

    The Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service’s budget and staffing have raised concerns among park advocates and the public that the administration is aiming to further privatize the national parks.

    The nation has a long history of similar efforts, including a wildly unpopular 1980 attempt by Reagan administration Interior Secretary James Watt to promote development and expand private concessions in the parks. But debate over using public national park land for private profit dates back more than a century before that.

    As I explain in my forthcoming book, no park has played a more central role in that debate than Yosemite, in California.

    Early concerns

    In early 1864, Central American Steamship Transit Company representative Israel Ward Raymond wrote a letter to John Conness, a U.S. senator from California, urging the government to move swiftly to preserve the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees to prevent them from falling into private hands. Five months later, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act, ceding the valley and the grove to the state of California, “upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation.” This was years before Yellowstone became the first federal land designated a national park in 1872.

    For centuries, the natural beauty of the Yosemite Valley has impressed visitors.
    Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Controversy arose quickly at Yosemite. Two men – James Lamon and James Hutchings – had claimed land in the valley before the federal government gave it to California. Both began commercial operations, Lamon growing cash crops and Hutchings operating a hotel.

    California said their businesses threatened the state’s ability to develop roads and trails in Yosemite by competing for tourist dollars. A legal battle ensued and was not resolved until an 1872 U.S. Supreme Court ruling found that the men’s land claims had not been fully validated according to the procedures of the time. The California legislature paid both men compensation for their land, and both left the park.

    In 1890, neighboring parts of the Yosemite area became America’s third national park – and in 1906, the federal government again took possession of the Yosemite Valley itself and the Mariposa Grove, specifically to incorporate them into an expansion of the national park.

    Development rights

    Yet, as my research has found, the role of private interests in the park remained unsolved. Private companies under contract to the National Park Service have long provided needed amenities such as lodging and food within the national parks. But questions over what is acceptable in national parks in the pursuit of profit have shaped Yosemite’s history for generations.

    In 1925, I found, the question centered on the right to build the first gas station inside the park, in Yosemite Valley. Two private businesses, the Curry Camping Company and the Yosemite National Park Company, had long competed for tourist dollars within the park. Each wanted to build a gas station to boost profits.

    Frustrated over the need to decide, National Park Service Director Horace Albright ordered the rival firms to simplify management of the park’s concessions. The companies merged, and the newly formed Yosemite Park and Curry Company was granted the exclusive rights to run lodges, restaurants and other facilities within the park, including the new gas station.

    But as I found in my research, the park service and the concessions company did not always see eye to eye on the purpose of the park. The conflict between profit and preservation is perhaps most clearly illustrated by the construction of a ski area within the park in the early 1930s. The park service initially opposed the development of Badger Pass Ski Area as not conducive to the national park ideal, but the Yosemite Park and Curry Company insisted it was key to boosting winter use of the park.

    In 1973, the Music Corporation of America, an entertainment conglomerate, bought the Yosemite Park and Curry Company. The company already had a tourist attraction operating near Hollywood, where visitors could pay to tour movie sets, but had not yet changed its name to Universal Studios or launched major theme parks in Florida and California. Its purchase of the park’s concessions set off a firestorm of controversy over fears of turning Yosemite into a theme park.

    That didn’t happen, but annual park visitor numbers climbed from 2.5 million to 3.8 million over the 20 years MCA ran the concessions, which sparked concerns about development and overcrowding in the park. Conservationists argued the park service had allowed the corporate giant to promote and develop the park in ways that threatened the very aspects of the park most people came to enjoy.

    With three restaurants, two service stations with a total of 15 gas pumps, two cafeterias, two grocery stores, seven souvenir shops, a delicatessen, a bank, a skating rink, three swimming pools, a golf course, two tennis courts, kennels, a barbershop, a beauty shop, Badger Pass Ski Area and three lodges, the Yosemite Valley was a busy commercial district. Critics argued that such development contradicted the park service’s mandate to leave national parks unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

    Crowds gather at some of Yosemite’s most popular sites, such as the California Tunnel Tree.
    David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

    Who owns the names?

    Falling profits and consolidation within the music industry led MCA to sell its concessions rights in Yosemite in 1993. The Delaware North Companies, a global hospitality corporation, took over and ran the park’s concessions until 2016, when it sold the rights to Aramark.

    But in that sale, the question of public resources and private profits arose again. Delaware North demanded $51 million in compensation for Aramark continuing to use the names of several historic properties within the park, such as the Ahwahnee, a hotel, and Curry Village, another group of visitor accommodations. The company claimed those names were a part of its assets under its contract with the park service.

    The park service rejected the claim, saying the names, which dated back more than a century, belonged to the American people. But to avoid legal problems during the transition, the agency temporarily renamed several sites, including calling the Ahwahnee the Majestic Yosemite Hotel and changing Curry Village to Half Dome Village. Public outrage erupted, denouncing the claim by Delaware North as commercial overreach that threatened to distort Yosemite’s heritage. In 2019, the park service and Aramark agreed to pay Delaware North a total of $12 million to settle the dispute, and the original names were restored.

    Protesters unfurl an upside-down U.S. flag from the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in February 2025, protesting Trump administration changes to the National Park Service.

    Renewed interest in commercial efforts

    In June 2025, Yosemite again took center stage in the dispute over the role of federal funding versus private interests at the start of the second Trump administration when a group of climbers unfurled an American flag upside down off El Capitan in protest of the administration’s cuts in personnel and slashing of the park service’s budget.

    Conservationists, including former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, argued that by defunding the park service and laying off as much as a quarter of its workforce, the Trump administration was “laying the groundwork to privatize” the national parks by allowing corporate interests more access to public lands. Those concerns echo ones raised during the first Trump administration, when the White House argued privatization would better serve the American public by improving visitor experiences and saving federal dollars.

    Whichever side prevails in the short term, the debate over the role of private interests within national parks like Yosemite will undoubtedly continue.

    Michael Childers 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. Yosemite embodies the long war over US national park privatization – https://theconversation.com/yosemite-embodies-the-long-war-over-us-national-park-privatization-261133

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  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures Major Settlement with Brown University

    Source: US Whitehouse

    SECURING HISTORIC SETTLEMENT WITH BROWN UNIVERSITY: Today, President Donald J. Trump secured a historic settlement with Brown University to restore fairness, merit, and safety in higher education.

    • The agreement ensures Brown will not engage in unlawful racial discrimination in admissions or university programming. Brown will provide access to all relevant data and information to rigorously assess compliance with its commitment to merit-based admissions. 
    • Brown will pay $50 million over ten years to state workforce development organizations that comply with anti-discrimination laws, supporting regional economic growth and career opportunities.
    • Brown will adopt the definitions of “male” and “female” from President Trump’s Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism” for women’s sports, programing, facilities, and housing.
    • Brown will not perform gender reassignment surgeries on minors or prescribe them puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones.
    • Brown will take steps to improve the campus climate for Jewish students and combat anti-Semitism.
    • The agreement reinstates all HHS grants, restores Brown’s eligibility for future grants and awards, and closes pending investigations into the university.
    • The agreement establishes a three-year monitoring period to ensure compliance with the agreement and federal laws.

    ADDRESSING DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES AT BROWN: The Trump Administration took action to address concerns about violations of federal civil rights laws, protecting students and upholding fairness in higher education.

    • The settlement comes after public outcry over incidents and civil rights investigations into Brown’s alleged discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.
    • Brown’s failure to address anti-Semitism and ensure fair treatment for all students raised urgent concerns about student safety and equal opportunities.
    • Brown’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs promoted unlawful race-based outcomes, violating anti-discrimination laws.
    • By securing this settlement, the Trump Administration is ensuring that Brown upholds merit-based standards, complies with federal law, and fosters an environment of academic excellence and safety for all students.

    ADVANCING REFORMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: President Trump is holding elite universities accountable, ensuring they prioritize fairness, merit, and American values.  

    • The Administration has challenged elite universities like Harvard, Columbia, and Brown for discriminating against students and staff, failing to protect students from violent anti-Semitism, and otherwise failing to be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.
    • President Trump signed a Proclamation to safeguard national security by suspending the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University. 
    • The Administration successfully negotiated a resolution with the University of Pennsylvania to keep men out of women’s sports and restore the trophies and records of women.
    • President Trump secured a more than $200 million settlement with Columbia University to resolve claims related to discriminatory practices, marking a significant win for accountability in academia.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: House Republicans Hit the Road to Spotlight Historic Wins for Americans in the One Big Beautiful Bill

    Source: US House of Representatives Republicans

    The following text contains opinion that is not, or not necessarily, that of MIL-OSI –

    WASHINGTON— House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) is hitting the road during the August district work period to kick off the One Big Beautiful Tour, highlighting the wins the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) delivers for working-class families, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, and every hardworking American.

    For the first leg of the tour, Chairwoman McClain—the top messenger for House Republicans—is partnering with the National Association of Manufacturers to visit small and mid-sized manufacturers in the districts of Reps. Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07), Rob Bresnahan, Jr. (PA-08), and Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07).

