NewzIntel.com

Category: Natural Disasters

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Department prepares for imminent water release from Pongolapoort dam

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says it is preparing for the imminent release of water from the Pongolapoort Dam in Jozini, northern KwaZulu-Natal.

    This follows weeks of heavy rainfall that have caused several dams in the region to exceed their capacity.

    In a statement issued on Tuesday, the department said the Pongolapoort Dam has reached 97.97% of its capacity due to continuous inflows to the dam from the upstream Upper Pongola River Catchment due to weeks of heavy rainfall that have caused the dam to exceed its capacity.

    “The releases are part of Pongolapoort Dam standard operational rules and the overall dam safety protocols on uncontrolled water releases to maintain dam safety and prevent potential risks associated with overcapacity.

    “Water release is a necessary measure to ensure the structural integrity of the dam and safeguard surrounding communities from the dangers of dam failure. If the current inflows persist, the dam will spill over the uncontrolled spillway by Wednesday,16 April 2025,” the department said.

    The department noted that inflows are unpredictable and may change at any time.

    “For instance, the current inflows may significantly increase resulting in an uncontrolled water release before the anticipated time. On the contrary, inflows may significantly reduce, thereby delaying the uncontrolled release.

    “Currently, the inflow exceeds the outflow, and the dam level continues to rise steadily. It is for this reason that the communities are notified of the imminent release through the uncontrolled spillway to ensure preparedness and safety,” the department explained.

    The department warned that the increased outflow into the Pongola River will raise water levels, potentially affecting low-lying areas, floodplains, low-level bridges, and agricultural activities.

    Residents downstream have been advised to remain vigilant, as the release may lead to localised flooding.

    Communities in and around Jozini and Makhathini Flats – Welcome, Hlazane, Mboza, KwaShukela, Mzinyeni, Skhemelele, KwaLulwane, Bhekabantu, Mamfene, Shemula, Hlokohloko, Madonela, and Ndumo – are urged to exercise extreme caution during, and after the water release.

    The department said the engagements with the Lower Pongola Water User Association representing water users and communicates in the riparian of the river, are ongoing, to keep stakeholders informed regarding the department’s emergency preparedness plan.

    The department reiterated that the Pongolapoort Dam remains a vital infrastructure for water management and flood control. It said it would continue to monitor the dam’s performance, including inflow rates, to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the dam.

    This proactive approach highlights the importance of balancing water storage with safety, ensuring the well-being of communities and the environment, while maintaining the dam’s functionality.

    “The DWS follows operating rules and procedures when releasing water from dams necessitated by floods as a result of heavy rains and will gradually implement the releases in line with the established flood management protocols in coordination with the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMCs), and affected local municipalities. – SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Authorities to monitor major routes ahead of cold front

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Wednesday, April 16, 2025

    KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, has encouraged travellers to monitor weather warnings issued by the South African Weather Service (SAWS) as snow and a cold front have been predicted for over the Easter weekend.

    Road traffic volumes are expected to increase with travellers driving to various religious and holiday destinations from Friday, 18 April to Monday, 21 April 2025.

    “We are in receipt of a weather report from the SAWS informing us of a cold front that will result in the dropping of temperatures, heavy rainfall and possible snowfall.

    “While the SAWS has not suggested the province will be blanketed in a wave of snow, we request motorists to monitor weather reports and exercise caution. Our highly efficient team from the Road Traffic Inspectorate has been activated to monitor traffic closely.

    “Drawing from our past experience, we are fully aware of hazards and the havoc associated with the snow. Not long ago, we experienced an extreme heat index of 30 degrees Celsius, but we are now bracing ourselves for possible snowfall and heavy rainfall. These are the realities of erratic weather patterns caused by climate change,” the MEC said on Tuesday.

    Duma highlighted the following planned interventions:

    • The Road Safety and Traffic Inspectorate team will coordinate possible road closures and observation of major routes in consultation with N3 Toll Concession. The focus will be on the N3 Harrismith, the Tugela Toll Plaza, the R617 between Kokstad and Underberg, the N2 Ingeli and N3 Mooi-River, among others.
    • The team will also be responsible for escorting trucks and vehicles to ensure that there is no congestion on the road.
    • Drivers of motor graders have been sharpened to respond with a sense of urgency to remove any snow before it accumulates on the road. More than 10 graders will be stationed on identified routes to ensure that responses are faster.
    • A roving team from Human Settlements has been activated to liaise with the national Department of Human Settlements’ Emergency Housing and Mitigation Unit should there be an urgent need to assist destitute families as a result of flooding or when houses are covered in snow.
    • The province, working with the Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane, will ensure that displaced families are relocated to ensure their safety.
    • The deployment of Temporary Residential Units will be sped up to accommodate affected families. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Yuri Trutnev: It is necessary to ensure the safety of people during the fire-hazardous season and the flood-hazardous period

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    As part of a working visit to the Magadan Region, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on the readiness of the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District for the fire-hazardous season and flood-hazardous period, visited the Talaya sanatorium in the village of the same name in the Khasynsky Municipal District, and inspected the new terminal of the airport complex of the Magadan (Sokol) International Airport named after V.S. Vysotsky, which was included in the master plan for the development of the regional capital.

    “Today’s meeting is traditional. We always meet with the heads of regions at the beginning of the flood and fire-hazardous period and figure out the state of readiness of the territories to counteract natural hazards. I cannot help but note that there is another important reason: several days ago, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin held a meeting with members of the Russian Government, at which they discussed preparations for the fire-hazardous season and issues of extinguishing fires. It was noted that the situation with forest fires in Transbaikalia requires special attention. The heads of all regions must pay attention to issues of passing the fire-hazardous season. We must figure out where this poses a danger to people and construction sites,” Yuri Trutnev opened the meeting.

    Since the beginning of the year, the Russian Emergencies Ministry has registered 483 wildfires in the Far Eastern Federal District. About 63% of fires are extinguished within the first day of detection. The cause of 69% of wildfires is the population’s violation of fire safety rules in forests.

    The fire season has begun in six regions: the Republic of Buryatia, Zabaikalsky, Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Amur Oblast, and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. A special fire prevention regime has been established in 84 municipal districts. A state of emergency has been introduced in regional forests in Zabaikalsky Krai and a state of emergency in municipal forests in the Republic of Buryatia and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

    To combat fires, the number of parachute firefighting personnel has been increased in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Zabaykalsky Krai, Khabarovsk Krai and Magadan Oblast. In general, in the Far Eastern Federal District, compared to 2024, the parachute firefighting service has been increased by 352 staff units and now totals 2,227 people. The Far Eastern Federal District Forestry Department continues to check the regions’ readiness for the fire season. The total number of forest firefighting personnel in the district is 4,158 staff units. The overall percentage of forest firefighting equipment readiness in the district’s constituent entities is 98%, including tractor and bulldozer equipment – 98.9%, automobile equipment – 97.9%, and all-terrain vehicles – 98.7%.

    The issues of passing the flood-hazardous period were discussed. In the Far Eastern Federal District, 545 hydroposts are planned to be involved in permanent operational monitoring. During the flood period, it is planned to additionally open 83 temporary posts. Preventive measures are being carried out in preparation for the accident-free passage of spring floods and summer floods, including dredging and bank protection works, clearing and straightening river beds.

    Roshydromet and Rosvodresursy have assessed the readiness of the main large reservoirs to receive flood waters and ensure the safe passage of spring floods.

    In March, the Russian Emergencies Ministry conducted an inspection of the readiness of the management bodies, forces and means of the functional and territorial subsystems of the unified state system for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations in the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District for actions as intended during the flood-hazardous period of 2025. Based on the results of the inspection, seven subjects (Kamchatka, Primorsky, Khabarovsk Krais, Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin Oblasts, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) were recognized as ready for the safe passage of flood waters.

    “We hold a meeting every year on the issue of the readiness of the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District for the fire-hazardous season and the flood-hazardous period. Dangerous natural phenomena in the Far East require special attention. Currently, a rather dangerous fire situation has developed in the Zabaikalsky Krai. We proceed from the fact that fires closer than five kilometers from populated areas are unacceptable. There are 19 such fires in Zabaikalsky Krai. It is necessary to ensure the safety of people. The creation of fire-fighting mineralized strips was discussed at the meeting. The prospects for unmanned aviation were considered. In general, there is a lot of work to be done. The heads of the regions understand their responsibility, everyone has experience in this work. We will make every effort to ensure that people in the Far East are safe from fires and floods,” Yuri Trutnev summed up.

    On the same day, Yuri Trutnev visited the Talaya sanatorium in the village of the same name in the Khasynsky municipal district and held a meeting on the progress of the construction of the power transmission line in the village of Talaya.

    The Talaya sanatorium is included in the List of Russian resorts with justification for their uniqueness in terms of natural healing factors, approved by the Russian Ministry of Health. The resort is known for its thermal mineral spring and therapeutic mud, the use of which allows for the treatment of many diseases. The construction, equipment of the treatment base and room stock, as well as the improvement of the sanatorium itself have already been fully completed.

    The launch of the resort is entirely dependent on the construction of a high-voltage power line that will connect Talaya to the region’s energy system.

    “We discussed the progress of the construction of the power transmission line to the village of Talaya. I suggested that colleagues reach an agreement on when the construction of the power transmission line will be completed, and determine the final deadline for the completion of the work. The deadline was postponed three times. This cannot be left unpunished. If a person takes on a job, then he must complete it,” Yuri Trutnev summed up and instructed Magadan Region Governor Sergei Nosov not to lose control over the situation.

    Yuri Trutnev also inspected the new terminal of the airport complex of the Magadan International Airport (Sokol) named after V.S. Vysotsky, which was included in the master plan for the development of Magadan. The area of the new terminal is 14 thousand square meters. The capacity of the new terminal is 800 passengers per hour (the old terminal can handle 600 passengers per hour).

    “The main thing is that people feel comfortable. We looked at the terminal today – people are already using the airport, everything is clean and comfortable there. This is another transport hub that will help develop the Far East, help flights between cities. Therefore, it is good that this work has been done,” said Yuri Trutnev.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Maskwacis — Maskwacis RCMP investigate a kidnapping with a firearm

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    In the evening of Monday Feb. 24, 2025, Maskwacis RCMP responded to a call to assist Emergency Medical services in Samson Cree Nation with a male sustaining a gunshot wound. Officers arrived on scene and obtained information that the victim had been kidnapped and tied to a chair in the basement of a residence in Samson Cree Nation. The victim was beaten and received a gunshot wound. The Maskwacis RCMP with the assistance of the RCMP police helicopter and police dog services arrested three suspects.

    Three search warrants were executed in the area. The suspected firearm used in the offence was recovered.

    A 36-year-old individual, a resident of Samson Cree Nation, has been charged with the following offences:

    • Kidnapping with a firearm;

    • Discharge firearm with intent;

    • Aggravated assault;

    • Adult intimidation;

    • Pursuit involved Flight from Peace Officer & 13 Additional charges.

    A 25-year-old individual and an 18-year-old individual, both residents of Samson Cree Nation, have been charged with the following offences:

    • Kidnapping with a firearm;

    • Unauthorized possession of a firearm & 4 additional charges.

    All individuals were taken before a justice of the peace and were remanded into custody. They are scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice on Feb. 27 and March 4 2025, in Wetaskiwin, Alta.

    Police are actively investigating the firearm that was seized. If you have any information regarding the origins of this firearm please contact the Maskwacis RCMP at 780-585-4600. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Tampa Man Sentenced For Armed Robbery Of A U.S. Postal Service Mail Carrier

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Tampa, FL – Senior U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell has sentenced Darine Underwood (20, Tampa), a/k/a “Droc,” to 10 years and 5 months in federal prison for armed robbery of a postal mail carrier and brandishing a firearm in relation to that crime. The court also ordered Underwood to pay $1,531.99 in restitution to the mail carrier.

    According to court documents, on September 5, 2023, a United States Postal Service mail carrier was delivering mail at an apartment complex in the Tampa area when he was approached by Underwood and Jordan Murray who were wearing masks and gloves. Murray and Underwood forcefully took the mail carrier’s postal keys while brandishing a firearm. Murray and Underwood then fled to a vehicle, driven by Jordan Brown, to leave the crime scene. The investigation revealed that Brown was going to be paid to drive Murray and Underwood to and from the robbery and Murray and Underwood were planning to sell the postal keys. 

    Jordan Murray (20, Tampa) and Jordan Brown (21, Tampa) previously pleaded guilty to their roles in this case. Murray was sentenced to nine years and six months in federal prison for armed robbery of a postal mail carrier and brandishing a firearm in relation to that crime. Brown was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison for aiding and abetting the theft of a postal key and that a firearm was used during that crime.

    This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Hillsborough County Sheriff Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: NextNav Announces Appointment of H. Wyman Howard and Lorin Selby to its Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RESTON, Va., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NextNav Inc. (NASDAQ: NN), a leader in next-generation position, navigation and timing (PNT) and 3D geolocation, today announced that its board of directors has elected Rear Admiral H. Wyman Howard and Rear Admiral Lorin Selby to serve as board members, effective May 1, 2025.

    “We are honored to welcome Rear Admiral Howard and Rear Admiral Selby to the NextNav Board of Directors,” said Mariam Sorond, NextNav’s Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair. “Their extensive military and national security leadership, experience in technology research and development, and management capabilities will be invaluable to NextNav as we execute on our strategic goals in providing a terrestrial backup and complement to GPS to address a major national security threat.”

    Rear Admiral Howard (Retired) served 32 years in the U.S. Navy, including serving most recently as Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command and previously as Commander, Special Operations Command Central, Assistant Commander, Joint Special Operational Command, and Director of Operations for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He has commanded at all levels of naval special operations, including as the commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group from 2011-2013. Admiral Howard also serves on the board of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BAER), an aerial firefighting and aerospace services company, and Invitation Homes Inc. (NYSE: INVH), a single-family home leasing and management company. Admiral Howard graduated from the United States Naval Academy and holds a Master of Business Administration from the TRIUM consortium of the London School of Economics, HEC Paris School of Management, and New York University’s Stern School of Business. Admiral Howard holds a Master of Science in National Security and Resource Strategy with a focus on commercial, civil, and military space sectors from the Eisenhower School and a Professional Certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

    Rear Admiral Selby (Retired) served nearly 37 years in the U.S. Navy, including serving most recently as the Chief of Naval Research, leading the workforce at the Office of Naval Research and the Naval Research Laboratory where they develop leading-edge technologies for the Navy and Marine Corps. Prior assignments include serving as the Commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Centers and as the Chief Engineer of the United States Navy and Deputy Commander for Ship Design, Integration, and Naval Engineering at the Naval Sea Systems Command, where he drove innovation, optimized performance, and generated new ways of doing business. Admiral Selby also held highly visible roles like the Deputy Director of the Navy Office of Legislative Affairs to the U.S. House of Representatives and command of a fast-attack nuclear submarine. Following his retirement, he has taken on various consulting roles, advising small and mid-sized technology companies. He currently serves as President and CEO of Selby Partners Consulting LLC and is a founding partner in a maritime-focused growth equity fund, Mare Liberum Capital Partners. Admiral Selby holds a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Virginia, an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering, and a Nuclear Engineer Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has also completed extensive executive business coursework, and his achievements have been recognized through numerous personal and unit awards.

    About NextNav
    NextNav Inc. (Nasdaq: NN) is a leader in next-generation positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), enabling a whole new ecosystem of applications and services that rely upon 3D geolocation and PNT technology. Powered by low-band licensed spectrum, NextNav’s positioning and timing technologies deliver accurate, reliable, and resilient 3D PNT solutions for critical infrastructure, GPS resiliency and commercial use cases.

    For more information, please visit https://nextnav.com/ or follow NextNav on X at https://x.com/NextNav or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/nextnav/.

    Source: NN-FIN

    Contacts:
    Investor Contact:
    IR@nextnav.com

    Media Contact:
    NNmedia@nextnav.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s strongman leader doing Donald Trump’s legwork abroad

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University

    The US president, Donald Trump, has unleashed a string of controversial policies since returning to the White House that have put his administration at odds with most of the world. He has, at the same time, forged an alliance with one country that is willing to do his bidding abroad.

    This country is El Salvador, a tiny central American nation nestled between Guatemala and Honduras. El Salvador has found itself at the forefront of overseeing Trump’s contentious drive to deport undocumented migrants.

    In recent months, hundreds of foreign-born men have been deported from the US to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (Cecot) mega-prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador. This is part of an agreement between Trump and the self-declared “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele.

    Such is the warmth between Trump and El Salvador’s leader that the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, recently hailed their alliance as “an example for security and prosperity in our hemisphere”.

    The comment came shortly before Bukele met with Trump at the White House and said he will not return Kilmar Abrego García, a man that the US government admits was mistakenly deported. Bukele referred to the suggestion as “preposterous”.

    This is despite a US Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration “facilitate” García’s return. The US government says a court does not have the power to order the release of a person in a foreign prison.

    Bukele, the grandson of Palestinian Christian immigrants, is considered something of a maverick. His background is in advertising. Through his business, Obermet, Bukele advertised two election campaigns for the ruling Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in the 2000s.

    He joined the FMLN as a member in 2012, and was elected as mayor of El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador, three years later. Bukele’s relationship with the FMLN soon became strained. After several public spats, he was expelled from the party. This included calling Luis Martínez, the country’s then attorney-general, a “gangster, very corrupt, [and] the worst of the worst”.

    Bukele subsequently launched his own political front, Nuevas Ideas. And when the country’s electoral court refused to register the party for the 2019 presidential elections, he ran as the candidate for the right-wing Grand Alliance for National Unity. Bukele won with 53% of the vote and, since then, his political fortunes have been in constant ascent.

    While many outside El Salvador see Bukele as a serial human rights abuser, his countrymen consider him a political messiah. His popularity is such that he won an unprecedented second presidential term in 2024 with over 84% of the vote.

    The country’s constitution had previously restricted a sitting president from contesting two terms in a row. Bukele’s critics say he circumvented the rules by using his congressional majority to replace Supreme Court judges.

    The court later ruled that the president can serve two consecutive terms in office. In the past, Bukele has remarked that restrictions on re-election only exist in developing countries.

    Bukele’s popularity stems from having rid his country of gang violence. El Salvador was once known for having the highest per capita homicide rate in the world, with 105 murders per 100,000 people in 2015. But under Bukele’s leadership, it is now considered a haven of peace in an otherwise unstable region.

    In 2022, after a spate of gang killings, Bukele declared a state of emergency. The decree curtailed the right to be informed of the reason for arrest and access to a lawyer upon being detained. It also allowed for administrative detention of more than 72 hours.

