NewzIntel.com

Category: Natural Disasters

  • MIL-OSI Security: Baltimore Man Sentenced for Attempted Armed Robbery of Family-Owned Restaurant

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Chief United States District Court Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Malik Thompson, 23, of Baltimore, Maryland, to eight years and one month in federal prison for his role in the attempted armed robbery of a family-owned restaurant, which resulted in the death of his co-conspirator. Thompson previously pleaded guilty to one count of attempted interference with commerce by violence – the Hobbs Act robbery.

    Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Acting Special Agent in Charge Amanda M. Koldjeski, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, and Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

    Thompson and two co-conspirators targeted employees of a family-owned restaurant after discovering that they regularly transported the business’s cash to their North Baltimore residence. Instead of robbing the restaurant directly, the conspirators planned to ambush the family at their home when they arrived with the day’s profits.

    On the evening of August 10, 2020, Thompson and his accomplices executed their plan, waiting near the family’s residence. When the family returned home, one of Thompson’s co-conspirators brandished a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, confronted the victims, and demanded their money. After the family members resisted, the armed accomplice fired his weapon, striking one victim in the leg.

    The wounded victim, acting in self-defense, drew his personal firearm and returned fire, fatally wounding the armed robber. Thompson and the second accomplice immediately fled the scene by vehicle, abandoning their wounded co-conspirator who died from his injuries hours later.

    Following the incident, Thompson fled to an Owings Mills residence. Federal and local investigators conducted a thorough investigation of the crime scene, recovering crucial physical evidence, including a shoe that fell off as the perpetrators fled.

    DNA analysis of the recovered shoe matched Thompson’s DNA profile, directly linking him to the crime scene. Additional evidence gathered during the investigation included cell-site location data and text-message records that further corroborated Thompson’s participation in the conspiracy and attempted armed robbery.

    U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and BPD for their investigative efforts. Ms. Hayes also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gordin who prosecuted the case.

    For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Tornado Watch 378

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL8

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 378
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    145 PM MDT Fri Jun 6 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    East-Central and Southeast Colorado

    * Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 145 PM until
    900 PM MDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    A couple tornadoes possible
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 3.5
    inches in diameter likely
    Scattered damaging winds and isolated significant gusts to 75
    mph possible

    SUMMARY…Widely scattered are forecast to develop this afternoon
    near Interstate 25 and intensify as this activity moves east into
    the plains. A few supercells are likely with the more intense
    supercells potentially capable of very large hail up to 3.5 inches
    in diameter. The risk for a couple of tornadoes appears greatest
    during the late afternoon into the early evening when low-level
    shear will strengthen. The threat for severe gusts will probably
    become more prevalent this evening as storms increase in coverage.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 70 statute miles
    east and west of a line from 35 miles north of Limon CO to 40 miles
    west southwest of Springfield CO. For a complete depiction of the
    watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

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

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 376…WW 377…

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 3.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
    storm motion vector 28025.

    …Smith

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW8
    WW 378 TORNADO CO 061945Z – 070300Z
    AXIS..70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    35N LIC/LIMON CO/ – 40WSW SPD/SPRINGFIELD CO/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 60NM E/W /32SW AKO – 20SE TBE/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..3.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..65 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28025.

    LAT…LON 39770235 37050202 37050456 39770499

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU8.

    Watch 378 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Mod (40%)

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

    Low (20%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Mod (30%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Mod (60%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Mod (60%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (90%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: June 5th, 2025 Heinrich Slams DOGE Attacks on USGS Scientists and Budget Cuts in Letter to Interior Department Secretary

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, Ranking Member on the Senate Committee of Energy and Natural Resources sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum expressing his grave concern surrounding the Trump Administration’s assault on the Department’s science agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The letter highlights President Trump’s proposed budget cuts on the USGS, and the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) reported planned terminations of hundreds of scientists and potential termination of USGS centers’ leases across the country as threats to our nation’s scientists, public safety responsibilities and operational continuity of the agency.
    In addition to Heinrich, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed the letter.
    The senators opened the letter, “We write to express concern over recent and proposed actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and broader administrative decisions that together threaten the integrity and continuity of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).” The senators continued, “Specifically, the potential termination of General Services Administration (GSA) leases supporting USGS centers across the country— alongside USGS’s proposed FY2026 budget cut of $564 million and the reported planned terminations of hundreds of scientists—represents a multi-front assault on the nation’s scientific infrastructure.”
    Emphasizing the critical role USGS plays in monitoring and analyzing the nation’s resources, the senators highlighted, “USGS’s work underpins the ability of federal, state, and local governments, Tribal nations, industry, and communities tomake informed decisions—particularly in areas such as disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, water resource management, andecosystem protection,” the senators wrote.
    Stressing the impacts of cuts to USGS, “These proposed budgetcuts could mean abandoning research and monitoring that helps farmers guard against wildlife diseases like avian flu, delaying when real-time water and hazard data is provided for disaster response, and ending collaborations that monitor invasive species, harmful algal blooms and wildfire risks,” the senators wrote.
    “The scientific integrity, public safety responsibilities, andoperational continuity of the USGS must not be compromised by administration actions taken without proper oversight or consultation,” stated the senators.
    The senators highlighted the threat that the potential termination of USGS leases pose, many of which house Water Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, and Ecosystems Research Centers, “These facilities provide critical support to states, local communities, and Tribal Nations as they confront unprecedented drought, wildfires, habitat loss, and other climate-related disruptions”
    “While DOGE’s actions are framed as efficiency measures, the potential impact of terminating these leases – without transparent criteria or coordination – as well as slashing $564 million from the budget and crippling of the scientific workforce raises serious questions about continuity of operations. If implemented, these changes to USGS would directly impair the federal government’s ability to assess and respond to threats in real time,” stressed the senators.
    The senators concluded the letter by asking the Department of the Interior to respond to questions outlining the far-reaching implications of these actions by June 19, 2025.
    Read the full text of the letter here and below:
     Dear Secretary Burgum,
    We write to express concern over recent and proposed actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and broader administrative decisions that together threaten the integrity andcontinuity of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Specifically, the potential termination of General Services Administration (GSA) leases supporting USGS centers across the country— alongsideUSGS’s proposed FY2026 budget cut of $564 million and the reported planned terminations of hundreds of scientists—represents a multi-front assault on the nation’s scientific infrastructure.
    The USGS is a premier science agency with a critical role inmonitoring and analyzing the nation’s resources, including water, ecosystems, natural hazards, minerals, and energy. Its scientific expertise and robust data collection efforts support public safety, environmental stewardship, and national economic resilience. USGS’s work underpins the ability of federal, state, and local governments, Tribal nations, industry, and communities to make informed decisions—particularly in areas such as disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, water resource management, and ecosystem protection.
    The proposed budget cuts are not about “efficiency”— they represent a retreat from federal responsibility and a dismantling of the scientific infrastructure that communities, industries, andgovernments depend on every day. USGS supports work that directly protects public health, strengthens our economy, andinforms disaster preparedness and response. These proposed budget cuts could mean abandoning research and monitoring that helps farmers guard against wildlife diseases like avian flu, delaying when real-time water and hazard data is provided for disaster response, and ending collaborations that monitor invasive species, harmful algal blooms and wildfire risks. While these impacts are not yet certain, they represent serious risks for communities, Tribes, state and local governments, and natural resource managers who depend on USGS science to make informed, often life-saving decisions. As demonstrated throughout its nearly 150 years of existence, USGS science is not optional; it is essential.
    The potential termination of USGS leases, many of which house Water Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, andEcosystems Research Centers, threatens regional scientific capacity at a time when local expertise and place-based science are most needed. These facilities provide critical support to states, local communities, and Tribal Nations as they confront unprecedented drought, wildfires, habitat loss, and other climate-related disruptions. Reliable Page 2 scientific information is essential toboth our national economy and the safety of communities across the country.
    While DOGE’s actions are framed as efficiency measures, the potential impact of terminating these leases – without transparent criteria or coordination – as well as slashing $564 million from the budget and crippling of the scientific workforce raises serious questions about continuity of operations. If implemented, these changes to USGS would directly impair the federal government’s ability to assess and respond to threats in real time.
    Given this uncertainty and the far-reaching implications of these actions, we request immediate clarity on the following by June 19, 2025:
    1. What is the current status of all USGS leases and what facilities are at risk of lease termination?
    2. What criteria were used to select these leases for potential termination, and how was USGS consulted in this process?
    3. What plans are in place to ensure uninterrupted mission support—particularly for key activities under the Water Resources, Natural Hazards, and Ecosystems Mission Areas— if these facilities are closed?
    4. Where will affected employees be relocated, and how will critical field and lab operations be maintained in the interim?
    5. How will USGS ensure that existing commitments to state andlocal governments, tribal partners, and other stakeholders are honored, particularly for time-sensitive water data and hazard alerts?
    6. What USGS staff positions are on the list for termination (please include title and location)? When will the terminations be implemented?
    7. Do any of the USGS employees on the list for termination have salaries funded by reimbursable contracts with external partners? If so, how many such employees are affected, and what is the amount of federal savings that would be generated from their termination?
    8. Given the planned reduction in force, how will existing staff fill the gaps in order to fulfill the USGS mission?
    9. What programs will be eliminated by the $564 million proposed budget cut?
    The scientific integrity, public safety responsibilities, andoperational continuity of the USGS must not be compromised by administrative actions taken without proper oversight or consultation. We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your prompt response.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Heinrich, Luján Fight Trump Administration’s Cuts to the Job Corps Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Washington, D.C. – After the Trump administration attempted to shutter the nation’s largest jobs training program for low-income and at-risk young people, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and 37 Senate colleagues in a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to reverse the illegal and unconstitutional cuts to the Job Corps program that are harming students and communities in every state in the country.
    “The Administration’s decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations has left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers in the lurch,” wrote the senators. “The sudden ‘pause’ of operations at Job Corps centers puts young people’s lives at risk, especially a significant number of students who were experiencing homelessness before arriving to the program. Local communities will pay a steep price, especially the thousands of individuals who work at the centers and will lose their livelihoods.”
    For more than 60 years, Job Corps has helped millions of young people in rural communities and cities alike to finish high school, learn technical skills and get good-paying jobs while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services. Through Job Corps programs, young people receive the training they need to start in good-paying jobs that support their communities after graduation – including as wildland firefighters, nurses, electricians, machinists, pipefitters, and welders. Last month, however, the Trump administration indefinitely ‘paused’ operations at Job Corps sites across the country.
    “We urge you to immediately reverse this decision to prevent a lapse in education and services for Job Corps students. We further urge that the Department restart enrollments, expeditiously restart background checks, and make any contract extensions or modifications necessary to ensure no interruptions or delays for students or program operations,”concluded the senators. 
    Joining Heinrich, Luján, and Sanders on the letter are U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
    The text of the letter can be found HERE and below:
    Dear Secretary Chavez-DeRemer:
    We write to express our grave concern with the “pause” of operations that began at Job Corps centers on May 29, 2025, which will harm students and local economies in every state across the country. The Administration’s decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations has left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers in the lurch. The sudden “pause” of operations at Job Corps centers puts young people’s lives at risk, especially a significant number of students who were experiencing homelessness before arriving to the program. Local communities will pay a steep price, especially the thousands of individuals who work at the centers and will lose their livelihoods. While a recent court order instituted a temporary restraining order on the “pause” at Job Corps, the damage of attempting to displace thousands of students has already been felt across the country.
    We urge you to immediately reverse this decision to prevent a lapse in education and services for Job Corps students. We further urge that the Department restart enrollments, expeditiously restart background checks, and make any contract extensions or modifications necessary to ensure no interruptions or delays for students or program operations. Congress passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025, which includes $1,760,155,000 for Job Corps and ensures that Job Corps Centers are funded for the new program year that begins on July 1, 2025. We write to remind you of your obligation to faithfully implement the law.
    Since 1964, Job Corps has helped millions of low-income or at-risk young people develop the skills and resilience needed to succeed in work and life. As the largest free residential education and job training program for young adults ages 16-24, Job Corps programs help students complete their high school education, learn high-value technical skills, and connect to employment through intensive education, training, and support services in a residential setting while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services to ensure their success. At a time when more than 72 percent of jobs will require training beyond a high school diploma, Job Corps provides students with the opportunity to become wildland firefighters to keep our communities safe, nurses to help care for our families, electricians needed to build and maintain clean energy systems, and machinists, pipefitters, and welders to manufacture the next generation of submarines.
    Job Corps centers operate in rural and metropolitan regions nationwide and contribute to their local communities and economies.  Many centers have partnered with employers, local workforce development boards, government agencies, and community-based organizations to develop the future workforce and meet the needs of local employers. 
    Abruptly canceling contracts for the nation’s Job Corps centers will leave students and communities in the lurch and undermine opportunities for young people to get education and training to succeed in valuable trades. Rather than gutting this valuable program, we urge you to work with Congress to strengthen accountability and program quality for the betterment of young workers, employers needing skilled labor, and communities nationwide, such as reforms included in the bipartisan, bicameral Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) reauthorization bill from last Congress.
    We request that you provide written answers to the following questions as soon as possible, but not later than June 20, 2025.
    Please provide a list of onboard strength (enrollment) at each center before January 20, 2025 and before the operations pause on May 28, 2025. 
    With Job Corps operations on “pause”, how does the department plan to fulfill its obligations to implement the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, which includes $1,760,155,000 for Job Corps serving students?
    Please provide information on the number of students experiencing homelessness prior to enrollment at a Job Corps center based on enrollment at each center on May 28, 2025. 
    Please provide a list of every contract that has been terminated or modified since January 20, 2025, including the total amount of funds to each operator, the amount of funds that each operator has spent up to the date of the contract’s termination or modification, and the amount of remaining unspent funds for each contract. 
    What authority is the Department using to “pause” operations? Please provide a citation in law or regulation.
    The concept of a “pause” does not exist in Job Corps authorizing statute and appears to be an attempt to illegally shut down Job Corps operations without following requirements in law. Section 159 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) includes clear requirements and processes for the closure of Job Corps Centers that were not followed in this “pause”. How does the Department define a “pause” and how is it different than a “termination”? 
    On April 25, 2025, the Department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) released the first-ever Job Corps Transparency Report, which is used throughout the DOL press release to pause operations at centers.
    Centers have returned funding to DOL when enrollments were lower than expected (but that’s not reflected in this report.) Please provide an updated cost per enrollee that accounts for money returned to DOL.
    The report also provides cost per enrollee based on enrollment from program year 2023. DOL has much more up-to-date enrollment numbers. Please provide an updated cost per enrollee with the enrollments on campuses as of May 28, 2025, incorporating onboard strength at each campus.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Dene and Métis people of Tulita District the focus of a new $16.5M Office and Cultural Centre for Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve 

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    June 6, 2025                                Tulita, NT                                     Parks Canada

    The Government of Canada is committed to creating economic opportunities and benefits for Indigenous communities and protecting naturally and culturally treasured places in Canada, including through the advancement of infrastructure projects and impact and benefit plans.