    “It’s a privilege to help carry the message of President Trump and the American people’s agenda,” Chairwoman McClain said. “I have been sharing with my constituents in Michigan all the incredible things the One Big Beautiful Bill delivers for them. As Conference Chair, I have the opportunity to join my colleagues during this district work period and share that message across the country. I’m excited to help bring our results directly to more people and communities.”

    “This once-in-a-lifetime historic tax bill is the investment of a generation in America’s manufacturers,” NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter said. “These important tax provisions provide businesses of all sizes—across every state and congressional district—with the certainty they need to invest, innovate and grow. The NAM is proud to partner with Chairwoman McClain to tell the story of how these pro-growth tax policies are improving the quality of life for Americans all across the country. Because when manufacturing wins, America wins.”

    “The newly signed reconciliation package delivers real results for the American people,” Rep. Kean said. “By eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, this bill helps workers keep more of what they earn and strengthens our local economy. I am looking forward to welcoming Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain and the National Association of Manufacturers to NJ-07 for a tour of Bihler of America in Phillipsburg. Their facility, known for its precision metal stamping and automated assembly systems, is a prime example of American manufacturing in action. This visit is a chance to see firsthand how the legislation is already making a difference for hardworking Americans and the manufacturers who employ them.”

    “I’m honored to welcome Chairwoman McClain to Northeastern Pennsylvania to highlight the real results House Republicans are delivering for our region,” Rep. Bresnahan said. “NEPA is built on the grit and work ethic of our families, small businesses, and local manufacturers that keep our region and our country moving forward. This reconciliation bill delivers meaningful wins for our community, and I’m proud to highlight how we are fighting in Washington for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania during our visit to i2M next week.”

    “I’m looking forward to welcoming Chairwoman McClain to the Greater Lehigh Valley to showcase the incredible work being done at AMPAL. For decades, AMPAL has supported our local economy and played a key role in powering American manufacturing, defense, and innovation,” Rep. Mackenzie said. “Her visit underscores our shared commitment to growing jobs, strengthening American manufacturing, and highlighting the investments of the One Big Beautiful Bill. I’m proud to work together to deliver results that move our region and our country forward.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: We expect rapid electricity demand growth in Texas and the mid-Atlantic

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    In-brief analysis

    July 31, 2025

    In our most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast nationwide U.S. retail electricity sales to ultimate customers will grow at an annual rate of 2.2% in both 2025 and 2026, compared with average growth of 0.8% between 2020 and 2024. The forecast reflects rapid electricity demand growth in Texas and several mid-Atlantic states, where the grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the PJM Interconnection, respectively. We expect electricity demand in ERCOT to grow at an average rate of 11% in 2025 and 2026 while the PJM region grows by 4%.

    After relatively little change in U.S. electricity demand between 2005 and 2020, retail sales of electricity have begun growing again, driven by rising demand in the commercial and industrial sectors. Developers have proposed numerous data centers and large manufacturing facilities that could consume significant amounts of electricity, and many of these projects are concentrated in the ERCOT and PJM regions. But, the timing of these facilities’ initial operations remains uncertain.

    We publish short-term forecasts for electricity sales to ultimate customers for each of the nine census divisions and for the entire United States. We directly incorporate ERCOT’s and PJM‘s monthly projections for power demand into our sales forecasts for the relevant regions. The portion of the power grid that ERCOT operates is located within the West South Central Census Division, which consists of Texas and three neighboring states: Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. In Texas, electricity is delivered to end-use customers by four large investor-owned utilities and several municipal utilities.

    We expect electricity demand within ERCOT to increase by 7% in 2025 and by 14% in 2026 when some large data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities come online. We expect retail electricity sales in the broader West South Central Census Division to grow by 5% this year and 9% in 2026.

    Dozens of utilities deliver electricity on the PJM Interconnection portion of the grid, which covers 13 states in parts of the Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, and East North Central Census Divisions. Within the area covered by PJM, the Northern Virginia market contains the highest concentration of data centers in the world, according to analysis conducted for Virginia’s state government. The growing demand for power by these new customers could increase electricity sales in PJM by 3% in 2025 and 4% in 2026.

    Principal contributor: Tyler Hodge

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Illumio Insights GA Delivers Industry’s First Solution to Contain Lateral Movement Across Hybrid, Multi-Cloud

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Illumio, the breach containment company, today announced the general availability of Illumio Insights, a powerful new product within the Illumio Platform. As the only platform that delivers a complete approach to reducing lateral movement risk, Illumio now combines AI-powered detection, real-time risk insights, and one-click containment with strategic segmentation for proactive protection. Built on an AI security graph, Illumio Insights transforms how security teams detect, prioritize, and contain threats across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

    During the private preview, early adopters uncovered a range of unexpected risks only made visible with Illumio Insights’ deep observability and behavior-based analytics. Among the most notable findings were widespread east-west traffic from unsanctioned geographies, misconfigured services exposing risky ports, and a surprising prevalence of unsanctioned usage of public LLMs.

    Building on these learnings, Illumio has introduced several additional powerful capabilities as part of the general availability release. New capabilities include:

    • Country Insights gives users a clear view of traffic and threats by geography, helping them quickly spot unusual activity and apply geo-specific policies to reduce risk.
    • Quarantine Dashboard enables one-click isolation of compromised systems, empowering teams to stop threats from spreading without needing advanced technical skills.
    • Resource View makes it even easier to investigate resources and enables teams to act fast to limit exposure.

    “Enterprises often struggle to maintain an accurate inventory of all devices, applications, and data flows across increasingly complex networks — especially with the rise of cloud services and hybrid environments,” said Dr. Chase Cunningham, DrZeroTrust. “Security graphs address this challenge by automatically ingesting data from diverse sources such as asset databases, cloud APIs, and network scans to build a dynamic, real-time map of infrastructure and dependencies. This living model not only enhances visibility but also strengthens security posture by revealing hidden risks and attack paths.”

    With these advancements, Illumio Insights delivers on its promise to help security teams detect, prioritize, and contain threats more effectively. It empowers teams to act on what they see with one-click containment, accelerating Zero Trust Segmentation at cloud scale. As part of Illumio’s breach containment platform, Insights helps organizations stop the spread of attacks before they escalate into full-blown disasters.

    “Illumio Insights makes a strong impression right out of the gate; it helps security teams manage complexity and emerging AI technologies to focus on what matters,” said Chris Konrad, Vice President Global Cyber, World Wide Technology. “Our clients gain actionable insights that build trust and drive better decisions because we are able to identify risks, swiftly.”

    “The biggest gap in cybersecurity today isn’t tools, it’s visibility. And that’s exactly what Illumio Insights delivers,” says Andrew Rubin, CEO and Founder of Illumio. “Illumio Insights changes the game. It gives security teams the visibility they’ve been missing, like what’s talking to what, where the risk is, and how to contain it fast. This isn’t about more alerts, it’s about actionable intelligence that helps organizations stay ahead of real threats.”

    Illumio Insights and Illumio Segmentation are integral components of the Illumio Platform, the first cybersecurity platform focused on breach containment. Illumio Insights helps organizations quickly identify and detect threats, while Illumio Segmentation contains breaches, protects critical assets, and enables instant response. Together, these solutions help identify and mitigate risks, contain attacks, and enhance overall cyber resilience.

    Visit Illumio at booth #5445 at Black Hat USA 2025 in Las Vegas, August 6–7, to see a live demo of Illumio Insights and learn more about Illumio’s breach containment offerings.

    Organizations can also sign up for a free trial or visit Illumio Insights to learn more. For ongoing updates and peer collaboration, cybersecurity professionals are invited to join the Illumiverse, Illumio’s community hub for exclusive insights and frontline threat intelligence.

    About Illumio  

    Illumio is the leader in ransomware and breach containment, redefining how organizations contain cyberattacks and enable operational resilience. Powered by an AI security graph, our breach containment platform identifies and contains threats across hybrid multi-cloud environments – stopping the spread of attacks before they become disasters.

    Recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™ for Microsegmentation, Illumio enables Zero Trust, strengthening cyber resilience for the infrastructure, systems, and organizations that keep the world running.

    Contact: comms-team@illumio.com  

    The enthusiasm around Illumio Insights continues to grow. In addition to the perspectives shared earlier, here are more reactions from industry leaders and partners:

    Delisa Stone, Partner, Cyber Security, Cloud and Resilience at Deloitte Technology and Transformation:

    “Illumio Insights offers unparalleled visibility and granular segmentation capabilities that empower organizations to strengthen their cyber resilience. We recommend Illumio Insights to our clients seeking to enhance their security posture with a scalable, adaptive solution that aligns with evolving regulatory and operational demands.”

    Stuart McCulloch, Cyber Security Product Manager from BT Global Services UK:

    “So happy for Insights! Illumio is an amazing platform, and the data on traffic flows provides critical information to understand your environment. However, you had to know what to look for, which could be time-consuming. Insights is the capability which now cuts to the chase. It directs you to key data, allowing you to make faster decisions on actions you need to take to better protect your environment.”