    Tens of thousands of people were rounded up and thrown in jail without trial. El Salvador now has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with roughly 110,000 people in jail. The proportion of its population that is incarcerated is twice that of the next nearest country, Cuba.

    Many of the alleged criminals – as well as those deported from the US – are held in Cecot. The prison has been described by activists as “a black hole of human rights”. When Bukele first unveiled the facility, he said prisoners would receive “not one ray of sunlight”.

    Bukele’s tough anti-criminal stance has been lauded across Latin America. Many regional leaders have embraced Bukele-style policies to tackle criminal violence in their respective countries. His policies have also clearly been appreciated by Trump.



    Read more:
    Latin America: several countries look to combat gang violence by fighting fire with fire

    Alliance of convenience

    Bukele and Trump share the same ideological persuasion. Both are conservative right-wing populists. But while there is a deep convergence in their ideology, their alliance is also one of convenience.

    Trump wants to rid the US of undocumented migrants from south of the border. El Salvador has, so far, provided a convenient avenue to address his administration’s needs.

    And for Bukele, it is financially worthwhile to house deportees from the US. The Bukele and Trump administrations have reportedly signed an agreement that will pay El Salvador US$20,000 (£15,000) per prisoner. This is a significant sum for El Salvador’s economy.

    His alliance with Trump will also help him shore up his political position at home and consolidate his image as a “do gooder” in an otherwise violent continent.

    Bukele’s security strategy has certainly rid El Salvador of gang violence. However, opening up El Salvador as a destination to address other countries’ criminality sets a bad precedent.

    Encouraged by Bukele’s policies, more states could choose to violate human rights and ignore judicial process by simply dumping their own citizens and others in prisons abroad. This is a reality that more courts may soon struggle to prevent.

    Amalendu Misra is a recipient of British Academy and Nuffield Foundation fellowships.

    – ref. Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s strongman leader doing Donald Trump’s legwork abroad – https://theconversation.com/nayib-bukele-el-salvadors-strongman-leader-doing-donald-trumps-legwork-abroad-254629

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Alsobrooks Leads Maryland Democratic Delegation in Pushing Sec. Kennedy for Answers on Disastrous Mass Layoffs

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Glenn Ivey – Maryland (4th District)

    CONTACT 

    Connor Lounsbury 

    connor_lounsbury@alsobrooks.senate.gov

    WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Angela Alsobrooks led the Maryland Democratic Delegation – U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney, and Johnny Olszewski (all D-Md.) in expressing outrage and demanding answers regarding the mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Senator Alsobrooks and her colleagues questioned the extent of the devastation and consequential impacts these mass layoffs will have on the state and country. 

    “This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe,” the lawmakers wrote.

    “Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research…This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives,” continued the lawmakers. 

    The lawmakers are requesting Secretary Kennedy meet with them to answer these questions by May 1, 2025.

    You can read the full letter to Secretary Kennedy here or below: 

     

    Dear Secretary Kennedy: 

    We write with shared concerns regarding the plan you announced on March 27, 2025, to begin yet another extensive round of mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (Department or HHS), along with an irrational and dangerous reorganization of the staff and operating divisions of the Department. In the weeks since that announcement, thousands of HHS employees have been summarily fired, wreaking havoc and chaos on our public health system. These actions are having a devastating and disproportionate impact on our state of Maryland. We demand a full and comprehensive analysis on what these cuts will mean for access to care, critical services, and lifesaving research in the state. We also demand an in-person meeting with you to discuss these concerns and the impact of the Department’s actions on our constituents. According to the announcement, cuts would include at least 3,500 full-time employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2,400 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 300 employees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

    According to the Maryland Department of Labor, preliminary data shows at least 2,755 jobs were cut in 11 federal offices located across the state, with an impact rippling across multiple counties.

    This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe. 

    The latest reductions are part of a multipronged attack on our state, as the Department has abruptly terminated billions in critical public health grants, including $200 million to Maryland that would go towards vaccination programs, disease surveillance, and alleviating health disparities. The critical services the Department is responsible for were already threatened from the Administration’s initial haphazard firings of probationary employees by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk’s Fork in the Road policy, which forced thousands of Department staff to resign or retire early. Now, the Administration is further decimating the teams of civil servants that work to make Americans healthy and safe every day. 

    As you well know, the FDA, NIH, CMS, and multiple other HHS agencies are headquartered in Maryland, and these cuts pose a direct threat to our constituents, Maryland’s economy, and all Americans. 

    At the FDA, headquartered in White Oak, the Administration has annihilated the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research – which the Maryland medical device and pharmaceutical industries rely on for the safe and timely approval of their products or therapeutics for patients. The Administration has also attacked the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products – which plays a critical role in prevention and harm reduction for Maryland youth. The FDA communications team that writes alerts about contaminated drugs and warnings to emergency room doctors about emerging threats was also terminated — which will have dire consequences for patient care. Across the FDA, thousands of Maryland based staffers that help to keep our food and health systems safe have been summarily dismissed, by an Administration only purporting to want to “Make America Healthy Again.” 

    At the NIH, based in Bethesda, this Administration has compounded its efforts to undermine the excellence of our crown jewel of scientific and medical research, with yet another round of terminations. This Administration has decimated NIH Institutes by firing leadership and critical staff to the point of non-functionality, including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 

    Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research. In February, the NIH unveiled a new indirect cost rate guidance that would cap indirect cost rates that Maryland researchers rely on to sustain their groundbreaking, life-saving research, studies, and patient clinical trials. It also arbitrarily froze or terminated research grants in the state and has delayed the review of NIH grant applications. This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives. 

    Attacks to the NIH are only the beginning of cuts to our health research infrastructure. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), based in Rockville, is critical for tracking data on healthcare outcomes and conducting research to improve the safety of patient care has been taken apart by DOGE. The Administration plans to merge AHRQ with another operating division at the Department and gut its budget, all while firing half of its employees. 

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), based in Rockville, has already faced hundreds of layoffs. The Department dismissed 10 percent of SAMHSA’s workforce during the first rounds of firings, and the Administration plans to further reduce the agency by up to 50 percent. While Maryland has made significant progress in preventing and reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, Baltimore City still has a death rate nearly double that of any other large city in the country. Now, the Administration is pulling the rug from underneath our state and the dozens of community-based organizations on the ground that rely on SAMHSA for training, resources, and technical assistance that helps with opioid use disorder prevention and treatment services. 

    CMS, based in Woodlawn, faced hundreds of cuts to staff, including the elimination of the Office for Minority Health and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, which respectively helps address health disparities across the country and resolves discrimination complaints. Employees at CMS’ Innovation Center (CMMI) were fired and a third of the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination office, which helps serve the over 160,000 Marylanders that are dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid were let go. CMS is responsible for overseeing coverage for over 160 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace. This includes 1.6 million Marylanders who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for lifesaving health coverage. Any attack on CMS represents a threat to Marylanders’ and the nation’s access to care. 

    At the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), headquartered in Rockville, 500- 600 civil servants were fired, compromising HRSA’s mission to improve care for vulnerable and low-income communities. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau was wiped out by staffing cuts, crippling efforts to combat the maternal mortality crisis. Maryland women’s health disparities, including maternal morbidity, remain higher than national averages, and will only be exacerbated by this action. DOGE has also reportedly fired 40 percent of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, which oversees the Health Center Program that provides high quality, accessible primary and preventive medical, behavioral and dental services to all people, regardless of income or insurance status. Maryland’s sixteen Federally Qualified Health Centers deliver comprehensive primary healthcare to more than 360,000 patients across Maryland. That access to care in our state are at risk without civil servants to effectively run the program. 

    The Indian Health Service (IHS), which is also headquartered in Rockville, was not mentioned in initial reporting regarding the HHS reorganization or reduction in force. In fact, longtime civil servants in the Senior Executive Service (SES) have reported that their duty stations have been reassigned to remote IHS locations ranging from Alaska to South Dakota. While these locations suffer from high vacancy rates, the Department is pushing staff that do not have the qualifications or background for available IHS roles into an ultimatum: relocate your family across the country for a job that does not actually exist, or leave the Department. 

    Additionally, the Department fired approximately 500 staffers at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the April 1 wave of terminations, paralyzing the Department’s ability to effectively operate its human services programs. As you know, most program and support staff were eliminated in five regional offices around the country. While ACF’s Region 3 Office – which serves Maryland – remains open for now, staff in Region 3 will likely have to absorb the work and caseload of now shuttered Regions 1, 2,5, 9 and 10. This will put an untenable strain on their ability to support states like Maryland in operating child support, family assistance and child welfare programs, and providers operating Head Start and child care programs. 

    This is in addition to the nearly two hundred probationary ACF employees who have been on administrative leave since mid-February, and because of this Administration, are still unable to 3 provide states like Maryland with the technical assistance needed to operate critical programs, increasing the financial burden on already-struggling households. Head Start serves seven thousand children in Maryland. Thousands more families rely on the availability of affordable, quality childcare in the state – availability which is endangered when the civil servants that help providers adapt to workforce challenges or monitor for abuse and neglect in our state’s facilities are shamefully fired or prevented from doing their jobs. 

    Also at ACF, the Department terminated the entire Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) staff, threatening the timely disbursement of millions of dollars to states like Maryland, to help thousands of our constituents stay safe in the coming summer months. More than 18% of Maryland households are energy burdened; the Maryland Office of Home Energy Programs received a record number of energy assistance applications last year. Likewise, the Department eliminated the Office of Family Assistance – undermining the ability for the nearly 28,000 Maryland families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to receive critical support without interruption. 

    Both the dismantling of the Administration for Community Living and the slashing of reportedly half of the staff that work on federal aging and disability programs at the Department will cause real harm to programs in Maryland that support some of our state’s most vulnerable communities – seniors and individuals with disabilities. This includes programs that prevent elder abuse, connect seniors with nutritious meals, and provide supports to caregivers – like the Maryland Caregiver Navigation Grant. 

    Perhaps most galling, is that you have admitted that many of these firings at the Department are in error, telling reporters “We’re going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we’ll make mistakes.” Further reporting found that HHS has no intention of actually reinstating a significant number of the staffers that have been fired or rectifying the mistakes it has made – calling into question your control of the situation and understanding of the Department’s reorganization. As the Secretary, you are ultimately responsible for answering for both these “mistakes” and any harm that comes from your destruction of our public health workforce and infrastructure. 

    As such, we request an in-person meeting with you no later than May 1, 2025, to discuss these concerns. We also request comprehensive answers to the following questions, including details on the reductions at the Department to date, and your plans for additional workforce reductions and reorganization. 

     

    1. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents: received a RIF notice or were terminated on the basis of their probationary status? Please also specify how many more Maryland residents the agency intends to respectively terminate:  

    • SAMHSA 
    • FDA  
    • NIH 
    • CDC 
    • CMS 
    • IHS
    • HRSA  ‘
    • ACF 
    • ACL 
    • AHRQ 

    2. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents are currently on administrative leave pending termination:  

    • SAMHSA 
    • FDA
    • NIH 
    • CDC 
    • CMS 
    • IHS
    • HRSA 
    • ACF 
    • ACL 
    • AHRQ 

    3. For each of the below agencies, please specify the number of Maryland residents who participated in the Deferred Resignation Program:  

    • SAMHSA 
    • FDA 
    • NIH
    • CDC 
    • CMS 
    • IHS 
    • HRSA 
    • ACF 
    • ACL 
    • AHRQ

     

    4. Please describe the reduction in force plans at the IHS headquarters and at IHS locations across the country.

    5. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on cancer research as a result of NIH Reductions in Force. 

    6. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on vaccine development and research as a result of FDA Reductions in Force. 

    7. Please provide a detailed description of the impact analysis performed regarding reductions in staffing to ACF services and programs, including technical assistance to states and childcare providers, childcare costs and child safety, supports for survivors of violence, and the effectiveness of the TANF and LIHEAP programs. 

    a. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how LIHEAP staffing reductions will not lead to higher energy costs for Marylanders. 

    b. Please provide a detailed plan for how the Department plans to ensure that there is no delay due to case backlogs experienced by the state of Maryland or Maryland human services providers due to staff reductions at ACF? 

    8. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to HRSA will not impact Maryland FQHCs, or access to affordable care in Maryland communities. 

    9. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to CMS will not impede Marylander’s access to Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the ACA Marketplace. 

     

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ciscomani Highlights Accomplishments from the First 100 Days of the 119th Congress

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Ciscomani (Arizona)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani is marking the first 100 days of the 119th Congress by celebrating the key wins that benefit Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. 

    “I hit the ground running in January, continuing on our success during my first term, serving our district and prioritizing the needs of our community,” said Ciscomani. “From working with President Trump to secure the border, to passing legislation for our nearly 80,000 veterans, to working with my colleagues to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government while protecting vital services for the most vulnerable among us, to returning nearly $3 million directly back to constituents, to appointing more than 20 students to our military academies, and more, I am fully committed to continue delivering real results – which earned me the honor of being named the most effective member of the Arizona congressional delegation. I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far and we’re just getting started!” 

    Ciscomani participates in a mining lunch in Casa Grande (left), attends Vail Unified School District Pride Day (middle), and talks to students (right) 

    Ciscomani’s 100 Days of the 119th Congress: 

    • Ranked as the most effective member of Congress from Arizona during the 118th Congress, the 3rd most effective freshman, and the 15th most effective member of the House of Representatives by the Center for Effective Lawmaking  

    • Returned $2.8 million in savings to constituents in the 119th Congress, including $1.25 million for veterans, and over $1 million in savings in one week. 

    • Co-led or co-sponsored 107 pieces of legislation 

    • Had two bills pass the House of Representatives with bipartisan approval: 

      • The Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act (H.R. 35) to impose federal penalties on individuals who engage in high-speed car chases with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents or law enforcement officers assisting CBP within 100 miles of the border.  
      • The Prioritizing Veterans’ Survivors Act (H.R. 1228) to ensure that surviving families of veterans receive the benefits and support they deserve, even after their loved one has passed away.  
    • Sent a letter to Speaker Johnson urging him to protect Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and Pell Grants, which Ciscomani is a recipient of. 
    • Named as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.  
    • Led a letter to the Secretary of the Army to review regulations and provide greater flexibility to ensure veterans and servicemembers are able to receive their Purple Heart award. 
    • Named as Vice Chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus. 
    • Hosted the third annual Service Academy Day for students planning to attend a prestigious military academy. 

    • Attended a roundtable with Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins 

    • Published the following op-eds: 

    • Met with constituents and attended events across all five counties in Arizona’s 6th District. 

    • Attended a fireside chat with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council.  

    By the numbers: 

    • Returned $2.8 million in casework for constituents in the 119th Congress.  

    • Attended 74 meetings with constituents, stakeholders, elected leaders, and more both in the district and Washington D.C. 

    • Appointed 24 students to Military Service Academies. 

    • Took 20 flights between Tucson and Washington D.C. 

    • Introduced 13 pieces of legislation  

    • Passed 2 bills through the House 

    • Gave 15 speeches from the floor of the House of Representatives. 

    • #1 – Most effective member of Arizona’s congressional delegation in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate 

    In the News  

    You can find a list of pictures from the 119th Congress here! 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Aisha Ahmad, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto

    United States President Donald Trump has been loud and clear. America’s liberal democratic allies cannot rely on the U.S. to protect them.

    Trump has also suggested using illegal force to achieve his own imperialist ambitions, even against former allies.

    Message received.

    Canadians and Europeans understand the American partnership is over.

    They’re now processing the implications of America’s apparent democratic collapse for global security.

    Does Trump’s stance mean that liberal democracies are now vulnerable to invasions, annexations and theft of natural resources? Yes, it does.



    Read more:
    An American military invasion of Canada? No longer unthinkable, but highly unlikely

    International security scholarship shows that, unless they are deterred, predatory superpowers use force to seize territory and natural resources for the purpose of aggrandizement.

    While an invasion of Canada is not imminent, the threats to democratic nations are now fully detectable and predictable.

    The responsible time to deter these threats is right now.

    Asymmetric deterrence

    Deterrence works when the imposed cost of an action is higher than its expected benefit. That means a hostile power won’t attack Canada if the risks of invasion are higher than the value of seizing our natural resources.

    Given that Canada is extremely resource-rich, that’s a challenge.

    While the Canadian government can make smart choices on military procurement, there is little any Canadian leader can do to transform the Canadian Armed Forces into a superpower army.

    Even if Canada redirected every penny of its budget to defence spending, it could not catch up with American, Russian or Chinese military power. Given this asymmetry, is deterrence possible?

    Absolutely.

    To get there, Canada must take two big steps: first, adopt a “whole-of-society” defence system to protect the homeland; and second, contribute to a democratic nuclear umbrella.



    Read more:
    Amid U.S. threats, Canada’s national security plans must include training in non-violent resistance

    Whole-of-society defence

    In “whole-of-society” defence, all citizens play a role in national security and emergency response. This approach requires mandatory military service and nationwide civil defence preparations.

    Whole-of-society defence not only improves societal resilience, but it also scares away potential invaders.

    Ordinary citizens can in fact defeat superpowers using nothing more than small arms and light weapons. The U.S. and Russia have both been trounced in the past by well-armed resistance movements.

    For a power-drunk dictator, whole-of-society defence is a sobering reality check.

    The presence of a large, well-armed and well-trained domestic population promises invaders a bloody, expensive and protracted ground war. That means high risks, low rewards, skyrocketing costs and decades-long timelines.

    That’s enough to deter a predatory superpower.



    Read more:
    Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States

    Many of Canada’s democratic allies have already embraced whole-of-society defence. Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland all have mandatory military service and civil defence, and sensible gun regulations that allow law-abiding citizens to contribute to national security.

    Canada has every reason to adopt the Scandinavian approach to national defence, including mandatory military and civil service and the removal of some restrictions on Canadian firearms. An excellent model to consider is Sweden’s brand new “Total Defence” system.

    Norwegians, Finns and Swedes are peaceful people who have learned to survive next to a dangerous superpower. Canadians must look at their own vulnerabilities and see the logic and wisdom behind the Scandinavian approach.

    A democratic nuclear umbrella

    Although the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibits nuclear weapons development, the Trump administration’s utter disdain for democratic allies has prompted a global rethink. Trump has demanded NATO countries stop relying on the U.S. military and spend more on their own defence.

    Nuclear weapons acquisition complies with his demand.

    Germany and Poland have reopened the nuclear debate, but most European democracies lack the materials to develop their own weapons. Instead, they are looking to France and the United Kingdom to create a new European nuclear umbrella.