    Today, the Honourable Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, on behalf of the Minister responsible for Parks Canada, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, announced a $16.5 million investment under Parks Canada’s National Park Establishment program to advance construction of a new office and cultural centre for the Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve in Northwest Territories. Construction of this landmark building fulfills a commitment in the Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve Impact and Benefit Plan, will include a cultural centre exhibition, and will serve as Parks Canada’s primary operations base for the park reserve. 

    The ground-breaking event coincided with Tulita community’s annual “Fire Day,” which commemorates the devastating 1995 wildfire, also celebrated community collaboration, cultural leadership, and shared stewardship. Indigenous and community members from Tulita and Norman Wells gathered to speak of the cultural and regional significance of this long-anticipated milestone.  The office and cultural centre will be a place for connection and cultural discovery, provide a space for community members to gather, facilitate meaningful visitor experiences, welcome Mackenzie River paddlers, and to share the rich history of the Sahtu Dene and Métis. The building will also house Parks Canada’s operational facility, where local staff will work to protect, present and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve.

    Investments in infrastructure, like the Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve office and culture centre project, benefit the community of Tulita by growing local economic development, boosting the tourism sector, and driving job creation. Infrastructure improvements in the Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve will deliver high-quality and meaningful experiences are for visitors and community members alike to connect with and discover the natural and cultural heritage of the Sahtu region and underscores the federal government’s commitment to northern communities and Indigenous partners.

                                                                                                      -30-

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Los Angeles County Wildfire Recovery Continues with Over $3 Billion in Federal Support

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Los Angeles County Wildfire Recovery Continues with Over $3 Billion in Federal Support

    Los Angeles County Wildfire Recovery Continues with Over $3 Billion in Federal Support

    LOS ANGELES – As of June 6, just under five months since the Los Angeles County wildfires were declared, FEMA, along with our federal partners, have made over $3 billion available for eligible homeowners, renters, and businesses who have been impacted by the disaster

    This total includes:Individual Assistance To date, FEMA has approved over $136 million to help 57,813 survivors recover through the Individual Assistance program, including more than $42 million for Housing Assistance and more than $93 million for Other Needs Assistance paid directly to survivors

     FEMA’s Rental Assistance FEMA’s Rental Assistance Program provides money directly to eligible survivors to find their own temporary housing

     749 owners and 2,677 renters are utilizing the rental assistance program

     More than $18 million has been approved for rental assistance from FEMA

    Small Business AdministrationThe U

    S

    Small Business Administration has approved more than $2

    9 billion in federal disaster loans for businesses, nonprofits and residents impacted by the Los Angeles County wildfires

    That includes more than $456 million for businesses and more than $2

    4 billion to homeowners and renters to help them rebuild and recover from the disaster

    joy

    li
    Fri, 06/06/2025 – 18:08

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Mars Orbiter Captures Volcano Peeking Above Morning Cloud Tops

    Source: NASA

    The 2001 Odyssey spacecraft captured a first-of-its-kind look at Arsia Mons, which dwarfs Earth’s tallest volcanoes.
    A new panorama from NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter shows one of the Red Planet’s biggest volcanoes, Arsia Mons, poking through a canopy of clouds just before dawn. Arsia Mons and two other volcanoes form what is known as the Tharsis Montes, or Tharsis Mountains, which are often surrounded by water ice clouds (as opposed to Mars’ equally common carbon dioxide clouds), especially in the early morning. This panorama marks the first time one of the volcanoes has been imaged on the planet’s horizon, offering the same perspective of Mars that astronauts have of the Earth when they peer down from the International Space Station.
    Launched in 2001, Odyssey is the longest-running mission orbiting another planet, and this new panorama represents the kind of science the orbiter began pursuing in 2023, when it captured the first of its now four high-altitude images of the Martian horizon. To get them, the spacecraft rotates 90 degrees while in orbit so that its camera, built to study the Martian surface, can snap the image.

    The angle allows scientists to see dust and water ice cloud layers, while the series of images enables them to observe changes over the course of seasons.
    “We’re seeing some really significant seasonal differences in these horizon images,” said planetary scientist Michael D. Smith of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s giving us new clues to how Mars’ atmosphere evolves over time.”
    Understanding Mars’ clouds is particularly important for understanding the planet’s weather and how phenomena like dust storms occur. That information, in turn, can benefit future missions, including entry, descent and landing operations.
    Volcanic Giants
    While these images focus on the upper atmosphere, the Odyssey team has tried to include interesting surface features in them, as well. In Odyssey’s latest horizon image, captured on May 2, Arsia Mons stands 12 miles (20 kilometers) high, roughly twice as tall as Earth’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa, which rises 6 miles (9 kilometers) above the seafloor.
    The southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes, Arsia Mons is the cloudiest of the three. The clouds form when air expands as it blows up the sides of the mountain and then rapidly cools. They are especially thick when Mars is farthest from the Sun, a period called aphelion. The band of clouds that forms across the planet’s equator at this time of year is called the aphelion cloud belt, and it’s on proud display in Odyssey’s new panorama.
    “We picked Arsia Mons hoping we would see the summit poke above the early morning clouds. And it didn’t disappoint,” said Jonathon Hill of Arizona State University in Tempe, operations lead for Odyssey’s camera, called the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS.
    The THEMIS camera can view Mars in both visible and infrared light. The latter allows scientists to identify areas of the subsurface that contain water ice, which could be used by the first astronauts to land on Mars. The camera can also image Mars’ tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, allowing scientists to analyze their surface composition.
    More About Odyssey
    NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Odyssey Project for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and collaborates with JPL on mission operations. THEMIS was built and is operated by Arizona State University in Tempe.
    For more about Odyssey:

    Mars Odyssey

    News Media Contacts
    Andrew GoodJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-2433andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
    Karen Fox / Molly WasserNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-1600karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
    2025-077

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s Ready-to-Use Dataset Details Land Motion Across North America

    Source: NASA

    An online tool maps measurements and enables non-experts to understand earthquakes, subsidence, landslides, and other types of land motion.
    NASA is collaborating with the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks to create a powerful web-based tool that will show the movement of land across North America down to less than an inch. The online portal and its underlying dataset unlock a trove of satellite radar measurements that can help anyone identify where and by how much the land beneath their feet may be moving — whether from earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, or the extraction of underground natural resources such as groundwater.
    Spearheaded by NASA’s Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) project at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the effort equips users with information that would otherwise take years of training to produce. The project builds on measurements from spaceborne synthetic aperture radars, or SARs, to generate high-resolution data on how Earth’s surface is moving.

    Formally called the North America Surface Displacement Product Suite, the new dataset comes ready to use with measurements dating to 2016, and the portal allows users to view those measurements at a local, state, and regional scales in a few seconds. For someone not using the dataset or website, it could take days or longer to do a similar analysis.
    “You can zoom in to your country, your state, your city block, and look at how the land there is moving over time,” said David Bekaert, the OPERA project manager and a JPL radar scientist. “You can see that by a simple mouse click.”
    The portal currently includes measurements for millions of pixels across the U.S. Southwest, northern Mexico, and the New York metropolitan region, each representing a 200-foot-by-200-foot (60-meter-by-60-meter) area on the ground. By the end of 2025, OPERA will add data to cover the rest of the United States, Central America, and Canada within 120 miles (200 kilometers) of the U.S. border. When a user clicks on a pixel, the system pulls measurements from hundreds of files to create a graph visualizing the land surface’s cumulative movement over time.

    “The OPERA project automated the end-to-end SAR data processing system such that users and decision-makers can focus on discovering where the land surface may be moving in their areas of interest,” said Gerald Bawden, program scientist responsible for OPERA at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This will provide a significant advancement in identifying and understanding potential threats to the end users, while providing cost and time savings for agencies.” 
    For example, water-management bureaus and state geological surveys will be able to directly use the OPERA products without needing to make big investments in data storage, software engineering expertise, and computing muscle.
    How It Works
    To create the displacement product, the OPERA team continuously draws data from the ESA (European Space Agency) Sentinel-1 radar satellites, the first of which launched in 2014. Data from NISAR, the NASA-ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) Synthetic Aperture Radar mission, will be added to the mix after that spacecraft launches later this year.

    Satellite-borne radars work by emitting microwave pulses at Earth’s surface. The signals scatter when they hit land and water surfaces, buildings, and other objects. Raw data consists of the strength and time delay of the signals that echo back to the sensor. 
    To understand how land in a given area is moving, OPERA algorithms automate steps in an otherwise painstaking process. Without OPERA, a researcher would first download hundreds or thousands of data files, each representing a pass of the radar over the point of interest, then make sure the data aligned geographically over time and had precise coordinates.
    Then they would use a computationally intensive technique called radar interferometry to gauge how much the land moved, if at all, and in which direction — towards the satellite, which would indicate the land rose, or away from the satellite, which would mean it sank.
    “The OPERA project has helped bring that capability to the masses, making it more accessible to state and federal agencies, and also users wondering, ‘What’s going on around my house?’” said Franz Meyer, chief scientist of the Alaska Satellite Facility, a part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.
    Monitoring Groundwater
    Sinking land is a top priority to the Arizona Department of Water Resources. From the 1950s through the 1980s, it was the main form of ground movement officials saw, as groundwater pumping increased alongside growth in the state’s population and agricultural industry. In 1980, the state enacted the Groundwater Management Act, which reduced its reliance on groundwater in highly populated areas and included requirements to monitor its use.
    The department began to measure this sinking, called subsidence, with radar data from various satellites in the early 2000s, using a combination of SAR, GPS-based monitoring, and traditional surveying to inform groundwater-management decisions.
    Now, the OPERA dataset and portal will help the agency share subsidence information with officials and community members, said Brian Conway, the department’s principal hydrogeologist and supervisor of its geophysics unit. They won’t replace the SAR analysis he performs, but they will offer points of comparison for his calculations. Because the dataset and portal will cover the entire state, they also could identify areas not yet known to be subsiding.
    “It’s a great tool to say, ‘Let’s look at those areas more intensely with our own SAR processing,’” Conway said.
    The displacement product is part of a series of data products OPERA has released since 2023. The project began in 2020 with a multidisciplinary team of scientists at JPL working to address satellite data needs across different federal agencies. Through the Satellite Needs Working Group, those agencies submitted their requests, and the OPERA team worked to improve access to information to aid a range of efforts such as disaster response, deforestation tracking, and wildfire monitoring.

    News Media Contacts
    Andrew Wang / Jane J. LeeJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov
    2025-076

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ARMD Research Solicitations (Updated June 6)

    Source: NASA

    THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED ON JUNE 6, 2025(Updated Advanced Air Vehicles Program Fellowship Opportunities.)
    This Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) solicitations page compiles the opportunities to collaborate with NASA’s aeronautical innovators and/or contribute to their research to enable new and improved air transportation systems.
    Most opportunities to participate in research are officially announced through the Web-based NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System, better known as NSPIRES. You are encouraged to visit the NSPIRES web site, create an account, and sign up for automated email announcements.
    Other types of collaborative opportunities, such as those involving Requests for Information or academic research contests, also are included on this page.
    This page has four major sections:

    Advanced Air Vehicles Program Fellowship OpportunitiesProposals are due by June 11, 2025. (NOTE important update below.)
    University Leadership InitiativeStep-A proposals due by June 26, 2025.
    University Student Research ChallengeProposals for Cycle 3 are due by June 26, 2025.

    ROA-2025 NRA Amendment 1 – OPEN
    Advanced Air Vehicles Program Fellowship Opportunities
    (View the full ROA-2025 NRA Amendment 1 text here.)
    This announcement solicits proposals from accredited U.S. institutions for research training grants to begin the academic year. This Notice of Funding Opportunity is designed to support independently conceived research projects by highly qualified graduate students in disciplines needed to help advance NASA’s mission, thus affording these students the opportunity to directly contribute to advancements in STEM-related areas of study. These opportunities are focused on innovation and the generation of measurable research results that contribute to NASA’s current and future science and technology goals.
    Research proposals are sought to address the key challenges summarized in the Elements section at the end of the Amendment 1 document, and which reference NASA’s Hypersonic Technology project.
    UPDATE for June 6: Reflecting the Fiscal Year 2026 budget changes, the Transformational Tools & Technologies project opportunities originally described in this announcement were cancelled. Proposals citing this project will not be evaluated.
    Notices of Intent are not required.
    A budget breakdown for each proposal is required, detailing the allocation of the award funds by year. The budget document may adhere to any format or template provided by the applicant’s institution. Two pre-proposal teleconferences for potential proposers will be held and meeting links will be posted on NSPIRES.
    Proposals are due by 5 p.m. EDT on June 11, 2025.

    ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 2 – OPEN
    University Leadership Initiative
    (View the full ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 2 text here.)
    NASA’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI) provides the opportunity for university teams to exercise technical and organizational leadership in proposing unique technical challenges in aeronautics, defining multi-disciplinary solutions, establishing peer review mechanisms, and applying innovative teaming strategies to strengthen the research impact.
    Research proposals are sought in six ULI topic areas in Appendix D.4.
    Topic 1: Safe, Efficient Growth in Global Operations
    Topic 2: Innovation in Commercial High-Speed Aircraft
    Topic 3: Ultra-Efficient Subsonic Transports
    Topic 4: Safe, Quiet, and Affordable Vertical Lift Air Vehicles
    Topic 5: In-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance
    Topic 6: Assured Autonomy for Aviation Transformation
    This NASA Research Announcement will utilize a two-step proposal submission and evaluation process. The initial step is a short mandatory Step-A proposal, which is due June 26, 2025. Those offerors submitting the most highly rated Step-A proposals will be invited to submit a Step-B proposal. All proposals must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES at https://nspires.nasaprs.com. An Applicant’s Workshop will be held on Thursday April 30, 2025; 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET (https://uli.arc.nasa.gov/applicants-workshops/workshop9) (Page will be live closer to the event.)
    An interested partners list for this ULI is at https://uli.arc.nasa.gov/partners. To be listed as an interested lead or partner, please send an email to hq-univpartnerships@mail.nasa.gov with “ULI Partnerships” in the subject line and include the information required for the table on that web page.

    ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 4 – OPEN
    University Student Research Challenge
    (View the full ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 4 text here)
    NASA’s University Student Research Challenge (USRC) seeks to challenge students to propose new ideas/concepts that are relevant to NASA Aeronautics.  The challenge will provide students from accredited U.S. colleges or universities with grants for their projects, as well as the challenge of raising cost share funds through a crowdfunding campaign. The process of creating and implementing a crowdfunding campaign acts as a teaching accelerator — requiring students to act like entrepreneurs and raise awareness about their research among the public.
    The solicitation goal can be accomplished through project ideas such as advancing the design, developing technology or capabilities in support of aviation, by demonstrating a novel concept, or enabling advancement of aeronautics-related technologies.
    Notices of Intent are not required for this solicitation.
    Proposals for Cycle 3 are due June 26, 2025.
    Proposals can also be submitted later and evaluated in the second and third cycles.
    The USRC Q&A/Info Session and Proposal Workshop will be held on the days/times below. Please join us on TEAMS using the Meeting Link, or call in via +1 256-715-9946,,317928116#.

    USRC Cycle
    Information Session/Q&A Date
    Proposal Due Date

    Cycle 1
    Sept. 20, 2024 at 2 pm ET
    Nov. 7, 2024

    Cycle 2
    Jan. 27, 2025 at 2 pm ET
    March 13, 2025

    Cycle 3
    May 12, 2025 at 2 pm ET
    June 26, 2025

    Aeronautics Innovation Challenges – OPEN
    NASA’s nationwide team of aeronautical innovators are committed to giving students of all ages opportunities to solve some of the biggest technical challenges facing the aviation community today. Through NASA-sponsored challenges and competitions, students representing multiple disciplines will put their skills to work by designing and building solutions to real-world problems.

    Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations RFI – CLOSED
    View the full ACERO RFI announcement here.
    NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project used this request for information to identify technologies that addressed current challenges facing the wildland firefighting community. NASA was seeking information on data collection, airborne connectivity and communications solutions, unmanned aircraft systems traffic management, aircraft operations and autonomy, and more. This would support development of a partnership strategy for future collaborative demonstrations.
    Interested parties were requested to respond to this notice with an information package submitted via https://nari.arc.nasa.gov/acero-rfi no later than 4 pm ET, October 15, 2023. Submissions were accepted only from U.S. companies.

    Advanced Air Mobility Mission RFI – CLOSED
    View the full AAM RFI announcement here.
    This request for information is being used to gather market research for NASA to make informed decisions regarding potential partnership strategies and future research to enable Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). NASA is seeking information from public, private, and academic organizations to determine technical needs and community interests that may lead to future solicitations regarding AAM research and development.
    This particular RFI is just one avenue of multiple planned opportunities for formal feedback on or participation in NASA’s AAM Mission-related efforts to develop these requirements and help enable AAM. 
    The respond by date for this RFI closed on Feb. 1, 2025, at 6 p.m. EST.

    ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 1 – CLOSED
    (View the full ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 1 text here.)
    The announcement solicited proposals from accredited U.S. institutions for research training grants to begin the academic year. This Notice of Funding Opportunity was designed to support independently conceived research projects by highly qualified graduate students, in disciplines needed to help advance NASA’s mission, thus affording these students the opportunity to directly contribute to advancements in STEM-related areas of study. Advanced Air Vehicle Program fellowship opportunities are focused on innovation and the generation of measurable research results that contribute to NASA’s current and future science and technology goals.
    Research proposals were sought to address key challenges provided in Elements of Appendix A.8.
    A budget breakdown for each proposal was required, detailing the allocation of the award funds by year. The budget document could adhere to any format or template provided by the applicant’s institution.
    Proposals were due by April 30, 2024, at 5 PM ET.

    ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 3 – CLOSED
    (View the full ROA-2024 NRA Amendment 3 text here)
    NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology project sought proposals for a fuel injector design concept and fabrication for testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
    The proposal for the fuel injector design aimed to establish current state-of-the-art in low NOx supersonic cruise while meeting reasonable landing take-off NOx emissions. The technology application timeline is targeted for a supersonic aircraft with entry into service in the 2035+ timeframe.
    Proposals were due by May 31, 2024 at 5 pm EDT.

    Competition for NRA awards is open to both academia and industry.
    The current open solicitations for ARMD Research Opportunities are ROA-2024 and ROA-2025.
    Here is some general information to know about the NRA process.

    NRA solicitations are released by NASA Headquarters through the Web-based NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES).
    All NRA technical work is defined and managed by project teams within these four programs: Advanced Air Vehicles Program, Airspace Operations and Safety Program, Integrated Aviation Systems Program, and Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program.
    NRA awards originate from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, Ames Research Center in California, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.
    Competition for NRA awards is full and open.
    Participation is open to all categories of organizations, including educational institutions, industry, and nonprofits.
    Any updates or amendments to an NRA is posted on the appropriate NSPIRES web pages as noted in the Amendments detailed below.
    ARMD sends notifications of NRA updates through the NSPIRES email system. In order to receive these email notifications, you must be a Registered User of NSPIRES. However, note that NASA is not responsible for inadvertently failing to provide notification of a future NRA. Parties are responsible for regularly checking the NSPIRES website for updated NRAs.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Youth, community leaders take center stage in launch of gun safety effort

    Source: US State of California 2

    Jun 6, 2025

    Reduce the Risk campaign educates people about the 9 protection orders available

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced a comprehensive campaign to engage youth and community leaders on the available protection orders to keep Californians safer from gun violence during Gun Violence Awareness Month. 

    SACRAMENTO  – As California continues its nationwide leadership with the strongest gun safety laws in the country, Governor Gavin Newsom launched a campaign aimed at engaging the state’s youth and key leaders about the gun violence protection orders available during times of crisis.  

    Year after year, California continues to step up to protect families statewide from senseless gun incidents. As many of our youth experience a crisis of connection and belonging, we are welcoming them in the ongoing movement to bring communities together around these common-sense solutions.

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Underscoring the state’s commitment to using every tool available to prevent gun violence, the Reduce the Risk campaign will be led by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and aims to close the gap in public knowledge through key engagement about California’s nine types of protection orders, which temporarily remove firearms to prevent larger tragedies. A recent survey shows nearly 80 percent of Californians are concerned about how little they know about these legal tools. 

    “Protection orders have been a driving factor in reducing shootings, suicides, and domestic violence,” said Cal OES Director Nancy Ward. “Yet many Californians don’t know they exist. This campaign continues the work we began in 2023 to make sure every community knows how to use them.”

    The Reduce the Risk campaign is informed by the Champions Advisory Council,  composed of experts in law enforcement, legal practice, and health care, as well as the Youth Advisory Council, a group of young leaders on the frontlines of gun violence prevention. These youth advisors are helping shape campaign activities to better reach and engage younger Californians, who will be critical to sustaining progress in the future.

    California’s youth as a solution

    Nationwide, firearms are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents. Compared to the rest of the nation, California has made substantial long-term progress in reducing per capita rates of youth firearm homicide. CDC data showed that in 2022, California’s firearm homicide rate for youth under 25 was about 50% below the rate recorded for the rest of the U.S. By contrast, nationwide youth gun homicides increased over 46% from 2019-2021.

    “The Youth Advisory Council plays a vital role in shaping real solutions to gun violence by bringing the voices of those directly impacted into the conversation,” said Maxwell Martinez of Sacramento, Youth Advisory Council member, who is a survivor of gun violence and recent graduate from Chico State. “Young people are not just the future, we are the present. Our perspectives are essential in driving urgent, lasting change.”

    California has long been a national leader in gun violence prevention, with laws like universal background checks, assault weapons bans, and mandatory waiting periods. These efforts have paid off: California consistently has one of the lowest gun death rates in the nation. But the toll remains high – about 3,200 Californians lose their lives to gun violence each year, with suicides making up a significant share, especially among men. 

    “Gun violence affects every community, and for too long, young people have been left out of the conversation. Through my work producing a documentary on gun violence prevention, I saw the power of youth voices firsthand,” said Sarah Youssef of San Diego, Youth Advisory Council member, high school senior, and active participant in the local chapter of the Brady Campaign. “Reduce the Risk gives us the platform we need to push for real change and make sure no more lives are lost to preventable violence.” 

    Community leaders come together

    Experts from the Champions Advisory Council include community leaders who see the daily toll that gun violence has on families statewide. 

    “There is solid evidence that restraining orders can help prevent interpersonal violence, including domestic violence and mass shootings, and suicide. Reduce the Risk will help Californians put these important tools to work,” said Garen Wintemute, MD, MPH, Director of the Centers for Violence Prevention at the University of California, Davis.

    In California, men aged 15–44 die by suicide at 3 to 4 times the rate of women, often by firearms. While violence is focused both internally and externally, affecting all people in the community, men are responsible for almost 80% of violent crime. Almost half of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former male intimate partner.

    “Too often we see the devastation that could have been prevented if someone had spoken up or taken action. Protection orders are a proven tool that can interrupt violence before it happens,” said Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper. “Through the Reduce the Risk campaign, we are making sure every Californian knows how to use these lifesaving laws.”

    Protection orders reduce gun violence 

    California was the first state in the nation to adopt a “red flag law” in 2016. In the first three years of their existence, these protection orders were used to prevent 58 cases of threatened mass shootings. The protection orders available in California include:

    • Gun Violence Restraining Order
    • Domestic Violence Restraining Order
    • Civil Harassment Restraining Order
    • Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order
    • Juvenile Restraining Order
    • Postsecondary School Violence Restraining Order
    • Workplace Restraining Order
    • Criminal Protective Order
    • Emergency Protective Orders

    California’s strong leadership

    California is ranked as the #1 state in the country for its strong gun safety laws — along with some of the lowest rates of gun deaths — by Giffords Law Center and Everytown for Gun Safety. In states where officials have passed gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence. Texas and Florida, which ranked 32nd and 21st, respectively in gun law strength, had firearm mortality rates more than 50% higher than California. Click here to download the updated gun safety fact sheet.

    California has reduced its gun violence rate because of its leading gun safety laws. If the gun death rate in the rest of the U.S. matched California’s over the past decade, there would have been nearly 140,000 lives saved and potentially hundreds of thousands fewer gunshot injuries.

    Last year, Governor Newsom signed a bipartisan legislative package to further reinforce California’s nation-leading gun laws, prevent traumatic incidents of mass violence, and establish the first in the nation Office of Gun Violence Prevention. 

    California has invested $1.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.

    Resources

    The campaign also launched a new website, ReduceTheRisk.ca.gov, which will offer educational materials in multiple languages and free training resources for community organizations across the state.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Former Owner of Fuel Truck Supply Company Sentenced to Prison for Bid Rigging and Conspiracy to Monopolize

    Source: US State of Vermont

    The former owner of fuel truck supply companies was sentenced today in Boise, Idaho, to 12 months in prison and a $20,000 fine for his leadership role in conspiracies to monopolize, rig bids, and allocate territories for fuel truck contracts that assist the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to battle wildfires in Idaho and the mountain west. The conduct lasted at least eight years.

    Ike Tomlinson pleaded guilty in May 2024 to conspiring with Kris Bird, the owner of another fuel truck company to rig bids in each other’s favor. Both individuals pleaded guilty to the charges from the federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the fuel truck services industry.

    “This sentence sends a message that bid rigging—particularly bid rigging affecting federal agencies—will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Defendant’s conspiracies struck at the heart of the competitive process. They damaged essential taxpayer-funded services critical to protecting the American public and its property from wildfires while profiting at the expense of American taxpayers. The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to ensure that individuals who cheat and deprive their communities of these essential services are incarcerated.”