    Rico Petrillo, Lead Service Fulfillment and Technology at Swisscom CDN & Edge Security:

    “Illumio Insights is a powerful addition that helps us quickly understand a customer’s environment and kickstart meaningful conversations around Zero Trust. It makes it easier to demonstrate value early in a project and supports smoother, more effective segmentation over time. This means better outcomes for our clients—from day one through ongoing operations.”

    Yann Bruneau, Chief Solutions Officer at Squad Cybersolutions:

    “As an Illumio integration partner, we’re excited about the game-changing potential of Illumio Insights and its AI-powered security graph that fundamentally transforms how our clients understand and respond to threats across hybrid environments. What impresses us most is how Insights cuts through the noise of complex cloud environments to identify real risks at scale, making it simple for our customers to prioritize what truly matters and act decisively.”

    Soumak Roy, Vice President – Cybersecurity at SDG Corporation:

    “Illumio Insights brings a new level of clarity to cloud security. By revealing east-west traffic patterns and lateral movement risks at cloud scale—without agents—it equips organizations to proactively secure dynamic, distributed environments and accelerate Zero Trust initiatives with confidence.”

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Panorama Named Preferred Partner By Skyward to bring Best In Class AI and MTSS Solution

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    STEVENS POINT, Wis., July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Skyward, a school administration software provider committed to helping K-12 leaders spend less time on tasks and more time with students, is proud to announce Panorama Education, a K-12 education technology company that helps students achieve success in school and beyond, a preferred partner bringing AI-driven intervention planning and best in class evidence-based multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) to students across the nation.

    Skyward customers now have direct access to Panorama Solara, a FERPA-compliant AI platform built for K–12, and Panorama Student Success, a proven MTSS platform highly integrated with Skyward’s Qmlativ solution.

    As educators rapidly adopt generative AI at the classroom level to save time and personalize student learning, school districts are seeking effective system-wide AI solutions that uphold rigorous standards for data security, privacy, and compliance. At the same time, emerging mandates require districts to track and report interventions more comprehensively, yet many SIS platforms do not seamlessly integrate with the MTSS tools that make this possible.

    Now, with this new preferred partnership, districts using Skyward can enjoy a holistic integration with Panorama Solara (a FERPA-compliant AI platform built for K-12 districts) or Panorama Student Success (research-backed MTSS platform). “When districts can securely integrate tools that work together, they spend less time managing systems and more time supporting students,” said Dave Ilkka, vice president of new business development at Skyward.

    Skyward districts can now confidently use Panorama’s AI-powered intervention planning, MTSS reporting and analytics, and district-specific AI tools without needing to build costly custom integrations or dealing with unknown compliance or security risks. While Skyward’s Qmlativ platform includes a built-in MTSS solution, integrating with Panorama Student Success will bring districts deeper insights and additional functionality to better support every student and streamline how districts access and use data for AI and MTSS.

    “Through our partnership with Skyward, districts can now leverage high-quality, context-aware AI outputs and research-backed MTSS interventions while upholding the highest standards of student data privacy,” said John Ruff, director of strategic partnerships at Panorama Education. “This eliminates data silos, reduces manual work, and supports seamless state reporting and compliance.”

    Together, Skyward, and Panorama Education are committed to delivering a smarter, more secure path forward for districts—one that empowers educators, supports compliance, and drives better outcomes for every student.

    About Skyward: Since 1980, Skyward’s SIS and ERP solutions have helped more than 2,500 school districts save time, connect with families, and empower success. By blending advanced technology guided by actual users with world-class support delivered with a personal touch, Skyward is the clear choice for K-12 leaders who want to spend less time on tasks and more time with students. To learn more about the next generation of K-12 administration software, visit www.skyward.com.

    About Panorama: Panorama Education is an education technology company founded in 2012 that helps students achieve success in school and beyond, and gives schools and school districts a platform to hear what families, students and teachers need in the classroom. Educators use Panorama’s software platform to understand and support students across academics, attendance, behavior, and life skills development. District leaders use the same platform to track progress toward strategic goals, such as literacy, graduation, and school safety. Panorama is proud that its platform is used to support 15 million students in 25,000 schools and 2,000 districts across the United States. For more information, visit www.panoramaed.com. 

    Media Contact:
    Alexis Bushman
    Skyward, Inc.
    (715) 972-4397
    alexis.bushman@skyward.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Helping Our Neighbors: USGS Surveys Primary Drinking Water Source for the Town of Falmouth

    Source: US Geological Survey

    USGS conducted a mapping survey of Long Pond in Falmouth, Massachusetts, at the request of the Town to determine the total water volume of the reservoir, as well as the water volumes available based on varying water surface elevations. Long Pond is Falmouth’s primary source of drinking water.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Four Members and Associates of Paterson Based Gang Known as “4K” Indicted for Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering for their Role in a Shooting

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

    NEWARK, N.J. – Four members of the Paterson based neighborhood street gang known as “4K” were indicted for their roles in a shooting, Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    The Superseding Indictment charges Jatrail Avent, a/k/a “Curry” (“Avent”); Shequan Roberts, a/k/a “Shingy” (“Roberts”); Jahmir Moody, a/k/a “Jahdi” (“Moody”); and Wizair Johnson, a/k/a “Wababy” (“Johnson”), all of Paterson with one count of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. The Superseding Indictment also incorporates individual firearms charges, which were previously charged in the Indictment.

    These charges are the result of a long-running investigation coordinated between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, among other law enforcement agencies.

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

    Avent, Roberts, Moody, and Johnson are all members and associates of the neighborhood based street gang known as “4K,” which operates in the area of Rosa Parks Boulevard near Lyon Street, Keen Street, and Mercer Streets in Paterson, New Jersey (the “4K Enterprise”).  These members and associates of the 4K Enterprise have engaged in numerous criminal acts in furtherance of their gang, including shootings, robberies, homicides, and drug trafficking. Members and associates of the 4K Enterprise have engaged in acts of violence against members of rival gangs.

    On or about November 6, 2022, Avent, Roberts, Moody, and Johnson opened fire on members of a rival gang, called the 230 Boyz, who were inside a van, as part of a dispute between 4K and the 230 Boyz.

    The defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the violent crime in aid of racketeering charge, and a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison on the firearm offense, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Both offenses carry a maximum fine of $250,000.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Habba credited law enforcement members with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr.; the New Jersey State Police, Gangs and Organized Crime North Unit, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Thomas Adamo; the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Officer In Charge Patrick Murray, with the investigation leading to yesterday’s charges.

    This case is part of the Paterson Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), which was formed in 2020 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Paterson’s Department of Public Safety for the purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Paterson. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals, the Paterson Department of Public Safety, the Paterson Police Department, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, N.J. State Parole, Bergen County Jail, N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, and N.J. Department of Corrections.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Sussman and Dan Rosenblum of the U.S Attorney’s Office Narcotics/OCDETF Unit in Newark.

    The charges and allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

                                                               ###

    Defense counsel:

    Jatrail Avent – Michael T Simon

    Shequan Roberts – Richard J. Verde

    Jahmir Moody – Ernesto Cerimele

    Wizair Johnson – Mary Toscano 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Carbajal Statement on Trump Administration Revoking Approval of Ocean Areas Designated for Wind Power

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

    Carbajal Statement on Trump Administration Revoking Approval of Ocean Areas Designated for Wind Power

    Washington, July 30, 2025

    U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) released the statement below following the Trump administration’s decision to revoke approval for millions of acres of ocean to be set aside for offshore wind development. 

    “This is another backwards policy decision by the Trump administration that will hurt our wind energy sector and the thousands of jobs it supports,” said Rep. Carbajal. “Wind power is no longer theoretical—it’s vital to our economy and energy security. Undermining renewables not only hurts American workers and businesses, it hands the future of clean energy to global competitors like China. This is an America Last policy approach.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: PREPARED REMARKS: Sanders Forces Vote to Stop Arms Sales to Israel Amid Starvation in Gaza

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, July 30 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today rose to force a vote on two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) to block offensive arms sales to Israel in light of the daily civilian massacres and unfolding famine created by the Netanyahu government’s policies. The JRD is the only formal mechanism available to Congress to prevent an arms sale noticed by the administration from advancing.

    Sanders’ remarks introducing the vote today, as prepared for delivery, are below and can be watched live HERE:

    M. President, let me begin by stating what this debate is about, and what it is not about. It is not about whether anyone in the Senate disagrees that Hamas is a terrorist organization, which began this war with a brutal terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages. Everyone agrees with that.

    The International Criminal Court was right to indict the leaders of Hamas as war criminals for those atrocities. There is also, I believe, no disagreement as to whether or not Israel had a right to defend itself, like any other country suffering an attack like that. Clearly, it did.

    And, in a certain sense, this debate is not really about Israel. It is about the United States of America, and whether we will abide by U.S. and international law, or whether we will continue to contribute billions of dollars to an extremist government in Israel, which has caused an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in Gaza. This debate is over whether or not the United States of America will have any moral credibility on the international scene. Whether or not we will be able, with a straight face, to condemn other countries who commit barbaric acts if we don’t stand up tonight. That is what we are debating.