    Some Canadians hope the U.K. and French umbrellas could protect Canada, too.

    That’s the wrong mentality.

    The U.K. and France have a combined 515 nuclear weapons. Russia has 5,580.

    Instead of asking the U.K. and France to further stretch their limited arsenals, Canada could step up and contribute to the solution.

    Canada is already a nuclear-threshold state with both the know-how and raw materials to develop a nuclear weapon. It would take time and money, but Canada is in a better position to help than most other European countries.

    Once across the nuclear threshold, Canada would have a bulletproof defence of its homeland. It could then work with the U.K. and France as an equal and reliable partner, contributing to a democratic nuclear umbrella to protect vulnerable allies.

    This would require formal withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but that action doesn’t need to be provocative or unilateral. Canada could co-ordinate its withdrawal with European allies as part of a collective defence of liberal democracies.

    In the face of rising tyranny and superpower conquest, Canada can either choose to be a burden on its overstretched French and British allies or a source of renewed safety for its democratic friends.

    Defending democracy

    Deterrence is hard work, but it is infinitely better than the horrors of invasion.

    Mandatory military service and nuclear weapons may be new ideas for Canadians, but other friendly democracies have been using these strategies for decades.

    The good news is that successful deterrence means stability and peace, so citizens can relax and carry on with their lives. Canadians want this safety for themselves, and for their allies, too.

    The time for Canada to act is now, when threats are foreseeable but not imminent. Waiting until an army amasses at the border is too late.

    To deter aggression, Canadians need to step up and be a little more like their Scandinavian, British and French allies. That is the price of continued freedom.

    Aisha Ahmad receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service – https://theconversation.com/how-could-canada-deter-an-invasion-nukes-and-mandatory-military-service-253414

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Keel Square gets ready to host a street party for Sunderland’s shared celebrations for the 80th Anniversary of VE Day

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Residents are being invited to join in a moment of celebration when Sunderland marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day on Thursday 8 May.

    A day of celebration to mark 80 years since the end of World War 2 in Europe is being held in Keel Square from 11am that day with everyone invited.

    VE Day bunting, World War 2 vehicles with uniformed staff, and a vintage double decker bus will all add to the VE Day spirit in Keel Square, along with deck chairs and picnic tables for people to sit and soak up the atmosphere.

    There’ll also be the chance to enjoy one of the nation’s favourite dishes of fish and chips from a vintage style van on Keel Square. During the war years, many of the ingredients that make up this dish were left unrationed, helping solidify the dish into British cuisine.

    The WI will also be holding a charitable cake sale in the Pavilion beneath the EXPO screen from 11am as well as hosting a tombola, craft demonstrations and a display showcasing the WI during the war to now.

    The street party itself gets underway from 4pm, with a packed programme of performers to enjoy, including singers, dance troupes, a Punch and Judy show, face painters and stilt walkers.

    Residents are also being encouraged to submit any photos that they may have from VE day for display on the EXPO screen on the day alongside archived photos and videos of the 1940s celebrations. These can be sent to: events@sunderland.gov.uk

    Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: “Street parties are a traditional way of celebrating VE day by bringing communities together. It will be fantastic to see Sunderland residents and communities coming together on Keel Square to join in this shared moment of celebration.

    “There are so many brilliant things to see and do on the day. Even though it’s a normal working day for residents, I’d like to encourage everyone to come down and join in with Sunderland VE Day celebrations.”

    The celebrations on Keel Square are part of the wider programme of organised events happening across Sunderland.

    Following on from the street party, there’ll be a chance to enjoy the ringing of the Sunderland Minster Church Bells between 5pm and 5:45pm.

    Then, from 7pm, residents can attend a special VE Day concert at the Fire Station. This will include performances from vintage singers, dancers, a big band and a choir. This will be hosted by former breakfast show host, Alfie Joey.

    Tickets for the concert cost £5 and are on sale now. Any residents wishing to purchase tickets can do so on this link: VE Day 80th Anniversary Concert | The Fire Station – Live Music, Theatre & Performance Venue

    The celebrations will end on Keel Square with Lighting Lamplights of Peace, followed by the singing of ‘I vow to thee my country’.

    Further celebrations are taking place throughout the city with schools, care homes and community groups registering to join in. This includes their own flag raisings, VE Day crafts and street parties.

    You can find out more about VE Day celebrations happening across Sunderland by visiting VE Day Celebrations – MySunderland or register your own event be emailing events@sunderland.gov.uk

    Share your celebration photos and videos on social media by using the #SunderlandVEDay80 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Mfume Joins Maryland Democratic Delegation in Pushing Sec. Kennedy for Answers on Disastrous Mass Layoffs

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)

    WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Kweisi Mfume joined the Maryland Democratic Delegation – U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Senator Angela Alsobrooks and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney, and Johnny Olszewski (all D-Md.) – in expressing outrage and demanding answers regarding the mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Senator Alsobrooks led this letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., where the lawmakers questioned the extent of the devastation and consequential impacts these mass layoffs will have on the state and country. 

    “This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe,” the lawmakers wrote.

    “Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research…This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives,” continued the lawmakers. 

    The lawmakers are requesting Secretary Kennedy meet with them to answer these questions by May 1, 2025.

    You can read the full letter to Secretary Kennedy here or below: 

    Dear Secretary Kennedy: 

    We write with shared concerns regarding the plan you announced on March 27, 2025, to begin yet another extensive round of mass terminations of civil servants at the Department of Health and Human Services (Department or HHS), along with an irrational and dangerous reorganization of the staff and operating divisions of the Department. In the weeks since that announcement, thousands of HHS employees have been summarily fired, wreaking havoc and chaos on our public health system. These actions are having a devastating and disproportionate impact on our state of Maryland. We demand a full and comprehensive analysis on what these cuts will mean for access to care, critical services, and lifesaving research in the state. We also demand an in-person meeting with you to discuss these concerns and the impact of the Department’s actions on our constituents. According to the announcement, cuts would include at least 3,500 full-time employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2,400 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 300 employees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

    According to the Maryland Department of Labor, preliminary data shows at least 2,755 jobs were cut in 11 federal offices located across the state, with an impact rippling across multiple counties.

    This reckless reduction in force and Department reorganization comes at a time when measles is spreading in communities across the country, avian flu is proliferating throughout our livestock populations, families are experiencing a childcare availability and affordability crisis, and cities across the country are still reeling from opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Instead of showing leadership on these concurrent emergencies and fulfilling the Department’s mission, this Administration has crippled the very teams and entire divisions that combat public health challenges, prevent disparities, and ensure that our families and children are safe. 

    The latest reductions are part of a multipronged attack on our state, as the Department has abruptly terminated billions in critical public health grants, including $200 million to Maryland that would go towards vaccination programs, disease surveillance, and alleviating health disparities. The critical services the Department is responsible for were already threatened from the Administration’s initial haphazard firings of probationary employees by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk’s Fork in the Road policy, which forced thousands of Department staff to resign or retire early. Now, the Administration is further decimating the teams of civil servants that work to make Americans healthy and safe every day. 

    As you well know, the FDA, NIH, CMS, and multiple other HHS agencies are headquartered in Maryland, and these cuts pose a direct threat to our constituents, Maryland’s economy, and all Americans. 

    At the FDA, headquartered in White Oak, the Administration has annihilated the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research – which the Maryland medical device and pharmaceutical industries rely on for the safe and timely approval of their products or therapeutics for patients. The Administration has also attacked the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products – which plays a critical role in prevention and harm reduction for Maryland youth. The FDA communications team that writes alerts about contaminated drugs and warnings to emergency room doctors about emerging threats was also terminated — which will have dire consequences for patient care. Across the FDA, thousands of Maryland based staffers that help to keep our food and health systems safe have been summarily dismissed, by an Administration only purporting to want to “Make America Healthy Again.” 

    At the NIH, based in Bethesda, this Administration has compounded its efforts to undermine the excellence of our crown jewel of scientific and medical research, with yet another round of terminations. This Administration has decimated NIH Institutes by firing leadership and critical staff to the point of non-functionality, including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 

    Maryland has already been hard hit by attacks to NIH research. In February, the NIH unveiled a new indirect cost rate guidance that would cap indirect cost rates that Maryland researchers rely on to sustain their groundbreaking, life-saving research, studies, and patient clinical trials. It also arbitrarily froze or terminated research grants in the state and has delayed the review of NIH grant applications. This medical research funds new life-saving cures for Maryland patients – from our newborns to our seniors, from children battling rare cancers to our servicemembers injured in battle. It funds thousands of Maryland jobs, and to arbitrarily cut it threatens Maryland’s health, safety, and economy. Slashing research funding will ultimately harm patients and even cost lives. 

    Attacks to the NIH are only the beginning of cuts to our health research infrastructure. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), based in Rockville, is critical for tracking data on healthcare outcomes and conducting research to improve the safety of patient care has been taken apart by DOGE. The Administration plans to merge AHRQ with another operating division at the Department and gut its budget, all while firing half of its employees. 

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), based in Rockville, has already faced hundreds of layoffs. The Department dismissed 10 percent of SAMHSA’s workforce during the first rounds of firings, and the Administration plans to further reduce the agency by up to 50 percent. While Maryland has made significant progress in preventing and reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, Baltimore City still has a death rate nearly double that of any other large city in the country. Now, the Administration is pulling the rug from underneath our state and the dozens of community-based organizations on the ground that rely on SAMHSA for training, resources, and technical assistance that helps with opioid use disorder prevention and treatment services. 

    CMS, based in Woodlawn, faced hundreds of cuts to staff, including the elimination of the Office for Minority Health and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, which respectively helps address health disparities across the country and resolves discrimination complaints. Employees at CMS’ Innovation Center (CMMI) were fired and a third of the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination office, which helps serve the over 160,000 Marylanders that are dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid were let go. CMS is responsible for overseeing coverage for over 160 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace. This includes 1.6 million Marylanders who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for lifesaving health coverage. Any attack on CMS represents a threat to Marylanders’ and the nation’s access to care. 

    At the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), headquartered in Rockville, 500- 600 civil servants were fired, compromising HRSA’s mission to improve care for vulnerable and low-income communities. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau was wiped out by staffing cuts, crippling efforts to combat the maternal mortality crisis. Maryland women’s health disparities, including maternal morbidity, remain higher than national averages, and will only be exacerbated by this action. DOGE has also reportedly fired 40 percent of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, which oversees the Health Center Program that provides high quality, accessible primary and preventive medical, behavioral and dental services to all people, regardless of income or insurance status. Maryland’s sixteen Federally Qualified Health Centers deliver comprehensive primary healthcare to more than 360,000 patients across Maryland. That access to care in our state are at risk without civil servants to effectively run the program. 

    The Indian Health Service (IHS), which is also headquartered in Rockville, was not mentioned in initial reporting regarding the HHS reorganization or reduction in force. In fact, longtime civil servants in the Senior Executive Service (SES) have reported that their duty stations have been reassigned to remote IHS locations ranging from Alaska to South Dakota. While these locations suffer from high vacancy rates, the Department is pushing staff that do not have the qualifications or background for available IHS roles into an ultimatum: relocate your family across the country for a job that does not actually exist, or leave the Department. 

    Additionally, the Department fired approximately 500 staffers at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the April 1 wave of terminations, paralyzing the Department’s ability to effectively operate its human services programs. As you know, most program and support staff were eliminated in five regional offices around the country. While ACF’s Region 3 Office – which serves Maryland – remains open for now, staff in Region 3 will likely have to absorb the work and caseload of now shuttered Regions 1, 2,5, 9 and 10. This will put an untenable strain on their ability to support states like Maryland in operating child support, family assistance and child welfare programs, and providers operating Head Start and child care programs. 

    This is in addition to the nearly two hundred probationary ACF employees who have been on administrative leave since mid-February, and because of this Administration, are still unable to 3 provide states like Maryland with the technical assistance needed to operate critical programs, increasing the financial burden on already-struggling households. Head Start serves seven thousand children in Maryland. Thousands more families rely on the availability of affordable, quality childcare in the state – availability which is endangered when the civil servants that help providers adapt to workforce challenges or monitor for abuse and neglect in our state’s facilities are shamefully fired or prevented from doing their jobs. 

    Also at ACF, the Department terminated the entire Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) staff, threatening the timely disbursement of millions of dollars to states like Maryland, to help thousands of our constituents stay safe in the coming summer months. More than 18% of Maryland households are energy burdened; the Maryland Office of Home Energy Programs received a record number of energy assistance applications last year. Likewise, the Department eliminated the Office of Family Assistance – undermining the ability for the nearly 28,000 Maryland families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to receive critical support without interruption. 

    Both the dismantling of the Administration for Community Living and the slashing of reportedly half of the staff that work on federal aging and disability programs at the Department will cause real harm to programs in Maryland that support some of our state’s most vulnerable communities – seniors and individuals with disabilities. This includes programs that prevent elder abuse, connect seniors with nutritious meals, and provide supports to caregivers – like the Maryland Caregiver Navigation Grant. 

    Perhaps most galling, is that you have admitted that many of these firings at the Department are in error, telling reporters “We’re going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we’ll make mistakes.” Further reporting found that HHS has no intention of actually reinstating a significant number of the staffers that have been fired or rectifying the mistakes it has made – calling into question your control of the situation and understanding of the Department’s reorganization. As the Secretary, you are ultimately responsible for answering for both these “mistakes” and any harm that comes from your destruction of our public health workforce and infrastructure. 

    As such, we request an in-person meeting with you no later than May 1, 2025, to discuss these concerns. We also request comprehensive answers to the following questions, including details on the reductions at the Department to date, and your plans for additional workforce reductions and reorganization. 

    1. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents: received a RIF notice or were terminated on the basis of their probationary status? Please also specify how many more Maryland residents the agency intends to respectively terminate:  

    • SAMHSA 
    • FDA  
    • NIH 
    • CDC 
    • CMS 
    • IHS
    • HRSA  ‘
    • ACF 
    • ACL 
    • AHRQ 

    2. For each of the below agencies, please specify since January 20, how many Maryland residents are currently on administrative leave pending termination:  

    • SAMHSA 
    • FDA
    • NIH 
    • CDC 
    • CMS 
    • IHS
    • HRSA 
    • ACF 
    • ACL 
    • AHRQ 

    3. For each of the below agencies, please specify the number of Maryland residents who participated in the Deferred Resignation Program:  

    • SAMHSA 
    • FDA 
    • NIH
    • CDC 
    • CMS 
    • IHS 
    • HRSA 
    • ACF 
    • ACL 
    • AHRQ

    4. Please describe the reduction in force plans at the IHS headquarters and at IHS locations across the country.

    5. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on cancer research as a result of NIH Reductions in Force. 

    6. Please provide a detailed description of impact analysis performed to determine the impact on vaccine development and research as a result of FDA Reductions in Force. 

    7. Please provide a detailed description of the impact analysis performed regarding reductions in staffing to ACF services and programs, including technical assistance to states and childcare providers, childcare costs and child safety, supports for survivors of violence, and the effectiveness of the TANF and LIHEAP programs. 

                    a. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how LIHEAP staffing reductions will not lead to higher energy costs for Marylanders. 
     

                    b. Please provide a detailed plan for how the Department plans to ensure that there is no delay due to case backlogs experienced by the state of Maryland or Maryland human services providers due to staff reductions at ACF? 

    8. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to HRSA will not impact Maryland FQHCs, or access to affordable care in Maryland communities. 

    9. Please provide a detailed description of the analysis performed by the Department describing how the staffing reductions to CMS will not impede Marylander’s access to Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the ACA Marketplace. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Dan Goldman Demands AG Bondi Reinstate DOJ Lawyer Fired for Telling the Truth About Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Unlawful Deportation

    Source: US Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10)

    Firing Makes Clear Admin Expects DOJ Employees to Lie to Judges, a Violation of State Law Governing Courtroom Candor 

     

    Goldman Argues Lawyers Should Not be Forced to Choose Between Their Jobs and Following the Law 

    Members Urge Bondi to Facilitate the Return of Garcia Back to America 

    Read the Letter Here 

    Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) today led a letter with 5 of his colleagues urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to reinstate Erez Reuveni, Acting Deputy Chief of the Office of Immigration Litigation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyer who first represented the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Abrego Garcia v. Noem, the federal case concerning the Trump administration’s unlawful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.  

    While representing DHS in court, Mr. Reuveni acknowledged that DHS’s deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was an “administrative error.” One day later, Deputy Attorney General Blanche placed Mr. Reuveni on indefinite leave and later fired him, citing his failure to “follow a directive from [his] superiors.” Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Mr. Reuveni was suspended for failing to vigorously advocate on behalf of his client. 

    “While an attorney must balance their obligation to persuasively present their client’s case within their duty of candor to the tribunal, under no circumstances may the attorney “allow the tribunal to be misled by false statements of law or fact or evidence that the attorney knows to be false.” Here, Mr. Reuveni had no choice but to abide by his duty of candor to the court,” the Members wrote.

    Under Maryland’s Rules of Professional Conduct, lawyers cannot lie in a court of law or present statements that they know to be untrue or misleading. None of the statements Mr. Reuveni made during the April 4th hearing on the Abrego Garcia v. Noem were false, yet he was fired anyway, making clear Attorney General Bondi has prioritized the administration’s talking points over every attorney’s duty to present the facts as they understand them. 

    “That Mr. Reuveni was fired because he had the human decency to recognize that there was no defense for the Administration’s position underscores the danger that your firing of Mr. Reuveni presents to attorneys throughout the Department, who are now put in a position where they may have to choose between their jobs and their bar license,” the Members wrote. 

    The members also argue that there is no legitimate justification for the administration’s failure to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return from the El Salvador prison he was unlawfully and erroneously deported to, as the Supreme Court ruled in a 9-0 unanimous decision. 

    “In order to correct your improper employment action, and to set an appropriate message for other attorneys representing the Department, we request that you immediately reinstate Mr. Reuveni. As the legal advisor for the Executive Branch, we further encourage you to advise the President that he must follow the Supreme Court’s unanimous order to “facilitate” Mr. Abrego Garcia’s safe return from El Salvador, including, if necessary, by stopping payments to El Salvador for Mr. Abrego Garcia’s detention,” the Members concluded.  

     Read the Letter Here or below. 

    Dear Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche,  

    We write with grave concern about your removal and firing of Acting Deputy Chief Erez Reuveni of the Office of Immigration Litigation on unethical and improper grounds. Further, we are deeply troubled by the Hobbesian choice you have created for the attorneys in the Department of Justice (DOJ), who may be forced to choose between their jobs and their oath of candor to the courts. We therefore request that you reinstate Mr. Reuveni and clarify that Department attorneys must always be honest and forthright with the court, even if that undermines the Department’s position.