    “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that those who manipulate markets and undermine fair competition will be held accountable,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Antitrust violations harm consumers, distort markets and erode trust in our economy. The FBI remains committed to working with our partners to investigate and disrupt all forms of corporate fraud.”

    “Competition is critical for fair and efficient federal contracting,” said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Jason Suffredini of the General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG). “GSA OIG special agents and our partners are committed to pursuing those who engage in any form of procurement fraud.”

    According to court documents, the co-conspirators coordinated their bids to inflate prices and to determine who would have priority to receive business from the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies in the event of a wildfire in a specific geographic area. These bids gave the false impression of competition when, in fact, the co-conspirators had predetermined who would receive priority from the Forest Service. The co-conspirators further coordinated to exclude and punish potential competitors to further maintain the success of their conspiracy.  Tomlinson participated in the conduct from 2015 through 2023.

    The Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Boise Resident Agency, and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case.  Assistant Chief Christopher J. Carlberg and Trial Attorneys Elena A. Goldstein, Daniel B. Twomey, and Matthew Chou of the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean M. Mazorol for the District of Idaho are prosecuting the case.

    In addition to today’s criminal sentence, on July 10, 2024, the United States, on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, entered into a civil settlement with Ike Tomlinson and other related entities and individuals who agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve civil claims related to allegations that they obtained government contracts through bid-rigging and the submission of false SAM Certifications, submitted false claims for helicopter operations support trailers, wrongly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan, and other conduct.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General investigated the civil case. Assistant United States Attorney Robert B. Firpo and Civil Chief James Schaefer are handling the case.

    In November 2019, the Justice Department created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government—federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation can contact the PCSF at the link listed above. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Owner of Fuel Truck Supply Company Sentenced to Prison for Bid Rigging and Conspiracy to Monopolize

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    The former owner of fuel truck supply companies was sentenced today in Boise, Idaho, to 12 months in prison and a $20,000 fine for his leadership role in conspiracies to monopolize, rig bids, and allocate territories for fuel truck contracts that assist the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to battle wildfires in Idaho and the mountain west. The conduct lasted at least eight years.

    Ike Tomlinson pleaded guilty in May 2024 to conspiring with Kris Bird, the owner of another fuel truck company to rig bids in each other’s favor. Both individuals pleaded guilty to the charges from the federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the fuel truck services industry.

    “This sentence sends a message that bid rigging—particularly bid rigging affecting federal agencies—will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Defendant’s conspiracies struck at the heart of the competitive process. They damaged essential taxpayer-funded services critical to protecting the American public and its property from wildfires while profiting at the expense of American taxpayers. The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to ensure that individuals who cheat and deprive their communities of these essential services are incarcerated.”

    “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that those who manipulate markets and undermine fair competition will be held accountable,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Antitrust violations harm consumers, distort markets and erode trust in our economy. The FBI remains committed to working with our partners to investigate and disrupt all forms of corporate fraud.”

    “Competition is critical for fair and efficient federal contracting,” said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Jason Suffredini of the General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG). “GSA OIG special agents and our partners are committed to pursuing those who engage in any form of procurement fraud.”

    According to court documents, the co-conspirators coordinated their bids to inflate prices and to determine who would have priority to receive business from the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies in the event of a wildfire in a specific geographic area. These bids gave the false impression of competition when, in fact, the co-conspirators had predetermined who would receive priority from the Forest Service. The co-conspirators further coordinated to exclude and punish potential competitors to further maintain the success of their conspiracy.  Tomlinson participated in the conduct from 2015 through 2023.

    The Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Boise Resident Agency, and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case.  Assistant Chief Christopher J. Carlberg and Trial Attorneys Elena A. Goldstein, Daniel B. Twomey, and Matthew Chou of the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean M. Mazorol for the District of Idaho are prosecuting the case.

    In addition to today’s criminal sentence, on July 10, 2024, the United States, on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, entered into a civil settlement with Ike Tomlinson and other related entities and individuals who agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve civil claims related to allegations that they obtained government contracts through bid-rigging and the submission of false SAM Certifications, submitted false claims for helicopter operations support trailers, wrongly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan, and other conduct.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General investigated the civil case. Assistant United States Attorney Robert B. Firpo and Civil Chief James Schaefer are handling the case.

    In November 2019, the Justice Department created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government—federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation can contact the PCSF at the link listed above. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Prince George’s County Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, Zebedee Alexander Johnson, 35, of Clinton, Maryland, pled guilty to the armed robbery of a Clinton convenience store.

    Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Amanda M. Koldjeski, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Malik Aziz, Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).

    According to the guilty plea, on April 29, 2022, Johnson and four others traveled to a Clinton convenience store, where they pointed a firearm at a store employee and ordered him to lie down.  They then used a circular saw to break open the store’s ATM and take trays containing approximately $35,020 in U.S. currency.  At the time of the armed robbery, Johnson was on federal supervised release in connection with a 2018 conviction for a drug-distribution offense. Johnson admitted that he violated the supervised-release terms, which prohibits committing any new crimes, by committing the armed robbery.

    Johnson faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and a maximum of life in federal prison, followed by up to five years of supervised release, for this offense.  He also faces a maximum sentence of two years for violating his supervised release.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang scheduled sentencing for September 4, at 9:30 a.m.

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

    U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and PGPD for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and William Moomau who are prosecuting the case.

    For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Environmental Crimes Bulletin – May 2025

    Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

    View All Environmental Crimes Bulletins

    In This Issue:

    Cases by District/Circuit

    District/Circuit Case Name Conduct/Statute(s)
    District of Alaska United States v. Corey Potter, et al. Crab Harvesting; Lacey Act
    Southern District of California United States v. Ruben Montes, et al. Pesticide and Veterinary Drug Smuggling; Conspiracy
    United States v. Ricardo Alonzo Exotic Bird Smuggling
    Northern District of Florida United States v. Zackery Brandon Barfield Dolphin Killing; Marine Mammal Protection Act; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
    Southern District of Florida United States v. Liza Hash Discharging Oil; Clean Water Act
    Middle District of Georgia United States v. Tamichael Elijah, et al. Dog Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture, Conspiracy
    Eastern District of Kentucky United States v. Kendall Glenn Hacker Animal Torture Videos; Animal Crush Statute
    District of Maine United States v. Isaac Allen Tampering with a Monitoring Device; Clean Air Act, Conspiracy, Obstruction of Justice
    Southern District of Mississippi United States v. Thomas W. Douglas, Jr., et al. Wastewater Discharges; Clean Water Act
    District of New Jersey United States v. Tommy Watson, et al. Dog Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture, Conspiracy, Felon-in-Possession
    Northern District of Texas United States v. Phillip D. Waddell, et al. Tampering with a Monitoring Device; Clean Air Act, Conspiracy
    Southern District of Texas United States v. Jocelyn Castilleja Refrigerant Smuggling
    Eastern District of Virginia United States v. Charles Reginald McDougald, et al. Dog Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture, Conspiracy
    United States v. Jonathan Long Tampering with a Monitoring Device; Clean Air Act, Accessory-After-the-Fact

    Recently Charged

    United States v. Jocelyn Castilleja

    • No. 5:25-CR-00515 (Southern District of Texas)
    • AUSA Bryan Oliver

    On May 8, 2025, prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Jocelyn Castilleja with smuggling (18 U.S.C. § 545).

    On June 15, 2024, Castilleja attempted to smuggle three 25pound containers of 410A hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant from Mexico into the United States in her personal vehicle. The refrigerants were discovered during a routine inspection by Customs and Border Protection agents at the Brownsville, Texas, border crossing. Castilleja failed to declare the containers to customs authorities, as required by law.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

    United States v. Ricardo Alonzo

    • No. 3:25-mj-02712 (Southern District of California)
    • AUSA Parker Gardner-Erickson

    On May 20, 2025, prosecutors charged Ricardo Alonzo with smuggling 17 exotic birds into the United States from Mexico under the seat of his car (18 U.S.C. § 545).

    On May 4, 2025, authorities intercepted Alonzo as he drove over the border from Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Officers found four bags containing 10 burrowing parakeets, five yellow-crowned Amazon parrots, and two red-lored Amazon parrot chicks under the rear seat. The two red-lored Amazon parrot chicks did not survive; the remaining birds were transferred to a quarantine facility managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Amazon parrots are native to Mexico, the West Indies, and northern South America, while burrowing parakeets are native to Chile and Argentina. All species of Amazon parrots, as well as burrowing parakeets, are listed on either Appendix I or Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

    Smuggled birds that are not subject to quarantine can prove dangerous as they may carry and spread Avian influenza (bird flu) and other diseases. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu-like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and death in humans and other birds including those housed on poultry farms.

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

    Red-lored Amazon parrots rescued by border officials.

    Related Press Release: Southern District of California | San Diego Man Charged with Smuggling Exotic Live Birds | United States Department of Justice

    Guilty Pleas

    United States v. Tommy Watson, et al.

    • No. 1:23-CR-00787 (District of New Jersey)
    • ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
    • AUSA Michelle Goldman

    On May 16, 2025, Tommy Watson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess, train, and transport dogs for an animal fighting venture, sponsoring and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture, and being a felon-in-possession of ammunition (7 U.S.C. §§ 2156(a)(1), 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922(g)). Watson is scheduled for sentencing on October 2, 2025.

    The case began when officers responded to an emergency call at an auto body garage in Upper Deerfield Township, New Jersey. They found a fighting pit in the garage, along with two pit bull-type dogs, still fighting, that had been placed into an inoperable car on a lift in the garage as the participants fled on foot. The dogs later died from injuries they sustained while fighting. Officers also found an uninjured pit bull-type dog in a car near the garage, along with a rudimentary veterinary suture and skin staple kit.

    Evidence revealed that Watson organized the fight, and that his dog was scheduled for the next fight on deck. He jointly possessed and trained the dog for this particular fight, as shown by cell phone video evidence. Watson participated in a dog fighting operation called “From Da Bottom Kennels.” From Da Bottom Kennels and others live-streamed dog fight videos from the garage via the Telegram app.

    Co-defendant Johnnie Lee Nelson was sentenced in April 2025 to complete a two-year term of probation to include one year of home confinement. Nelson will also perform 100 hours of community service.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

    United States v. Phillip D. Waddell, et al.

    • No. 3:24-CR-00136 (Northern District of Texas)
    • AUSA Doug Brasher

    On May 22, 2025, Phillip Waddell pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

    Waddell is one of ten defendants charged for tampering with pollution control equipment software in diesel trucks. The other co-defendants are Philip Matthew Ormand, Kolby Douglas Huneycutt, Kyle Kris Kizer, Jonathan Joseph Lohrmeyer, Justin Loutoyama Pasamonte, Archie George Sims, and Adam Marsh Stanley, along with auto dealership James Hodge Motors, Inc. (doing business as Jay Hodge Dodge), and its Chief Operating Officer Curtis Kevin Poore. They are scheduled for trial to begin on December 15, 2025.

    Between June 2019 and November 2021, Waddell sold aftermarket diesel exhaust components, tuners, and so-called “delete tunes” that allowed vehicles to override on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems. Operating normally, OBDs monitor vehicle emissions to ensure they fall below the limits set by the CAA. When an OBD detects excess emissions, it sends input to the vehicle’s on-board computer, which may activate an indicator light and place the vehicle in “limp mode,” capping its speed as low as five miles per hour. With delete tunes installed, diesel exhaust systems can be modified so that OBDs are prevented from detecting emission changes.

    Waddell purchased delete tunes from Ormand to customize them for specific vehicles. From August 2018 to April 2021, Waddell paid Ormand more than $2 million for delete tunes and sold them for between $300 and $1,350 each. Waddell’s customers included James Hodge Motors and several individuals who operated their own diesel repair and customization businesses.

    Huneycutt, Kizer, Lohrmeyer, Pasamonte, Sims, and Stanley purchased tuners and delete tunes from Waddell and installed them on their customers’ vehicles, a process called “tuning” or “reflashing.” James Hodge Motors, acting under Poore’s supervision, falsified invoices to conceal the nature of the work it performed on customers’ trucks.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. 

    Sentencings

    United States v. Thomas W. Douglas, Jr., et al.

    • No. 3:22-CR-00036 (Southern District of Mississippi)
    • ECS Senior Litigation Counsel Todd Gleason
    • ECS Senior Trial Attorney Matt Morris
    • ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris
    • ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

    On May 1, 2025, a court sentenced Thomas W. Douglas, Jr., to pay a $50,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation, which includes nine months’ home confinement. Co-defendant John S. Welch, Sr., was sentenced to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Following an almost two-week trial, a jury found Douglas guilty of two negligent Clean Water Act (CWA) counts and Welch guilty of one negligent CWA count (33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(1)(A)).

    Douglas was the president and co-owner of Gold Coast Commodities, Inc. (GCC), based in Brandon, Mississippi, and Welch was GCC’s plant manager. The company processes fats, oils, and grease into feedstock for animal food and biofuels. GCC applied for and received pretreatment permits that limited the quantity of treated waste it could discharge to the Jackson area wastewater treatment system (JWTS). GCC never activated the permits, claiming that it trucked all its waste offsite for treatment and disposal. State and local regulatory officials later discovered discharges of industrial waste downstream from GCC that vastly exceeded numerous pollutant limits.