    M. President, the vast majority of the American people and the world community understand that the Netanyahu government in Israel has gone well beyond defending itself from Hamas. Over the last 21 months, it has waged an all-out, illegal, immoral and horrific war of annihilation against the Palestinian people. 

    This war has already killed some 60,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 143,000 — most of whom are women, children and the elderly. In a population of just over two million, more than 200,000 people have been killed or wounded since this war began. That, M. President, is 10% of the population of Gaza. 

    M. President, to put that into scale so we as Americans can understand the enormity of what is happening there, if that kind of destruction happened in the United States — if 10% of our population were killed or wounded in war, it would mean that 34 million of us would have been killed or wounded.

    The toll on Gaza’s children is unspeakable, and it is literally hard to imagine. The United Nations reports that more than 18,000 children have been killed since this war began. Just this morning, the Washington Post published a list of all these children’s names, and I ask that these names be entered into the Congressional Record.

    I should mention that more than 12,000 of these children were under the age of 12, and more than 3,000 children in Gaza have had one or more limbs amputated. That is how this war has impacted the children in Gaza. But it’s not just the horrific loss of life that we are seeing.

    New satellite imagery shows that Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment has destroyed 70% of all structures in Gaza. The UN estimates that 92% of the housing units have been damaged or destroyed. Most of the population is now living in tents or other makeshift structures.

    And let us not forget, over the last 21 months, these people, most of whom are poor, have been displaced time and time again — told to go here, told to go there, moved around with often no possessions other than the clothing on their backs.

    M. President, the health care system in Gaza has been destroyed. Most of the territory’s hospitals and primary health care facilities have been bombed. More than 1,500 health care workers have been killed, as well as 336 UN staff.

    Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has been totally devastated, including almost 90% of water and sanitation facilities. Raw sewage now runs all over Gaza. Most of the roads have been destroyed. Gaza’s educational system has been obliterated. Hundreds of schools have been bombed, as has every single one of Gaza’s 12 universities. And there has been no electricity in Gaza for 21 months. 

    M. President, all of this is a horror unto itself. But in recent months, the Netanyahu government’s extermination of Gaza has made an unspeakable and horrible situation even worse. 

    From March 2 to May 19, Israel did not allow a single shipment of humanitarian aid into Gaza — no food, no water, no fuel and no medical supplies for a distressed population of two million people over a period of 11 weeks. Since then, Israel has allowed a trickle of aid to get into Gaza, but nowhere near enough to meet the enormous needs of a population besieged for so long. 

    M. President, when you cut off all food to a population, what happens is not surprising. People starve to death. And that is exactly what Israeli policy has deliberately done — it is causing mass starvation and famine.

    Children and other vulnerable people are dying in increasing numbers. In the last two weeks, dozens of young children have died from starvation. Starving mothers cannot breastfeed their infants, and no formula is available, and certainly no clean water to make it, in any case. Hospitals have run out of nutritional treatments, and doctors and nurses who are already treating the desperate, they themselves are going hungry and are fainting from hunger. 

    The World Food Programme says that the food crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row.” 

    Just yesterday, the gold-standard UN-backed food monitoring group, the IPC, issued a new report saying: “The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.”  

    When mass death from starvation begins, it is difficult to reverse. Aid groups say it will soon be too late to stop a wave of preventable deaths in Gaza, all of which is the direct result of the Israeli government’s policies. 

    M. President, what I’m going to describe now is gruesome, but I think it is important for us to understand what is happening to the children in Gaza.

    Mark Brauner, an American doctor who spent in two weeks in Gaza in June described the situation: “a lot of the children have already passed the point of no return where their physiology has eroded to the point where even refeeding could potentially cause death itself. The gut lining has started to auto-digest and it will no longer have adequate absorptive capacity for water or for nutrition. Death is unfortunately imminent for probably thousands of children.”

    That’s an American physician who was in Gaza in June.

    M. President, what the extremist Netanyahu government is doing now is not an effort to win a war. There is no military purpose in starving thousands and thousands of children. Let us be clear: This is not an effort to win a war, this is an effort to destroy a people.

    Having already killed or wounded more than 200,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, the extremist Israeli government is using mass starvation to engineer the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. They are trying to drive a desperate people out of their homeland, to God knows where. 

    This is not my speculation; this what Israeli ministers and officials are saying themselves.

    A few months ago, the Finance Minister vowed that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed.” Just last week, another current Israeli minister said: “All Gaza will be Jewish… the government is pushing for Gaza being wiped out. Thank God, we are wiping out this evil.” Another Likud member of the Knesset and former minister called for “Erasing all of Gaza from the face of the earth.”

    And in the West Bank, we see this agenda being carried out clearly and methodically, with more than 500,000 Israeli settlers now illegally occupying land integral to any future Palestinian state. Earlier this month, the Knesset even approved a non-binding motion in favor of formally annexing the West Bank.

    This slow-motion annexation is backed by violence: Israeli security forces and settler extremists have killed thousands of Palestinians in recent years. Israeli settlers brutally beat a young American to death earlier this month, the seventh American killed in the West Bank since 2022. Despite a demand from President Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, no one has been held accountable for these deaths.

    M. President, people around the world are outraged by what is going on in Gaza right now, and countries are increasingly demanding that Netanyahu’s government stop what they are doing.

    France and Canada have said they will recognize a Palestinian state. The United Kingdom has said it will do so, as well, if Israel does not immediately end this war and surge humanitarian aid. And at the UN last month, 149 countries voted for a ceasefire resolution condemning the use of starvation as a weapon of war and demanding an end to Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid. But it is not just the international community. 

    Just yesterday, Gallup, one of the best polling organizations in our country, released a new poll that shows that just 32% of Americans support Israel’s military action in Gaza, while 60% oppose it. To my Democratic colleagues here in the Senate, I would point out that only 8% of Democrats support this war, and just 25% of independents. And to my Republican colleagues, I would point out that more and more Republicans are beginning to speak out against the atrocities of this war and the fact that billions of billions of taxpayer dollars are going to a government in Israel waging an illegal war. 

    Further, M. President, a recent Economist/YouGov poll shows that just 15% of the American people support increasing military aid to Israel, while 35% support decreasing military aid to Israel or stopping it entirely. Just 8% of Democrats support increasing military aid to Israel. 

    M. President, the American people are haunted by the images coming out of Gaza.

    These are desperate children with pots in their hands, crying, begging for food in order to stay alive. That’s what the American people are seeing every night on TV, on the internet and in the newspapers. These are emaciated children, their bodies, in some cases, barely more than skeletons. The American people are seeing miles and miles of rubble where cities and towns once stood. They are seeing innocent people shot down while they wait on line to get food while they are starving.

    M. President, despite these war crimes, carried out daily in plain view, the United States has provided more than $22 billion for Israel’s military operations since this war began. One estimate, based on Brown University research, calculates that the United States has paid for 70% of the Gaza war. In other words, American taxpayer dollars are being used to starve children, bomb schools, kill civilians and support the cruelty of Netanyahu and his criminal ministers. And that, M. President, is why I have brought these two resolutions of disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel. 

    S.J.Res.34 would prohibit the U.S.-taxpayer financed $675.7 million sale of thousands of 1,000-pound bombs and many thousands of JDAM guidance kits.

    And S.J.Res.41 would prohibit the sale of tens of thousands of fully automatic assault rifles.

    These arms sales clearly violate the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act, which prohibit sending arms to countries that violate international law by killing civilians and blocking humanitarian aid — and very few people doubt that that is exactly what Israel is doing. If you want to obey the law, vote for these resolutions. 

    The rifles in question will go to arm a police force overseen by far-right, extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has long advocated for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians from the region, who was convicted of support for terrorism by an Israeli court, and who has distributed weapons to violent settlers in the West Bank. Ben-Gvir has formed new police units comprised of extremist settlers and has boasted about how many weapons he has distributed to vigilante settlers in the West Bank. And you want to give him more rifles? That’s what one of these resolutions is about.

    These are rifles the Biden administration held back over fears they would be used by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank to terrorize Palestinians and push them from their homes and villages.

    M. President, U.S. taxpayers have spent many, many billions of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government. Enough is enough. 

    Americans want this to end. They do not want to be complicit in an unfolding famine and daily civilian massacres. And we here in Congress tonight have the power to act. No more talks, no more great speeches. But tonight, we have the power to act — the power to force Netanyahu and his extremist government to end this slaughter.

    The time is long overdue for Congress to use the leverage we have — tens of billions in arms and military aid — to demand that Israel end these atrocities.

    At a time when Israeli soldiers are shooting civilians trying to get food aid on a near-daily basis, when extremist settlers are pushing Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank, and when Gaza is witnessing mass starvation as a result of Israeli government policy, the United States should not and must not be providing more weapons to enable these atrocities. 