    This specific incident stems from Abrego Garcia v. Noem, a case before Judge Paula Xinis in the Maryland District Court, in which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), DOJ’s client, admitted to the court that it improperly and unlawfully deported Mr. Abrego Garcia, a resident of the State of Maryland and husband to an American citizen, to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador – a prison whose conditions would violate an inmate’s constitutional rights if it were in the United States.

    At a hearing on April 4, Mr. Reuveni admitted error on behalf of DHS, which failed to follow an order prohibiting Mr. Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador. Specifically, Mr. Reuveni made the following statements during the April 4 hearing:

    • “We have nothing to say on the merits. We concede he should not have been removed to El Salvador.” See Hr’g Tr., Apr. 4, 2025, 25: 13-14. 

    • “There’s no dispute that the order could not be used to send Mr. Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.” See Hr’g Tr., Apr. 4, 2025, 25:6–7. 

    • When asked by Judge Xinis why Abrego Garcia was held in CECOT, Mr. Reuveni replied “I don’t know. That information has not been given to me. I don’t know.” See Hr’g Tr., Apr. 4, 2025, 34:25-35:5 

    • “This person should – the plaintiff, Abrego Garcia, should not have been removed. That is not in dispute.” Hr’g Tr., Apr. 4, 2025, 19:11–13 

    • When asked by Judge Xinis why Mr. Abrego Garcia cannot be returned, Mr. Reuveni replied “Your Honor, I will say, for the Court’s awareness, that when this case landed on my desk, the first thing I did was ask my clients that very question. I’ve not received, to date, an answer that I find satisfactory.” Hr’g Tr., Apr. 4, 2025, at 35–36.

    • “I am also frustrated that I have no answer for you on a lot of these questions. The government made a choice here to produce no evidence.”

    None of these statements were incorrect. In fact, on March 31, Robert L. Cerna, Acting Field Office Director at DHS, submitted a declaration to the court which stated: “Through administrative error, Abrego-Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador. This was an oversight.”  Even until today, after the case has gone up to the United States Supreme Court and back to Judge Xinis, the Department has not provided the courts with any legitimate reason why Mr. Abrego Garcia cannot be returned to the United States in light of the government’s error and the fact that the United States is paying El Salvador to keep him in CECOT. 

    Yet the day following the court conference, on April 5, Deputy Attorney General Blanche placed Mr. Reuveni on indefinite leave, citing his failure to “follow a directive from [his] superiors.” The following day, Attorney General Bondi appeared on Fox News Sunday and claimed that Mr. Reuveni’s suspension was justified because he had not vigorously advocated on behalf of his client, stating that “[h]e did not argue. He shouldn’t have taken the case. He shouldn’t have argued it if that’s what he was going to do.”

    Yesterday, public reports revealed that you outright fired Mr. Reuveni, who has spent 15 years dedicating his life to government service and was recently elevated to a supervisory position and commended for his work. 

    Under Rule 19-303.3 (a)(1) of Maryland’s Rules of Professional Conduct regarding candor toward the court, an attorney shall not knowingly “make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal.” While an attorney must balance their obligation to persuasively present their client’s case within their duty of candor to the tribunal, under no circumstances may the attorney “allow the tribunal to be misled by false statements of law or fact or evidence that the attorney knows to be false.” Here, Mr. Reuveni had no choice but to abide by his duty of candor to the court, which conflicted with a “directive from his superiors.” 

    Further, Maryland’s Rule 19-303.3 (a)(4) prohibits an attorney from offering evidence known by that attorney to be false. The Rules also allow an attorney to refuse to offer evidence that the attorney “reasonably believes” is false under (3.3) (c). In response to the court’s questions, Mr. Reuveni either stated that he did not have answers or that the information provided to him by the Department was not “satisfactory.” In either case, the Rules require Mr. Reuveni to adhere to his obligation of candor to the court.  

    Attorney General Bondi further clarified that “every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States,” and “[a]ny attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”  While Ms. Bondi is correct that DOJ attorneys have a duty to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States, that directive must yield to every attorney’s independent obligation to be candid and honest with the court, as required by the rules authorizing that attorney to practice law. In other words, if the Department takes a position that is either unlawful or unsupported by the facts and circumstances of a case, the attorney is prohibited from zealously arguing for that position.

    In this case, however, Mr. Reuveni was improperly suspended, and eventually fired, for doing just that.

    Having admitted error in this case, there is simply no legitimate justification for refusing to request that El Salvador return Mr. Abrego Garcia to his family in Maryland where he can receive due process and proceed through the immigration system according to the law.  That Mr. Reuveni was fired because he had the human decency to recognize that there was no defense for the Administration’s position underscores the danger that your firing of Mr. Reuveni presents to attorneys throughout the Department, who are now put in a position where they may have to choose between their jobs and their bar license. This is unacceptable.

    In order to correct your improper employment action, and to set an appropriate message for other attorneys representing the Department, we request that you immediately reinstate Mr. Reuveni. As the legal advisor for the Executive Branch, we further encourage you to advise the President that he must follow the Supreme Court’s unanimous order to “facilitate” Mr. Abrego Garcia’s safe return from El Salvador, including, if necessary, by stopping payments to El Salvador for Mr. Abrego Garcia’s detention.  

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Weapons Offenses

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

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that on April 10, 2025, DJOHN BRYANT (“BRYANT”), age 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 841(b)(1)(D) and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i). 

    According to court documents, on or about February 4, 2024, New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers observed BRYANT conducting drug transactions.  Upon arresting him, officers found that BRYANT possessed cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, oxycodone, tapentadol, marijuana, and a Glock Model 27, .40 caliber handgun and ammunition.

    As to the drug trafficking charges, BRYANT faces up to twenty years in prison, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and at least three years of supervised release.  As to the charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to life in prison, which is to run consecutively to all other sentences, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release. Each count also carries a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney James Ollinger of the Violent Crime Unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Previously Convicted Armed Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ATLANTA – Alexander Arellano has been sentenced to federal prison for distributing large amounts of fentanyl in the Atlanta area while possessing firearms.

    “Fentanyl traffickers pose a tremendous threat to public safety especially when they illegally possess firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr.  “Defendants like Arellano who peddle this poison in our communities are being held accountable, including through lengthy prison sentences, thanks to the collaborative work of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.”

    “Arellano endangered countless lives by trafficking large quantities of deadly fentanyl,” Jae W. Chung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division commented on the case. “The success of this investigation is proof that those destroying our communities with fentanyl will be held accountable.” 

    According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges and other information presented in court:  On May 3, 2024, special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration saw Arellano sell a half kilogram of fentanyl to another individual in a Marietta gas station parking lot.  Agents followed Arellano back to an apartment on Windy Hill Road in Marietta.  A short time later, Arellano was arrested at the apartment complex and agents obtained a federal search warrant for his apartment. 

    During the search, agents found 10 kilograms of fentanyl, two loaded firearms, including an AK-47 pistol, and $120,000 in cash inside a bedroom belonging to Arellano.  Arellano had been previously convicted for trafficking methamphetamine and was on probation at the time of his arrest. 

    Alexander Arellano, 25, of Atlanta, Ga., was sentenced on April 14, 2025, by United States District Judge William M. Ray II to 13 years, three months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.  He was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, after he pleaded guilty to the charges on August 29, 2024.

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with valuable assistance provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Cobb County Police Department.

    Assistant United States Attorney Bethany L. Rupert prosecuted the case

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Africa’s superfood heroes – from teff to insects – deserve more attention

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kagure Gacheche, Commissioning Editor, East Africa

    Africa is home to a rich variety of incredible indigenous crops and foods – from nutrient-dense grains and legumes to unique fruits and leafy greens. Despite their value, many of these foods are often overlooked, under-celebrated, and under-consumed in favour of imported or commercial alternatives.

    Over the years, we’ve published several articles that shine a light on these traditional foods.

    In this piece, we highlight some of those stories, celebrating the power and promise of Africa’s indigenous foods.

    Special sorghum

    Modern food systems often harm both health and the environment. These systems promote cheap, processed foods that contribute to poor nutrition and disease. At the heart of the food system’s problems is a lack of diversity. Power is consolidated in the hands of a few mega-corporations and the world relies on four main staple crops – wheat, rice, maize and soybean – to meet most food needs.

    In South Africa, for instance, healthy diets remain unaffordable for many, and traditional crops like sorghum have declined.

    Scientist Laura Pereira revealed how, once central to diets and culture, sorghum is nutritious, drought-resistant and climate-resilient. Yet, it suffers from negative stereotypes and limited market appeal.

    Read more: Amazing ting: South Africa must reinvigorate sorghum as a key food before it’s lost

    Bugs, bugs, bugs

    For thousands of years, people from all over the world have eaten insects. Today about 2.5 billion people – many of whom live in Africa – eat insects. To date, 470 African edible insects have been scientifically recorded. Grasshoppers and termites are among some of the favourites.

    Researchers Martin Potgieter and Bronwyn Egan have shared insights into the various ways they’re eaten across the continent. Recipes vary by region and include snacks, stews and even stuffed dates.

    Read more: Fried, steamed or toasted: here are the best ways to cook insects

    Powerful pulses

    Many of Africa’s local pulses – such as beans, lentils and cowpeas – are highly nutritious, affordable and climate-resilient foods. As researcher Nokuthula Vilakazi explained, they can play a vital role in addressing malnutrition and food insecurity in Africa.

    Rich in protein, fibre, and essential vitamins and minerals, pulses are especially valuable for tackling both chronic hunger and hidden hunger caused by poor diets.

    Read more: Why the African food basket should be full of beans and other pulses

    Championing teff

    Teff, an ancient grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea, is gaining global popularity due to its health benefits, especially being gluten-free.

    Crop expert HyeJin Lee explained that, despite teff’s resilience and importance to millions, inefficient practices and weak value chains hinder growth.

    Read more: Ethiopia needs to improve production of its “golden crop” Teff. Here’s how

    Kenya’s positive push

    Once viewed as outdated or poor people’s food, traditional vegetables and local foods in Kenya are now experiencing a resurgence.

    This is because traditional vegetables – like spider plant, leaf amaranth and cassava leaves – have proven to be more nutritious than commonly eaten exotics, like cabbage.

    The leaves of cassava, a major vegetable in central African nations, are rich in proteins. A single serving, or 100 grams of the leaves, can provide up to three times the recommended daily intake of vitamin A in children and adults.

    The fruit pulp of the baobab can supply as much as 10 times the amount of vitamin C as an orange, by weight.

    Botanist Patrick Maundu explained how a nationwide effort has promoted the nutritional and cultural value of indigenous foods since the mid-1990s. This initiative improved seed availability, linked farmers to markets, and helped restore pride in local food culture.

    Read more: Kenya’s push to promote traditional food is good for nutrition and cultural heritage

    – Africa’s superfood heroes – from teff to insects – deserve more attention
    – https://theconversation.com/africas-superfood-heroes-from-teff-to-insects-deserve-more-attention-254396

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Security: El Paso Couple Sentenced to Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking and Firearm Offenses

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

    EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso husband and wife were sentenced together in a federal court to a combined 25 years in prison for charges related to drug trafficking.

    According to court documents, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on Carlos Morales, 41, and Rebekah Sue Morales, 55, during an FBI surveillance operation on March 5, 2024. Two handguns were located in a backpack belonging to Carlos, a convicted felon. The subsequent execution of a search warrant on the couple’s home resulted in the seizure of additional firearms, ammunition and methamphetamine. Further investigation revealed that both Carlos and Rebekah were involved in trafficking the methamphetamine.

    Carlos pleaded guilty on Jan. 6, 2025, to one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Rebekah pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. U.S. District Judge Leon Schydlower sentenced Carlos Morales to the statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison. Schydlower sentenced Rebekah Sue Morales to 10 years in federal prison. In addition, the court ordered the forfeiture of the defendant’s residence, as well as the forfeiture of multiple firearms, all used to facilitate the commission of their crimes.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

    The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the El Paso Country Sheriff’s Office, and the El Paso Country Constables.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Susanna Martinez prosecuted the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Joint press statement

    Source: NATO

    (As delivered)

    President Zelenskyy, Dear Volodymyr,
    It is important for me to be standing next to you today in Odesa, a city that has been under constant attack throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

    Only this weekend, Russia attacked residential buildings and a hospital here with kamikaze drones. Today we both visited a hospital where I talked with some of the people injured in the war.

    Just two days ago, in Sumy on Palm Sunday –the holiest day in the Christian calendar –  two Russian ballistic missiles killed over 30 civilians – men, women, children. 
    Over 100 were injured – many seriously.
    This is simply outrageous. It’s part of a terrible pattern of Russia attacking civilian targets and infrastructure across Ukraine. Even hundreds of hospitals and medical workers have been targeted over the last years.

    I am here today because I believe Ukraine’s people deserve real peace – real safety and security in their country. In their homes.
    My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine. 
    Those who lost loved ones in these recent strikes. And so many over the years. 
    Those who have been injured. Or lost their homes. Or had their dreams shattered by this unjust and unlawful war. 

    So I am here with you today, dear Volodymyr, 
    To affirm to you and the Ukrainian people this simple message: 
    NATO stands with Ukraine. 

    You and I know that this has been true all along.
    I also know that some have called NATO’s support into question in the last couple of months. 
    But let there be no doubt. 
    Our support is unwavering. 

    NATO continues to provide political and practical support for Ukraine by delivering security assistance and training through our command in Wiesbaden. And we work closely together in Kyiv and in Brussels. 

    What’s more, just in the first three months of 2025, NATO Allies have already pledged more than 20 billion euros in security assistance for Ukraine this year. 
    Our commitment is clear – and concrete.
    We saw further contributions as you rightly said from Allies during the latest Ramstein meeting that was held in Brussels on Friday

    Our support to Ukraine is designed to ensure that your country is strong and sovereign. Able to defend today and to deter any future aggression. 
    All of this to underpin the efforts towards a just and lasting peace. 

    Indeed, today we again spoke about the important talks that President Trump is leading with Ukraine as well as with Russia to try to end the war and secure a durable peace. 
    These discussions are not easy – not least in the wake of this horrific violence –  but we all support President Trump’s push for peace. 

    Other Allies – including through efforts led by France and the United Kingdom – are ready, willing and able to shoulder more responsibility in helping to secure a peace when the time comes.

    So let me say again – to the people of Ukraine.
    We stand with you. 
    And look forward to a day that the brave men and women of this incredible country can enjoy freedom without fear. 
    So dear Volodymyr, thank you for inviting me here today. I am grateful for your leadership, for our friendship, and for our continued cooperation. 

    Slava Ukraini.

    Question: I have one question for both of you but in different forms. First of all today Mr. Witkoff said that the peace agreement that is being discussed as we understand with Russia includes some five territories , there is no NATO, there is no five article. That is why I have a different question to you. Mr General Secretary do you understand what Russia and America discussed about NATO without you and what it means for NATO, for Ukraine and for all the world? (continues in Ukrainian)

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: Let me first say that I want to commend President Trump for breaking the deadlock and starting these talks about peace in Ukraine. I think this is important because we have seen so many people die, we have seen so many cities being destroyed, the infrastructure having been targeted by the Russians so I think this is an important effort. And I have decided not to comment on all the intermediate stages of this whole process because I do not want to interfere with the peace process. Whatever we do when it comes to helping here we do as discreetly as possible and I cannot comment on this in the press. I am sorry.

    Question: Mr Secretary General thank you for being here. The first question to you is, is there any information you could disclose on the update of the naval deployment of the coalition of the willing for securing of the Black Sea security situation? (Continues in Ukrainian)

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: NATO is involved in a couple of these talks. We are of course following closely with our American friends, the initiatives by President Trump to bring Ukraine and Russia to a ceasefire and we support those efforts. Then through our command in Wiesbaden, so-called NSATU, we are working with Ukraine. And you had a visit last week of the French and the British senior officers here in Ukraine to discuss, going forward, what will be the best format to organise the Ukrainian armed forces for the future. Of course it will also help now with the fight against the Russians but also for the long term future. Because that will, in any case, be the first line of deterrence  to make sure that whenever a peace deal is struck/a ceasefire is agreed, that the Ukrainian armed forces are, as the first line of deterrence, capable and able long term to defend the country. And there are initiatives ongoing, and I think you are particularly now referring to what the French and the Brits are working on through the Coalition of the Willing. And we are also very much, of course, part of those talks and trying to advise wherever we can these discussions in the right direction. And I am very happy that the French and the Brits took this initiative to make sure that when, as a first line of defence, you have the Ukrainian armed forces, post a peace deal/ceasefire, that there might be more necessary to make sure that Putin will never ever ever ever try this again. Because nobody wants to get back to a situation of Minsk 2014, where you think you have a sort of peace deal but basically it is not strong enough, it is not holding and Putin tries this again. And whenever we come to a conclusion of this terrible war, it has to be clear to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that he can never ever try again to capture one square kilometre or one square mile of Ukraine. So that is why the French, the Brits and others are discussing what we need more, on top of Ukrainian armed forces going forward, to make sure that that guarantee is there. This is all still being debated. It will also depend, it is my absolute conviction, on the exact outcome of a peace deal/a ceasefire and hopefully a strong combination of the two. What exactly will be that format and how it will work and who will do what, etc. These talks are ongoing. As we are preparing for that hopeful soon-to-be-achieved eventuality, I hope of course that NATO tries to steer that in the direction we think will be advisory.

    (response from President Zelenskyy in Ukrainian)

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: maybe I can add one sentence that Türkiye has in 2022 already successfully agreed a ceasefire on the grain deal, they agreed to a grain deal in 2022, so let’s be positive about the fact that Türkiye again tries to bring together all relevant parties and let’s hope they are successful.

    Question: in Ukrainian

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: Yes they are the aggressor. Let me be very clear. Russia is the aggressor. Russia started this war and there is no doubt.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nashville Felon on Probation for Homicide Now Federally Charged with Firearm and Drug Crimes

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

    NASHVILLE – Dejuan Bell, 33, of Nashville, has been charged by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute oxycodone and cocaine, and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, announced Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee.

    “Our efforts in Operation Bond Watch are designed to keep those with violent histories from possessing firearms and putting our community at risk,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. “A person previously and recently convicted of killing someone should not have a handgun – period.”

    According to court documents, on the afternoon of March 18, 2025, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department detectives monitoring Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) cameras saw Bell arrive at the James Cayce Homes. The detectives were familiar with Bell because of his involvement in a 2018 homicide in Nashville. They saw Bell get out of the driver’s seat of a Nissan Altima and walk up to several people who were on porches. Bell was on the MDHA “No Trespassing” list, and he had a suspended driver’s license.