    After officials placed monitors into GCC’s sewer outfall, the defendants trucked GCC’s process waste to three other illegal discharge locations, two of which led to the JWTS. They hired two sewage haulers to transport GCC’s industrial waste to JWTS’s treatment plant in tanker trucks falsely marked as “sewage” to conceal the nature of the waste. The plant does not accept industrial waste. When that became too risky, they hired a trucking company to transport GCC’s waste to a small sewer service company owned by co-defendant Andrew Walker. There they excavated a JWTS sewer pipe and discharged another 3.4 million gallons of GCC’s industrial waste until they were again caught and ordered to stop.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Brandon Police Department, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Cities of Brandon and Jackson municipal governments.

    United States v. Charles Reginald McDougald, et al.

    • No. 1:22-CR-00154 (Eastern District of Virginia)
    • AUSA Gordon D. Kromberg
    • AUSA Vanessa K. Strobbe

    On May 6, 2025, a court sentenced Charles Reginald McDougald to 27 months’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release.

    From March 2015 through December 2022, McDougald, aka “Luke” and “Bottom Boy—along with other conspirators from Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and North Carolina—used a messaging app private group referred to as “The DMV Board” or “The Board,” to discuss training fighting dogs, exchange videos about dog fighting, and arrange and coordinate dog fights.

    Members of the DMV Board used the app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost fights, circulate media reports about conspirators who had been caught by law enforcement, and discuss ways to avoid being caught. McDougald posted multiple offers to arrange dog fights for thousands of dollars per fight. McDougald pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the animal fighting venture statute (7 U.S.C. § 2156; 18 U.S.C. §§ 49, 371).

    McDougald’s sentencing follows the convictions of 19 others who used the DMV Board. Those other defendants received sentences ranging between 10 days and 30 months in prison.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense Criminal Investigation Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

    United States v. Isaac Allen

    • No. 2:24-CR-00125 (District of Maine)
    • AUSA David Joyce
    • AUSA John Osborn

    On May 7, 2025, a court sentenced Isaac Allen to pay a $40,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation. Allen, the owner of a diesel repair shop called Red Barn Diesel Performance in Windham, Maine, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to tamper with Clean Air Act (CAA) monitoring devices and obstructing an agency proceeding (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1505; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

    Between January 2017 and September 2020, Allen conspired with a local truck sales business to reprogram the on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems of diesel trucks by downloading software, or “tunes,” which disabled the systems’ ability to detect emissions control malfunctions. Disabling emissions controls or tampering with the OBD system of a diesel truck causes its emissions to increase significantly.

    In June 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Allen a CAA Information Request, seeking details on the vehicles serviced by Red Barn, including the impact of the engine tunes on emissions systems and OBD functions. Allen underreported the number of vehicles affected.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with support from the Maine State Police.

    United States v. Kendall Glenn Hacker

    • No. 5:25-CR-00002 (Eastern District of Kentucky)
    • AUSA Emily Greenfield

    On May 12, 2025, a court sentenced Kendall Glenn Hacker to 30 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release. Hacker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Animal Crush statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).

    Between November 2021 and June 2022, Hacker sent money through online payment applications, such as PayPal and Venmo, to Michael Macartney, an online chat group administrator. The participants in this group funded, created, obtained, received, exchanged and/or distributed animal crush videos.

    Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

    Related Press Release: District of Kentucky | Richmond Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Create and Distribute Animal Crush Videos

    United States v. Corey Potter, et al.

    • No. 3:24-CR-00047 (District of Alaska)
    • AUSA Seth Brickey

    On May 13, 2025, a court sentenced fisherman Corey Potter to 12 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release for illegally transporting crab from Alaska to Washington in violation of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Potter also is banned from commercial fishing while under supervision.

    In February and March 2024, Corey Potter owned and operated two crab catcher vessels and harvested Tanner and golden king crab in Southeast Alaska waters. The vessels were captained and operated by co-defendants Kyle Potter (Corey’s son) and Justin Welch. Corey Potter directed Kyle Potter and Welch to transport their harvest of live crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it for a higher price than they would receive in Alaska. Before leaving Alaska, neither vessel landed their harvest at a port nor reported the harvest on a fish ticket, which all three defendants knew was required under state law.

    At the time, one vessel held more than 4,200 pounds of live Tanner crab aboard, while the other had close to 3,000 pounds of live golden king crab. A portion of the Tanner crab was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease that is fatal to crustaceans. Several crab fishermen who knew about their plans contacted Corey and Kyle Potter expressing concern that the Potters’ harvest would infect other crabs with BCS. Despite the other fishermen’s concerns, Corey Potter moved forward with his plan to transport the catch.

    Following the multi-day trip from Alaska, roughly 40 percent the king crab died and was unmarketable. Since the other vessel had BCS-contaminated crabs, the entire catch of Tanner crab was transferred to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to dispose of in a landfill.

    In March 2024, law enforcement served a search warrant on Welch and one of the fishing vessels. Welch told Corey and Kyle Potter about the search, and both deleted text messages before law enforcement could seize their phones. Those messages described their awareness of BCS and their plans to sell the crab for better prices.

    Kyle Potter was previously sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. Welch was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

    Related Press Release: District of Alaska | Kodiak fisherman sentenced to prison for directing illegal transport of crab from Alaska | United States Department of Justice

    United States v. Tamichael Elijah, et al.

    • No. 1:24-CR-00005 (Middle District of Georgia)
    • ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
    • ECS Trial Attorney Leigh Rende
    • AUSA Leah McEwen
    • ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

    On May 13 and 14, 2025, the court sentenced the final 11 defendants in this case arising from a large-scale dog fighting event in 2022. All defendants were ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Marshals Service for the costs of caring for the seized animals.

    • Donnametric Miller was sentenced to 100 months’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. Miller will pay $17,129 in restitution.
    • Fredricus White will serve 35 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. White will pay $13,307 in restitution.
    • Christopher Travis Beaumont was sentenced to 30 months’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. Beaumont will pay $17,993 in restitution.
    • Cornelious Johnson will serve 27 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Johnson will pay $13,307 in restitution.
    • Terelle Ganzy was sentenced to 24 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Ganzy will pay $13,307 in restitution.
    • Terrance Davis was sentenced to 20 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Davis will pay $16,424 in restitution.
    • Tamichael Elijah was sentenced to 18 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Elijah will pay $50,279 in restitution.
    • Rodrecus Kimble will complete a three-year term of probation to include one year of home detention. Kimble will pay $17,895 in restitution.
    • Timothy Freeman was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release. Freeman will pay $16,929 in restitution.
    • Herman Buggs, Jr., was sentenced to time served and two years of supervised release. Buggs will pay $16,688 in restitution.
    • Gary Hopkins will complete a two-year term of probation and pay $16,648 in restitution.

    The final two defendants, Brandon Baker and Marvin Pulley, III, are scheduled for sentencing on June 4 and 5, 2025, respectively. Defendant Willie Russell was previously sentenced to 24 months’ incarceration followed by three years’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 371).

    On April 24, 2022, the defendants held a dog fighting event in Donalsonville, Georgia, that authorities disrupted while in progress. The defendants brought 24 pit bull-type dogs to fight in a series of matches over that weekend.

    The participants used their cars to store dogs that fought previously, as well as those awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Dogs found in cars bore recent injuries and scars. Additional dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued 27 dogs, including a badly injured dog that later died from its injuries.

    All defendants but Freeman pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the animal fighting prohibition of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Beaumont and Miller also pleaded guilty to sponsoring or exhibiting a dog in a dog fight. Baker, Davis, Ganzy, Johnson, Pulley, and White further pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting a dog to use in an animal fighting venture. Freeman pleaded guilty to spectating at an animal fight. Miller and Pulley also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Bay County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office.

    United States v. Ruben Montes, et al.

    • No. 3:23-CR-02377 (Southern District of California)
    • ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
    • AUSA Elizabet Brown

    On May 14, 2025, a court sentenced Ruben Montes to 16 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Montes will pay $12,710 in forfeiture for his part in a scheme to smuggle and distribute more than $3 million worth of Mexican pesticides and veterinary drugs that are not approved for use in the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371).

    Since 2020, Montes coordinated the smuggling of pesticides and veterinary drugs from Mexico into the United States. The primary pesticides involved were Taktic and Bovitraz, which are not registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in the United States. The smuggled veterinary drugs included Tylocet, Terramicina, Tetragent Ares, and Catarrol, which are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Montes requested that his co-conspirators bring these pesticides and veterinary drugs from Mexico into the United States. They then hid the pesticides and veterinary drugs in storage units in Calexico and retrieved them for distribution throughout the United States. Montes and Hugo Gutierrez (who remains at large) supplied most of the pesticides and veterinary drugs to individuals charged in another case, United States v. Toledo, et al., No. 22-CR-01965, (S.D. Calif.). Montes was also involved in shipping about 150 packages of unapproved products to another co-conspirator in Texas.

    According to the EPA, the active ingredient in Taktic and Bovitraz is amitraz, which is toxic to bees if released into hives, and then ultimately to humans when it ends up in honey, honeycomb, and beeswax. Misuse of amitraz-containing products in beehives can therefore result in exposures that could cause neurological effects and possibly reproductive effects in humans.

    Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control conducted the investigation.

    United States v. Jonathan Long

    • No. 2:22-CR-00139 (Eastern District of Virginia)
    • AUSA Joseph Kosky

    On May 16, 2025, a court sentenced Jonathan Long to pay a $88,514 fine and complete a 12-month term of probation to include three months of home confinement. Long pleaded guilty to being an accessory after-the-fact to falsifying, tampering with, and rendering inaccurate a monitoring device required by the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C); 18 U.S.C. § 3).

    Long owned and operated Open Wide Performance, LLC, which sold aftermarket defeat devices for diesel trucks. Long works as a diesel technician and is an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.

    Between 2019 and 2020, Long sold “delete kits,” including delete pipes, software, cables, and tunes. Long also helped his customers use this equipment to manipulate their diesel trucks’ onboard diagnostic system. Long earned approximately $300,000 from this criminal enterprise.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

    United States v. Zackery Brandon Barfield

    • No. 5:25-CR-00011 (Northern District of Florida)
    • ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
    • AUSA Joseph Ravelo

    On May 21, 2025, a court sentenced Zachary Brandon Barfield to 30 days’ incarceration followed by one year of supervised release. Barfield also will pay a $51,000 fine. Barfield pleaded guilty to three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1372(a)(2)(A), 1375(b); 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(G), 136l(b)(2)).

    Barfield is a charter and commercial fishing captain operating out of Panama City, Florida. In the summer of 2022, Barfield became frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of charter fishing clients. Between June and August 2022, Barfield began placing a commercial methomyl insecticide inside bait fish to feed to and poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat.

    While captaining another fishing trip in December 2022, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from fishing lines. This time, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot and kill a dolphin that surfaced near his vessel. In the summer of 2023, while on a charter fishing trip, Barfield shot at a dolphin that surfaced near his clients’ fishing lines.

    The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

    Related Press Release: Northern District of Florida | Panama City Commercial Fisherman Sentenced for Killing Dolphins in the Gulf of America 

    United States v. Liza Hash

    • No. 1:25-CR-20007 (Southern District of Florida)
    • AUSA Tom Watts-FitzGerald

    On May 23, 2025, a court sentenced Liza Hash to complete a one-year term of probation to include 60 days of home confinement. Hash also will pay a $5,000 fine. She pleaded guilty to discharging oil into United States and contiguous zone waters, in violating of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(2), 1321(b)(3)).

    Hash was the owner and operator of the S/V Juliet, a sailing vessel used for multi-day scuba diving trips between Miami and the Bahamas. Over the course of about six years, Hash’s vessel carried up to 12 passengers per trip, along with the crew, between the U.S. and the Bahamas.

    On June 16, 2023, U.S. Coast Guard investigators boarded the Juliet following its return from the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.

    During the inspection, they noted oily water in the bilge, and a pump connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, to facilitate illegal overboard discharges. Hash had used the vessel’s grey water tank (which is intended to hold liquid waste from the boat’s washer, dryer, sinks, and showers) to store oil-contaminated bilge water and discharge it overboard.

    Investigators estimate that Hash discharged approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water during the five-year period.

    The United States Coast Guard conducted the investigation.

    View All Environmental Crimes Bulletins

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Idaho Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Wildfires

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)is reminding eligible small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Idaho of the July 7, 2025 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the wildfires, including the Bench Lake and Wapiti fires beginning July 11, 2024.

    The disaster declaration covers the Idaho counties of Blaine, Boise, Butte, Custer, Elmore, Lemhi and Valley.

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and private nonprofit (PNP)organizations impacted by financial losses directly related to this disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises.

    EIDLs are for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. They may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than July 7.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Tornado Watch 376

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL6

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 376
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    110 PM CDT Fri Jun 6 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    Southern Illinois
    Western into Central Kentucky
    Southeast Missouri
    Northwest into Middle Tennessee

    * Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 110 PM until
    800 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    A couple tornadoes possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    Isolated large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible

    SUMMARY…Scattered thunderstorms are forecast to develop and
    intensify this afternoon as the low-level wind profile strengthens
    across the Watch area. A couple of supercell tornadoes are
    possible, in addition to damaging gusts with the stronger storms.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 60 statute miles
    north and south of a line from 50 miles southwest of Cape Girardeau
    MO to 15 miles south southeast of Bowling Green KY. For a complete
    depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
    (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

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

    &&

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
    storm motion vector 22020.

    …Smith

    SEL6

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 376
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    110 PM CDT Fri Jun 6 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    Southern Illinois
    Western into Central Kentucky
    Southeast Missouri
    Northwest into Middle Tennessee

    * Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 110 PM until
    800 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    A couple tornadoes possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    Isolated large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible

    SUMMARY…Scattered thunderstorms are forecast to develop and
    intensify this afternoon as the low-level wind profile strengthens
    across the Watch area. A couple of supercell tornadoes are
    possible, in addition to damaging gusts with the stronger storms.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 60 statute miles
    north and south of a line from 50 miles southwest of Cape Girardeau
    MO to 15 miles south southeast of Bowling Green KY. For a complete
    depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
    (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

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

    &&

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
    storm motion vector 22020.