    M. President, whatever happens tonight, history will condemn those who fail to act in the face of these horrors.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Helps Lead Effort Calling for Large‑Scale Expansion of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Return of Hostages, and Resumption of Negotiations to End the War

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D‑NV) joined Senators Schiff, Schatz, and Schumer in leading a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff raising alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis and starvation in Gaza. The letter urges a large‑scale expansion of humanitarian aid, calls for immediately bringing all the hostages home, endorses  a return to the negotiating table to end the war, and supports a permanent end to Hamas rule in Gaza.
    “The acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza is also unsustainable and worsens by the day. Hunger and malnutrition are widespread, and, alarmingly, deaths due to starvation, especially among children, are increasing,” wrote the Senators. “The ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ has failed to address the deepening humanitarian crisis and contributed to an unacceptable and mounting civilian death toll around the organization’s sites. To prevent the situation from getting even worse, we urge you to advocate for a large-scale expansion of humanitarian assistance and services throughout the Gaza Strip, including through the use of experienced multilateral bodies and NGOs that can get life-saving aid directly to those in need and prevent diversion.” 
    “The Israeli hostages, held in Gaza by Hamas since their brutal attack on Israel on October 7th, have suffered far too long, as have their families. It is imperative that those still living be brought home as soon as possible, before more perish as the war drags on. And it is essential that the remains of those presumed killed – including Americans Omer Neutra and Itay Chen – be reunited with their loved ones. After many months of despair, it is long past time to bring all of the hostages home,” wrote the Senators. 
    The full text of the letter is available HERE.
    Senator Rosen has been leading the push for Hamas to release the remaining hostages and has been calling for increased humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Gaza. As Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Near East, Senator Rosen led a hearing focused on the Middle East, where she raised the importance of humanitarian access and a negotiated ceasefire that brings the hostages home. Earlier this year, she traveled to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, and Iraq, discussing the war in Gaza and humanitarian aid in several of her diplomatic engagements. Senator Rosen also led a bipartisan, bicameral resolution demanding the safe release of hostages still held by Hamas. In January, she applauded the agreement between Israel and Hamas to pause fighting and secure hostage releases.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Padilla Questions Former AG Eric Holder on Republican Push for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas During Spotlight Forum on Voter Suppression

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

    WATCH: Padilla Questions Former AG Eric Holder on Republican Push for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas During Spotlight Forum on Voter Suppression

    Office of Special Counsel Confirms Hatch Act Investigation Following Padilla Letter

    Holder: “It’s both a sign of weakness and a sign of fear … The President and his party are afraid of the voters, and they are trying to manipulate the maps in Texas so that they can rig the election in 2026.”

    WATCH: Padilla questions Attorney General Holder and Professor Levitt on Republican power grab for five additional Texas congressional seats
     
    Watch the full spotlight forum, including witness opening statements and questioning, here.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and California’s former Secretary of State, convened a spotlight forum titled “Protecting the Future of American Democracy: Fighting a Surge in Voter Suppression.” During the forum, he questioned former Attorney General Eric Holder and Loyola Law School Professor Justin Levitt on the Trump Administration’s efforts in Texas and other states to implement mid-decade racial redistricting for partisan political purposes.

    The spotlight forum — co-led by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — came as Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives released their new gerrymandered maps, caving to pressure from political appointees at Trump’s White House and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in an effort to create five additional Republican congressional seats.

    Padilla highlighted his recent letter to the independent Office of Special Counsel demanding an investigation into senior Trump Administration officials for carrying out the President’s partisan scheme to racially gerrymander Texas and other states, calling it “a clear violation of the Hatch Act.” In response to Padilla’s letter, the Hatch Act Unit at the Office of Special Counsel confirmed they will open a file to address this potential violation.

    While questioning Attorney General Holder, Padilla called the Trump-directed Texas redistricting “nothing short of a power grab” and emphasized that Republicans are “trying to tip the scales because they’re afraid of the response of the people in the 2026 election” to their extreme agenda. Holder further underscored the stakes of the Trump Administration’s partisan attempt at a racial gerrymander and highlighted an ongoing lawsuit on Texas’ previous gerrymander. He emphasized that nearly 90 percent of Texas’ population growth that recently granted them additional congressional seats came from people of color moving to Texas, yet the state previously added two majority white congressional districts.

    • PADILLA: Attorney General Holder, what is your reaction to seeing a President of the United States — it’s not a dog whistle, it’s not saying the quiet part out loud, they’re using bull horns now — publicly call for partisan advantage through mid-decade racial gerrymandering and redistricting from the White House grounds, and is the Department of Justice appropriate to be party to this?
    • HOLDER: Yeah. I mean, it’s both a sign of weakness and a sign of fear, as I indicated before. The President and his party are afraid of the voters, and they are trying to manipulate the maps in Texas so that they can rig the election in 2026, and people need to understand: this is not just a Texas problem. I mean, you know, the margin in the House of Representatives is now, I guess, three seats or so. What they’re trying to get is five seats out of Texas with the thought that that will be an insurance policy to somehow keep an unpopular party with unpopular policies, unpopular candidates in power in the United States House of Representatives. And to have a President of the United States make that kind of statement, I mean, it’s not, it’s as you say. He’s saying the quiet part out loud. He’s not saying that there’s a basis for this other than just “give me five seats so that I will have those protections that we need.” […]
    • HOLDER: I think this is all about power. It’s all about the acquisition and the maintenance of power. It’s about the fear that they have of the people. And I think that this body, this committee and all Americans have to do all that we can to oppose that which they are trying to do, which is, at base, fundamentally un-American.

    Padilla also asked Professor Levitt about the Trump Administration’s potential Hatch Act violations as a result of their partisan redistricting push. Levitt called the redistricting attempt “flatly unlawful,” emphasizing the Supreme Court’s 9-0 ruling that excessive partisan gerrymanders are unconstitutional and criticizing the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s recent letter to Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The DOJ letter purports that they have “serious concerns regarding the legality” of four majority-minority districts represented by Democrats, giving Texas a pretext for their gerrymander, despite the state previously defending their district lines and arguing for several years that they had utilized a race-blind process for developing them.

    • PADILLA: In addition to the disregard, disrespect to voters of this whole exercise, as I mentioned in my opening statement, there’s a genuine significant concern about Hatch Act violations when the President of the United States and those around him are clearly utilizing their position and resources for partisan political purposes. Professor Levitt, are we on track here? Can you share your thoughts?
    • LEVITT: Yeah, lamentably, I think we are, Ranking Member Padilla. To have the Texas legislators violate their oaths of office by acting unconstitutionally and unlawfully to erect an excessive partisan gerrymander — the Supreme Court said nine to nothing in 2019 that excessive partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. It is inconsistent with democratic principles. So, to have a number of Texas legislators about to violate their own oaths that they have sworn is alarming. I share Attorney General Holder’s concern that to have that cheer-led from the lawn of the White House and from the Department of Justice is even more alarming. It is both unconstitutional and unlawful. You have passed, Congress has passed, laws that prohibit the use of public office, including the offices in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for any partisan purpose. And the letter that was sent to Texas that Texas relied on a month after disclaiming exactly the same arguments was such shoddy pretext that it is impossible to understand that letter as anything other than a partisan act, and issued from the Department of Justice that’s flatly unlawful.

    Video of Padilla’s first round of questioning is available here, and his second round of questioning is available here.

    Padilla’s opening remarks from today’s spotlight forum are available here.

    In addition to Attorney General Holder and Professor Levitt, Democratic Senators also heard today from North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Allison Riggs and Vet Voice Foundation Chief Executive Officer Janessa Goldbeck on systematic attacks on the right to vote.

    Read Attorney General Eric Holder’s opening testimony here.

    Read Professor Justin Levitt’s opening testimony here and his full written testimony here.

    Read Associate Justice Allison Riggs’ opening testimony here.

    Read Vet Voice CEO Janessa Goldbeck’s opening testimony here. The Rules Committee Democrats’ spotlight forum series continues to underscore the dangers of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attacks on election security, integrity, and funding required to smoothly administer elections and protect American democracy. The first spotlightforum in May focused on Congressional Republicans’ Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order, both of which threaten to disenfranchise millions of eligible American citizens.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Veterans Legislation Passes Out of Committee, Heads to Senate Floor for Final Vote

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) legislation, the Veterans Homecare Choice Act—which aims to expand care options for veterans by allowing caregiver registries to qualify for the Community Care Network (CCN)—passed out of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The legislation would give veterans greater flexibility in choosing home health services—such as nursing care, health aides, or companion support—from independent professionals. The legislation effectively reverses limitations introduced by the 2018 VA MISSION Act, restoring access to homecare providers operating through caregiver registries and enabling reimbursement through the VA.

    “When our country’s heroes need medical care in their own homes, they should be able to decide what kind of service is best for them,” said Sen. Tuberville. “This bill fixes an obvious error that’s forcing veterans into one-size-fits-all homecare programs instead of giving them the options they deserve. Having care in the home is an important and personal decision. I’m glad to see this legislation pass out of committee and head to the floor for a vote.Veterans deserve the freedom to choose a homecare provider they trust, and they are one step closer to being able to make that decision.”

    In addition to the Veterans Homecare Choice Act, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed the Veterans ACCESS Act, which included elements of the Ensuring Continuity in Veterans Health Act, legislation Sen. Tuberville introduced earlier this year. The Ensuring Continuity in Veterans Health Actallows veterans to continue accessing community care for services they already receive, prevents disruptions for veterans receiving specialized treatments from community care providers, and provides veterans with the most convenient providers.