    On the MDHA cameras, the detectives saw Bell approach the driver’s side door of a black truck that was stopped on South Sixth Street. Bell and the truck’s driver exchanged pills and a plastic bag, then Bell put the pills and plastic bag in his pant pockets and walked back to the James Cayce Homes porches. Bell went back to the Nissan Altima several times. When the detectives attempted to make contact with Bell, he fled on foot. While running from detectives, Bell threw away a firearm that had been in his pants waistband. The firearm, a Glock 23 Gen5, .40 caliber pistol, was recovered, and a search of the firearm’s history revealed that it had been reported stolen. Detectives caught Bell, and during a search incident to his arrest, detectives discovered $2,180 cash and 4.2 grams of suspected oxycodone pills in a plastic bag in Bell’s pants pockets.

    The Nissan Altima smelled of marijuana and detectives conducted a probable cause search of the car and discovered individual plastic bags of a green leafy substance suspected to be marijuana, a plastic bag containing 4.5 grams of a white/grey powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine, and a digital scale in the car’s console.

    After being read his Miranda rights, Bell agreed to answer questions. Bell admitted he had a manslaughter conviction for which he was on probation. Bell told detectives he had marijuana and cocaine for sale. Bell admitted to purchasing the firearm in the Cayce area approximately two weeks earlier, and that he ran from the detectives because he had the firearm on him.

    Bell has three prior felony convictions in Davidson County Criminal Court: for Reckless Aggravated Assault, for which he received a two-year sentence; Evading Arrest by Motor Vehicle, for which he received a one-year sentence; and Voluntary Manslaughter, for which he received a six-year sentence, and was placed on probation October 27, 2023.

    If convicted, Bell faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge, up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine on the drug charge, and 5 years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine on the possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime charge.

    This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel M. Stephens is prosecuting the case.

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

    A complaint is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    # # # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Gaza has become a mass grave for Palestinians and those helping them

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Jerusalem – As Israeli forces resume and expand their military offensive by air, ground and sea on the Gaza Strip, Palestine, forcibly displacing people and deliberately blocking essential aid, Palestinian lives are once again being systematically destroyed, warns Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). A series of deadly attacks by Israeli forces have shown a blatant disregard for the safety of humanitarian and medical workers in Gaza.

    We call on Israeli authorities to immediately lift the inhumane and deadly siege on Gaza, protect the lives of Palestinians, humanitarian and medical personnel, and for all parties to restore and sustain the ceasefire.

    “Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance. We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza,” says Amande Bazerolle, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza. “With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care.”

    Over 50,000 people have been killed since October 2023, nearly a third of whom are children, according to the Ministry of Health. Since the resumption of hostilities on 18 March, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to local authorities.

    According to the United Nations, at least 409 aid workers, most of whom were UNWRA staff, the main provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza, have been killed since October 2023. Eleven MSF colleagues, some while on duty, have been killed since the start of the war, including two in just the past two weeks.

    In the latest instance of a ruthless attack by Israeli forces on aid workers, the bodies of 15 emergency responders and the ambulances they were traveling in were found in a mass grave on 30 March in Rafah, southern Gaza. The group was killed by Israeli forces while trying to assist civilians caught in shelling on 23 March. Recent publicly shared evidence has shown that the workers and their vehicles were clearly marked and identifiable, challenging the initial claims given by Israeli authorities.

    “This horrific killing of aid workers is yet another example of the complete disregard shown by Israeli forces for the protection of humanitarian and medical workers. The silence and unconditional support of Israel’s closest allies further emboldens these actions,” says Claire Magone, General Director of MSF France. 

    MSF considers that only international and independent investigations can bring to light the circumstances of, and the responsibilities for, these attacks on aid workers.

    Although the situation has already been catastrophic for over 18 months, over the past three weeks, MSF has witnessed several incidents involving the killing of humanitarian and medical workers. The coordination of humanitarian movements with Israeli authorities, known as the Humanitarian Notification System, an already imperfect mechanism, has become more unreliable and is now barely affording any protection guarantees.

    Notified locations, in which humanitarians have informed Israel of their presence, such as health facilities where we work, compounds of humanitarian stakeholders, and MSF offices and guesthouses have been hit by shells or bullets. Areas near healthcare facilities have been subjected to strikes, fighting and evacuation orders.

    Medical facilities are not exempt from attacks and evacuation orders by Israeli forces. MSF teams have had to leave many facilities, while others continue operating with staff and patients trapped inside, unable to leave safely for hours at a time.

    On 7 April, MSF teams and patients found themselves trapped in the MSF field hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza. Rockets were launched by Hamas in close proximity to our field hospitals in Deir Al-Balah endangering both patients and staff and leading to an evacuation order of the area by Israeli forces, who also carried out strikes near the compounds of Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals. We strongly denounce these actions by the warring parties and call on them to respect and protect healthcare facilities, patients and medical staff.

    Since 18 March, MSF has not been able to return to Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza where our teams were set to begin paediatric care but had to flee the field hospital, which was set up right next to the compound. MSF mobile clinics in north Gaza were suspended, and in the south, teams have been unable to return to Al-Shaboura clinic in Rafah.

    The full siege on Gaza has depleted food, fuel and medical stocks. MSF is especially facing shortages in medications for pain management and chronic illnesses, antibiotics and critical surgical materials. The lack of fuel replenishment across the Strip will lead to the inevitable suspension of activities as hospitals rely on generators for electricity to keep critical patients alive and conduct lifesaving operations.

    “Israeli authorities have deliberately blocked all aid from entering Gaza for over a month. Humanitarians have been forced to watch people suffer and die while carrying the impossible burden of providing relief with depleted supplies, all while facing the same life-threatening conditions themselves,” says Bazerolle. “There is no way they can carry out their mission under such circumstances. This is not a humanitarian failure — it is a political choice, and a deliberate assault on a people’s ability to survive, carried out with impunity.”

    Israeli authorities must end their collective punishment of Palestinians.

    We urge Israel’s allies to end their complicity and stop enabling the destruction of Palestinian lives.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: The Beginning and End of Summer Make Me Anxious

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    Time to bolster ourselves for another year of climate crisis and action

    FILE PHOTO (2024): A thermal image (inset) shows surface temperatures reaching as high as 61.1℃ along Plaza Miranda and Quiapo Church. The Philippines has been experiencing severe El Niño, aggravated by the climate crisis. © Greenpeace

    I used to enjoy Holy Week—the Visita Iglesia in the day, candlelit nights, the circulating bands of door-to-door prayer squads greeted by every household with whispers and reverence. This was the 90s, the height of the long summer blackouts. Even if your family had AC, you wouldn’t have enjoyed it most nights. I remember playing in the streets. It was very hot, but not intolerable. Patintero under the moon, taguan under stars.

    This is obviously a whole lot of children’s-book nostalgia, but there must be some truth to the feeling. I bring it up because I don’t look forward to summer anymore. Now, all I can think of when the days start getting warmer is the inevitable heat stroke I’ve gotten every year since 2020, more record-breaking temperatures, the bloated Meralco bills. I don’t remember daytime ever being so white hot and skin searing that every moment outdoors in the hours around noon feels like an assault. And while we know relief will come in a few months–it will be in the form of torrential rains capable of submerging all the cars in my neighborhood.

    In other words, the beginning and end of summer gives me, an adult in my 40s, anxiety. Right now is the end of the short season of reprieve: after the storms but before the high heat–which will be lifted by a new round of typhoons and supertyphoons.

    FILE PHOTO (2020): A man rests on debris following the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses, international name ‘Vamco’ in Rodriguez town in Rizal province east of Manila, Philippines. Typhoon Ulysses battered the northern Philippines with heavy rains and strong winds knocking out power in several provinces including areas in Metro Manila and leaving thousands homeless and damaged or destroyed establishments along its path as it blew west. © Basilio Sepe / Greenpeace

    It is not lost on me that I am privileged: I live in a relatively sheltered, less flood-prone area of the capital. Millions of Filipinos live in impoverished communities hit hard and often by extreme weather that causes sickness, destruction, loss of livelihood and life. For many, this relentless cycle could be interpreted as a Sisyphean ordeal—endure one disaster after another and try to rebuild, only to be met with new threats and new loss. The reality of climate change looms large, with anxiety hanging thick in the air, never far from mind.

    Do you remember Frank Nicol Melgar Marba, the teacher and public servant from Dinagat Islands? He made headlines joining a transnational climate lawsuit against a French fossil fuel company. In 2021, Super Typhoon Odette, one of the strongest recorded storms on Earth, destroyed Frank’s family home, and left them traumatized. He once told the press: “Whenever there’s news of a typhoon coming our way, my grandmother still shakes in fear.”

    Polls and studies stretching back a decade tell us this is increasingly becoming the norm. The majority of the nation is worried about the climate crisis. Many Filipinos, especially the young, are burdened by climate anxiety.

    In 2013, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) killed thousands and displaced millions in Eastern Visayas. A year later, a study found that an estimated 800,000 people in affected areas were reported to be suffering from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Many may still be feeling the effects to this day. Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted a poll in 2023 which determined that 8 in 10 Filipinos believe climate change poses dangers to physical and mental health. 87% say they have personally experienced climate impacts in the past three years. 81% consider climate change a threat to their mental well-being.

    It does not help that much needed climate action by world governments is sluggish and lackluster. Majority of governments are missing deadlines for crucial greenhouse gas emissions cuts. Almost half of corporations around the world abandoned pledged climate targets and got away with it scott free. Fossil fuel consumption is on the rise, which is heating the planet. The heating planet is driving more energy consumption which then prompts the release of more emissions. It feels like being alive today–facing the notion of this escalation of climate change and its consequences–comes in two flavors: 1) aware and in despair or 2) blissfully ignorant, possibly in denial.

    Despite all of this, though, the kids seem to be alright–to a degree. True to the trope (and no, please don’t bring the resilience thing into this) Filipinos, especially the youth, are powering through even the worst circumstances. Climate anxiety is translating to climate awareness, which, in the best of cases, translates to motivation to act.

    The same cadre of local and international pollsters have found that Filipino youth are some of the most eager to do their part in addressing climate change. The 2023 SWS, for instance, says 74% of respondents agree with the statement: “People like me can do something to reduce climate risks.” Another survey from 2023 said 81% of Filipino young people are aware their actions could make a positive change in improving climate policies in the country.

    FILE PHOTO (2020): Children wearing protective masks stay inside a modular tent at the Rosauro Almario Elementary School in Tondo, Manila evacuation center. About 22 families living in flood-prone areas in San Juan were forced to evacuate due to super typhoon Rolly, international name Goni. © Basilio Sepe / Greenpeace

    I wonder if today’s young people ever got to experience childhood summers like mine. Or were they, armed early with access to all the world’s information, too addled by early onset awareness of what we’ve done to the environment? Give them a platform, place, and opportunity to channel anxiety into something. Give them support, encouragement, solidarity. Join them. Action, especially collective action, bodes well for the planet, and can ease a little panic.

    Holy Week is for rest and fortification–mental, emotional, or spiritual–for the year ahead. It’s an opportunity to decide, in the quiet of our own company, or in the company of family and friends, on who to vote for in the coming elections, on what we can do to contribute; if it is in us to be brave, for ourselves and for others, in the midst of a crisis larger than any of our fears.

    You might want to check out Greenpeace Philippines’ petition called Courage for Climate, a drive in support of real policy and legal solutions in the pursuit of climate justice.

    Courage for Climate

    The climate crisis may seem hopeless, but now is the time for courage, not despair. Join Filipino communities taking bold action for our planet.

    Make an Act of Courage Today!

    Pocholo Goitia is a writer and environmental advocate from Quezon City.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Africa’s superfood heroes – from teff to insects – deserve more attention

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kagure Gacheche, Commissioning Editor, East Africa

    Africa is home to a rich variety of incredible indigenous crops and foods – from nutrient-dense grains and legumes to unique fruits and leafy greens. Despite their value, many of these foods are often overlooked, under-celebrated, and under-consumed in favour of imported or commercial alternatives.

    Over the years, we’ve published several articles that shine a light on these traditional foods.

    In this piece, we highlight some of those stories, celebrating the power and promise of Africa’s indigenous foods.

    Special sorghum

    Modern food systems often harm both health and the environment. These systems promote cheap, processed foods that contribute to poor nutrition and disease. At the heart of the food system’s problems is a lack of diversity. Power is consolidated in the hands of a few mega-corporations and the world relies on four main staple crops – wheat, rice, maize and soybean – to meet most food needs.

    In South Africa, for instance, healthy diets remain unaffordable for many, and traditional crops like sorghum have declined.

    Scientist Laura Pereira revealed how, once central to diets and culture, sorghum is nutritious, drought-resistant and climate-resilient. Yet, it suffers from negative stereotypes and limited market appeal.



    Read more:
    Amazing ting: South Africa must reinvigorate sorghum as a key food before it’s lost

    Bugs, bugs, bugs

    For thousands of years, people from all over the world have eaten insects. Today about 2.5 billion people – many of whom live in Africa – eat insects. To date, 470 African edible insects have been scientifically recorded. Grasshoppers and termites are among some of the favourites.

    Researchers Martin Potgieter and Bronwyn Egan have shared insights into the various ways they’re eaten across the continent. Recipes vary by region and include snacks, stews and even stuffed dates.



    Read more:
    Fried, steamed or toasted: here are the best ways to cook insects

    Powerful pulses

    Many of Africa’s local pulses – such as beans, lentils and cowpeas – are highly nutritious, affordable and climate-resilient foods. As researcher Nokuthula Vilakazi explained, they can play a vital role in addressing malnutrition and food insecurity in Africa.

    Rich in protein, fibre, and essential vitamins and minerals, pulses are especially valuable for tackling both chronic hunger and hidden hunger caused by poor diets.



    Read more:
    Why the African food basket should be full of beans and other pulses

    Championing teff

    Teff, an ancient grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea, is gaining global popularity due to its health benefits, especially being gluten-free.

    Crop expert HyeJin Lee explained that, despite teff’s resilience and importance to millions, inefficient practices and weak value chains hinder growth.



    Read more:
    Ethiopia needs to improve production of its “golden crop” Teff. Here’s how

    Kenya’s positive push

    Once viewed as outdated or poor people’s food, traditional vegetables and local foods in Kenya are now experiencing a resurgence.

    This is because traditional vegetables – like spider plant, leaf amaranth and cassava leaves – have proven to be more nutritious than commonly eaten exotics, like cabbage.

    The leaves of cassava, a major vegetable in central African nations, are rich in proteins. A single serving, or 100 grams of the leaves, can provide up to three times the recommended daily intake of vitamin A in children and adults.

    The fruit pulp of the baobab can supply as much as 10 times the amount of vitamin C as an orange, by weight.

    Botanist Patrick Maundu explained how a nationwide effort has promoted the nutritional and cultural value of indigenous foods since the mid-1990s. This initiative improved seed availability, linked farmers to markets, and helped restore pride in local food culture.



    Read more:
    Kenya’s push to promote traditional food is good for nutrition and cultural heritage

    – ref. Africa’s superfood heroes – from teff to insects – deserve more attention – https://theconversation.com/africas-superfood-heroes-from-teff-to-insects-deserve-more-attention-254396

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ousewem supports Yorkshire’s NFM CoP Monitoring Skill Share

    Source: City of York

    In a step to strengthen flood resilience in the region last week experts and stakeholders met to share skills.

    More than 50 natural flood management (NFM) experts, land managers, and policymakers gathered in Kirkby Malham on Friday 11 April for the first Yorkshire NFM Community of Practice (CoP) Monitoring Skill Share – a practical and collaborative event designed to improve how we monitor NFM’s impact across the region.

    Supported by Ousewem and the Environment Agency, the event brought together academics, consultants, and practitioners to share knowledge, test equipment, and explore how monitoring can drive better land management, funding decisions, and long-term resilience.

    A shift from data collection to decision-making

    From leaky dams in the Dales to river restoration in the Skell Valley, the morning presentations covered a wide range of real-world case studies – including Ousewem’s own approach, which blends landowner-led visual tools with technical data collection to feed into catchment-scale modelling.

    Dr Steph Bond, Impact Translation Fellow at iCASP, said:

    There’s often uncertainty around why data is being collected or what happens to it. This event helped shift the conversation from just collecting data to using it effectively.”

    The afternoon offered hands-on demonstrations at a local site, where attendees used flow monitoring equipment and discussed practical challenges such as data storage, maintenance, and accessibility.

    From learning to action

    A pre-event survey revealed the wide variety of monitoring methods already in use – from drone footage to simple stage boards. Learning from the day will now feed into a shared resource for the Yorkshire NFM Community of Practice, including:

    • An inventory of equipment and local support contacts
    • Tips on setting up and maintaining kit
    • A draft letter to Defra on improving monitoring support in future funding rounds

    Mark Henderson, Flood Risk Manager at City of York Council, said:

    We see monitoring not as a tick-box exercise, but as a decision-making tool that shapes investment, policy, and long-term resilience.

    “Sponsoring this event reflects Ousewem’s commitment to evidence-led NFM – and to working openly with others to improve outcomes across the region.”

    Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency at City of York Council, added: 

    Nature-based solutions are central to York’s long-term climate resilience strategy.

    “To unlock private and public investment in nature-based solutions, we need rigorous data and regional collaboration. Events like this skill share show the value of working collaboratively across sectors to build the evidence we need to invest with confidence. I’m proud that Ousewem, led by City of York Council, is helping to lead that charge.”

    What’s next for Ousewem

    The Skill Share is just one part of Ousewem’s broader investment in NFM evidence gathering. Upcoming initiatives include:

    • The next in Ousewem’s video series exploring how monitoring can strengthen decision-making – featuring footage from the Skill Share event.
    • Living Lab student research, such as Owain Wells’ study of how leaky dams influence upper catchment flows.
    • Soil aeration trials in Crimple Beck upstream of Burn Bridge, where we’re inviting local farmers to explore how improved soil structure can boost water storage and flood resilience.

    Get involved

    Would you like to join a future NFM Community of Practice meeting or take part in our next trial?

    Contact iCASP@leeds.ac.uk with ‘NFM Community of Practice’ in the subject line or reach out to Ousewem for more on our soil aeration initiative.

    For more information or to explore collaboration opportunities, please contact the Ousewem team at ousewem@york.gov.uk.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Second Member of San Antonio Gun Theft Ring Sentenced to Federal Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a gun theft and trafficking conspiracy.