    …Smith

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW6
    WW 376 TORNADO IL KY MO TN 061810Z – 070100Z
    AXIS..60 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF LINE..
    50SW CGI/CAPE GIRARDEAU MO/ – 15SSE BWG/BOWLING GREEN KY/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 50NM N/S /51NE ARG – 11SSE BWG/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..1 INCH. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22020.

    LAT…LON 37579021 37648632 35908632 35849021

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU6.

    Watch 376 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Mod (40%)

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

    Low (20%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (50%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Low (20%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Low (20%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (70%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Hickenlooper Chairs Small Business Committee Field Hearing Highlighting Tariff Threat to Outdoor Rec Industry

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
    Hickenlooper: “We’re sustaining losses here that are needless, and they’re going to be long lasting, and they affect every aspect of our country.”
    WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper recently chaired a field hearing of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in Denver to underline the strain the outdoor recreation industry is facing under the Trump administration’s chaotic tariffs. 
    Watch the full field hearing HERE
    During the hearing, Hickenlooper emphasized that the Trump administration’s blanket tariffs are disproportionally hurting working people across the country:
    “Certainly, the people that are going to elegant dinners in Mar-a-Lago or anywhere, this isn’t as much of an issue for them,” Hickenlooper said at the hearing. “But many small businesses are really caught up in this storm and struggling to survive.”
    Hickenlooper was joined by witnesses representing three Colorado outdoor recreation businesses including Travis Campbell, the owner and CEO of Eagle Creek, an adventure travel gear company based in Steamboat Springs; Mike Mojica, the Founder of Outdoor Element, an adventure gear company based in Englewood; and Trent Bush, Founder and Co-CEO of ARTILECT Studio, a performance apparel studio based in Boulder.
    “In our 50th year of operations we could be possibly put out of business through these ill-conceived tariff plans,” said Campbell. “Eagle Creek immediately took dramatic steps to stay afloat. We froze salary increases that we had just implemented to our teams, we halted the hiring of two exceptional new people that we planned to bring on board, we cut spending across the board…” 
    “We just came off our best year ever. And then, a couple months ago happened. Overnight, tariffs on our core products jumped to 145%…What I thought was an approachable path to the American dream has suddenly turned into quicksand,” said Mojica. “We had to pause production — tell factories to hold the goods and not ship them…I’ve lost a wholesale account, I had to lay off team members, I’ve asked others to work less hours…”
    “I held on to producing in the U.S. as long as I possibly could. And I feel I’ve done everything I was asked to do since, including moving production out of China six years ago,” said Bush. “Now even those staggering high tariffs outside China may force my business to close. This just isn’t the American dream I’ve believed in and I’ve tried so hard over all those years to achieve.”
    Check out the coverage below:
    Colorado Sun: Colorado outdoor companies limping through uncertainty in trade war
    Hickenlooper’s committee hearing — held at History Colorado and titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy” — included Mike Mojica, the founder and CEO of Outdoor Element, which designs adventure survival equipment in Englewood, and outdoor apparel veteran Trent Bush, the founder and co-CEO the new Artilect Studio in Boulder.
    Mojica, a mechanical engineer who fine-tuned his survival gear business in theMoosejaw Business Accelerator program in 2022, said his company posted a record year in 2024.
    “What I thought was a path to the American dream has become quicksand,” he said of tariffs that have forced him to sell his gear for zero profit. “Trade policy is supposed to provide business with the certainty we need to make long-term decisions and right now that certainty is missing. I’m no longer trying to thrive. I’m trying to survive.”
    AXIOS Denver: Colorado’s outdoor industry suffering from trade war
    Travis Campbell shelled out an additional $580,000. Mike Mojica raised prices and laid off workers. Trent Bush is worried he may go out of business.
    What they’re saying: “When you add that all up, the [impacts of tariffs] mean lower wages, fewer jobs and less spending in the economy,” Campbell said at a congressional hearing Friday in Denver hosted by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. “I don’t think that’s what we’re aiming for.”
    E&E News: Outdoor recreation field hearing to focus on tariff impacts
    The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will hold a hearing in Colorado on Friday focused on the outdoor recreation economy in tough times.
    Titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy,” the hearing will focus on ways Congress can support the outdoor recreation industry, which is valued at more than $1 trillion and has grown significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic.
    The field hearing, hosted by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), will hear testimony from three outdoor recreation retailers that have been saddled by the Trump administration’s tariff regime.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Update on Statewide Air Quality Monitoring to Keep NY’ers Safe

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today issued an update on the State’s comprehensive air monitoring efforts to track air quality statewide and keep New Yorkers safe this summer. New York residents and visitors are reminded to include air quality awareness in their daily warm weather routines. In addition, New York State is issuing an Air Quality Health Advisory for today, Friday, June 6, for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, and Western New York regions for fine particulate matter pollution caused by wildland fires in Western Canada.

    “Using the latest science and data, New York continues to track air quality conditions across the State to keep New York communities safe,” Governor Hochul said. “As temperatures begin to climb during the summer months and less predictable factors like distant wildfires occur, I strongly encourage New Yorkers to stay informed and prepare for changes in air quality by paying attention to the State’s Air Quality Health Advisories and take necessary precautions to stay safe.”

    The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provides daily air quality forecasts to ensure air quality information is available at New Yorkers’ fingertips. While New York State has some of the nation’s most stringent air quality regulations to reduce air pollution and protect public health and the environment, there are certain days that ozone or particulate matter can impact air quality in your community.

    Using data collected from more than 50 sites across the state, DEC and Department of Health (DOH) issue Air Quality Health Advisories when DEC meteorologists predict levels of pollution, either ozone or fine particulate matter (PM2.5), are expected to exceed an Air Quality Index (AQI) value of 100. The AQI was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale, with a higher AQI value indicating a greater health concern. 

    An Air Quality Health Advisory for PM2.5 is being issued for Friday, June 6, 2025, for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, and Western New York regions due to the impact of smoke from wildfires in Canada.

    New Yorkers are encouraged to check airnow.gov for accurate information on air quality forecasts and conditions. Information about exposure to smoke from fires can be found on DOH’s website.

    DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “It is critical that New Yorkers be Air Quality Aware this summer to stay safe and healthy“ DEC continues to track air quality across the state and works with our partners at the Department of Health to keep the public informed about how to protect themselves and their families and reduce their exposure to air pollution. New Yorkers can visit DEC’s website for the daily forecast or use trusted sources like EPA’s AirNow app, which uses air quality data provided by DEC’s statewide monitoring network.”

    New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “Pollutants like particulate matter from wildfires or ground-level ozone can pose serious health risks—especially for those with heart conditions or lung disease such as asthma, as well as the very young, those over 65 years old and pregnant people. Just as you check the weather on your phone each morning, we encourage all New Yorkers to visit to airnow.gov for the latest air quality forecast and be on the lookout for Air Quality Health Advisories from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health. When air quality is poor, protect yourself by staying inside, reduce exposure and minimize exertion when outdoors.”

    Air pollution can harm public health and natural resources in a variety of ways. Hot summer weather sets the stage for two major pollutants of concern for human health: the formation of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), tiny solid particles or liquid droplets in the air that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter. Fish and wildlife show harmful effects from acid rain and mercury in air. Greenhouse gases in the air are changing the world’s climate and contributing to harmful impacts including extreme heat, deadly flooding, drought, fires, rising sea levels, and severe storms.

    Extreme Heat

    Governor Hochul recently highlighted new and enhanced resources available to protect New York communities from extreme heat this summer as recommended by the State’s Extreme Heat Action Plan, including:

    • New support for cooling at home: With the new Essential Plan Cooling program, NY State of Health will provide eligible Essential Plan members a free air conditioner to help keep their homes cool. This will complement assistance available in 2025 through the HEAP Cooling program which served more than 23,000 households in 2024.
    • Better access to cooling centers: New resources are available to help connect New Yorkers with safe spaces for cooling. The New York State Department of Health and Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) will continue to coordinate with local health departments and emergency managers to update the Cooling Center Finder throughout summer 2025. DOH offers new resources to provide information about best practices for setting up cooling centers and how these locations could serve as clean air centers. Round 8 of the Climate Smart Communities grant program is now open, making $22 million available to fund GHG mitigation and climate adaptation projects, including establishing cooling centers.
    • Additional support for cool buildings: Funding available through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) supports weatherization and clean and efficient heating and cooling that can improve extreme heat resilience at homes, community anchor institutions, schools, and more. The Office of General Services’ new “Decarbonization and Climate Resiliency Design Guide” was released for new and majorly renovated State building projects to assess and reduce climate risk (including extreme heat and Urban Heat Islands) through proactive design.
    • New investments in cool schools: The Education Law newly requires public school districts and BOCES to develop an extreme heat policy, which establishes certain temperature thresholds. NYSERDA offers additional funding to install clean cooling and heating at schools, for example through funding as part of the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.
    • Enhanced tools and funding for cool communities: Extreme heat advice and forecasts for New Yorkers, preliminary extreme heat exposure maps and DOH’s Heat Vulnerability Index help communities understand exposure and vulnerabilities. Programs such as Climate Smart Communities fund communities in planning, designing, and implementation solutions. New and expanded funding supports nature-based solutions such as urban forests, urban farms, and community gardens to cool neighborhoods and mitigate heat islands. Governor Hochul’s New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) initiative expanded outdoor swimming through the Connect Kids to Swimming Instruction Transportation grant program and advanced capital projects for swimming facilities in underserved communities through the NY SWIMS Round One competitive grant program.

    DOH recently launched an interactive New York State Heat Risk and Illness Dashboard that allows the public and county health care officials to determine the forecasted level of heat-related health risks in their area and raise awareness about the dangers of heat exposure.

    Check out “DEC Does What?!” podcast episode #4 The Air Up There (May 2024) where air pollution meteorologists explain the Air Quality Index and how to use it, how weather conditions and different seasons can affect air quality, whether New Yorkers have to worry about wildfire smoke, and what it’s like to measure air quality in Antarctica.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Modernizing State Routes 17A and 94 in Orange County

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that work is beginning on a multi-faceted project to construct a roundabout, replace multiple culverts and resurface State Routes 17A and 94 in the Towns of Warwick and Goshen and the Villages of Warwick, Florida and Goshen, Orange County. In an area known for its apple festivals, black dirt farms, harness racing, and unique shopping experiences, this multi-community $30 million project will enhance traffic flow, prevent flooding while increasing resiliency, and enhance pedestrian facilities to meet the needs of this growing county in the Hudson Valley.

    “This multi-faceted project is part of our ongoing commitment to create 21st Century transportation infrastructure that focuses on the needs of communities across the Hudson Valley,” Governor Hochul said. “By creating a state-of-the-art roundabout, miles of multi-modal access to town and village centers, and building for future tourism, we are enhancing safety and easing travel to the many popular destinations that this fast-growing region has to offer.”

    The centerpiece of the project will be the 14 miles of roadway resurfacing, which will take place along State Routes 94/17A from the New Jersey state line to the Town of Goshen and State Route 94 to Durland Road. Striping with reflective epoxy paint will be added to increase the visibility of pavement markings during storms, further enhancing safety. Traffic signals and curb ramps at adjacent exits and entrances will also be upgraded.

    Additionally, the project will construct a roundabout with decorative street lighting along State Route 94 at County Route 1A and Reservoir Road in the Town of Warwick to realign this intersection. The new roundabout will feature native landscaping and will be designed to reduce potential conflict points that motorists and pedestrians encounter, while creating fewer traffic backups. New crosswalks, sidewalks and other pedestrian accommodations will also improve access to nearby destinations.

    Roundabouts are engineered to maximize safety and minimize congestion. Compared to some traditional intersections, traffic flows more freely through roundabouts, cutting congestion and commute times. Crashes at roundabouts tend to be less severe because they typically occur at slower speeds. Roundabouts also eliminate the need for electric-powered traffic signals. For tips on how to safely navigate a roundabout, check out this helpful instructional video available on DOT’s Youtube channel.

    Strong, resilient infrastructure is important to the overall health of communities and this project will modernize drainage systems to better handle stormwater runoff and replace three culverts along State Route 94 and one along State Route 17A to prevent erosion and promote the health and habitat of local streams.

    Upgrades to traffic signals, new crosswalks, sidewalk curb ramps, accessible pedestrian signal equipment, drainage and the implementation of new lane configurations will occur at the following intersections:

    • State Route 94 at 17A
    • State Route 94 at Colonial Avenue
    • State Route 94 at Meadow Road
    • State Route 94 at Reservoir Road

    Staged construction is expected to include lane shifts, limited daily lane closures and minor detours. The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2027.

    State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “There is no greater champion for infrastructure improvements in the Hudson Valley and across the state than Governor Hochul. Visitors come to Orange County for its natural beauty and tourism opportunities, and many have stayed over the years to live, work and raise a family, resulting in its growth. The investments we are making in infrastructure in the region accommodate this growth, and create enhanced mobility with pedestrian enhancements, a smoother ride and overall, a more resilient transportation system.”

    Senator Chuck Schumer said, “Thanks to millions from my Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law, we are paving the way for a safer future in the Hudson Valley. This will construct a new roundabout and resurface State Routes 17A and 94, improving traffic flow along this vital corridor and helping connect residents and visitors to Orange County’s famous apple festivals and black dirt farms all while creating jobs, jobs, jobs. I’m grateful that Governor Hochul is putting these federal dollars to good use to improve safety and connectivity for New Yorkers in the Hudson Valley.”