    MORE:

    Tuberville, Moran Introduce Legislation to Give Cost-of-Living Increase to Veterans

    Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Help Disabled Veterans

    Tuberville, VA Secretary Doug Collins Discuss Streamlining Processes to Improve Outcomes for Veterans

    Tuberville, Lee Introduce Legislation to Repurpose Woke USAID Funding to Improve Veterans’ Homes

    Tuberville, Boozman Introduce Legislation to Support Defrauded Veterans

    Tuberville Reintroduces Legislation to Expand Treatment Options for Veterans

    Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Ensure Community Care Access for Veterans

    Tuberville, Moran Introduce Legislation to Improve Access to Care for Veterans

    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DelBene Underscores Risks to Medicare & Medicaid at Redmond Senior Care Facility

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)

    Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) visited Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living as part of a National Day of Action to raise awareness about harmful cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. DelBene met with facility staff to discuss how the recently passed Big Ugly Bill is already affecting care and creating uncertainty for providers and patients alike.

    The Big Ugly Bill slashed over $1 trillion from the U.S. health care system, putting more than 15 million Americans at risk of losing health coverage and triggering deep cuts to both Medicare and Medicaid. In Washington state, hospitals could lose an estimated $662 million annually. The bill also weakened Medicare through a half-trillion-dollar sequester and stricter eligibility rules for immigrants, while reducing Medicaid payments to providers and putting more than 500 nursing homes nationwide at risk of closure.

    “Medicare and Medicaid are lifelines for Washington seniors, working families, and people with disabilities. Congress should be strengthening, not dismantling, these vital programs,” said DelBene. “I heard directly from caregivers and residents today who are worried about what these cuts mean for their future. I’ll keep fighting to protect access to affordable, high-quality care for every Washingtonian.”

    “By slashing Medicaid, we aren’t just cutting a budget line- we are cutting off lifelines for seniors who depend on skilled nursing care to survive with dignity. These are not just numbers on a page- they are people, families, and futures,” said Sravanthi Dasari, DPT, Administrator for Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living.

    “If we can’t provide adequate therapy, that stroke patient may never walk again. If we can’t maintain proper staffing ratios, that confused resident might fall and break a hip,” said Victor, MDS Coordinator for Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living. “These aren’t just statistics in a budget – they’re real people whose highest level of functioning and quality of life depend on the assessments I complete and the funding those assessments generate. Medicare and Medicaid funding doesn’t just pay bills; it preserves hope and human dignity.”

    “The Big Beautiful Bill will be devastating for everyone, especially for nursing home residents which will end up having ramifications for every US citizen, because the quality of health care will be diminished and people will end up leaving the profession,” said Joe Pergamo DPT/DOR for Redmond Care and Rehabilitation Center and Redmond Heights Senior Living. “Thank you for being a voice for the unheard population. The time to act is now so we could prevent what will be devastating to people who rely on health care services. It would end up having ripple effects and long-lasting decline. People will end up going without much needed healthcare and as a result get weaker and sicker.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Sweden and US strengthen cooperation on research, innovation and education

    Source: Government of Sweden

    To improve the conditions for cooperation between Swedish and American universities, research institutions and businesses on research, innovation and education, Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States of America.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vasquez condemns Gaza starvation policy, calls for end to military aid to Israel until ceasefire is reached

    Source: US Representative Gabe Vasquez’s (NM-02)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 30, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) released the following statement on the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza. 

    “The intentional starvation of innocent children in Gaza is undeniable and abhorrent. It is unacceptable that President Netanyahu openly denies the effect of his own cruel actions in a way that clearly flies in the face of what millions around the world have seen with their own eyes. This stark violation of human rights calls on us to do everything we can to protect the lives of these innocent children.”

    “The administration must use every diplomatic tool possible to put an end to this atrocity and immediately pause all military assistance until a ceasefire is reached. Additionally, sanctions must be placed on Israeli officials who have ordered or condoned the killing of innocent civilians. The United States must hold those who have contributed to the killing of innocent people — including children — accountable, and President Trump must use his power to bring an end to this conflict and humanitarian crisis,” said Vasquez.

    As the first member of the New Mexico delegation to call for a ceasefire, Rep. Vasquez has continued to push the administration to ensure innocent civilians in Gaza are not subjected to mass starvation and indiscriminate killing on the American taxpayer’s dime. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray, Health Insurance Marketplace Experts Lay Out How Republicans’ Refusal to Extend Health Care Tax Credits Will Spike Premiums & Health Care Costs for Millions

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    KFF: Individual market insurers are requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years; Out-of-pocket premium payments will go up by 75 percent if the tax credits expire

    In Washington state, expiration of health care tax credits will kick 80,000 people off health coverage

    Senator Murray has been fighting for months to extend tax credits that help working families afford health care and has introduced legislation to make them permanent

    ***Watch full press conference HERE; download HERE***

    Washington, D.C. —Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a virtual press conference with Jeanne Lambrew, Director of Health Care Reform at The Century Foundation and a former senior official in the Obama administration official who worked on the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and Washington Health Benefit Exchange CEO Ingrid Ulrey, to discuss—and sound the alarm on—how Republicans’ refusal to extend critical ACA tax credits that help families and small businesses who purchase their own health insurance on the marketplace will spike premiums and raise health care costs for people in Washington state and across the country.

    At the end of this year, enhanced premium tax credits Congress enacted to lower the cost of health care for working people who buy health insurance on their own are set to expire. For months, Republicans have refused to extend them, including recently as part of their partisan reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—which was explicitly designed to extend expiring tax credits, and included trillions of dollars in tax breaks for billionaires.

    If Republicans continue to refuse to extend the health care tax credits, 22 million Americans across the country—including more than 216,000 people in Washington state—will see their health care costs and premiums skyrocket in January. The expiration of these tax credits is estimated to drive up out-of-pocket premium payments by an average of over 75 percent for Americans who rely on ACA health plans for coverage, and these higher costs will push 4.2 million people off their health coverage over the next decade—including an estimated 80,000 people in Washington state. Right now, health insurers and state regulators are finalizing premium rates for next year, and marketplace insurers are requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years. In Washington state, health insurers have already requested to hike their rates by one fifth—people who purchase health insurance through the marketplace may see their premiums rise between 4.7 percent and 23.6 percent, depending on the plan. A fact sheet from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange on the enhanced premium tax credits and what their expiration would mean for people in Washington state is HERE.

    “While the health care tax credits Republicans refused to extend may not expire until the end of the year, insurers are setting their rates right now, and when credits expire—rates go higher. Marketplace insurers are right now requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years. In Washington state, health insurers have already requested to hike their rates by over 20 percent, in no small part because of what Republicans have done—or rather, refused to do,” said Senator Murray. “When premiums spike next year, I am going to make sure everyone knows it’s because Republicans chose to make health care more expensive. Not on accident. Not for reasons unknown. But because Republicans decided to do nothing and let costs skyrocket. Because Republicans decided we can afford to shovel trillions of dollars towards tax breaks for billionaires, but we can’t afford to help working families get health care.”

    Senator Murray played a critical role in passing the enhanced premium tax credits in the American Rescue Plan in 2021 and extending them in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, and she has been fighting for months to make sure these important health care tax credits don’t expire, including cosponsoring legislation—the Health Care Affordability Act—that would make them permanent.

    “The expiring ACA Marketplace tax credits are critical to keeping meaningful coverage within reach for millions of Americans,” said Jeanne Lambrew, Director of Health Care Reform at The Century Foundation and a former senior official in the Obama administration official who worked on the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “Unless Republicans come to the table to lower costs for families by extending these tax credits, Americans across the country are going to see their premiums skyrocket—especially in rural areas and places where access to health care is already challenging.”

    “Enhanced premium tax credits help more than 216,000 Washingtonians afford health coverage and are especially important for older and rural residents, small business owners and self-employed people in our state. If Congress allows them to expire, people will be angry and upset by steep premium increases starting in January 2026. Many will drop coverage and everyone in our state will feel the pain of ripple effects across our health care system and economy,” said Ingrid Ulrey, Chief Executive Officer for Washington Health Benefit Exchange. “These tax credits work. They help make coverage more affordable for working people, families and small businesses all over the state.”

    Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

    “Thank you all for joining me today. You know, Republicans have been trying to tell some big fat lies about their big, awful bill, especially when it comes to health care.

    “So, we are here to set the record straight, and to give America a stark warning. When Republicans lined up behind Trump, and jammed through a bill they hardly liked, and hardly even read—they didn’t just vote to throw trillions of dollars in tax cuts at some of the richest people in the world, they also voted to throw working families to the wolves and throw America’s health care into chaos.

    “From cutting Medicaid, something they first said they weren’t doing and now are pretending they want to undo. To shuttering hospitals, something they first said would not happen and then said they could cover with a Band-Aid.

    “To approving Trump’s sabotage of the ACA marketplace something that will kick millions of families off their coverage.

    “To refusing to extend health care tax credits, something that will send premiums skyrocketing, and push another 4.2 million people off their insurance.