    According to court documents, between January and October 2023, Alcapone Maximus Pena, 23, was involved in the theft of firearms and vehicles in and around the San Antonio area as well as the sale of those stolen firearms. Pena, codefendant Nathan Tyler Padilla, 27, and others repeatedly broke into vehicles which they identified as likely to have firearms and that they believed they would be able to illegally sell.

    A search of Pena’s home on Oct. 25, 2023 resulted in the seizure of 14 firearms. An additional 17 firearms were located in a separate search warrant and determined to be trafficked by Pena. During the course of the conspiracy, Pena was responsible for the knowing and illegal trafficking of 25-99 firearms. The investigation also revealed information that showed Padilla’s cell phone had been present during the theft of several seized firearms. For his work in the firearm thefts, Padilla would receive a share of the proceeds that came from the firearms’ eventual sale to third parties.

    Both Pena and Padilla were named in a seven-count indictment filed Nov. 15, 2023. Pena was charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, one count of possession of a machine gun, and one count of possession of stolen firearms. Padilla, who had been previously convicted on Aug. 16, 2023 for the offense of evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, was charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms and one count of possession of ammunition by a felon.

    The two codefendants pleaded guilty Jan. 7, 2025. Padilla was sentenced on April 1 to 90 months in federal prison.

    “This case highlights the importance of holding individuals trafficking in firearms accountable for their actions.  Each year, thousands of guns are stolen from vehicles in the San Antonio area, and then many of these are used to commit crimes, including violent crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. “We, along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, remain fully committed to investigating and prosecuting these firearm thefts as part of our commitment to public safety.”

    “This case is a great example of our unwavering commitment to protecting our community,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Houston Division. “By bringing individuals involved in gun theft and trafficking to justice, we are not only holding criminals accountable but also taking meaningful steps to reduce the kind of violent crime that threatens our neighborhoods. Our community is safer today because of the tireless efforts of our agency and our law enforcement partners.”

    The ATF investigated the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Zack Parsons prosecuted the case.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The sudden dismissal of public records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Reshma Ramachandran, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale University

    Mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services are continuing as the agency makes good on its intention, announced on March 27, 2025, to shrink its workforce by 20,000 people. Among workers dismissed in early April were several teams responsible for fulfilling requests for access to previously unreleased government data, information and records under a federal law known as the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA.

    At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the offices that fulfill such requests have been eliminated, according to press reports. In 2024 alone, CDC received 1,800 requests for access to public records. At the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, which together responded to almost 14,000 requests in 2024, multiple teams of FOIA staff were fired. FOIA offices at other HHS agencies were affected, too.

    Most people may never file a public records request with a federal agency. But the fact that anyone is allowed by law to do so enables the public to hold government accountable and has catalyzed important government reforms. FOIA requests at federal health agencies have been particularly consequential. They have pushed companies to take unsafe drugs off the market, led to reforms that prevent unnecessary delays in communicating public health risks, and prompted policies that lower prices and improve access to taxpayer-funded health technologies.

    I am a health services researcher who studies the effects of public health regulation, and I have observed how the transparency enabled by FOIA can benefit patients, clinicians and researchers. Although HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that federal public health agencies will embrace “radical transparency”, closure of these offices suggests otherwise.

    What is an FOIA public records request?

    The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1966 to increase government transparency in response to a rise in government secrecy during the Cold War.

    Anyone can request documents from the federal government through FOIA.

    The law requires agencies within the federal government’s executive branch to proactively publish certain procedural and other materials and to publicly disclose certain types of information. It also requires the federal government to disclose any documents that don’t fall into those categories in response to a written request, as long as they are not exempt due to issues of national security, foreign policy or business interests.

    Any member of the public, citizen or not, can file a FOIA request.

    Notably, private companies are the top requesters. They use FOIA to gain competitive advantage, support litigation and become familiar with regulations and policies that affect their business model. The next most frequent requesters are everyday people. After them come law firms, which are often supporting private companies, followed by the news media and nonprofit organizations.

    What can FOIA requests to federal health agencies reveal?

    FOIA requests to HHS agencies have led to significant shifts in public health regulation and policy.

    In one example from the early 2000s, researchers and media outlets filed FOIA requests to the FDA related to a drug called Vioxx, or rofecoxib. The drug, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Merck, was approved by the FDA as a supposedly safer alternative for osteoarthritis pain. But the documents revealed that Merck had significantly downplayed the drug’s increased risk for heart attacks and strokes.

    Information disclosed through these requests prompted congressional investigations that led to new laws requiring companies to report results of all clinical trials in a public online database – including when trials show that treatments have no meaningful benefit or are unsafe.

    The new laws also authorized the FDA to require companies to conduct additional safety studies after a drug’s approval. This means the agency can take faster action to prevent patient harm by adding warnings to drug labels, issuing warnings of potential harms directly to doctors or withdrawing unsafe treatments entirely.

    Importantly, FOIA enables ongoing oversight. In 2021, my colleagues and I published an investigation that used FOIA to determine whether the FDA and NIH were enforcing those clinical trial transparency laws. We found that companies had failed to update thousands of clinical trials in the database with their results, and that the FDA and NIH were doing little to compel them. Using the FOIA data as evidence, we successfully petitioned the FDA to step up its enforcement and to publicly list the companies that were still not complying.

    There are countless other examples of how stakeholders have used FOIA to hold the government accountable. FOIA requests filed by lawyers, news outlets and citizens of Flint, Michigan, in 2016 revealed that state and local public health officials withheld information about the contamination of the city’s drinking water. Their secrecy potentially delayed response measures that could have prevented a recurrent disease outbreak.

    Flint residents protest outside the Michigan State Capitol in January 2016.
    Shannon Nobles/Amsterdam News via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, FOIA requests to HHS agencies filed by news outlets and nonprofit organizations revealed that despite billions of taxpayer dollars and other resources invested into COVID-19 vaccine development, the U.S. government had waived away their ability to take future action and not negotiated terms to ensure affordable access if companies later hiked up prices.

    What now for FOIA at HHS?

    The sudden dismissal of FOIA teams at the CDC, FDA, NIH and other federal public health agencies will limit these agencies’ ability to respond to new and ongoing requests as required by law. This will worsen an already hefty FOIA backlog at HHS agencies.

    Cuts to FOIA staff also hinder the public from using this law to examine and potentially challenge recent agency actions under the new administration. On April 5, 2025, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed several FOIA requests on the involvement of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in disbanding the FOIA team and on the CDC’s reported suppression in March of an expert assessment of the Texas measles outbreak.

    Based on the automated response – which read that FOIA staff had been placed on administrative leave and could not respond to requests – the group filed a lawsuit challenging the FOIA office closure, arguing that it violates the Freedom of Information Act and other administrative law.

    Limited staff capacity may also curtail agencies’ ability to proactively disclose information, such as data on drug efficacy and safety posted by the FDA. Patients and clinicians access such information to make decisions about using and prescribing medications.

    HHS representatives have stated that they will resume FOIA processing, centralizing the various agency offices under HHS in a more streamlined approach. Whether such an office with significantly diminished capacity and a lack of agency-specific expertise will be able to effectively and efficiently respond to the over 50,000 requests for records received annually remains unclear.

    A pattern of barriers to public input and accountability

    FOIA is far from a perfect tool for achieving transparency in how the government regulates health and biomedical research and policy. In fact, at least at the FDA, FOIA is costly and inefficient – partly, as my colleagues and I have written, because of the agency’s self-imposed, burdensome protocols. But without an enforceable replacement strategy, it is the only tool available to the public.

    The Trump administration has taken several other steps to reduce transparency of federal public health agencies, leaving the public with limited formal avenues outside of the courts to weigh in on agency actions.

    On March 3, 2025, HHS rescinded a long-standing policy requiring it to solicit public comments on regulations related to public property, loans, grants, benefits or contracts. Advisory committee meetings where agencies convene independent experts to provide recommendations and where public stakeholders can provide input have been canceled or postponed.

    Additionally, the newly formed Make America Healthy Again Commission led by Kennedy has met behind closed doors and without prior public notice, attended only by select, aligned members. It remains unclear if future meetings will be public.

    Not only is closure of FOIA offices across HHS agencies yet another blow to government transparency, but it also prevents the public from holding agencies accountable and pushing for changes that improve health.

    Reshma Ramachandran receives research funding support from Arnold Ventures and previously received research funding support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Stavros Niarchos Foundation. She serves on the board of directors in unpaid capacity for the non-profit organization, Doctors for America.

    – ref. The sudden dismissal of public records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability – https://theconversation.com/the-sudden-dismissal-of-public-records-staff-at-health-agencies-threatens-government-accountability-254024

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cory Booker’s long speech offers a strategy for Trump opponents in a fragmented media landscape

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Erik Johnson, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Stetson University

    Sen. Cory Booker speaks to reporters in the Senate Chamber after delivering a record-setting floor speech at the U.S. Capitol on April 1, 2025. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

    Sen. Cory Booker’s record-breaking, 25-hour Senate floor speech, which began on March 31, 2025, and ended on April 1, momentarily snatched the national spotlight from President Donald Trump.

    The ever-churning national news cycle has already moved on from the spectacle.

    But as communication studies scholars, we believe Booker’s speech offers important lessons for Trump opponents in a fragmented political and media landscape.

    Our analysis of Booker’s speech, its media coverage and Booker’s use of online platforms to promote his marathon performance illustrate one way to disrupt the constant public spotlight on Trump.

    Conventions of long speeches

    In research published in 2023, we compared filibusters and long speeches in the United States and overseas. The long speeches we examined took place in national parliaments and political party meetings across the world.

    Our research uncovered three patterns.

    Long speeches incorporate varied topics and texts. Whether or not these digressions are relevant to the issue at hand, they make the speaker’s remarks last longer.

    In Sen. Rand Paul’s nearly 13-hour filibuster of John Brennan’s CIA nomination in 2013, for example, he read articles on drone warfare alongside a portion of “Alice in Wonderland.” And Sen. Alfonse D’Amato’s 1986 filibuster of a military spending bill included a partial reading of the District of Columbia phone book.“

    Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., leaves the floor of the Senate after his filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director on March 7, 2013.
    AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

    Long speeches also include expected interruptions to the speaker’s performance and address a variety of audiences.

    That’s what happened during Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1957 filibuster of the Civil Rights Act – the longest speech on the Senate floor before Booker’s performance. When Thurmond needed a bathroom break during his 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster, Sen. Barry Goldwater assisted by stalling with a report on military preparedness.

    These patterns of topical digression and expected interruption challenge the image of filibusters as individual acts of continuous endurance promoted in films such as ”Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.“ And they apply to Booker’s Senate speech.

    Our research also demonstrated how the media reframes the complexity of long speeches into simplified narratives. This coverage sometimes differs as different outlets target varied audiences.

    News reports on Thurmond’s filibuster bolstered an image of him as the lone senator defending segregation while the rest of the Senate slept.

    After state Sen. Wendy Davis’ filibuster of a 2013 anti-abortion bill in Texas, supporters linked the filibuster to her rising political prospects, while opponents disparaged her with the nickname Abortion Barbie.

    These reactions do not grapple directly with the wide-ranging content of long speeches. But they do allow them to reach audiences in ways that can shape popular memory of the event.

    Booker’s 25-hour speech

    Like other long speeches we have studied, Booker’s Senate speech addressed several topics.

    Booker read a passage from the Federalist Papers that advocated for constitutional checks and balances on the executive branch. At another point, he quoted federal appellate Judge Learned Hand, who was called the “Tenth Justice” of the Supreme Court in the first half of the 20th century. Booker also used personal anecdotes that linked his parents to the civil rights struggle and reflected on his first senate campaign.

    But mainstream news stories covering Booker’s speech produced a largely coherent summary of the overall point of the marathon talk – as they saw it, it was a stand against Trump.

    Booker’s speech also aligned with another convention of long speeches – his monologue was broken up by the parliamentary questions of fellow senators.

    Numerous Democratic allies gave Booker a break as they introduced issues of their own interest. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, for example, used her time to discuss Bob Dylan.

    After the speech, however, many news outlets focused on Booker’s physical feat. This directed attention away from the hodgepodge of voices and sources in the speech.

    Fielding reporters’ questions after yielding the Senate floor, Booker discussed his use of fasting to prepare. And The New York Times reported on the effects of standing for so long and not sleeping.

    Debates about whether or how speakers stop to use the bathroom are a source of enduring fascination surrounding long speeches. It’s something that Thurmond biographer Joseph Crespino calls the “urological mystery.”

    Media fixation on Booker’s body reimagined him as the sole speaker.

    Strategies shaping online coverage

    When Booker broke the record, roughly 115,000 people were streaming the speech on YouTube. A TikTok livestream of the event received 350 million likes by the end of the day.

    Booker was prepared for this online attention. Throughout the speech, he repeated a strategic set of phrases. Those ranged from “Let’s get in good trouble” – a reference to the late John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who served in the U.S. House of Representatives, that appeals to Booker’s political base – to “This is a moral moment,” a slogan that evokes Rev. William Barber II’s broad-based “moral movement.”

    After the speech, Booker repeated these taglines on social media, at a New Jersey town hall and in interviews with national media.

    In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, speaks on the Senate floor on April 1, 2025.
    Senate Television via AP

    Trump’s “flood the zone” approach to policymaking, which occupies media coverage through overwhelming activity, has been widely discussed by the media.

    Booker’s speech demonstrates that for resistance to be effective, it must be noticed.

    His use of easily excerpted catchphrases targeted media platforms built around short, viral video clips. The length of Booker’s speech made it newsworthy, but short clips are necessary to sustain attention online.

    On April 2, news commentators and media outlets posed a number of questions that were not about Trump: Why did Booker speak that long? How did he prepare? Was he wearing a diaper?

    These questions are part of the simplifications that occur in response to long speeches, and the media briefly paused from constant Trump coverage to ask them again.

    Other coverage has noted that Google searches for Booker have increased since the speech – and it has speculated whether the speech might improve Democratic Party approval ratings.

    More recently, an April 13 op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution picked up on Booker’s use of “good trouble” and declared, “Cory Booker is following in footsteps of Rep. John Lewis.”

    By grabbing hold of a stage and not letting go, Booker became a figure of focus for at least one news cycle.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Cory Booker’s long speech offers a strategy for Trump opponents in a fragmented media landscape – https://theconversation.com/cory-bookers-long-speech-offers-a-strategy-for-trump-opponents-in-a-fragmented-media-landscape-253911

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Wide variety of old-growth ecosystems across the US makes their conservation a complex challenge

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Reed Frederick Noss, Conservation Science Coordinator, University of Florida

    In the longleaf pine savannas of the southeastern U.S., most of the biodiversity is found in the ground cover and depends on frequent fires. Reed Noss

    In an old-growth longleaf pine savanna, the absurdly long pine needles sing in the wind. Once considered forests, these landscapes in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain are open-canopied and sunny, more grassland than forest, with underbrush kept clear by frequent fires.

    Longleaf pines – their needles can be up to 18 inches long – are among the longest-lived trees in eastern North America, surpassing 500 years if they are lucky enough to escape lightning strikes from the region’s frequent thunderstorms. Almost more fascinating is the ground cover, with up to 50 species per square meter, including some plants that are thousands of years old, with the vast majority of their biomass below ground. Picture an underground forest.

    In the American West, there are other types of old-growth forest. Dry ponderosa pine woodlands are similarly open in structure and contain trees up to nearly 1,000 years old. But perhaps the most familiar old-growth forests are the complex, wet old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, which stretch from northwestern California to southeastern Alaska.

    These forests, which contain Douglas fir, coast redwood, western hemlock, western red cedar, Sitka spruce and many other tree species, have been compared to cathedrals, providing an otherworldly experience of gigantic, ancient trees festooned with mosses and lichens and with fallen trees strewn like buses across the forest floor.

    A view of the Hall of Mosses Trail in the Hoh Rain Forest in Washington’s Olympic National Park.
    Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    I’m fortunate to have lived among and studied both southeastern pine savannas and Pacific Northwest conifer forests. The contrast between them could not be greater. And there are many other old-growth forests across the continent – including northeastern spruce fir and northern hardwoods forests, Great Lakes red pine and jack pine woodlands, southern Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests, and Great Basin bristlecone pines reaching nearly 5,000 years old. Each of these forests has a unique ecology, but all are under threat from human activity and climate change.

    I recently co-authored a research paper with two colleagues and my collaborator, Carlos Carroll, who is a conservation biologist at the Klamath Center for Conservation Research. In it, we explain that there are some key reasons it’s so difficult to conserve the nation’s varied old-growth landscapes.

    In general, the challenge is that it’s possible to conceive of all these areas as a single group – old growth landscapes – where large, old trees dominate the canopy but where small-scale disturbances such as treefall gaps create a mosaic of age classes. Foresters often call this an “uneven-age forest.”

    But they really constitute a wide range of landscapes with different, often unique needs for protection, restoration and management. For example, in some old-growth forests, the trees live thousands of years, whereas in others the maximum lifespan of the dominant tree species is much less, sometimes only around 200 years. And some old-growth forests have abundant deadwood, both standing and on the ground, whereas others are kept largely clear of deadwood by frequent fires.

    Widely different local conditions

    Large, old trees can be removed quickly but require hundreds of years to be replaced. When seeking to balance conservation goals with other priorities, including local economic needs, some foresters use a method called “thinning,” in which wooded areas aren’t clear-cut completely. Instead, only some trees are cut down. This can involve cutting smaller, younger trees while protecting older trees from logging – but at times it has included logging older trees as well. Even if it spares old trees, though, thinning can still harm biodiversity and old-growth ecosystems.

    But it isn’t always clear how old a tree must be to protect it from logging. Some conservationists argue that the rules should protect some or all forests that are considered mature – say, 80 or so years old – but not yet old growth. As those stands of trees age, they will become old growth, taking the place of trees logged in the past.

    A northern spotted owl sits on a branch in Muir Woods in California.
    Robert Alexander/Getty Images

    However, a rule as simple as sparing trees above a certain age is not necessarily best for every old-growth region. In longleaf pine savannas, for instance, the standard practice of rapidly extinguishing wildfires has meant hardwood trees typically associated with denser, moister forests have grown up amid the pines. Some threatened species, such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, has adapted to survive only in areas that are extensive open-canopy, old-growth pine savannas with few hardwoods.

    Restoration of those forests may require cutting down the invading hardwoods, even if they are decades old, as well as using fire to manage the resulting pine-dominated landscape. In some other types of old-growth forests, careful use of fire may be enough to restore the ecosystem without cutting any trees.