    Representative Pat Ryan said, “When we modernize our infrastructure, we make life more accessible and efficient for Hudson Valley families while promoting critical economic development across the region. This project is a gamechanger for our community; delivering the safer streets, better storm systems, and improved traffic flow that Orange County families deserve. I’ll keep working with partners at every level of government to improve traffic safety, modernize outdated infrastructure, and bolster economic growth in every corner of the Hudson Valley.”

    About the Department of Transportation

    It is the mission of the New York State Department of Transportation to provide a safe, reliable, equitable, and resilient transportation system that connects communities, enhances quality of life, protects the environment, and supports the economic well-being of New York State.
    Lives are on the line; slow down and move over for highway workers!
    For more information, find us on Facebook, follow us on X or Instagram, or visit the NYSDOT website. For up-to-date travel information, call 511, visit www.511NY.org or download the free 511NY mobile app.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Stein Promotes Safe Gun Storage During NC S.A.F.E. Week of Action

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Stein Promotes Safe Gun Storage During NC S.A.F.E. Week of Action

    Governor Stein Promotes Safe Gun Storage During NC S.A.F.E. Week of Action
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Today Governor Josh Stein joined Deputy Secretary William Lassiter, Elizabeth City Police Chief Eddie Graham Jr, and gun safety proponents to highlight NC S.A.F.E.’s (Secure All Firearms Effectively) Week of Action and call for safe firearm storage. 

    “Firearms are the leading cause of injury-related death for children in the state, and too many of those tragic deaths are entirely preventable,” said Governor Josh Stein. “We must use every tool at our disposal to keep children safe and promote responsible gun ownership – we need folks locking up their guns, using a gun safe, and talking about the risks of loose firearms.” 

    “North Carolina’s S.A.F.E. Week of Action is a Department of Public Safety initiative that aims to share the importance of safe gun storage through partnerships, outreach, and community events,” said Deputy Secretary William Lassiter. “S.A.F.E. Week highlights the importance of using safe storage devices and preventing firearm-related injuries, violence, and theft. This is a key ingredient in making every North Carolina community safer.”

    “As a medical professional, I see too many preventable gun injuries and deaths in the emergency room,” said Eric Toschlog, Medical Director for Trauma, ECU Health Medical Center. “Keeping firearms in a secure place is imperative to keeping children safe and avoiding preventable deaths.”

    Guns are the leading cause of death for children in North Carolina, with 99 firearm related deaths and 525 emergency department visits in 2023 for children and teens aged 1-17. In total, there were 1,797 firearm-related deaths and 4,008 firearm related emergency department visits in North Carolina in 2023. Improperly stored firearms are also commonly stolen from vehicles and are then frequently used to commit crimes; North Carolina saw 431 vehicle gun thefts in 2023.   

    Governor Stein is committed to building a safer, stronger North Carolina. To reduce gun violence and needless tragedy, Governor Stein proposed more than $2.3 million to promote safe storage in his 2025-2027 budget proposal. In addition, Governor Stein is calling for enhancing law enforcement recruitment and retention efforts by raising salaries for state law enforcement officers and providing bonuses for new Basic Law Enforcment Training (BLET) graduates. Stein’s budget also includes a Fentanyl Control Unit dedicated to getting this deadly poison off the streets, a Cold Case Unit to close unresolved cases of sexual assault, and upgraded safety features at schools, including more cameras, fences for playgrounds, and exterior locks to keep students and teachers safe.

    Click here to read Governor Stein’s NC S.A.F.E Week of Action proclamation.  

    Jun 6, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Kansas Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Adverse Weather

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding eligible small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Kansas of the July 7, 2025 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding occurring May 19, 2024.

    The disaster declaration covers the Kansas county of Harvey.

    Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs impacted by financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises.

    EIDLs are for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. They may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not begin to accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than July 7.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Renewables to account for over half of Brazil’s annual power generation in 2035, forecasts GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    Renewables to account for over half of Brazil’s annual power generation in 2035, forecasts GlobalData

    Posted in Pharma

    Brazil generates power from a diverse range of sources that include thermal sources (gas, oil, and coal), hydropower, nuclear, and renewable. Hydropower accounts for the majority of the country’s annual power generation. However, overdependence on hydropower has made the country vulnerable to droughts. To overcome the challenge, the country is rapidly developing its renewable power capacity. In 2024, renewable power accounted for 36.7% of the country’s annual power generation and is expected to increase to 50.7% in 2035, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    GlobalData’s latest report, “Brazil Power Market Outlook to 2035, Update 2025 – Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape,” reveals that annual renewable power generation in Brazil is expected to increase at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2024-35 to reach 523.2TWh.

    Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, Senior Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Opportunities in Brazil’s power sector stem from the abundance of natural resources for power generation, as well as from the government’s policies, which encourage their development. This is especially important in the case of renewable technologies. The renewable power market has developed substantially in Brazil in recent years. The success of the development of renewables has primarily been due to the introduction of the government’s auctioning system.”

    The government is focusing on the rapid development of the renewable power sector in the country, especially wind power and solar PV. Several wind and solar PV projects are currently under construction in the country. This has opened a wide range of opportunities for local and international equipment manufacturers.

    Saibasan adds: “Full liberalization of the power market is expected to bring in a myriad of opportunities, especially in the renewables segment. Currently, only major consumers, such as factories, shopping centers, and large corporations, have the autonomy to select their electricity supplier within Brazil’s Free Contracting Market (ACL — Ambiente de Contratação Livre).”

    By the year 2028, it is anticipated that all electricity consumers, encompassing small businesses and residential households, will possess the ability to choose their energy provider. At present, the market operates on a largely “one-size-fits-all” basis. However, post-2028, significant developments are expected, including:

    • Green energy retailers offering exclusively 100% renewable electricity.
    • Smart contracts with dynamic pricing that varies according to the time of day, weather conditions, and other factors.
    • Peer-to-peer energy trading, enabling individuals to sell surplus energy from rooftop solar installations to their neighbors.
    • Energy-as-a-service models, eliminating the need for consumers to own solar panels or batteries by allowing them to subscribe to energy services instead.

    Saibasan concludes: “Liberalized markets hold considerable appeal for private investors. Both local and international energy companies. This is expected to drive the renewables market and increase its share in annual generation to over half of total annual power generation in 2035.”

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Convicted Killer Sentenced for Possession of Loaded Gun and Cocaine While Still on Probation

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

               WASHINGTON – Jayvon Gattison, 24, a previously convicted killer and resident of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 40 months in prison for being in possession of a loaded gun and a bag full of marijuana and cocaine when he was arrested by police for smoking a joint while still on probation. 

               The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department. 

               Gattison pleaded guilty Jan. 15, 2025, to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb ordered Gattison to serve three years of supervised release.

               According to court documents, in October 2018, Gattison shot and killed man who tried to rob him during a drug transaction. On October 9, 2024, just three months after he was released from prison in that case and while he was still on probation, Gattison was arrested with the loaded firearm and bag full of drugs.

               About 7 p.m on Oct. 9, members of the MPD Robbery Suppression Unit were patrolling on the 3000 block of Channing Street NE, when they observed a group of five individuals smoking next to a silver Lexus. As the investigators approached the group, which included Gattison, the officers recognized the smell of burning marijuana. All the individuals were detained.

               An officer took the marijuana cigarette from Gattison’s hand, removed a bag from Gattison’s shoulder, and arrested Gattison for public consumption of marijuana. The joint field-tested positive for THC. Another officer looked into the open top of Gattison’s bag with a flashlight and saw a large bag of suspected marijuana and a loaded black Glock 17 9mm pistol. 

               Also in the bag was a clear plastic bag containing 12 grams of a white rock substance which field tested positive for cocaine base, a black digital scale, and $320.80 in cash.

               Gattison has a prior criminal felony conviction. On December 5, 2019, he was sentenced to a 10-year term, four years suspended, followed by three years of probation for voluntary manslaughter in Prince Georges County, Maryland.

               This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan McFadden and was previously prosecuted by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Mirabelli.

    24cr476

    An an image captured on a body-worn camera, an MPD officer reaches to take a marijuana cigarette from the hand of Jayvon Gattison on Oct. 9, 2024. Gattison subsequently was found to be in possession of a loaded Glock 17 9mm pistol, additional cannabis, and crack cocaine. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders, 39 Senators Fight Trump’s Cuts to the Job Corps Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
    WASHINGTON, June 6 – After the Trump administration attempted to shutter the nation’s largest jobs training program for low-income and at-risk young people, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and 39 Senate colleagues, today sent a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to reverse the illegal and unconstitutional cuts to the Job Corps program that are harming students and communities in every state in the country. 
    “The Administration’s decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations has left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers in the lurch,” wrote Sanders and the senators. “The sudden ‘pause’ of operations at Job Corps centers puts young people’s lives at risk, especially a significant number of students who were experiencing homelessness before arriving to the program. Local communities will pay a steep price, especially the thousands of individuals who work at the centers and will lose their livelihoods.” 
    For more than 60 years, Job Corps has helped millions of young people in rural communities and cities alike to finish high school, learn technical skills and get good-paying jobs while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services. Through Job Corps programs, young people receive the training they need to start in good-paying jobs that support their communities after graduation – including as wildland firefighters, nurses, electricians, machinists, pipefitters, and welders. Last month, however, the Trump administration indefinitely ‘paused’ operations at Job Corps sites across the country. 
    “We urge you to immediately reverse this decision to prevent a lapse in education and services for Job Corps students. We further urge that the Department restart enrollments, expeditiously restart background checks, and make any contract extensions or modifications necessary to ensure no interruptions or delays for students or program operations,” concluded Sanders and the senators. 
    Joining Sanders on the letter are Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). 
    Read the letter here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Georgia Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing Machinegun at Hospital

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant, a Rap Musician Known as Quez 2RR, Had Stolen Weapon in Labor and Delivery; Federal Case Linked to Ongoing Metro Atlanta Shooting Investigation

    MACON, Ga. – A Henry County resident who had a stolen Glock 9mm handgun with a loaded 30-round extended magazine capable of converting to a fully automatic weapon while at the Labor and Delivery unit of a hospital was sentenced to serve more than five years in prison—above federal sentencing guidelines—for his crime.

    Terrell Monquez Searcy, 21, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 66 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self on June 4. Searcy previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a machinegun on March 21, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.

    “Holding people found in possession of machineguns and with illegal conversion devices accountable for breaking federal law remains a top priority in the Middle District of Georgia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “This case exemplifies how law enforcement and prosecutors work together to effectively remove illegal firearms and other dangerous destructive devices from the streets in order to make our communities safer.”

    “Machinegun conversion devices are fueling a deadly uptick in gun violence, turning routine firearms into weapons of war,” said ATF Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Thomas Crawford of the Atlanta Field Division. “This case is yet another example of why ATF is committed to aggressively identifying and removing these illegal devices from our communities.”

    According to court documents, the stipulation of facts and other statements made in Court, Monroe Police Department officers were dispatched to Piedmont Walton Hospital on Aug. 17, 2023, after a nurse observed Searcy in a Labor and Delivery room with a handgun, which is prohibited in the hospital. When hospital security came to the room, Searcy admitted he did have a handgun and that he put it under the couch cushion. He gave the firearm—a Glock Model 17 9mm handgun with a loaded 30-round extended magazine—to security and remained in the room. Hospital security noticed that a full auto sear pin appeared to have been attached to the rear of the slide, making the firearm a machinegun, prompting the call by hospital security to police. Police ran the serial number on the firearm and found out it was reported stolen from Walton County, Georgia. Searcy was taken into custody.    

    ATF agents tested the firearm and confirmed it did function as a machinegun. Further investigation revealed that Searcy, a rapper known as Quez 2RR, had showcased a pistol with what appeared to be a machinegun conversion device in music videos on a YouTube channel. In a music video titled “Traffic,” Searcy rapped, “I pop out a switch on the back of my Glock” and “I put a switch on the back of my Glock, just to clean up the street when it’s time for that action.” At one point in the video, Searcy’s holding a pistol in his waistband with what appears to be a machinegun conversion device attached to the back.

    Following the federal indictment charging Searcy with possessing a machine gun in August 2024, agents located Instagram messages between Searcy and a female law enforcement officer with the Clayton County Police Department. Between January and March 2023, Searcy asked the police officer to run his information to see if there were any warrants for his arrest. The police officer also provided information to Searcy regarding an active homicide investigation. During an interview with Clayton County Police Department detectives, the officer admitted to providing Searcy with information on an active homicide investigation and advising Searcy when she located active warrants for his arrest.

    On Feb. 11, 2025, members of the ATF, McDonough Police Department and Henry County Sheriff’s Office executed a federal search warrant at Searcy’s residence in McDonough, Georgia. Searcy and two other men were in the home along with several firearms. The defendant told agents that he had been living at the residence for a couple of months, that he slept with a Draco firearm under his bed and that the Glock 17 found in the living room belonged to him. ATF agents submitted test fires from both firearms to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to determine if either firearm had been used in other crimes. The Micro Draco recovered from Searcy’s bedroom returned with several NIBIN leads, including two from the DeKalb County Police Department. Both DeKalb County incidents indicated that the Micro Draco was used in a drive-by shooting in DeKalb County where four people, including two juveniles, were shot inside their homes. Each shooting occurred within just days of Searcy receiving information from the Clayton County police officer on the active Clayton County homicide where his friend was shot and killed.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case, with assistance from the City of Monroe Police Department, Clayton County Police Department, McDonough Police Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Office, the Dekalb County Police Department and the Piedmont Walton Hospital Security Department.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Peach prosecuted the case for the Government.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western North Carolina and Highlights Mental Health Resources, Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western North Carolina and Highlights Mental Health Resources, Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program

    NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western North Carolina and Highlights Mental Health Resources, Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program
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    North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai is traveling to western North Carolina to learn about recovery efforts and highlight mental health resources available to people impacted by Hurricane Helene. The Secretary will also visit a Healthy Opportunities Pilot program providing essential services to people recovering from the storm. Credentialed media are invited to attend the visit at Love and Respect Community for Recovery and Wellness in Hendersonville on June 12, 2025, at 12:45 p.m., and the visit at Caja Solidaria in Hendersonville on June 12, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. Together, Love and Respect and Caja Solidaria have served as a hub of recovery efforts following Helene. 

    Leaders will first give an update on the Hope4NC program, a $12.4 million investment that supports crisis outreach in 25 counties hit hardest by Helene. Trained crisis counselors have been going door-to-door to provide education, assist in recovery efforts, link people with critical behavioral health services and provide counseling where people need it most.  

    Love and Respect Community for Recovery and Wellness is a “no barriers” shelter run by peer support specialists. It has seen a significant increase in people in need of services following Hurricane Helene. The shelter’s expanded location opened just before Helene and is open to anyone in the community and can help people at no cost with mental health care, Healthy Opportunities Pilot enrollment and NC Medicaid enrollment and assistance.  

    Hope4NC also offers a free, confidential 24/7 helpline to anyone in distress. Since Sept. 28, 2024, Hope4NC has delivered more than 11,300 individual or group counseling services and supportive contacts, more than 200,000 assessments, referrals and media outreach contacts and answered more than 7,300 helpline calls.  

    Additionally, NCDHHS received a generous $25 million appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly to further support mental health crisis response in the affected areas, including support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Funds are being used to: 

    • Increase access to community- and facility-based crisis services
    • Increase behavioral health service access for special populations, including deaf and hard of hearing
    • Provide transitional housing for unhoused veterans
    • Provide behavioral health and crisis services at rural health centers supporting uninsured people
    • Provide training and trauma support to first responders, DSS workers, teachers and other helpers in the community
    • Consult with providers supporting individuals with I/DD and their families
    • Increase access to opioid use treatment, including opening several new mobile treatment centers and ensuring communities are supplied with Naloxone
    • Increase access to peer support services
    • Implement disaster preparedness training and resources for local DSS offices and crisis support resources for individuals with I/DD 

    What: NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western NC and Highlights Mental Health Resources

    Who: Dr. Dev Sangvai, Secretary, NCDHHS 
              Tracy Hayes, Vaya Health Area Director and CEO 
              Lexie Wilkins, Founder, Love and Respect Community for Recovery 
              Alivea Turner, Director of Operations, Love and Respect Community for Recovery 
              Richard Dudley, Hope4NC crisis counselor   
              Hope4NC participant 

    When: Thursday, June 12, 12:45-1:25 p.m.

    Where: Love & Respect, 350 Chadwick Ave., Hendersonville, NC 28792

    ***

    After the event at Love and Respect, Secretary Sangvai will tour Caja Solidaria, a human service organization serving Henderson and Transylvania Counties that is a provider for the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) program. HOP addresses social needs by providing housing, food, transportation and interpersonal violence/toxic stress services to qualifying Medicaid members.  

    In just under three years, the first-of-its kind innovative program has been described as a “life changer” for thousands of North Carolina families. Healthy Opportunities proves the best way to lower health care costs and create healthier communities is to reduce the need for medical care in the first place. HOP participants are healthier and visit the emergency room less often, which reduces the total cost of needed medical care for enrollees by $85 per person, per month.

    Caja Solidaria currently provides fresh food to more than 1,500 people per week in western NC.

    At present, proposed House and Senate budgets put forward by the North Carolina General Assembly do not include funding for the Healthy Opportunities Pilots program’s ongoing operations or statewide scaling beyond the current fiscal year (June 30, 2025). Without funding, Healthy Opportunities Pilots will end on July 1, putting services at-risk for thousands of people in North Carolina.  

    What: NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Highlights Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot program

    Who: Dr. Dev Sangvai, Secretary, NCDHHS 
              Amy Landers, Interim Executive Director, Caja Solidaria 
              Participant served by Caja Solidaria 

    When: Thursday, June 12, 1:30-2:15 p.m.

    Where: Caja Solidaria, 316 Chadwick Ave., Hendersonville, NC 28792

    RSVP: Credentialed media should RSVP to news@dhhs.nc.gov if they plan to attend.  

    Jun 6, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Devon — Missing boater on Cousins Lake located deceased

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The remains of the missing boater on Cousins Lake have been found.

    On April 10, RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment, fire and EHS responded to a report of a capsized boat on Cousins Lake. Of the two people in the boat, one man made it to shore.

    An extensive search was conducted over several weeks, but they were unsuccessful in locating the missing boater.

    On May 4, the man’s loved ones attended the lake in Devon and located human remains that were then recovered by ground search and rescue (GSAR) and fire services.

    The Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service has confirmed that the remains are those of the 58-year-old boater from Truro. His death is not believed to be suspicious.

    The man’s family, and the Nova Scotia RCMP, wishes to thank everyone involved, GSAR volunteers, fire services, the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association and Department of Natural Resources Air Services for their efforts in trying to locate the man.

    Our thoughts are with the man’s loved ones at this difficult time.

    File #: 25-49243

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson Issues Statement on the Tragic Death of CPD Officer Krystal Rivera

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

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    CHICAGO, IL — Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01) issued the following statement in response to the tragic death of Officer Krystal Rivera, a 6th District Chicago Police Officer who was fatally shot in the line of duty in the Chatham neighborhood:

    “I am heartbroken by the senseless and tragic loss of Officer Krystal Rivera — a courageous public servant, a devoted mother, and a beloved member of our community. My deepest prayers and condolences go out to her family, her fellow officers in the Chicago Police Department, and all who knew and cherished her.

    Officer Rivera embodied the very spirit of service, showing up each day to protect and care for the community she loved. Her life was taken far too soon in an act of violence that underscores the urgent crisis we face in Chicago and across the nation.

    We must honor her memory not only with words but with action. That means delivering swift and full justice, but also taking bold, comprehensive steps to address the root causes of violence — poverty, trauma, lack of opportunity, and the widespread availability of illegal firearms.

    No officer should lose their life while protecting our streets. No family should be forced to grieve a loved one due to preventable violence. We must move with urgency and compassion — investing in public safety, mental health services, youth programs, and economic development that strengthens our communities from the inside out.

    Officer Rivera gave her life in service to Chicago. We must ensure her sacrifice is not in vain. May she rest in peace, and may her legacy live on in the work we do to build a safer, more just city for all.”

    Congressman Jackson continues to work with local and federal partners to advance community-based safety strategies and legislation that supports law enforcement, addresses gun violence, and strengthens neighborhood resilience throughout Illinois’ 1st Congressional District.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: House Republicans Codify Another Set of President Trump’s Executive Orders

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

    WASHINGTON — House Republicans continue to enact President Trump’s legislative agenda and codify executive orders. Speaker Johnson released the following statement after the House passed a series of legislation this week to protect America’s small businesses.

    “This week, House Republicans codified another set of President Trump’s executive orders to protect American small businesses. The Biden-Harris Administration ignored Main Street America and instead prioritized illegal aliens and dismantled the American people’s trust in the Small Business Administration (SBA), but Republicans have fought and won support for hardworking Americans and entrepreneurs,” Speaker Johnson said. “From ending taxpayer-subsidized open borders to restoring oversight capabilities at SBA, House Republicans continue to bring common sense back to government and refocus agencies on their core missions. We will keep passing the President’s executive orders and working in lockstep with this Administration to fulfill our commitment to the American people.” 

    “For the past four years, American small business owners have been tossed aside by the Biden-Harris SBA for illegal immigrants and government bureaucrats,” House Committee on Small Business Chairman Williams said. “This week, we took a critical step in codifying President Trump’s executive orders and protecting small businesses. Thank you to my colleagues in the House Republican Conference for advancing legislation that will restore trust and accountability to the SBA and prioritize the hardworking entrepreneurs of Main Street America.”

    H.R. 2987 – Capping Excessive Awarding of SBLC Entrants (CEASE) Act

    “Small businesses deserve a reliable program that works for them, and that means keeping our community banks at the core of the system,” Rep. Bresnahan said. “President Trump and I agree, we shouldn’t be incentivizing fraud and abuse by flooding the program with risky, underregulated institutions. My legislation caps the number of non-bank SBLC licenses, ensuring taxpayer-backed guarantees are not handed out to lenders the SBA cannot properly oversee. I am proud to see my legislation passed, and I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to send the legislation to the White House.”

    H.R. 2966 – American Entrepreneurs First Act

    “By passing my American Entrepreneurs First Act, House Republicans have, once again, come together to support common sense reforms protecting America’s hard-earned tax dollars from being lost to waste, fraud, abuse, and theft by hostile foreign actors,” Rep. Van Duyne said. “The American Entrepreneurs First Act ensures Small Business Administration funds are directed to American businesses and not accessible by individuals or businesses with foreign or undocumented ownership and verifies the age of all recipients. I urge our Senate colleagues to quickly pass this important measure, which is supported by President Trump and SBA Administrator Loeffler, as a vital verification step to confirm American tax dollars are being spent to strengthen American small businesses.”

    H.R. 2931 – Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act

    “By circumventing federal law and encouraging illegal immigrants to come into our communities, failed sanctuary city policies have created a growing public safety crisis,” Rep. Finstad said. “This important legislation codifies two of President Trump’s pro-business executive orders that protect SBA employees and safeguard our entrepreneurs by relocating SBA offices out of sanctuary cities. In doing so, it ensures that communities which uphold the rule of law will have access to the resources they need to better serve small business owners. I am proud that my House colleagues passed this legislation, and I look forward to supporting it through the legislative process.”

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Speaker Johnson: We Promised the American People We Would Deliver. And We Are.

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

    WASHINGTON — This morning, Speaker Johnson joined Joe Kernen and Becky Quick on CNBC’s Squawk Box to highlight the pro-growth provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill which will provide jet fuel to the U.S. economy and help put the U.S. back on a sound fiscal trajectory.

    Watch Speaker Johnson on Squawk Box here

    On social media not being representative of real life:

    The American people are sort of caught up in the drama of this, but I don’t think at the end of the day, tweets and, and social media posts really determine what’s most important to the American people. I think what they’re concerned about is what we all promised on the campaign trail, what President Trump was elected to do, the mandate that we got by 77 million popular votes. And that is to make sure that the border is secure, to rebuild our military industrial base at a very difficult time. That’s the only new spending in this bill.

    The rest of it is securing historic tax cuts for the people, making the tax cuts permanent, having a pro-growth set of infusion into the economy, jet fuel of the economy, which is what this bill will provide, and at the same time, a historic level of savings for the American people. It’s a fiscally responsible product. It is the first in a series of steps to get us back on a sound fiscal trajectory. And I think, Joe, it’s a very important message for us to send to the bond markets, the stock market, investors, job creators, entrepreneurs, risk takers around the world. And here, of course, in the US economy. The Congress is serious. We have steady hands on the wheel. We’re going to address the debt problem at the same time as we are making the economy work again, and we can’t wait to get that done.

    On reducing the deficit and national debt:

    I love Rick Scott, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson. I mean, they’re good friends. We have lots of discussion about this. We are all deficit and debt hawks. We’re concerned about the fiscal trajectory of the country. The national debt is the number one national security threat, we have to address it. But here’s what I think Ron is missing in all of this is. He’d like to cut, you know, $8 trillion overnight, some huge figure like that. So would I, but we don’t have the votes to do that. And if you did that that quickly, it would actually do real harm to the US economy. So we have to do this in a step-by-step sequence.

    Look, I liken this to an aircraft carrier. Y’all have heard my analogy. I mean, we did not get in this situation overnight. The US economy is like a large vessel on the sea. You don’t turn it on a dime. It takes a mile of open ocean. But this is the largest turn on that wheel that we’ve had since I’ve been alive. I mean, this is the largest cut in spending that any legislative body on the face of the earth in all human history has ever achieved. And we did that by a long, deliberate process of getting everyone there. Remember, I have a very diverse Republican caucus. I’ve got people from very different districts across the country. They all see the same problem set with different lenses. And I’ve got to concoct 218 votes, currently 217 votes to get something across the line. So, we did that. We reached equilibrium, we achieved this massive achievement with the package.

    On the repercussions if the One Big Beautiful Bill Act isn’t signed into law:

    If we don’t get this bill passed, not only are the American people going to have the largest tax increase in US history descend upon their heads at the end of this year when all this expires, but all these other pro-growth incentives in the economy won’t happen. And small business owners and job creators and entrepreneurs will not expand their businesses. Wages won’t go up. The job participation rate will remain low, and inflation will continue to increase. We won’t have the solutions.

    But also, remember, if we don’t deliver on this and we don’t deliver a little bit on SALT relief, then we’re not going to have the house majority. And if we lose the house majority, the Democrats take over, they will impeach Donald Trump. I would forecast probably on the first few days of the new Congress, next January, January ‘27, and everything will go to chaos. So this team has to stay in power. This team has to stay working on our plan to get our fiscal trajectory back. And it all begins with the one big beautiful bill. Everybody who is criticizing this is playing with fire. We have got to deliver this product. We promised the people we would, and I think we will by July 4th.

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    MIL OSI USA News –