    “Let’s be clear about just how big of a deal that is. Right now, these tax credits—passed entirely by Democrats—are saving millions of people across the country hundreds of dollars a month!

    “In Washington state, we have over 200,000 people—who are saving around $1,300 a year on average.

    “But instead of extending that support for working class families, instead of putting health care first, Republicans put billionaires first.

    “And now families are going to be the one stuck footing the cost for Republicans’ big, ugly bill. And unfortunately, the consequences of Republican actions—which they keep trying to deny—are coming sooner than Republicans might think.

    “Because, while the health care tax credits they refused to extend may not expire until the end of this year, insurers are setting their rates right now, and when credits expire—rates go higher.

    “Marketplace insurers are right now requesting the largest premium increases in more than 5 years.

    “In Washington state, health insurers have already requested to hike their rates by over 20 percent, in no small part because of what Republicans have done—or rather, refused to do.

    “Combined with Republican ACA sabotage? That could push as many as 150,000 people off their health care coverage across our state. To say nothing of the people who will get pushed off Medicaid in 2027 and beyond.

    “This is going to be catastrophic—which is why it’s so important we sound the alarm for families about what is coming down the pike.

    “And I want to sound the alarm for Republicans too—if you don’t come to the table ASAP to fix this, you are not going to be able to spin your way out of this reality.  

    “When over 15 million people lose their health care due to Republican health care cuts and sabotage, you are not going to convince them everything is A-Okay.

    “When hospitals shutter because Republicans gutted their funding, you can’t just pretend everything is sunshine and nothing is wrong.

    “When insurance companies jack up premiums across the country and millions of families lose the health care tax credits that saved them thousands of dollars because Republicans refused to lift a finger, you’re not going to get by, by sticking your heads in the sand.

    “You are the ones who put American health care on this collision course. You may try to ignore the warnings, you may try to ignore the voices back home speaking out, but you’re not going to be able to avoid the responsibility.

    “When premiums spike next year, I am going to make sure everyone knows it’s because Republicans chose to make health care more expensive.

    “Not on accident. Not for reasons unknown. But because Republicans decided to do nothing and let costs skyrocket.

    “Because Republicans decided we can afford to shovel trillions of dollars towards tax breaks for billionaires, but we can’t afford to help working families get their health care.

    “They couldn’t be more wrong.

    “So, I’m really glad to be joined today by two speakers who are experts on the ACA tax credits and they can lay out what their expiration will mean for families in Washington state and across the country.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Speaks Out Against Nomination of Radical, Unqualified Conspiracy Theorist Joe Kent Ahead of Confirmation Vote to Lead National Counterterrorism Center

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks on Senate Floor***

    Washington, D.C. —Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke out on the Senate floor against the nomination of Joe Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. Senator Murray slammed Kent for his lack of experience and long history of promoting conspiracy theories and white supremacist views, and urged her colleagues to vote against his nomination.

    Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered on the Senate Floor, are below:

    “Thank you, M. President.

    “The National Counterterrorism Center plays a crucial role keeping our country safe. The agency is responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence to help protect our nation from terrorist threats. It is sober, serious work that requires a level head and a commitment to putting the mission before politics.

    “Which is why I am deeply alarmed that Republicans are charging ahead to put it under the thumb of a conspiracy theorist who espouses white supremacist views, and is patently unqualified for this important role in just about every way imaginable. You are supposed to pick people with qualifications, but just about everything we know about Joe Kent is disqualifying for this role and alarming.

    “There’s his track record chumming it up with white supremacists, from discussing campaign strategy with avowed white supremacist Nick Fuentes, to giving an interview to a guy who has defended Hitler, to rallying with the founder of a far-right paramilitary group, and let’s not forget the Proud Boy that he hired as a consultant!

    “And it’s not just his connections, there’s his own deeply bigoted statements like: claiming Islam is ‘based on conquest at its core,’ and pushing racist ‘replacement theory’ rhetoric.

    “That is alarming stuff. Let’s be frank here: These are white supremacist views—and they should have absolutely no place in our federal government.

    “And then there is his track record of politicizing intelligence, like when he was caught red handed pushing to change intelligence reports—facts be damned—so they would agree with Trump and attack Biden.

    “Joe Kent also has a track record of peddling conspiracies and attacking law enforcement, from saying our country is at war with ‘leftist cabal,’ or calling to completely defund the FBI and ATF, agencies that keep Americans safe from foreign and domestic threats, or pushing the offensive and false conspiracy that the January 6th insurrection was somehow a deep state plot.

    “You want to know who in the federal government was behind the insurrection? How about we start with man in the White House who promised to march to the Capitol with them? How about we start with the President who calls rioters patriots? How about we start with the guy who pardoned violent cop beaters—en masse?

    “If you cannot be honest with the American people about January 6th—you have no business being trusted with protecting our democracy. It should be that simple.

    “And let’s not forget—Joe Kent was on the infamous Signal-gate chat—where classified attack plans were discussed with no regard for security, or law, not to mention the safety of our servicemembers.

    “You know what he had to say about that? He said no classified information was discussed. That was the answer he gave at his Senate confirmation hearing.

    “Now it’s obvious that answer was a complete lie. Last week, the Pentagon’s watchdog confirmed there was classified information in that Signal chat.

    “So, was Kent being intentionally dishonest? Or does he not understand what classified information is?

    “Either way—it is completely disqualifying. Which—as I think I’ve made clear—is pretty much the pattern here. 

    “So here is my warning to Republicans, confirming someone like Joe Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center makes about as much sense as putting Donald Trump in charge of releasing the Epstein files after all that we have learned.

    “We have all the evidence we could ever need—in the public record, right now—that he is not going to do the right thing. And we have no reason to believe he will do this important, high-stakes, work in a serious, impartial manner—let alone a competent one.

    “So, M. President, I am here to urge all of my colleagues to join me in doing exactly what people back in Washington state have done each time they were asked to trust Joe Kent, vote no.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Hochul is a Guest on ‘inside City Hall’

    Source: US State of New York

    arlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” with Errol Louis. The Governor discussed Monday night’s tragic shooting in Midtown Manhattan, the need to implement stronger gun safety legislation nationwide, federal cuts to medicaid and provided a response to redistricting.

    AUDIO: The Governor’s interview is available in audio form here.

    A rush transcript of the Governor’s interview is available below:

    Errol Louis, NY1: Governor Hochul is here. She joins us to talk more about that. Welcome back to the program — good to see you.

    Governor Hochul: Good to see again as well, Errol.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Governor, were State Police or investigators part of the response to the shooting?

    Governor Hochul: We always offer our assistance. We call immediately and certainly NYPD had it under control. But we are there on the periphery.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Your New York City office is really a short walk from 345 Park Ave. Does your building and the neighborhood as a whole feel safe?

    Governor Hochul: Yes, but it’s very much on everyone’s minds since this horrific massacre of four innocent people in New York. Even I walked into my office the day after, and I look at the security guards and I think about what must be going through their minds right now to know that this happened so incredibly, brazenly beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined.

    So, I feel safe where I am. I mean, this is an event the likes of which we’ve never seen here. The last mass shooting in New York City was 25 years ago, so I don’t want people to think this is a regular occurrence. I mean, no one would ever possibly think that, but it does shake that sense of security that everybody should have getting off the subway, walking into their office building, walking past the guards, and you should have the confidence to know you’re going to make it safely.

    I think there’s a lot of people right now who are just feeling really anxious about it. I can feel the — not just the sadness throughout the city, but also the, “Am I going to be okay?”

    I was speaking to one of the victim’s spouses and his advice to me was, “Go home and hug your husband because you don’t know how long you have each other,” and I think that’s a reminder as New Yorkers of never taking for granted the fact that we have people in our lives we cherish, and when they’re gone, there’s nothing more devastating.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Absolutely. You are calling for reinstituting the assault weapons ban that America had for about a decade or so. You are also — I think I heard you talking about how New York laws, if applied nationally or in other states, would really cut down on a lot of these kinds of tragedies.

    Governor Hochul: Absolutely. We have the toughest gun laws in the nation. I have added to them, especially after something we spoke about a number of times, which is the massacre of 10 individuals in my hometown of Buffalo. I went back and toughened our laws and raised the age for acquisition of guns and furthered the red flag laws, expanding them. We now have 4,300 guns that have been taken out of the hands of people who could have used them to harm themselves or others — that’s how you prevent these tragedies.

    So other states could do this — we’ve banned assault weapons, there’s no high capacity magazines — but as long as other states do it and someone can cross our state lines by simply getting into a vehicle, we are not safe. And if every state on their own followed what we’re doing, they can also claim to be safe states.

    We also have the lowest homicide rate using guns of anywhere in the nation of the large states — it’s extraordinary. The laws are working. The data proves there are more people walking our streets that are alive today because our gun laws have protected them.

    Now, every state could manage the way we have, but also with respect to the assault weapons, there needs to be a national ban. It is within the realm of possibility. We had it for an entire decade, and Bill Clinton put it in motion in 1994 and George Bush let it lapse in 2004. And at that moment, we knew that we were more vulnerable to mass casualty events in our schools and at concerts, grocery stores or even in office buildings because of that action. Let’s restore it once again.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. There’s been a lot of political development since 2004 and there’s a large constituency out there, so we’ll see where that goes. Let me switch to a different topic.