    Long-term and short-term at the same time

    A key challenge for protecting old-growth areas is the importance of balancing immediate risks with long-term needs, considering how ecosystems change as trees age and die, and across larger areas such as watersheds.

    Old-growth forests are rare – less than 7% of the area of U.S. forests today – and are still often logged. To recover forest ecosystems across the U.S., it will not be enough to protect just old-growth areas.

    Especially valuable for biodiversity are areas of regenerating forests that grow after fires or other disturbances such as windstorms, in places where live and dead trees in the disturbed forests have not been cut. These disturbed forests provide habitats for species associated with more open conditions. Many woodpeckers, epitomized by the black-backed woodpecker in western North America, depend on conditions created by severe fires.

    Populations of the threatened red-cockaded woodpecker in the southeastern U.S. depend on large areas of scattered, old-growth longleaf pines for their survival.
    Reed Noss

    Observing the broader value

    Beyond trees, there are many species of plants and animals that depend on old-growth landscapes. Perhaps most famous among them are the red-cockaded woodpecker of the southeastern U.S. and the northern spotted owl of the Pacific Northwest.

    Those plants’ and animals’ needs can give conservationists and ecologists insights into what territory is most useful to preserve, not just for the trees but for the larger ecosystem. That includes finding ways to connect conservation areas across the landscape so life can grow and spread.

    Efforts to preserve old-growth landscapes protect more than just the trees. These forests also store carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere where it drives climate change. They help provide clean water for people and aquatic ecosystems, along with space for recreation, reflection and other cultural activities.

    Ecological science cannot resolve the debates about how to prioritize and preserve old-growth forest. But it can help inform the public about the rising costs of doing nothing, and of the wide benefits of maintaining, recovering and restoring functioning old-growth ecosystems.

    Carlos Carroll, a conservation biologist at the Klamath Center for Conservation Research, also contributed to this article.

    Reed Frederick Noss receives funding from the University of Florida and the Southeastern Grasslands Institute.

    – ref. Wide variety of old-growth ecosystems across the US makes their conservation a complex challenge – https://theconversation.com/wide-variety-of-old-growth-ecosystems-across-the-us-makes-their-conservation-a-complex-challenge-253004

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Miami researchers are testing a textured seawall designed to hold back water and create a home for marine organisms

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sara Pezeshk, Postdoctoral Fellow in Architecture, Florida International University

    A rendering of BIOCAP tiles installed along a seawall at Morningside Park in Miami.
     Sara Pezeshk, CC BY-SA

    Morningside Park, a beloved neighborhood park in Miami with sweeping views of Biscayne Bay, will soon pilot an innovative approach to coastal resilience.

    BIOCAP tiles, a 3D-printed modular system designed to support marine life and reduce wave impact along urban seawalls, will be installed on the existing seawall there in spring 2025. BIOCAP stands for Biodiversity Improvement by Optimizing Coastal Adaptation and Performance.

    Developed by our team of architects and marine biologists at Florida International University, the uniquely textured prototype tiles are designed to test a new approach for helping cities such as Miami adapt to rising sea levels while simultaneously restoring ecological balance along their shorelines.

    The project receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Ecological costs of traditional seawalls

    Seawalls have long served as a primary defense against coastal erosion and storm surges. Typically constructed of concrete and ranging from 6 to 10 feet in height, they are built along shorelines to block waves from eroding the land and flooding nearby urban areas.

    However, they often come at an ecological cost. Seawalls disrupt natural shoreline dynamics and can [wipe out the complex habitat zones] that marine life relies on.

    Marine organisms are crucial in maintaining coastal water quality by filtering excess nutrients, pollutants and suspended particles. A single adult oyster can filter 20-50 gallons of water daily, removing nitrogen, phosphorus and solids that would otherwise fuel harmful algal blooms. These blooms deplete oxygen levels and damage marine ecosystems.

    Filter-feeding organisms also reduce turbidity, which is the cloudiness of water caused by suspended sediment and particles. Less water turbidity means more light can penetrate, which benefits seagrasses that require sunlight for photosynthesis. These seagrasses convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy-rich sugars while providing essential food and habitat for diverse marine species.

    A robotic 3D printer extrudes concrete in layered, intricate channels.
    Sara Pezeshk, CC BY-SA

    Swirling shapes, shaded grooves

    Unlike the flat, lifeless surfaces of typical concrete seawalls, each BIOCAP tile is designed with shaded grooves, crevices and small, water-holding pockets. These textured features mimic natural shoreline conditions and create tiny homes for barnacles, oysters, sponges and other marine organisms that filter and improve water quality.

    The tile’s swirling surface patterns increase the overall surface area, offering more space for colonization. The shaded recesses are intended to help regulate temperature by providing cooler, more stable microenvironments. This thermal buffering can support marine life in the face of rising water temperatures and more frequent heat events driven by climate change.

    Another potential benefit of the tiles is reducing the impact of waves.

    When waves hit a natural shoreline, their energy is gradually absorbed by irregular surfaces, tide pools and vegetation. In contrast, when waves strike vertical concrete seawalls, the energy is reflected back into the water rather than absorbed. This wave reflection – the bouncing back of wave energy – can amplify wave action, increase erosion at the base of the wall and create more hazardous conditions during storms.

    The textured surfaces of the BIOCAP tiles are designed to help diffuse wave energy by mimicking the natural dissipation found on undisturbed shorelines.

    The design of BIOCAP takes cues from nature. The tile shapes are based on how water interacts with different surfaces at high tide and low tide. Concave tiles, which curve inward, and convex tiles, which curve outward, are installed at different levels along the seawall. The goal is to deflect waves away from the seawall, reduce direct impact and help minimize erosion and turbulence around the wall’s foundation.

    A collection of 3D-printed concrete BIOCAP tiles.
    Sara Pezeshk, CC BY-SA

    How we will measure success

    After the BIOCAP tiles are installed, we plan to assess how the seawall redesign enhances biodiversity, improves water quality and reduces wave energy. This two-year pilot phase will help assess the long-term value of ecologically designed infrastructure.

    To evaluate biodiversity, we will use underwater cameras to capture time-lapse imagery of the marine life that colonizes the tile surfaces. These observations will aid in documenting species diversity and habitat use over time.

    To assess water quality, we have developed a specialized prototype tile with sensors that can measure pH, dissolved oxygen levels, salinity, turbidity and temperature in real time. This data will provide insight into how the tiles affect local water conditions.

    Finally, to measure wave attenuation and the reduction of wave force, we will mount pressure sensors on both the BIOCAP tiles and the adjacent traditional seawall sections. This comparison will allow us to quantify differences in wave energy across varying tidal conditions and storm events.

    As coastal cities confront the dual challenges of increasing threats from climate change and environmental degradation, the BIOCAP project offers what we hope will be an example of a resilient, nature-based solution that benefits both humans and the environment.

    In the coming year, we’ll be watching with hope as the new BIOCAP tiles begin to welcome marine life, offering a glimpse into how nature might reclaim and thrive along our urban shorelines.

    Read more of our stories about South Florida.

    Shahin Vassigh receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency

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

    – ref. Miami researchers are testing a textured seawall designed to hold back water and create a home for marine organisms – https://theconversation.com/miami-researchers-are-testing-a-textured-seawall-designed-to-hold-back-water-and-create-a-home-for-marine-organisms-252488

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Plumas Bancorp Reports First Quarter Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RENO, Nev., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Plumas Bancorp (Nasdaq: PLBC), the parent company of Plumas Bank (the “Bank”), today announced first quarter earnings of $7.2 million or $1.21 per share, up from $6.3 million or $1.06 per share during the first quarter of 2024. Diluted earnings per share was $1.20 during the three months ended March 31, 2025, up from $1.05 per share during the quarter ended March 31, 2024. Return on average assets was 1.79% during the current quarter, up from 1.55% during the first quarter of 2024. Return on average equity was 16.0% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, down from 16.4% during the first quarter of 2024.

    Net-interest income increased by $1.1 million from $17.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024, to $18.5 million during the current quarter. The provision for credit losses decreased from $821 thousand during the first quarter of 2024 to $250 thousand during the current quarter.

    Non-interest income increased by $1.1 million from $2.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024 to $3.2 million during the first quarter of 2025 related to a legal settlement totaling $1.1 million. This settlement related to the Dixie Fire in August of 2021 which swept through the town of Greenville, California. The fire caused severe damage to the Greenville area, including the telecommunications infrastructure which adversely affected our ability to service our customers in this area during the last few years.

    Non-interest expense increased by $1.1 million from $10.4 million during the first quarter of 2024 to $11.5 million during the current quarter. Of this amount, $569 thousand relates to costs associated with our pending acquisition of Cornerstone Community Bancorp. We signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cornerstone Community Bancorp on January 28, 2025. Merger transaction costs that facilitate the merger are not deductible for income tax purposes. Of the $569 thousand in merger related costs, $562 thousand is estimated to be not deductible for state and federal income tax.

    The provision for income taxes increased by $731 thousand from $2.1 million, 25.4% of pre-tax income, during the three months ended March 31, 2024 to $2.9 million, or 28.5% of pre-tax income, during the current quarter.

    Balance sheet Highlights
    March 31, 2025 compared to March 31, 2024

    • Gross loans increased by $35 million, or 3.5%, to $1.0 billion.
    • Total deposits increased by $73 million, or 5.6% to $1.4 billion.
    • Borrowings decreased by $105 million, or 87.5% to $15 million.
    • Total equity increased by $26 million, or 16.2% to $187.6 million.
    • Book value per share increased by $4.29, or 15.7% to $31.68.

    President’s Comments

    Andrew J. Ryback, director, president, and chief executive officer of Plumas Bancorp and Plumas Bank, described the first quarter accomplishments, saying, “The highlight of this quarter is the announcement of our definitive merger agreement with Cornerstone Community Bancorp, a partnership that will result in a combined company with over $2.3 billion in assets, $2.0 billion in deposits, and $1.5 billion in loans. This merger reinforces our commitment to serving Northern California and Western Nevada, creating enhanced opportunities for our clients, shareholders, and team members.

    Through this merger, we unite Cornerstone Community Bank’s local expertise and strong practices with Plumas Bank’s innovative technology and business solutions. Together, we are positioned to expand our footprint and strengthen our offerings, ensuring sustained value for the communities we serve. With projected earnings accretion and a focused integration process, we are confident in our ability to deliver long-term growth and success.”

    Mr. Ryback noted additional developments during the quarter, saying, “Piper Sandler added Plumas to its independent research coverage, boosting Plumas’ visibility among investors and enhancing market confidence. With coverage from Raymond James and Stephens, too, we expect fair market valuation as all three firms previously released ‘Buy’ recommendations for PLBC stock.”

    Mr. Ryback concluded, “I want to express my gratitude to our shareholders, employees, and partners for their support during this transformative time. As we move forward, we remain steadfast in our dedication to fostering growth, innovation, and community impact, while maintaining the exceptional financial results and service excellence that define Plumas Bancorp.”

    Loans, Deposits, Investments and Cash

    Gross loans increased by $34.5 million, or 3.5%, from $976 million at March 31, 2024, to $1.0 billion at March 31, 2025. Increases of $98 million in commercial real estate loans and $1 million in equity lines of credit were partially offset by decreases of $31 million in automobile loans, $18 million in construction loans, $11 million in agricultural loans and $4 million in commercial loans.

    On March 31, 2025, approximately 77% of the Company’s loan portfolio was comprised of variable rate loans. The rates of interest charged on variable rate loans are set at specific increments in relation to the Company’s lending rate or other indexes such as the published prime interest rate or U.S. Treasury rates and vary with changes in these indexes. The frequency at which variable rate loans reprice can vary from one day to several years. Most of our commercial real estate portfolio reprices every five years. Loans indexed to the prime interest rate were approximately 16% of the Company’s loan portfolio; these loans reprice within one day to three months of a change in the prime rate.

    Total deposits increased by $73 million to $1.4 billion at March 31, 2025. The increase in deposits includes increases of $10 million in demand deposits and $76 million in money market accounts. Partially offsetting these increases were decreases of $5 million in savings deposits and $8 million in time deposits. We attribute much of the increase in money market accounts to higher rate public entity deposits. At December 31, 2025, 49% of the Company’s deposits were in the form of non-interest-bearing demand deposits. The Company has no brokered deposits.

    Investment securities totaled $447 million at March 31, 2025 and 2024. The Bank’s investment security portfolio consists of debt securities issued by US Government agencies, US Government sponsored agencies and municipalities. Cash and due from banks decreased by $41 million from $128 million at March 31, 2024, to $87 million at March 31, 2025.

    Asset Quality

    Nonperforming assets (which are comprised of nonperforming loans, other real estate owned (“OREO”) and repossessed vehicle holdings) at March 31, 2025, were $3.8 million, down from $6.0 million at March 31, 2024. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets decreased to 0.23% at March 31, 2025, down from 0.37% at March 31, 2024. OREO decreased by $266 thousand from $357 thousand at March 31, 2024, to $91 thousand at March 31, 2025. Nonperforming loans were $3.7 million at March 31, 2025, and $5.6 million at March 31, 2024. Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans decreased to 0.36% at March 31, 2025, down from 0.57% at March 31, 2024.

    During the first quarter of 2025 we recorded a provision for credit losses of $250 thousand consisting of a provision for credit losses on loans of $250 thousand. This compares to a provision for credit losses of $821 thousand consisting of a provision for credit losses on loans of $900 thousand and a decrease in the reserve for unfunded commitments of $79 thousand during the first quarter of 2024.

    Net charge-offs totaled $127 thousand and $610 thousand during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The allowance for credit losses totaled $13.3 million at March 31, 2025, and $13.2 million at March 31, 2024. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.32% at March 31, 2025, and 1.35% at March 31, 2024.

    The following tables present the activity in the allowance for credit losses and the reserve for unfunded commitments during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 (in thousands).

    Allowance for Credit Losses   March 31, 2025     March 31, 2024
    Balance, beginning of period $ 13,196     $ 12,867  
    Provision charged to operations   250       900  
    Losses charged to allowance   (312 )     (680 )
    Recoveries   185       70  
    Balance, end of period $ 13,319     $ 13,157  
    Reserve for Unfunded
    Commitments    		  

    March 31, 2025

    		      

    March 31, 2024
    Balance, beginning of period $ 620     $ 799  
    Provision charged to operations   –       (79 )
    Balance, end of period $ 620     $ 720  


    Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP)

    At March 31, 2024, the Company had outstanding borrowings under BTFP totaling $105 million. All BTFP borrowings were paid off during 2024. Interest expense recognized on the BTFP borrowings for the three months ended March 31, 2024, was $1.2 million.

    Shareholders’ Equity

    Total shareholders’ equity increased by $26.1 million from $162 million at March 31, 2024, to $188 million at March 31, 2025. The $26.1 million includes earnings during the twelve-month period totaling $29.5 million, a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive loss of $2.1 million and stock option activity totaling $1.0 million. These items were partially offset by the payment of cash dividends totaling $6.5 million.

    Liquidity

    The Company manages its liquidity to provide the ability to generate funds to support asset growth, meet deposit withdrawals (both anticipated and unanticipated), fund customers’ borrowing needs and satisfy maturity of short-term borrowings. The Company’s liquidity needs are managed using assets or liabilities, or both. On the asset side, in addition to cash and due from banks, the Company maintains an investment portfolio which includes unpledged U.S. Government-sponsored agency securities that are classified as available-for-sale. On the liability side, liquidity needs are managed by offering competitive rates on deposit products and the use of established credit lines.

    The Company is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLB) and can borrow up to $251 million from the FHLB secured by commercial and residential mortgage loans with carrying values totaling $441 million. The Company is also eligible to borrow at the FRB Discount Window. At March 31, 2025 the Company could borrow up to $115 million at the Discount Window secured by investment securities with a fair value of $119 million. In addition to its FHLB borrowing line and the Discount Window, the Company has unsecured short-term borrowing agreements with two of its correspondent banks in the amounts of $50 million and $20 million. There were no outstanding borrowings to the FHLB, FRB Discount Window or the correspondent banks at March 31, 2025, and March 31, 2024.

    Customer deposits are the Company’s primary source of funds. Total deposits increased by $73 million to $1.4 billion at March 31, 2025. Deposits are held in various forms with varying maturities. The Company estimates that it has approximately $510 million in uninsured deposits which includes uninsured deposits of Plumas Bancorp. Of this amount, $190 million represents deposits that are collateralized such as deposits of states, municipalities and tribal accounts.

    The Company’s securities portfolio, Discount Window advances, FHLB advances, and cash and due from banks serve as the primary sources of liquidity, providing adequate funding for loans during periods of high loan demand. During periods of decreased lending, funds obtained from the maturing or sale of investments, loan payments, and new deposits are invested in short-term earning assets, such as cash held at the FRB and investment securities, to serve as a source of funding for future loan growth. Management believes that the Company’s available sources of funds, including borrowings, will provide adequate liquidity for its operations in the foreseeable future.

    Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

    Driven mostly by growth in the loan portfolio and the repayment of the BTFP borrowings, net interest income increased by $1.1 million from $17.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024, to $18.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The increase in net interest income includes an increase of $564 thousand in interest income and a decline of $518 thousand in interest expense.

    Interest and fees on loans increased by $804 thousand related both to an increase in average balance and an increase in yield. Average loan balances increased by $48 million, while the average yield on loans increased by 8 basis points from 6.09% during the first quarter of 2024 to 6.17% during the current quarter. The average prime interest rate decreased from 8.5% during the first quarter of 2024 to 7.5% during the current quarter. Approximately 16% of the Company’s loans are tied to the prime interest rate and most of these reprice within one to three months with a change in prime. The negative effect of the decrease in prime was offset by an increase in average yield on the bank’s fixed rate portfolio which includes growth in fixed rate SBA loans which totaled $74 million at March 31, 2025, and $47 million at March 31, 2024. The weighted average rate earned on this portfolio at March 31, 2025, was 8.3%.

    Interest on investment securities increased by $114 thousand related to an increase in yield on investment securities of 44 basis points to 4.12%. The increase in investment yields is consistent with the partial restructuring of the investment portfolio during the first quarter of 2024. The effect of this increase in yield was mostly offset by a decline of $36 million in average investment securities.

    Interest on cash balances decreased by $354 thousand related to a decline in average balance of $14 million and a decrease in average rate paid on cash balances of 105 basis points from 5.57% during the first quarter of 2024 to 4.52% during the current quarter. This decline in yield was mostly related to a decline in rate paid on balances held at the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB). The average rate earned on FRB balances decreased from 5.40% during the first quarter of 2024 to 4.40% during the current quarter.