    The Republican-controlled Legislature in Texas is proposing a mid-decade redistricting. Normally you wait 10 years and then you do it after the census, but they’re proposing new lines — they were really released today — that would make five Democratic seats majority Republican. Basically, they’re trying to sort of really improve the politics and change, possibly, the control of the House or secure control of the House of Representatives. You’ve suggested that New York might do something similar.

    Governor Hochul: What they’re doing is outlandish. They’re not playing by the rules, but a state like New York who has played by the rules should not be at disadvantage when another state and Donald Trump, at his direction, is basically disenfranchising communities of color represented by Democrats and putting them under Republican control, who, as we know, will never represent their interests. They won’t fight for health care, they won’t fight for nutrition programs, they won’t save them from the Big Ugly Bill which is hurting our country.

    So New York, I’m looking at all of our options — we do have options. I’ve had many conversations at high levels and I’ll be announcing what our plans are going forward. But we’re not going to sit down and just take this, that’s not who we are. We have to fight back, we have to fight back hard, and, as I’ve said, all is fair in love and war. You want to play by new rules, then we’ll get new rules.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay, fair enough. Speaking of new rules, there’s a question on the ballot this fall for New York City voters asking whether or not we should change our municipal elections to coincide with the presidential election. I was wondering if you have an opinion about that.

    Governor Hochul: We did this at the state level because there’s not usually a lot of interest in the local election for supervisors and mayors and councilmembers — that’s the world I come out of. I was 14 years as a local official and they used to call it the “off-years,” and the “on-years” were presidential or when the governor runs, which always has a higher turnout.

    It is so important to me that we get more people participating in this process, and I do believe that if all the elections were shifted to the presidential year, there would be a lot of interest. People can process multiple elections at the same time, they can think about who they want for their local officials as well as the President, and it gives an opportunity for a party like the Democrats to have one coherent, strong message to help carry our candidates from the bottom on to the top.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Let me ask you about that, though. Let’s take you back to Kathy Hochul as Mayor of Hamburg, right? I mean if you are dealing with where to put the municipal waste water treatment center and there’s also conversations going on about war and peace and tariffs and everything else, isn’t there a concern — or a likelihood, frankly — that local issues will just get tossed?

    Governor Hochul: No. One of the reasons I think that there’s not the voter participation that we should have in a country like the United States of America — it is a privilege to vote, people shed blood for this right, it was denied to people of color for so many decades — for a hundred years — and people won that right. I want more people to exercise it. And what happens is in a non-presidential election, non-governor’s election year, there’s not as much attention. New York is a little bit different, but there’s not as much attention on this and I do believe that more people will turn out and participate.

    More people vote for president than any election out of this cycle. Why wouldn’t we want those people to also be able to select who their leaders are at the local level? We wish everybody would participate all four years but they don’t, so let’s acknowledge human nature.

    And I also think there’s something that goes on — it’s election fatigue. People need a break, otherwise it’s nonstop campaigning all-year-round for four straight years. And I think when you sometimes have special elections, and vacancies, and the mayor — we have school board races at different times — it’s very confusing to people. So let’s just simplify it and have one big election.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. And you’re comfortable being part of that as Governor?

    Governor Hochul: Absolutely.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay, very interesting. We’ll see how that works out. While we’re talking about national issues, one result of the bill that President Trump just signed into law, the Essential Medicaid Plan that covers 1.6 million New Yorkers is being cut back. My understanding is that on January 1, an estimated 700,000 people are going to get kicked off that plan and they’ll have to go to the state-only Medicaid program, which will cost the State almost $3 billion. Is there a contingency in place for that, or is this going to be part of the next Budget?

    Governor Hochul: No, well, we have the time because the number of people who will be affected will be actually more 2027. So it’ll be — in our ‘26 function when we do our ‘27 Budget, we’ll be able to address it then. But, look at what we’re being asked to do.

    The Republicans can make all the cuts they want, save money for themselves and push it out onto the State — something that has always been a shared responsibility and expecting our residents to pay for something that they never had to before. So it’s hard to put this on the State. We receive about $93 billion in assistance from the federal government every year — we can’t make all that up. What we can do is be strategic about this.

    We don’t want people to go hungry in our state — that’s not going to happen. We want people to have health care, it’s critically important, so we’re going to have to prioritize our spending, but we can do that. There’s no urgency right now. I’m not sure for sure that we won’t come back in a special session, but I want people to understand it would not make a difference because what we would do this fall can be done in January or during the Budget process, because these cuts are not going to take place until later

    I want people to understand why there’s not the urgency to go have a special session today. for example.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Let me switch topics. We’ve been reporting that the State Office of Cannabis Management has notified over 150 dispensaries — including 88 here in the city — that they’re out of compliance, that there are laws that require them to be at least 500 feet from schools, and churches and so forth.

    The source of the problem seems to be that it was calculated wrong — the measurements were calculated wrong. What’s the fix that’s needed?

    Governor Hochul: The Legislature, when they wrote the legislation, decided to have 500 feet away from the property line. Some campuses of schools are quite large, so it does push out the opportunity for these businesses quite a bit further out.

    The State Liquor Authority, for example, has it be 500 feet from the front door, which is how it was applied by, interestingly, the previous individuals running Office of Cannabis Management who are no longer there. We went in and did an audit to see what was not working there and this was uncovered that they had applied the law incorrectly.

    But I don’t think it should be born on the backs of these people — so many of them, their life savings, they’re going to these businesses. They’ve worked hard to go through the lengthy process to be licensed and then to have a location. So I have said we are going to stand up for them. These are entrepreneurs, they’re small business owners — many from communities of color — and this is their shot to have a chance to be successful. So, we’re not going to let anything happen to them. We’ll make them whole, and I have got to go back to the Legislature and get them persuaded to change the law to be consistent with what we do for liquor stores, for example.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Got it. And would a solution also possibly include grandfathering in the ones that are already opening up.

    Governor Hochul: I’d like to do that, yes. Yeah, no, absolutely. I don’t want them hurt. They’re part of our community already, they’re working hard, they waited a long time for this, and, basically, I don’t want them screwed.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. Look, we’ve got a lot more to think about as we get closer to the elections. Have you settled on a candidate? I think during the primary when I asked you about it, you said, “We’ll let New York City Democrats figure out who their nominee is and then we’ll figure it out.”

    Governor Hochul: That’s right.

    Errol Louis, NY1: So now that there is a nominee —

    Governor Hochul: I’m having very interesting conversations right now. So, there’s no urgency. The election is in November; it is the last day of July, almost August. We’ll be deciding our path forward, but it’s important to me to have a working relationship, whomever the Mayor is.

    I have said to individuals, “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy, you pick.” I can be a strong supporter — with Mayor Adams, I have been; $1 billion for City of Yes so we can build more housing. I’m paying overtime, the state is paying overtime so our subways are safer at night for the NYPD to be there.

    So, I’ve always been a strong partner. I also represent the 8.3 million people who call New York home. I have an apartment here, I’m here all the time. I’m walking the streets. I have the same complaints — like, why isn’t the garbage picked up here?

    Errol Louis, NY1: Sure.

    Governor Hochul: Why is there a scaffold building, scaffolding everywhere — it’s maddening. So I understand, but relationships are important and I think it’s important for me to have those talks in advance, any decisions I make.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Okay. Be sure to let us know when you have decided.

    Governor Hochul: We will.

    Errol Louis, NY1: Thanks so much for coming by. Great to see you.

    Governor Hochul: Good to see you, Errol.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Mats Persson visits United States to attend launch of Marcus Wandt space mission

    Source: Government of Sweden

    Minister for Education Mats Persson is visiting the United States on 15–20 January to attend the launch of a mission involving Sweden’s latest astronaut, Marcus Wandt. Mr Persson will also visit New York for meetings and study visits with a focus on STEM education and research, technology and AI.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Bipartisan Bills Exposing Boondoggles and Secret Spending Advance out of Committee Unanimously

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

    WASHINGTON – A pair of U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) bills to expose billion dollar boondoggles and secret spending in Washington advanced unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
    “Today is a great day for taxpayers and a horrific day for waste and shady bureaucrats,” said Ernst. “We are $37 trillion in debt and cannot afford to waste more than $160 billion or lose track of billions of dollars. We are now one step closer to protecting the American people from being forced to write blank checks to failed and runaway projects.”

    Watch Senator Ernst’s full remarks here.
    Ernst’s Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act requires that any taxpayer-funded project more than $1 billion over budget or more than five years behind schedule is made public and scrutinized. The advancement of the bill comes after she released a groundbreaking report showing that cost overruns from just 13 boondoggles are costing taxpayers $160 billion more than promised.
    Her Stop Secret Spending Act will boost transparency in Washington by requiring all spending to be publicly disclosed. Currently, billions of dollars in spending is hidden from public disclosure by bureaucrats labeling it as an “Other Transactions Agreement,” including more than $18 billion last year.

    MIL OSI USA News –