    Interest expense decreased by $518 thousand, mostly related to the repayment of the BTFP borrowings as discussed earlier. The average rate paid on interest bearing liabilities decreased from 1.33% during the 2024 quarter to 1.14% in 2025 related mainly to the decrease in these borrowings.

    Interest paid on deposits increased by $710 thousand and is broken down by product type as follows: money market accounts – $770 thousand and savings deposits – $26 thousand. The increase in interest paid on money market accounts mostly relates to an increase in public entity balances. Interest on time deposits declined by $86 thousand related to a decline in average balance of $3 million and a decline in rate paid of 27 basis points. During the second half of 2024 and continuing into 2025, we have offered a premium rate on large balances of public entities in our service area, matching the rate they could earn from the California local agency investment fund. This has led to a significant increase in these balances and an increase in the overall rate paid on money market accounts. The average rate paid on interest-bearing deposits increased from 0.75% during the first quarter of 2024 to 1.11% during the current quarter.

    Net interest margin for the three months ended March 31, 2025, increased 33bp to 4.95%, up from 4.62% for the same period in 2024.

    Non-Interest Income/Expense

    During the three months ended March 31, 2025, non-interest income totaled $3.2 million, an increase of $1.1 million from the three months ended March 31, 2024. The largest component of this increase was the $1.1 million settlement related to the Dixie Fire as discussed earlier.

    During the three months ended March 31, 2025, total non-interest expense increased by $1.1 million from $10.4 million during the first quarter of 2024 to $11.5 million during the current quarter. The largest components of this increase were merger related expenses of $569 thousand. Salary and benefit expense increased by $514 thousand which includes an increase in salary expense of $269 thousand related primarily to merit and promotional salary increases. Related mostly to an increase in pre-tax income, bonus expense increased by $216 thousand. A decrease in deferred loan origination fees of $97 thousand was offset by a decline in commission expense of $137 thousand. Both items mostly relate to a decline in SBA loan production during the comparison quarters. Occupancy and equipment expense increased by $324 thousand from $1.7 million during the first quarter of 2024 to $2.0 million during the current quarter related to an increase of $338 thousand in rent expense related to the February 2024 sales/leaseback transaction.

    Plumas Bancorp is headquartered in Reno, Nevada. Plumas Bancorp’s principal subsidiary is Plumas Bank, which was founded in 1980. Plumas Bank is a full-service community bank headquartered in Quincy, California. The bank operates fifteen branches: thirteen located in the California counties of Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, and Sutter and two branches located in Nevada in the counties of Carson City and Washoe. The bank also operates two loan production offices located in Auburn, California and Klamath Falls, Oregon. Plumas Bank offers a wide range of financial and investment services to consumers and businesses and has received nationwide Preferred Lender status with the United States Small Business Administration. For more information on Plumas Bancorp and Plumas Bank, please visit our website at www.plumasbank.com.

    This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and Plumas Bancorp intends for such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Future events are difficult to predict, and the expectations described above are necessarily subject to risk and uncertainty that may cause actual results to differ materially and adversely.

    Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.” These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, nor should they be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those presented, either expressed or implied, in this news release. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability to successfully execute its business plans and achieve its objectives; changes in general economic and financial market conditions, either nationally or locally in areas in which the Company conducts its operations; changes in interest rates; continuing consolidation in the financial services industry; new litigation or changes in existing litigation; increased competitive challenges and expanding product and pricing pressures among financial institutions; legislation or regulatory changes which adversely affect the Company’s operations or business; loss of key personnel; and changes in accounting policies or procedures as may be required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other regulatory agencies.

    Contact: Jamie Huynh
    Investor Relations
    Plumas Bancorp
    5525 Kietzke Lane Ste. 100
    Reno, NV 89511
    775.786.0907 x8908
    investorrelations@plumasbank.com

    PLUMAS BANCORP
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS  
    (In thousands)
    (Unaudited)
      As of March 31,      
      2025   2024   Dollar
    Change    		   Percentage
    Change
    ASSETS              
    Cash and due from banks $ 87,327   $ 128,231   $ (40,904)   (31.9)%
    Investment securities 447,293   447,445   (152)   (0.0)%
    Loans, net of allowance for credit losses 1,000,651   966,141   34,510   3.6%
    Premises and equipment, net 12,349   12,960   (611)   (4.7)%
    Right-of-use assets 24,003   25,295   (1,292)   (5.1)%
    Bank owned life insurance 16,628   16,206   422   2.6%
    Real estate acquired through foreclosure 91   357   (266)   (74.5)%
    Goodwill 5,502   5,502   –   0.0%
    Accrued interest receivable and other assets 39,448   38,196   1,252   3.3%
    Total assets $ 1,633,292   $ 1,640,333   $ (7,041)   (0.4)%
                   
    LIABILITIES AND              
       SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY  
    Deposits $ 1,373,061   $ 1,299,688   $ 73,373   5.6%
    Lease liabilities 24,523   25,424   (901)   (3.5)%
    Accrued interest payable and other liabilities 33,105   33,730   (625)   (1.9)%
    Borrowings 15,000   120,000   (105,000)   (87.5)%
    Total liabilities 1,445,689   1,478,842   (33,153)   (2.2)%
    Common stock 29,454   28,492   962   3.4%
    Retained earnings 179,411   156,414   22,997   14.7%
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net (21,262)   (23,415)   2,153   9.2%
    Shareholders’ equity 187,603   161,491   26,112   16.2%
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 1,633,292   $ 1,640,333   $ (7,041)   (0.4)%
                   
                   
    PLUMAS BANCORP
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
    (In thousands, except per share data)
    (Unaudited)
                   
    FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2025   2024   Dollar
    Change    		   Percentage
    Change
                   
    Interest income $ 20,590   $ 20,026   $ 564   2.8%
    Interest expense 2,051   2,569   (518)   -20.2%
    Net interest income before provision for credit losses 18,539   17,457   1,082   6.2%
    Provision for credit losses 250   821   (571)   (69.5)%
    Net interest income after provision for credit losses 18,289   16,636   1,653   9.9%
    Non-interest income 3,213   2,140   1,073   50.1%
    Non-interest expense 11,466   10,397   1,069   10.3%
    Income before income taxes 10,036   8,379   1,657   19.8%
    Provision for income taxes 2,856   2,125   731   34.4%
    Net income $ 7,180   $ 6,254   $ 926   14.8%
                   
    Basic earnings per share $ 1.21   $ 1.06   $ 0.15   14.2%
    Diluted earnings per share $ 1.20   $ 1.05   $ 0.15   14.3%
                   
    PLUMAS BANCORP
    SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
    (Unaudited)
                       
      Three Months Ended   Year Ended
      3/31/2025   12/31/2024     3/31/2024     12/31/2024   12/31/2023
    EARNINGS PER SHARE                        
    Basic earnings per share $ 1.21     $ 1.31     $ 1.06     $ 4.85     $ 5.08  
    Diluted earnings per share $ 1.20     $ 1.29     $ 1.05     $ 4.80     $ 5.02  
    Weighted average shares outstanding   5,911       5,900       5,887       5,895       5,863  
    Weighted average diluted shares outstanding   6,002       5,995       5,946       5,968       5,934  
    Cash dividends paid per share 1 $ 0.30     $ 0.27     $ 0.27     $ 1.08     $ 1.00  
                             
    PERFORMANCE RATIOS (annualized for the three months)                
    Return on average assets   1.79 %     1.87 %     1.55 %     1.74 %     1.88 %
    Return on average equity   16.0 %     17.1 %     16.4 %     17.2 %     23.4 %
    Yield on earning assets   5.50 %     5.50 %     5.30 %     5.49 %     5.03 %
    Rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities   1.14 %     1.27 %     1.33 %     1.39 %     0.67 %
    Net interest margin   4.95 %     4.90 %     4.62 %     4.79 %     4.71 %
    Noninterest income to average assets   0.80 %     0.53 %     0.53 %     0.53 %     0.68 %
    Noninterest expense to average assets   2.85 %     2.57 %     2.57 %     2.56 %     2.36 %
    Efficiency ratio 2   52.7 %     50.4 %     53.1 %     51.3 %     46.6 %
                       
      3/31/2025   3/31/2024   12/31/2024   12/31/2023   12/31/2022
    CREDIT QUALITY RATIOS AND DATA                  
    Allowance for credit losses $ 13,319   $ 13,157   $ 13,196   $ 12,867     $ 10,717  
    Allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans   1.32     1.35     1.30     1.34 %     1.18 %
    Nonperforming loans $ 3,686   $ 5,610   $ 4,105   $ 4,820     $ 1,172  
    Nonperforming assets $ 3,787   $ 6,000   $ 4,307   $ 5,315     $ 1,190  
    Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans   0.36     0.57     0.40     0.50 %     0.13 %
    Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets   0.23     0.37     0.27     0.33 %     0.07 %
    Year-to-date net charge-offs $ 127   $ 610   $ 1,046   $ 954     $ 935  
    Year-to-date net charge-offs as a percentage of average   0.05     0.25     0.11     0.10 %     0.11 %
    loans (annualized)        
                       
    CAPITAL AND OTHER DATA                  
    Common shares outstanding at end of period   5,922     5,896     5,903     5,872       5,850  
    Shareholders’ equity $ 187,603   $ 161,491   $ 177,899   $ 147,317     $ 119,004  
    Book value per common share $ 31.68   $ 27.39   $ 30.14   $ 25.09     $ 20.34  
    Tangible common equity3 $ 181,354   $ 155,048   $ 171,606   $ 140,823     $ 112,273  
    Tangible book value per common share4 $ 30.62   $ 26.30   $ 29.07   $ 23.98     $ 19.19  
    Tangible common equity to total assets   11.1     9.5     10.6     8.7 %     6.9 %
    Gross loans to deposits   73.6     75.1     74.1     71.9 %     62.6 %
                       
    PLUMAS BANK REGULATORY CAPITAL RATIOS              
    Tier 1 Leverage Ratio   12.3     11.0     11.9     10.8 %     9.2 %
    Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio   17.8     16.1     17.3     15.7 %     14.7 %
    Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital Ratio   17.8     16.1     17.3     15.7 %     14.7 %
    Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio   19.0     17.4     18.5     16.9 %     15.7 %
     
    (1) The Company paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per share on February 17, 2025 and a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share on February 15, 2024, May 15, 2024, August 15, 2024 and November 15, 2024 and a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share on February 15, 2023, May 15, 2023, August 15, 2023 and November 15, 2023.
    (2) Efficiency ratio is defined as noninterest expense divided by total revenue (net interest income and total noninterest income).
    (3) Tangible common equity is defined as common equity less core deposit intangibles and goodwill.
    (4) Tangible common book value per share is defined as tangible common equity divided by common shares outstanding.
             
    PLUMAS BANCORP
    SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
     (Dollars in thousands)
    (Unaudited)
                           
    The following table presents for the three-month periods indicated the distribution of consolidated average assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity.
                           
      For the Three Months Ended   For the Three Months Ended
      3/31/2025   3/31/2024
      Average       Yield/   Average       Yield/
      Balance   Interest   Rate   Balance   Interest   Rate
    Interest-earning assets:                      
    Loans (2) (3) $ 1,011,968   $ 15,396   6.17 %   $ 964,132   $ 14,592   6.09 %
    Investment securities   369,126     3,927   4.31 %     371,792     3,605   3.90 %
    Non-taxable investment securities (1)   74,883     583   3.16 %     108,175     791   2.94 %
    Interest-bearing deposits   61,409     684   4.52 %     75,005     1,038   5.57 %
    Total interest-earning assets   1,517,386     20,590   5.50 %     1,519,104     20,026   5.30 %
    Cash and due from banks   26,477             26,586        
    Other assets   86,335             80,508        
    Total assets $ 1,630,198           $ 1,626,198        
                           
    Interest-bearing liabilities:                      
    Money market deposits   279,184     1,145   1.66 %     211,183     375   0.71 %
    Savings deposits   323,449     206   0.26 %     335,565     180   0.22 %
    Time deposits   88,386     545   2.50 %     91,501     631   2.77 %
    Total deposits   691,019     1,896   1.11 %     638,249     1,186   0.75 %
    Borrowings   15,000     145   3.92 %     114,342     1,367   4.81 %
    Other interest-bearing liabilities   21,190     10   0.19 %     21,713     16   0.30 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities   727,209     2,051   1.14 %     774,304     2,569   1.33 %
    Non-interest-bearing deposits   682,495             673,789        
    Other liabilities   38,096             24,440        
    Shareholders’ equity   182,398             153,665        
    Total liabilities & equity $ 1,630,198           $ 1,626,198        
    Cost of funding interest-earning assets (4)         0.55 %           0.68 %
    Net interest income and margin (5)     $ 18,539   4.95 %       $ 17,457   4.62 %
                           
    (1) Not computed on a tax-equivalent basis.                      
    (2) Average nonaccrual loan balances of $3.8 million for 2025 and $5.6 million for 2024 are included in average loan balances for computational purposes.  
    (3) Net costs included in loan interest income for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were $275 thousand and $344 thousand, respectively.  
    (4) Total annualized interest expense divided by the average balance of total earning assets.        
    (5) Annualized net interest income divided by the average balance of total earning assets.        
    PLUMAS BANCORP
    SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
     (Dollars in thousands)
    (Unaudited)
                   
    The following table presents the components of non-interest income for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.
                   
      For the Three Months Ended        
      March 31,        
        2025     2024     Dollar
    Change    		   Percentage
    Change
    Service charges on deposit accounts   705     715       (10 )   (1.4 )%
    Interchange income $ 690   $ 739       (49 )   (6.6 )%
    Loan servicing fees   186     213       (27 )   (12.7 )%
    FHLB Dividends   137     137       –     – %
    Earnings on life insurance policies   109     96       13     13.5 %
    Gain on sale of buildings   –     19,854       (19,854 )   (100.0 )%
    Loss on sale of investment securities   –     (19,826 )     19,826     100.0 %
    Other   1,386     212       1,174     553.8 %
    Total non-interest income $ 3,213   $ 2,140     $ 1,073     50.1 %
                   
    The following table presents the components of non-interest expense for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.
                   
      For the Three Months Ended        
      March 31,        
        2025     2024     Dollar
    Change    		   Percentage
    Change
    Salaries and employee benefits $ 5,880   $ 5,366     $ 514     9.6 %
    Occupancy and equipment   2,014     1,690       324     19.2 %
    Outside service fees   1,263     1,132       131     11.6 %
    Merger and acquisition expenses   569     –       569     100.0 %
    Advertising and shareholder relations   262     244       18     7.4 %
    Professional fees   229     439       (210 )   (47.8 )%
    Armored car and courier   217     203       14     6.9 %
    Deposit insurance   182     187       (5 )   (2.7 )%
    Telephone and data communication   174     222       (48 )   (21.6 )%
    Director compensation and expense   167     167       –     – %
    Business development   167     153       14     9.2 %
    Loan collection expenses   72     104       (32 )   (30.8 )%
    Amortization of Core Deposit Intangible   44     51       (7 )   (13.7 )%
    Other   226     439       (213 )   (48.5 )%
    Total non-interest expense $ 11,466   $ 10,397     $ 1,069     10.3 %
                   
    PLUMAS BANCORP  
    SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION  
     (Dollars in thousands)  
    (Unaudited)  
                     
    The following table shows the distribution of loans by type at March 31, 2025 and 2024.  
                     
          Percent of       Percent of  
          Loans in Each       Loans in Each  
      Balance at End Category to   Balance at End Category to  
      of Period   Total Loans   of Period   Total Loans  
      3/31/2025   3/31/2025   3/31/2024   3/31/2024  
    Commercial $ 77,745   7.7 %   $ 82,136   8.4 %  
    Agricultural   112,018   11.1 %     123,239   12.6 %  
    Real estate – residential   11,606   1.1 %     11,872   1.2 %  
    Real estate – commercial   660,926   65.4 %     562,870   57.7 %  
    Real estate – construction & land   46,730   4.6 %     64,547   6.6 %  
    Equity Lines of Credit   38,634   3.8 %     37,196   3.8 %  
    Auto   58,295   5.8 %     89,399   9.2 %  
    Other   4,769   0.5 %     4,953   0.5 %  
    Total Gross Loans $ 1,010,723   100 %   $ 976,212   100 %  
                     
       
    The following table shows the distribution of Commercial Real Estate loans at March 31, 2025 and 2024.  
                     
          Percent of       Percent of  
          Loans in Each       Loans in Each  
      Balance at End Category to   Balance at End Category to  
      of Period   Total Loans   of Period   Total Loans  
      3/31/25   3/31/25   3/31/24   3/31/24  
    Owner occupied $ 295,593   44.7 %   $ 194,954   34.6 %  
    Investor   365,333   55.3 %     367,916   65.4 %  
    Total real estate – commercial $ 660,926   100 %   $ 562,870   100 %  
                     
                     
    The following table shows the distribution of deposits by type at March 31, 2025 and 2024.  
                     
          Percent of       Percent of  
          Deposits in Each     Deposits in Each  
      Balance at End Category to   Balance at End Category to  
      of Period   Total Deposits   of Period   Total Deposits  
      3/31/2025   3/31/2025   3/31/2024   3/31/2024  
    Non-interest bearing $ 676,461   49.3 %   $ 665,975   51.2 %  
    Money Market   290,125   21.1 %     214,257   16.5 %  
    Savings   323,496   23.6 %     328,781   25.3 %  
    Time   82,979   6.0 %     90,675   7.0 %  
    Total Deposits $ 1,373,061   100 %   $ 1,299,688   100 %  
                     

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Fire safety measures have been tightened in Moscow’s natural areas

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The capital has stepped up control over compliance with fire safety rules in green areas. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Improvement Petr Biryukov.

    “In connection with the onset of the fire-hazardous period, control over compliance with fire safety rules in green areas has been strengthened, and additional measures have been taken to prevent possible wildfires. Firefighters and rescuers of the capital’s garrison are conducting enhanced patrols to identify cases of unauthorized burning of garbage and grass burning,” noted Petr Biryukov.

    In the Troitsky and Novomoskovsky administrative districts, comprehensive work is being carried out to prevent natural fires. In particular, fire-prevention and mineralized strips are being arranged, and double plowing of areas near residential buildings is being carried out.

    Additionally, water intake sites for aircraft are being examined, approaches to reservoirs and piers are being equipped, and helicopter pads are being prepared. In addition, control over the removal of garbage and dry grass, as well as the cutting down of hazardous trees, has been strengthened.

    Much attention is paid to preventive measures: explanatory talks are held with city residents, and leaflets with recommendations on compliance with fire safety measures are distributed.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/152678073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –