NewzIntel.com

Category: Natural Disasters

  • MIL-Evening Report: Jonathan Cook: Yes, Trump is vulgar. But the US global shakedown is the same one as ever

    Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. –

    ANALYSIS: By Jonathan Cook

    If there is one thing we can thank US President Donald Trump for, it is this: he has decisively stripped away the ridiculous notion, long cultivated by Western media, that the United States is a benign global policeman enforcing a “rules-based order”.

    Washington is better understood as the head of a gangster empire, embracing 800 military bases around the world. Since the end of the Cold War, it has been aggressively seeking “global full-spectrum domination”, as the Pentagon doctrine politely terms it.

    You either pay fealty to the Don or you get dumped in the river. Last Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was presented with a pair of designer concrete boots at the White House.

    The US president looked like a gangster as he roughed up Zelensky. But he wasn’t the one who stoked a war that’s killed huge numbers of Ukrainians and Russians. Image: www.jonathan-cook.net

    The innovation was that it all happened in front of the Western press corps, in the Oval Office, rather than in a back room, out of sight. It made for great television, Trump crowed.

    Pundits have been quick to reassure us that the shouting match was some kind of weird Trumpian thing. As though being inhospitable to state leaders, and disrespectful to the countries they head, is unique to this administration.

    Take just the example of Iraq. The administration of Bill Clinton thought it “worth it” – as his secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, infamously put it — to kill an estimated half a million Iraqi children by imposing draconian sanctions through the 1990s.

    Under Clinton’s successor, George W Bush, the US then waged an illegal war in 2003, on entirely phoney grounds, that killed around half a million Iraqis, according to post-war estimates, and made four million homeless.

    Those worrying about the White House publicly humiliating Zelensky might be better advised to save their concern for the hundreds of thousands of mostly Ukrainian and Russian men killed or wounded fighting an entirely unnecessary war — one, as we shall see, Washington carefully engineered through Nato over the preceding two decades.

    Henchman Zelensky
     All those casualties served the same goal as they did in Iraq: to remind the world who is boss.

    Uniquely, Western publics don’t understand this simple point because they live inside a disinformation bubble, created for them by the Western establishment media.

    Henry Kissinger, the long-time steward of US foreign policy, famously said: “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

    Zelensky just found that out the hard way. Gangster empires are just as fickle as the gangsters we know from Hollywood movies. Under the previous Joe Biden administration, Zelensky had been recruited as a henchman to do Washington’s bidding on Moscow’s doorstep.

    The background — the one Western media have kept largely out of view — is that, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US tore up treaties crucial to reassuring Russia of Nato’s good intent.

    Viewed from Moscow, and given Washington’s track record, Nato’s European security umbrella must have looked more like preparation for an ambush.

    Keen though Trump now is to rewrite history and cast himself as peacemaker, he was central to the escalating tensions that led to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    In 2019, he unilaterally withdrew from the 1987 Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces. That opened the door to the US launching a potential first strike on Russia, using missiles stationed in nearby Nato members Romania and Poland.

    He also sent Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, a move avoided by his predecessor, Barack Obama, for fear it would be seen as provocative.

    Repeatedly, Nato vowed to bring Ukraine into its fold, despite Russia’s warnings that the step was viewed as an existential threat, that Moscow could not allow Washington to place missiles on its border, any more than the US accepted Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba back in the early 1960s.

    Washington pressed ahead anyway, even assisting in a colour revolution-style coup in 2014 against the elected government in Kyiv, whose crime was being a little too sympathetic to Moscow.

    With the country in crisis, Zelensky was himself elected by Ukrainians as a peace candidate, there to end a brutal civil war — sparked by that coup — between anti-Russian, “nationalistic” forces in the country’s west and ethnic Russian populations in the east. The Ukrainian President soon broke that promise.

    Trump has accused Zelensky of being a “dictator”. But if he is, it is only because Washington wanted him that way, ignoring the wishes of the majority of Ukrainians.

    Reddest of red lines
     Zelensky’s job was to play a game of chicken with Moscow. The assumption was that the US would win whatever the outcome.

    Either Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bluff would be called. Ukraine would be welcomed into Nato, becoming the most forward of the alliance’s forward bases against Russia, allowing nuclear-armed ballistic missiles to be stationed minutes from Moscow.

    Or Putin would finally make good on his years of threats to invade his neighbour to stop Nato crossing the reddest of red lines he had set over Ukraine.

    Washington could then cry “self-defence” on Ukraine’s behalf, and ludicrously fearmonger Western publics about Putin eyeing Poland, Germany, France and Britain next.

    Those were the pretexts for arming Kyiv to the hilt, rather than seeking a rapid peace deal. And so began a proxy war of attrition against Russia, using Ukrainian men as cannon fodder.

    The aim was to wear Russia down militarily and economically, and bring about Putin’s overthrow.

    Zelensky did precisely what was demanded of him. When he appeared to waver early on, and considered signing a peace deal with Moscow, Britain’s prime minister of the time, Boris Johnson, was dispatched with a message from Washington: keep fighting.

    That is the same Boris Johnson who now breezily admits that the West is fighting a “proxy war” against Russia.

    His comments have generated precisely no controversy. That is particularly strange, given that critics who pointed this very obvious fact out three years ago were instantly denounced for spreading “Putin disinformation” and Kremlin “talking points”.

    For his obedience, Zelensky was feted a hero, the defender of Europe against Russian imperialism. His every “demand” — demands that originated in Washington — was met.

    Ukraine has received at least $250 billion worth of guns, tanks, fighter jets, training for his troops, Western intelligence on Russia, and other forms of aid.

    Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian men have paid with their lives — as have the families they leave behind.

    Mafia etiquette
     Now the old Don in Washington is gone. The new Don has decided Zelensky has been an expensive failure. Russia isn’t lethally wounded. It’s stronger than ever. Time for a new strategy.

    Zelensky, still imagining he was Washington’s favourite henchman, arrived at the Oval Office only to be taught a harsh lesson in mafia etiquette.

    Trump is spinning his stab in the back as a “peace agreement”. And in some sense, it is. Rightly, Trump has concluded that Russia has won — unless the West is ready to fight World War III and risk a potential nuclear war.

    Trump has faced up to the reality of the situation, even if Zelensky and Europe are still struggling to.


    Trump’s overt ‘genocidal’ warning over Gaza.   Video: TRT World News

    But his plan for Ukraine is actually just a variation of his other peace plan — the one for Gaza. There he wants to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population and, on the bodies of the enclave’s many thousands of dead children, build the “Riviera of the Middle East” — or “Trump Gaza” as it is being called in a surreal video he shared on social media.

    Similarly, Trump now sees Ukraine not as a military battlefield but as an economic one where, through clever deal-making, he can leverage riches for himself and his billionaire pals.

    He has put a gun to Zelensky and Europe’s head. Make a deal with Russia to end the war, or you are on your own against a far superior military power. See if the Europeans can help you without a supply of Washington’s weapons.

    Not surprisingly, Zelensky, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron huddled together at the weekend to find a deal that would appease Trump. All Starmer has revealed so far is that the plan will “stop the fighting”.

    That is a good thing. But the fighting could have been stopped, and should have been stopped, three years ago.

    Money, not peace
     It is deeply unwise to be lulled into tribalism by all this — the very tribalism Western elites seek to cultivate among their publics to keep us treating international affairs no differently from a high-stakes football match.

    No one here has behaved, or is behaving, honourably.

    A ceasefire in Ukraine is not about peace. It’s about money, just as the earlier war was. As all wars are, ultimately.

    An acceptable ceasefire for Trump, as well as for Putin, will involve a carve-up of Ukraine’s goodies. Rare earth minerals, land, agricultural production will be the real currency driving the agreement.

    Zelensky now understands this. He knows that he, and the people of Ukraine, have been scammed. That is what tends to happen when you cosy up to the mafia.

    If anyone doubts Washington’s insincerity over Ukraine, look to Palestine for clarity.

    In his earlier presidency, Trump tried to bring about what he termed the peace “deal of the century” whose centrepiece was the annexation of much of the Occupied West Bank.

    The hope was that the Gulf states would ultimately fund an incentivisation programme — the carrot to Israel’s stick — to encourage Palestinians to make a new life in a giant, purpose-built industrial zone in Sinai, next to Gaza.

    That plan is still simmering away in the background. At the weekend, Israel received a green light from Washington to revive its genocidal starvation of Gaza’s population, after Israel refused to negotiate the second phase of the original ceasefire agreement.

    The Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are now spinning their own bad faith as Hamas “rejectionism”.

    They and the echo chamber that is the Western media are blaming the Palestinian group for refusing to be gulled into an “extension” of what was never more than a phoney ceasefire — Israel’s fire never ceased. Israel wants all the hostages back, without having to leave Gaza, so that Hamas has no leverage to stop Israel reviving the full genocide.

    The people of Gaza are still being fed into the Washington mafia’s meatgrinder, just as the Ukrainian people have been.

    Trump wants them out of the way so he can develop a Mediterranean playground for the rich, paid for with Gulf oil money and the so-far untapped natural gas reserves just off Gaza’s coast.

    Unlike his predecessors, Trump doesn’t pretend that Ukraine and Gaza are anything more than geostrategic real estate for Washington.

    The big shakedown
     Zelensky’s shakedown did not come out of the blue. Trump and his officials had been flagging it well in advance.

    Two weeks ago, the industrial correspondent for Britain’s Daily Telegraph wrote an article headlined “Here’s why Trump wants to make Ukraine a US economic colony”.

    Trump’s team believes that Ukraine may have rare-earth minerals under the ground worth some $15 trillion — a treasure trove that will be critical to the development of the next generation of technology.

    In their view, controlling the exploration and extraction of those minerals will be as important as control over the Middle East’s oil reserves was more than a century ago.

    And most important of all, the US wants China, its chief economic — if not military — rival excluded from the plunder. China currently has an effective monopoly on many of these critical minerals.

    Or as the Telegraph puts it, Ukraine’s “minerals offer a tantalising promise: the ability for the US to break its dependence on Chinese supplies of critical minerals that go into everything from wind turbines to iPhones and stealth fighter jets”.

    A draft of the plan seen by the Telegraph would, in its words, “amount to the US economic colonisation of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity”.

    Washington wants first refusal on all deposits within the country.

    At their Oval Office confrontation, Trump reiterated this goal: “So we’re going to be using that [Ukraine’s rare earth minerals], taking it, using it for all of the things we do, including AI, and including weapons, and the military. And it’s really going to very much satisfy our needs.”

    All of this means that Trump has a keen incentive to get the war finished as quickly as possible, and Russia’s territorial advance halted. The more territory Moscow seizes, the less territory is left for the US to plunder.

    Self-sabotage
     The battle against China over rare-earth minerals isn’t a Trump innovation either — and adds an additional layer of context for why Washington and Nato have been so keen over the past two decades to prise Ukraine away from Russia.

    Last summer, a Congressional select committee on competition with China announced the formation of a working group to counter Beijing’s “dominance of critical minerals”.

    The chairman of the committee, John Moolenaar, noted that the current US dependence on China for these minerals “would quickly become an existential vulnerability in the event of a conflict”.

    Another committee member, Rob Wittman, observed: “Dominance over global supply chains for critical mineral and rare earth elements is the next stage of great power competition.”

    What Trump appears to appreciate is that Nato’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine has, by default, driven Moscow deeper into Beijing’s embrace. It has been self-sabotage on a grand scale.

    Together, China and Russia are a formidable opponent, and one at the centre of the ever-growing Brics group — comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. They have been seeking to expand their alliance by adding emerging powers to become a counterweight to Washington and Nato’s bullying global agenda.

    But a deal with Putin over Ukraine would provide an opportunity for Washington to build a new security architecture in Europe — one more useful to the US — that places Russia inside the tent rather than outside it.

    That would leave China isolated — a long-time Pentagon goal.

    And it would also leave Europe less central to the projection of US power, which is why European leaders — led by Keir Starmer — have been looking and sounding so unnerved over the past few weeks.

    The danger is that Trump’s “peacemaking” in Ukraine simply becomes a prelude to the fomenting of a war against China, using Taiwan as the pretext in the same way Ukraine was used against Russia.

    As Moolenaar implied, US control over critical minerals — in Ukraine and elsewhere — would ensure the US was no longer vulnerable in the event of a war with China to losing access to the minerals it would need to continue the war. It would free Washington’s hand.

    Trump may be behaving in a vulgar manner. But the gangster empire he now heads is conducting the same global shakedown as ever.

    Jonathan Cook is an award-winning British journalist. He was based in Nazareth, Israel, for 20 years and returned to the UK in 2021. He is the author of three books on the Israel-Palestine conflict, including Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair (2008). In 2011, Cook was awarded the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism for his work on Palestine and Israel. This article was first published in Middle East Eye and is republished with the author’s permission.

    This article was first published on Café Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fire Safety – Total fire ban for North Waikato and Coromandel

    Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

    Fire and Emergency New Zealand has declared a prohibited fire season for the Waikato Northern and Coromandel Zones as of 2pm on Friday 7 March, until further notice.
    A prohibited fire season means no outdoor fires are allowed and all fire permits are revoked.
    Waikato District Manager Daryl Trim says the areas are experiencing less rainfall than usual for this time of year.
    “Despite some rain this week, vegetation is very dry across Waikato, especially through the west of the District,” Daryl Trim says.
    “With no rain forecast for the next few weeks, these dry conditions are set to continue.
    “There were 115 vegetation fires in Waikato in January and February, including the large fire on Black Jack Road in the Coromandel.
    “It’s much harder for Fire and Emergency to protect people, property and the environment when the fire danger is so high.”
    Daryl Trim asks people to be mindful of the dry conditions and to avoid activities that can generate heat and/or sparks and cause fires.
    “Don’t mow the lawns, use power tools, or drive or park vehicles in long dry grass, particularly during the hottest parts of the day,” he says.
    “These all have the potential to start a devastating wildfire.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Volcano Watch — When have lava fountains formed on Kīlauea and what are their hazards?

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates.

    Lava fountains during the 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption (upper left), 1969 Maunulu eruption (upper right), 1983 Puʻuʻōʻō eruption (lower left), and the ongoing summit eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu (lower right). USGS images. 

    Even more recently, fissure 8 of the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption exhibited a continuous lava fountain for over two months. However, the lava fountain at fissure 8 differed from episodic lava fountains occurring recently at Kīlauea summit. The continuous fissure 8 lava fountains were primarily driven by a pressure gradient as magma moved from storage chambers beneath the summit to erupt out of the low-elevation vent on the flank of the volcano. 

    Episodic lava fountains are driven by changes in pressurization, related to new magma being supplied. As new magma accumulates, the amount of pressure builds. Eventually, lava erupts and de-pressurizes the system. As magma rises to the surface, magmatic gas rapidly exsolves as bubbles—just like when you open a bottle of soda or champagne.  This gas is a major driving force of the lava fountaining, and the pieces of lava found around the crater rim are filled with bubbles, resembling a stiff foam. 

    Many people remember the 1983–2018 middle East Rift Zone of eruption of Puʻuʻōʻō for the accessible lava flows on the coastal plain and ocean entries. But the first three years of the Puʻuʻōʻō eruption were characterized by 44 lava fountaining episodes that built a prominent cinder- and spatter-cone vent standing 835 feet (255 meters) above the surrounding landscape. Lava fountaining episodes during this eruption occurred every 3–4 weeks and lasted about a day.  Reaching heights up to 1,500 feet (460 meters), the lava fountains fed lava flows that traveled downslope. Some of the lava flows reached the Royal Gardens subdivision and destroyed several houses. 

    At the start of the Maunaulu eruption in 1969, twelve lava fountaining episodes occurred in the upper East Rift Zone. Each lava fountaining episode generally lasted for several hours, slowly building in height until a maximum height was reached, after which the fountains died within minutes. Fountains from Maunaulu reached up to 1,770 feet (540 meters). Lava flows fed by Maunaulu fountains traveled downslope, once going more than 12 miles (7.5 kilometers) to eventually enter the ocean. 

    The short but spectacular Kīlauea Iki eruption occurred in the crater just northeast of Kaluapele, the summit caldera. From November 14 to December 20, 1959, there were 17 episodes of lava fountaining that filled in the Kīlauea Iki Crater with 440 feet (135 meters) of lava. The longest episode was 6 days and episode 15 of the eruption included the highest lava fountains yet measured on Kīlauea, reaching staggering heights of 1,900 feet (580 meters). These high lava fountains built the prominent Puʻupuaʻi cinder cone, which you can view on the Devastation Trail in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. 

    Hazards associated with lava fountaining include the fallout materials (termed tephra), volcanic gas emissions, and lava flows. Tephra generally accumulates in the area immediately downwind of the vent and can build features such as cinder cones. Changes in wind direction and speeds can result in these particles being wafted greater distances to impact nearby communities. Like all eruptions, increased volcanic gas emissions associated with lava fountains creates volcanic air pollution (vog), which affects regions downwind.  When lava fountain events occur on the flanks, they feed lava flows that travel downslope, and destroy everything in their path. 

    The ongoing eruption is occurring within Halemaʻumaʻu, with lava flows contained in the summit caldera. Trade winds transport tephra and gas emissions to the southwest, away from the closest communities, but changes in wind conditions may result in Pele’s Hair and vog in areas that include Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and nearby communities. 

    Lava fountains in the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption haven’t reached “high” fountain heights of over 1,000 feet (305 meters). So far, there have been 12 episodes of lava fountaining in the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption—the same number as Maunaulu. Continuing inflation suggests this eruption will likely continue, but whether it catches up to Kīlauea Iki or Puʻuʻōʻō, in terms of the number of episodes or fountain heights, remains to be seen. 

    Volcano Activity Updates

    Kīlauea has been erupting episodically within the summit caldera since December 23, 2024. Its USGS Volcano Alert level is WATCH.

    The summit eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began in Halemaʻumaʻu crater on December 23 continued over the past week, with one eruptive episode. Episode 12 was active from the morning of March 4 until the morning of March 5. Kīlauea summit has been inflating since episode 11 ended, suggesting that another eruptive episode is possible. Sulfur dioxide emission rates are elevated in the summit region during active eruption episodes. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

    Mauna Loa is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert Level is at NORMAL.

    Four earthquakes were reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands during the past week: a M3.2 earthquake 11 km (6 mi) S of Hala‘ula at 20 km (12 mi) depth on March 4 at 3:00 p.m. HST, a M3.0 earthquake 6 km (3 mi) ENE of Honoka‘a at -1 km (0 mi) depth on March 2 at 4:25 a.m. HST, a M3.6 earthquake 31 km (19 mi) SSW of Hana at 29 km (18 mi) depth on March 1 at 7:34 p.m. HST, and a M3.0 earthquake 12 km (7 mi) SSE of Fern Forest at 7 km (4 mi) depth on March 1 at 7:19 p.m. HST.

    HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

    Please visit HVO’s website for past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information, and more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians in Gaza City

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    People try to receive food relief during Ramadan in Gaza City, on March 4, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The Israeli army on Thursday killed three Palestinians in the east of Gaza City, according to Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses.

    “The attack targeted a group of people near the Al-Tawfiq Mosque in the Al-Shuja’iyya neighborhood, in the northern Gaza Strip,” the sources told Xinhua.

    “One person was killed instantly, while three others were critically wounded. They were taken to the Baptist Hospital in central Gaza City, where two later died from their injuries,” the sources added.

    Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed the strike, saying that the army had identified individuals “attempting to plant an explosive device” near its forces in northern Gaza and launched an airstrike to eliminate the threat.

    Palestinian sources rejected the Israeli claims, saying the victims were civilians returning to check on and repair their homes, which had been damaged during the war.

    The incident came amid ongoing tensions in Gaza as negotiations for the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remain stalled.

    According to Gaza-based health authorities, since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, the reported death toll has reached 48,446, with 111,852 injured.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Cries ‘Fowl’ Over Big Corporate Egg Producers Padding Profits & Stock Buybacks at the Expense of Consumers & Taxpayers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    WASHINGTON, DC – The top five egg producing companies in the U.S. own almost half of all egg-laying commercial hens. 
    While consumers and small businesses are feeling the pain from high egg prices at restaurants and supermarkets, the largest egg conglomerates are doing remarkably well.  One egg company which produces one in every five eggs eaten in the U.S. has seen profits soar to record heights and is issuing exponentially higher shareholder dividends than it did before the outbreak and egg price increases.
    U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) says something smells rotten and wants the Trump Administration to ensure the biggest corporate egg producers in the highly concentrated egg industry aren’t unfairly padding their profits, contributing to inflated prices, and then turning around and feathering their C suites with stock buybacks that are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers and windfall profits. 
    Reed, who has led efforts to crack down on egg price gouging since 2023, is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “to ensure that taxpayer funding intended to fight the avian flu outbreak is used responsibly to eradicate the disease and lower the cost of eggs, and does not go to publicly traded companies that are conducting stock buybacks.” 
    Senator Reed sent a letter today to the head of the USDA expressing deep concern about the impact that the avian flu outbreak is having on the price of eggs and American consumers.  Reed noted USDA has exacerbated this problem by recently laying off key workers on the frontlines of combating avian: “Since President Trump took office, the price of a dozen eggs has nearly doubled, and the Administration fired several employees working to combat avian flu.  While the Administration has since announced a new effort to rehire those employees and invest in solutions, it must do better to coordinate an effective response that actually results in lower prices for Americans.”
    The avian flu outbreak has proven to be incredibly profitable for Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation’s largest egg producer and distributor.  Due to the fact that Cal-Maine Foods Inc. is a publicly-traded egg producer, it must report basic financial data.  Last month, Cal-Maine reported price hikes have been good for business: generating over $350 million in gross quarterly profits, a fourfold increase from a year prior.  With the excess profits, Cal-Maine executives announced a $500 million stock buyback program, which enriches corporate executives and wealthy investors while consumers continue paying record prices.
    Stock buybacks are a controversial financial maneuver by large corporations that remove shares from the market and enable a company to increase its share price and earnings per share and offset dilution when executives exercise stock options or when insiders want to sell their shares. Until 1982, buybacks were uncommon and generally considered a form of market manipulation. But during the Reagan Administration, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rule 10b-18 that year, it gave large companies a “safe harbor” to buy back stock.
    Despite its tremendous profits, and the fact that Cal-Maine has 75 percent more hens than the next largest company, Cal-Maine received $44 million in USDA indemnity payments to compensate for bird deaths due to the avian flu outbreak.
    Reed’s letter states that USDA“should ensure the funding it does make available for the avian flu response is used effectively to help producers who need it most – not highly-profitable companies.  A company that has earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars of cash on-hand and expected earnings for stock buybacks also has the resources to recover from losses and implement biosecurity measures without taxpayer assistance.” 
    While USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined a plan to invest $1 billion in curbing avian flu, that figure represents about half of what the Biden Administration was spending to tackle the problem.  And coupled with the USDA layoffs, the Trump Administration’s inadequate attention to the problem is exacerbating the situation.
    “Donald Trump said he’d bring down egg prices on day one.  Since he took office, the price of a dozen eggs has nearly doubled.  I guess the “yolk” is on every consumer and business who are now paying a higher price,” said Senator Reed.  “Trump finds time to bully America’s allies and trading partners, but he chickens out when it comes to antitrust enforcement and special interests.  He won’t take five minutes to call the top egg producers together to ensure consumers are getting a fair deal and egg prices aren’t manipulated to artificially high levels.”
    Full text of the letter follows:
    March 6, 2025
    The Honorable Brooke Rollins, Secretary
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
    Washington, DC 20250
    Dear Secretary Rollins:
    I write to urge you to ensure that taxpayer funding intended to fight the avian flu outbreak is used responsibly to eradicate the disease and lower the cost of eggs, and does not go to publicly traded companies that are conducting stock buybacks. 
    As I wrote to you before your confirmation, I am deeply concerned about the impact that the avian flu outbreak is having on the price of eggs and American consumers.  I am also concerned about the effects of possible price gouging by large egg producers, which I expressed in a previous letter to the Biden Administration.  Since President Trump took office, the price of a dozen eggs has nearly doubled, and the Administration fired several employees working to combat avian flu.  While the Administration has since announced a new effort to rehire those employees and invest in solutions, it must do better to coordinate an effective response that actually results in lower prices for Americans.
    A key piece of this effort includes ensuring taxpayer dollars are invested wisely and effectively.  In your first two weeks on the job, you visited a Cal-Maine Foods facility in Bogata, Texas to view the company’s implementation of biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of avian flu.  You may know that Cal-Maine Foods is the largest U.S. egg producer and recently announced in a SEC filing that it is spending up to $500 million to buy back shares for the benefit of the founder’s family.  Cal-Maine last month also reported over $350 million in gross quarterly profits, a fourfold increase from a year prior.  Despite its tremendous profits, last year the company received $44 million in USDA indemnity payments to compensate for bird deaths due to the avian flu outbreak.
    As the Trump Administration limits federal resources, including for USDA, it should ensure the funding it does make available for the avian flu response is used effectively to help producers who need it most – not highly-profitable companies.  A company that has earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars of cash on-hand and expected earnings for stock buybacks also has the resources to recover from losses and implement biosecurity measures without taxpayer assistance. 
    I appreciate your attention to this important issue, and look forward to your prompt reply.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Secretary Noem Honors Fallen Customs and Border Protection Agent and His Fellow Officers

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

     In Puerto Rico, Secretary Noem also met with Governor Jennifer González-Colón.

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Today, Secretary Kristi Noem presented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards. The ceremony also officially marked renaming of the Mayagüez Marine Unit to the Michel O. Maceda Marine Unit during a solemn ceremony. 

    Secretary Kristi Noem presented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards.

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    Secretary Kristi Noem presented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards. | View Original

    In November 2022, Agent Santiago, Agent Lamphere, and Agent Maceda intercepted a vessel 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The individuals on board were attempting to smuggle drugs into American communities. After the agents identified themselves as law enforcement, the drug traffickers opened fire. All three agents were hit. Despite his near fatal injuries, Agent Santiago gave lifesaving first aid care to Agent Lamphere and attempted to save Agent Maceda. That day, Agent Maceda made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our great nation. 

    Secretary Kristi Noem presented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards.

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    Secretary Kristi Noem presented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards. | View Original

    A statement from Secretary Noem is below: 

    “It was my honor to present CBP Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards. In November 2022, both men and their fellow CBP Agent Michael Maceda were shot by drug traffickers attempting to bring drugs into American communities. Tragically, Agent Maceda lost his life. Thank you to all of our law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to keep America safe.” 

    While in Puerto Rico, Secretary Noem also met with Governor Jennifer González-Colón to discuss partnership efforts to secure America’s maritime borders.  

    While in Puerto Rico, Secretary Noem also met with Governor Jennifer González-Colón to discuss partnership efforts to secure America’s maritime borders.

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    While in Puerto Rico, Secretary Noem also met with Governor Jennifer González-Colón to discuss partnership efforts to secure America’s maritime borders. | View Original

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Markey Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Secure Fair Pay for Truckers Working Overtime

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla, Markey Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Secure Fair Pay for Truckers Working Overtime

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), along with U.S. Representatives Mark Takano (D-Calif.-39) and Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.-02), introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ensure that truckers are compensated fairly for the hours that they are on the clock, including overtime. The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act would repeal the motor carrier provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which excludes many truckers from overtime protections enjoyed by other workers.

    In response to an Executive Order by former President Biden, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a Freight and Logistics Supply Chain Assessment in February 2022, which highlights high turnover rates and compensation issues in the trucking industry. Among its recommendations, the Department called on Congress to repeal the motor carrier provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to allow truckers to earn fair overtime pay.

    “America’s truck drivers are on the frontlines of our economy, enduring long hours away from home, and all too often, unpaid wait times at congested ports and warehouses. Unfortunately, truck drivers have been excluded from overtime pay protections for decades,” said Senator Padilla. “If truckers are forced to wait while on the job, they should be paid. This is not just a matter of fairness; it’s a matter of public safety. Experienced truckers are safer truckers, and better compensation and overtime pay will help more of them stay in the profession.”

    “Truck drivers are the engines of our economy, making sure that our supply chain keeps moving at full speed, and yet they are denied the fundamental worker protection of overtime. The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act would reverse this injustice and ensure that truck drivers are paid their due,” said Senator Markey.

    “Truckers are vital for our supply chain, manufacturing, and the American way of life,” said Representative Takano. “It is unfair that they are singled out as somehow unworthy of overtime pay. This legislation will help right that wrong and make sure they are fairly compensated for the hours they work. I am proud to partner with Congressman Van Drew and Senator Padilla to build up workers and guarantee more money in their paychecks.”

    “Truck drivers keep our supply chain moving, often working long, exhausting hours to make sure goods get where they need to go,” said Representative Van Drew. “But right now, they are not guaranteed overtime pay like most other workers. It is just not right. The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act is a simple fix—it ensures that truckers are fairly compensated for the extra hours they put in. These men and women do critical work, and it’s time we make sure their pay reflects that.”

    “The exclusion of truck drivers from federal overtime protections must come to an end,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “The Teamsters Union is proud to support the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act, which will right the decades long wrong that serves only to harm drivers to the benefit of their employers.”

    “America’s truckers are the backbone of our economy, keeping goods moving and ensuring our supply chain stays strong,” said Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer. “Yet, despite their essential role, trucking remains one of the few professions in America denied guaranteed overtime pay. It’s long past time the hard work of the men and women behind the wheel are fairly compensated. By discounting a trucker’s time, ‘big trucking’ has driven wages downward, treating truckers as disposable rather than the skilled professionals they are. We appreciate Representative Van Drew, Representative Takano, and Senator Padilla for championing the bipartisan GOT Truckers Act, which will right this wrong by securing overtime pay. This legislation is an investment in truckers, road safety, and the strength of America’s supply chain.”

    In addition to Senators Padilla and Markey, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

    The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act is supported by Teamsters and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

    Senator Padilla is a longtime advocate for improving workplace safety standards and helping workers secure fair wages. In the aftermath of the Southern California fires, Padilla introduced the bipartisan Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act to protect wildland firefighter pay and provide long-term workforce stability. Additionally, he introduced the Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act to permanently raise the caps on overtime premium pay for federal wildland firefighters. Previously, Padilla introduced the Fairness for Farm Workers Act, legislation to update the nation’s labor laws to ensure farm workers receive fairer wages and compensation. In 2023, Padilla announced the Asunción Valdivia Heat, Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act to protect the safety and health of workers who are exposed to dangerous heat conditions in the workplace. Padilla is also a proud cosponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2025.

    Full text of the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Virginia Man Convicted of Hate Crime for Attempted Church Shooting

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    After a four-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict today for Rui Jiang, of Falls Church, Virginia, who was charged with attempting to obstruct the congregants of a church in Haymarket, Virginia, in the free exercise of their religious beliefs. The charge included that the defendant’s attempted act involved a dangerous weapon and an attempt to kill. Jiang also faced charges for transmitting online threats and a firearms violation. The jury found Jiang guilty on all counts.

    According to evidence presented at trial, Jiang began posting online threats against the church on the evening of Sept. 23, 2023, which made clear his intention to kill congregants.

    On the morning of Sept. 24, 2023, police began searching for Jiang in response to a concerned citizen’s call about his posts. Police officers located Jiang inside the front entrance to the church while Sunday services were underway. Church volunteers, independently concerned about Jiang’s behavior, had just approached Jiang when police arrived. Jiang was armed with a semiautomatic handgun and two full magazines of ammunition. He had an additional 34 rounds of ammunition in his nearby car.

    During a search of Jiang’s apartment, police discovered five copies of a letter, each signed by Jiang in ink, which read in part, “To the families of those men about to be slain – I am sorry for what I have done and about to do (sic).”

    Jiang was arrested by Prince William County Police on Sept. 24, 2023, and has been in custody since that time.

    Jiang faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 18. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Assistant Director in Charge Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement. 

    The FBI investigated the case, with substantial assistance from the Prince William County and Fairfax County Police Departments. The Anne Arundel County Police Department also provided assistance.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas A. Durham and Troy A. Edwards Jr. for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Women’s History Month: Why different perspectives in cybersecurity and AI matter more than ever

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Women’s History Month: Why different perspectives in cybersecurity and AI matter more than ever

    This Women’s History Month serves as a crucial moment for us to lead and continue to pave the way for a more inclusive future. I am truly honored to support my amazing women colleagues who continue to excel in their careers and am grateful to have so many allies who have extended their hands to help guide and shape me to the person I am today.  

    Just last week I was in Tokyo for the Japan Security Forum, where Miki Tsusaka, the President of Microsoft Japan and I had a great conversation during a CyberWomen Asia fireside chat about the importance of women in cybersecurity. Following the chat was a panel discussion with Tsutaki-san, Security leader at Yamaha Motor Corporation and Debbie Furtado, one of our bright Principal group engineering managers. The event highlighted our different perspectives and talents which are invaluable to drive innovation and progress across various industries. I am proud to be a part of Microsoft Security, which is focused on building and nurturing an inclusive cybersecurity workforce and curating careers, tools, and resources that work for everyone. We recognize that this promotes business growth, strengthens global defenses, and enhances AI safety. 

    According to the World Economic Forum, gender equality in entrepreneurship drives economic growth and innovation.1 McKinsey and Company has also observed that closing the gender gap in employment and entrepreneurship could increase global GDP by 20%, and that organizations with 30% or more women on executive teams are 27% more likely to achieve higher profitability.2  

    For a better future we need everyone in the journey and this is particularly of significance in cybersecurity where we face a critical shortage of talent and where cyberthreat actors are from diverse backgrounds.  

    Cybersecurity Awareness

    Empower everyone to be a cyber defender with resources and training curated by the security experts at Microsoft.

    Addressing the skills gap in cybersecurity and AI

    There is a significant talent gap in cybersecurity. The 2024 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study reports a global shortage of 4.7 million skilled workers.3 This worker shortage has been a significant challenge the past 12 months and is expected to continue for the next two years. To address this growing concern, we must embrace a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds to foster innovation and find more effective solutions to these challenges.   

    By incorporating individuals with varied perspectives, experiences, and approaches within the cybersecurity workforce, we can enhance problem-solving capabilities and enhance strategic defenses.   

    Cybercriminals come from various cultures and backgrounds, bringing different perspectives. Security professionals with varied backgrounds and perspectives can provide creative approaches and unique insights to counter these cyberthreats.  Likewise, for AI, having different backgrounds and perspectives help with AI safety and biases. 

    Continue to deepen expertise and invite different perspectives

    While progress has been made in creating opportunities for women in cybersecurity, significant work remains to remove entry barriers. It is essential to continue our efforts to improve representation in cybersecurity by creating new pathways and gaining support from more allies. I wholeheartedly encourage you to actively contribute to this objective through the many organizations and programs available and by doing the following: 

    • Share the accomplishments of meaningful role models with a wide range of experiences and perspectives. 
    • Adjust job requirements to remove potential biases. 
    • Offer inclusive training that encourages professionals, particularly those in their early careers, and encourage them to advance their skills in cybersecurity. 
    • Volunteer for educational programs that include cybersecurity and AI training. 
    • Reach out to community groups that advocate for mentorship opportunities. 
    • Act as an ally and create opportunities for those interested in cybersecurity careers, such as by encouraging them to participate and speak up and introducing them to peers. 

    Security should be for all and we are all in this together. Together, we can enhance the global security workforce and contribute to a promising future.  

    Register for our upcoming panel “Harnessing Diversity – Strengthening the Cybersecurity Workforce in the Age of AI” and visit Microsoft’s cybersecurity awareness page for resources and training provided by Microsoft security experts, enabling everyone in your organization to become a cyber defender. Let us all acknowledge the importance of diversity in cybersecurity and its critical role in safeguarding our future and shaping a history we can be proud of. 

    To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and X (@MSFTSecurity) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.

    1Advancing gender parity in entrepreneurship: strategies for a more equitable future, World Economic Forum. January 20, 2025.

    2Diversity matters even more: The case for holistic impact, McKinsey and Company. December 5, 2023.

    32024 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, ISC2. October 31, 2024.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Silk Typhoon espionage group now targeting IT supply chain

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Silk Typhoon espionage group now targeting IT supply chain

    Executive summary:
    Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a shift in tactics by Silk Typhoon, a Chinese espionage group, now targeting common IT solutions like remote management tools and cloud applications to gain initial access. While they haven’t been observed directly targeting Microsoft cloud services, they do exploit unpatched applications that allow them to elevate their access in targeted organizations and conduct further malicious activities. After successfully compromising a victim, Silk Typhoon uses the stolen keys and credentials to infiltrate customer networks where they can then abuse a variety of deployed applications, including Microsoft services and others, to achieve their espionage objectives. Our latest blog explains how Microsoft security solutions detect these threats and offers mitigation guidance, aiming to raise awareness and strengthen defenses against Silk Typhoon’s activities.

    Silk Typhoon is an espionage-focused Chinese state actor whose activities indicate that they are a well-resourced and technically efficient group with the ability to quickly operationalize exploits for discovered zero-day vulnerabilities in edge devices. This threat actor holds one of the largest targeting footprints among Chinese threat actors. Part of this is due to their opportunistic nature of acting on discoveries from vulnerability scanning operations, moving quickly to the exploitation phase once they discover a vulnerable public-facing device that they could exploit.

    As a result, Silk Typhoon has been observed targeting a wide range of sectors and geographic regions, including but not limited to information technology (IT) services and infrastructure, remote monitoring and management (RMM) companies, managed service providers (MSPs) and affiliates, healthcare, legal services, higher education, defense,  government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), energy, and others located in the United States and throughout the world.

    Silk Typhoon has shown proficiency in understanding how cloud environments are deployed and configured, allowing them to successfully move laterally, maintain persistence, and exfiltrate data quickly within victim environments. Since Microsoft Threat Intelligence began tracking this threat actor in 2020, Silk Typhoon has used a myriad of web shells that allow them to execute commands, maintain persistence, and exfiltrate data from victim environments.

    As with any observed nation-state threat actor activity, Microsoft has directly notified targeted or compromised customers, providing them with important information needed to secure their environments. We’re publishing this blog to raise awareness of Silk Typhoon’s recent and long-standing malicious activities, provide mitigation and hunting guidance, and help disrupt operations by this threat actor.

    Recent Silk Typhoon activity

    Supply chain compromise

    Since late 2024, Microsoft Threat Intelligence has conducted thorough research and tracked ongoing attacks performed by Silk Typhoon. These efforts have significantly enhanced our understanding of the actor’s operations and uncovered new tradecraft used by the actor. In particular, Silk Typhoon was observed abusing stolen API keys and credentials associated with privilege access management (PAM), cloud app providers, and cloud data management companies, allowing the threat actor to access these companies’ downstream customer environments. Companies within these sectors are possible targets of interest to the threat actor. The observations below were observed once Silk Typhoon successfully stole the API key:

    • Silk Typhoon used stolen API keys to access downstream customers/tenants of the initially compromised company.
    • Leveraging access obtained via the API key, the actor performed reconnaissance and data collection on targeted devices via an admin account. Data of interest overlaps with China-based interests, US government policy and administration, and legal process and documents related to law enforcement investigations.
    • Additional tradecraft identified included resetting of default admin account via API key, web shell implants, creation of additional users, and clearing logs of actor-performed actions.
    • Thus far the victims of this downstream activity were largely in the state and local government, and the IT sector.

    Password spray and abuse

    Silk Typhoon has also gained initial access through successful password spray attacks and other password abuse techniques, including discovering passwords through reconnaissance. In this reconnaissance activity, Silk Typhoon leveraged leaked corporate passwords on public repositories, such as GitHub, and were successfully authenticated to the corporate account. This demonstrates the level of effort that the threat actor puts into their research and reconnaissance to collect victim information and highlights the importance of password hygiene and the use of multifactor authentication (MFA) on all accounts.

    Silk Typhoon TTPs

    Initial access

    Silk Typhoon has pursued initial access attacks against targets of interest through development of zero-day exploits or discovering and targeting vulnerable third-party services and software providers. Silk Typhoon has also been observed gaining initial access via compromised credentials. The software or services targeted for initial access focus on IT providers, identity management, privileged access management, and RMM solutions.

    In January 2025, Silk Typhoon was also observed exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the public facing Ivanti Pulse Connect VPN (CVE-2025-0282). Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center reported the activity to Ivanti, which led to a rapid resolution of the critical exploit, significantly reducing the period that highly skilled and sophisticated threat actors could leverage the exploit.

    Lateral movement to cloud

    Once a victim has been successfully compromised, Silk Typhoon is known to utilize common yet effective tactics to move laterally from on-premises environments to cloud environments. Once the threat actor has gained access to an on-premises environment, they look to dump Active Directory, steal passwords within key vaults, and escalate privileges. Furthermore, Silk Typhoon has been observed targeting Microsoft AADConnect servers in these post-compromise activities. AADConnect (now Entra Connect) is a tool that synchronizes on-premises Active Directory with Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). A successful compromise of these servers could allow the actor to escalate privileges, access both on-premises and cloud environments, and move laterally.

    Manipulating service principals/applications

    While analyzing post-compromise tradecraft, Microsoft identified Silk Typhoon abusing service principals and OAuth applications with administrative permissions to perform email, OneDrive, and SharePoint data exfiltration via MSGraph. Throughout their use of this technique, Silk Typhoon has been observed gaining access to an application that was already consented within the tenant to harvest email data and adding their own passwords to the application. Using this access, the actors can steal email information via the MSGraph API. Silk Typhoon has also been observed compromising multi-tenant applications, potentially allowing the actors to move across tenants, access additional resources within the tenants, and exfiltrate data.

    If the compromised application had privileges to interact with the Exchange Web Services (EWS) API, the threat actors were seen compromising email data via EWS.

    In some instances, Silk Typhoon was seen creating Entra ID applications in an attempt to facilitate this data theft. The actors would typically name the application in a way to blend into the environment by using legitimate services or Office 365 themes.

    Use of covert networks

    Silk Typhoon is known to utilize covert networks to obfuscate their malicious activities. Covert networks, tracked by Microsoft as “CovertNetwork”, refer to a collection of egress IPs consisting of compromised or leased devices that may be used by one or more threat actors. Silk Typhoon was observed utilizing a covert network that is comprised of compromised Cyberoam appliances, Zyxel routers, and QNAP devices. The use of covert networks has become a common tactic among various threat actors, particularly Chinese threat actors.

    Historical Silk Typhoon zero-day exploitation

    Since 2021, Silk Typhoon has been observed targeting and compromising vulnerable unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers, GlobalProtect Gateway on Palo Alto Networks firewalls, Citrix NetScaler appliances, Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure appliances, and others. While not exhaustive, below are historical zero-day vulnerabilities that Silk Typhoon was observed compromising for initial access into victim environments.

    GlobalProtect Gateway on Palo Alto Networks Firewalls

    In March 2024, Silk Typhoon used a zero-day exploit for CVE-2024-3400 in GlobalProtect Gateway on Palo Alto Networks firewalls to compromise multiple organizations:

    • CVE-2024-3400 – A command injection as a result of arbitrary file creation vulnerability in the GlobalProtect feature of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software for specific PAN-OS versions and distinct feature configurations may enable an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the firewall.

    Citrix NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway

    In early 2024, Microsoft began to observe Silk Typhoon compromising zero-day vulnerabilities within Citrix NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateways:

    • CVE-2023-3519 – An unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting NetScaler (formerly Citrix) Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and NetScaler Gateway

    Microsoft Exchange Servers

    In January 2021, Microsoft began to observe Silk Typhoon compromising zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Servers. Upon discovery, Microsoft addressed those issues and issued security updates along with related guidance (related links below):

    • CVE-2021-26855 – A server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Exchange that could allow an attacker to send arbitrary HTTP requests and authenticate as the Exchange server.
    • CVE-2021-26857 – An insecure deserialization vulnerability in the Unified Messaging service. Insecure deserialization is where untrusted user-controllable data is deserialized by a program. Exploiting this vulnerability gave Silk Typhoon the ability to run code as SYSTEM on the Exchange server. This requires administrator permission or another vulnerability to be exploited.
    • CVE-2021-26858 – A post-authentication arbitrary file write vulnerability in Exchange. If Silk Typhoon could authenticate with the Exchange server, then it could use this vulnerability to write a file to any path on the server. It could authenticate by exploiting the CVE-2021-26855 SSRF vulnerability or by compromising a legitimate administrator’s credentials.
    • CVE-2021-27065 – A post-authentication arbitrary file write vulnerability in Exchange. If Silk Typhoon could authenticate with the Exchange server, then it could use this vulnerability to write a file to any path on the server. It could authenticate by exploiting the CVE-2021-26855 SSRF vulnerability or by compromising a legitimate administrator’s credentials.

    During recent activities and historical exploitation of these appliances, Silk Typhoon utilized a variety of web shells to maintain persistence and to allow the actors to remotely access victim environments.

    Hunting guidance

    To help mitigate and surface various aspects of recent Silk Typhoons activities, Microsoft recommends the following:

    • Inspect log activity related to Entra Connect serversfor anomalousactivity.
    • Where these targeted applications have highly privileged accounts, inspect service principals for newly created secrets (credentials).
    • Identify and analyze any activity related to newly created applications.
    • Identify all multi-tenant applications and scrutinize authentications to them.
    • Analyze any observed activity related to use of Microsoft Graph or eDiscovery particularly for SharePoint or email data exfiltration
    • Look for newly created users on devices impacted by vulnerabilities targeted by Silk Typhoon and investigate virtual private network (VPN) logs for evidence of VPN configuration modifications or sign-in activity during the possible window of compromise of unpatched devices.

    Microsoft Sentinel

    Microsoft Sentinel customers can use the TI Mapping analytics (a series of analytics all prefixed with ‘TI map’) to automatically match the malicious domain indicators mentioned in this blog post with data in their workspace. If the TI Map analytics are not currently deployed, customers can install the Threat Intelligence solution from the Microsoft Sentinel Content Hub to have the analytics rule deployed in their Sentinel workspace.

    Microsoft Sentinel customers can use the following queries to detect behavior associated with Silk Typhoon:

    Customers can use the following query to detect vulnerabilities exploited by Silk Typhoon:

    DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities
| where CveId in ("CVE-2025-0282")
| project DeviceId,DeviceName,OSPlatform,OSVersion,SoftwareVendor,SoftwareName,SoftwareVersion,
CveId,VulnerabilitySeverityLevel
| join kind=inner ( DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilitiesKB | project CveId, CvssScore,IsExploitAvailable,VulnerabilitySeverityLevel,PublishedDate,VulnerabilityDescription,AffectedSoftware ) on CveId
| project DeviceId,DeviceName,OSPlatform,OSVersion,SoftwareVendor,SoftwareName,SoftwareVersion,
CveId,VulnerabilitySeverityLevel,CvssScore,IsExploitAvailable,PublishedDate,VulnerabilityDescription,AffectedSoftware

    Recommendations

    To help detect and mitigate Silk Typhoon’s activity, Microsoft recommends the following:

    • Ensure all public facing devices are patched. It’s important to note that patching a vulnerable device does not remediate any post-compromise activities by a threat actor who gained privileged access to a vulnerable device.
    • Validate any Ivanti Pulse Connect VPN are patched to address CVE-2025-0282 and run the suggested Integrity Checker Tool as suggested in their Advisory. Consider terminating any active or persistent sessions following patch cycles.
    • Defend against legitimate application and service principal abuse by establishing strong controls and monitoring for these security identities. Microsoft recommends the following mitigations to reduce the impact of this threat:
      • Audit the current privilege level of all identities, users, service principals, and Microsoft Graph Data Connect applications (use the Microsoft Graph Data Connect authorization portal) to understand which identities are highly privileged. Scrutinize privileges more closely if they belong to an unknown identity, belong to identities that are no longer in use, or are not fit for purpose. Admins may assign identities privileges over and above what is required. Defenders should pay attention to apps with app-only permissions as those apps might have over-privileged access. Read additional guidance for investigating compromised and malicious applications.
      • Identify abused OAuth apps using anomaly detection policies. Detect abused OAuth apps that make sensitive Exchange Online administrative activities through App governance. Investigate and remediate any risky OAuth apps.
      • Review any applications that hold EWS.AccessAsUser.All and EWS.full_access_as_app permissions and understand whether they are still required in the tenant. If they are no longer required, they should be removed.
      • If applications must access mailboxes, granular and scalable access can be implemented using role-based access control for applications in Exchange Online. This access model ensures applications are only granted to the specific mailboxes required.
    • Monitor for service principal sign-ins from unusual locations. Two important reports can provide useful daily activity monitoring:
      • The risky sign-ins report surfaces attempted and successful user access activities where the legitimate owner might not have performed the sign-in. 
      • The risky users report surfaces user accounts that might have been compromised, such as a leaked credential that was detected or the user signing in from an unexpected location in the absence of planned travel. 
    • Defend against credential compromise by building credential hygiene, practicing the principle of least privilege, and reducing credential exposure. Microsoft recommends the following mitigations to reduce the impact of this threat.
    • Implement the Azure Security Benchmark and general best practices for securing identity infrastructure, including:
      • Prevent on-premises service accounts from having direct rights to the cloud resources to prevent lateral movement to the cloud.
      • Ensure that “break glass” account passwords are stored offline and configure honey-token activity for account usage.
      • Implement Conditional Access policies enforcing Microsoft’s Zero Trust principles.
    • Enable risk-based user sign-in protection and automate threat response to block high-risk sign-ins from all locations and enable multifactor authentication (MFA) for medium-risk ones.
    • Ensure that VPN access is protected using modern authentication methods.
    • Identify all multi-tenant applications, assess permissions, and investigate suspicious sign-ins.

    Indicators of compromise

    Silk Typhoon is not known to use their own dedicated infrastructure in their operations. Typically, the threat actor uses compromised covert networks, proxies, and VPNs for infrastructure, likely to obfuscate their operations. However, they have also been observed using short-lease virtual private server (VPS) infrastructure to support their operations.

    Microsoft Defender XDR detections

    Microsoft Defender XDR customers can refer to the list of applicable detections below. Microsoft Defender XDR coordinates detection, prevention, investigation, and response across endpoints, identities, email, apps to provide integrated protection against attacks like the threat discussed in this blog.

    Customers with provisioned access can also use Microsoft Security Copilot in Microsoft Defender to investigate and respond to incidents, hunt for threats, and protect their organization with relevant threat intelligence.

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

    The following Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alerts can indicate associated threat activity:

    • Silk Typhoon activity group

    The following alerts might also indicate threat activity related to this threat. Note, however, that these alerts can be also triggered by unrelated threat activity.

    • Possible exploitation of Exchange Server vulnerabilities
    • Suspicious web shell detected
    • Suspicious Active Directory snapshot dump
    • Suspicious credential dump from NTDS.dit

    Microsoft Defender for Identity

    The following Microsoft Defender for Identity alerts can indicate associated threat activity:

    • Suspicious Interactive Logon to the Entra Connect Server
    • Suspicious writeback by Entra Connect on a sensitive user
    • User Password Reset by Entra Connect Account
    • Suspicious Entra sync password change

    Microsoft Defender XDR

    The following alerts might indicate threat activity related to this threat. Note, however, that these alerts can be also triggered by unrelated threat activity.

    • Suspicious activities related to Azure Key Vault by a risky user

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud

    The following alerts might indicate threat activity related to this threat. Note, however, that these alerts can be also triggered by unrelated threat activity.

    • Unusual user accessed a key vault
    • Unusual application accessed a key vault
    • Access from a suspicious IP to a key vault
    • Denied access from a suspicious IP to a key vault

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

    The following Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps alerts can indicate associated threat activity if app governance is enabled:

    • Unusual addition of credentials to an OAuth app
    • Suspicious credential added to dormant app
    • Unused app newly accessing APIs
    • App with suspicious metadata has Exchange permission
    • App with an unusual user agent accessed email data through Exchange Web Services
    • App with EWS application permissions accessing numerous emails
    • App made anomalous Graph calls to Exchange workload post certificate update or addition of new credentials
    • Suspicious user created an OAuth app that accessed mailbox items
    • Suspicious OAuth app used for collection activities using Graph API
    • Risky user updated an app that accessed Email and performed Email activity through Graph API
    • Suspicious OAuth app email activity through Graph API
    • Suspicious OAuth app email activity through EWS API

    Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

    Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management surfaces devices that may be affected by the following vulnerabilities used in this threat:

    • CVE-2021-26855
    • CVE-2021-26857
    • CVE-2021-26858
    • CVE-2021-27065

    Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

    Attack Surface Insights with the following title can indicate vulnerable devices on your network but is not necessarily indicative of exploitation:

    • [Potential] CVE-2024-3400 – Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Command Injection Vulnerability’
    • [Potential] CVE-2023-3519 – Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway Unauthenticated
    • ProxyLogon – Microsoft Exchange Server Vulnerabilities (Hotfix Available)

    Note: An Attack Surface Insight marked as [Potential] indicates a service is running but cannot validate whether that service is running a vulnerable version. Customers should check resources to verify that they are up to date as part of their investigation.

    Microsoft Security Copilot

    Security Copilot customers can use the standalone experience to create their own prompts or run the following pre-built promptbooks to automate incident response or investigation tasks related to this threat:

    • Incident investigation
    • Microsoft User analysis
    • Threat actor profile
    • Threat Intelligence 360 report based on MDTI article (see Threat intelligence reports below)
    • Vulnerability impact assessment

    Note that some promptbooks require access to plugins for Microsoft products such as Microsoft Defender XDR or Microsoft Sentinel.

    Threat intelligence reports

    Microsoft customers can use the following reports in Microsoft products to get the most up-to-date information about the threat actor, malicious activity, and techniques discussed in this blog. These reports provide the intelligence, protection information, and recommended actions to prevent, mitigate, or respond to associated threats found in customer environments.

    Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

    Microsoft Security Copilot customers can also use the Microsoft Security Copilot integration in Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence, either in the Security Copilot standalone portal or in the embedded experience in the Microsoft Defender portal to get more information about this threat actor.

    Learn more

    For the latest security research from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence community, check out the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Blog: https://aka.ms/threatintelblog.

    To get notified about new publications and to join discussions on social media, follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/microsoft-threat-intelligence, and on X (formerly Twitter) at https://x.com/MsftSecIntel.

    To hear stories and insights from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence community about the ever-evolving threat landscape, listen to the Microsoft Threat Intelligence podcast: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/microsoft-threat-intelligence.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Takapuna Golf course

    Source: Auckland Council

    As part of ongoing efforts to protect the Auckland region from future floods, Auckland Council will be seeking community feedback on a proposed flood resilient blue-green network in the Wairau Valley.

    Before and after of Greenslade.

    The proposed network is part of Auckland Council’s Making Space for Water programme and co-funded by central government. It follows three other flood resilience initiatives already approved in areas severely impacted by the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, two in Māngere and the other in Rānui.

    The Wairau catchment was one of the hardest-hit areas during the 2023 floods, with severe damage and the tragic loss of life. Auckland Council has explored a range of interventions to reduce flood risks in the area to provide both immediate and long-term flood reduction benefits. One of the proposed options is the redevelopment of AF Thomas Park, currently the site of Takapuna Golf Course, into a multi-use recreational flood storage wetland.

    North Shore Ward Councillor Richard Hills acknowledges repurposing AF Thomas Park will be a tough ask for those who love the golf course as it is, but says the wider community is demanding action to prevent further flooding and potential loss of life and property.

    “The January 2023 floods had a devastating impact on our community, negatively affecting thousands of homes and businesses in the Wairau catchment and causing millions of dollars of damage to community facilities like Eventfinda Stadium and North Shore Badminton,” Councillor Hills says.

    “This weather event made our streets so unsafe we lost lives, and we could have lost many more had volunteers not rescued 69 people from the Wairau Valley. After much investigation, the Healthy Waters team is confident this first phase of the project will provide over 550 million litres of water storage in a flood event, a significant increase from the park’s current 60 million litre capacity,” he says.

    “I recognise the potential changes to AF Thomas Park is upsetting to some of our golfing community and those who use this stunning course. As part of the design process, the council and local boards will work with the community to understand what opportunities may be available to meet the wider golfing and recreation needs of the north shore, alongside providing much needed flood protection and safety for this community.”

    Balancing flood protection and community needs

    Under the proposal, the park would function as a blue-green space, offering the community enhanced recreational facilities and walking paths while also serving as a wetland, designed to temporarily store floodwaters during extreme weather events. Similar approaches have been successfully implemented at Greenslade Reserve in Northcote, where flood storage is integrated with public recreational spaces.

    The project would be the first of a number of connected stages to help safeguard thousands of residents while also creating an improved recreational space for future generations.

    It would significantly reduce flood risks protecting:

    • 10 hectares of residential properties
    • key roads including Nile, Waterloo and Alma Roads
    • critical infrastructure like power substations and wastewater systems
    • important community facilities, including schools and North Shore Hospital.

    Tom Mansell, Auckland Council’s Head of Sustainable Partnerships (Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience) says this is an important opportunity to work alongside the Wairau community to design a project that enhances both flood resilience and recreational spaces.

    “Changes to the golf course will impact current users, but our priority must be to reduce flood risks to homes, schools, and businesses, protect vital infrastructure, and create a space that serves the entire community in multiple ways.

    “The current lease on the golf course expired in February and it’s timely for us to revisit the use of the area with a view to the needs of the whole community,” adds Mr Mansell.

    Why AF Thomas Park?

    Currently, AF Thomas Park provides approximately 60,000m³ of flood storage, enough to fill 24 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

    However, to significantly reduce flood risks across the Wairau Valley, this capacity needs to increase to approximately 550,000m³ – equivalent to 550 million litres of water or 220 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

    Without this intervention, large parts of the Wairau catchment, including residential areas and key transport routes, will remain highly vulnerable to flooding.

    Alternative options, such as widening the stream above or below AF Thomas Park were explored but found to be extremely costly, requiring land purchases exceeding $300 million and currently no budget has been allocated for such land purchases.

    Increasing existing water detention facilities in 11 other open spaces were also considered but would only provide a fraction of the necessary flood storage.

    Mr Mansell explains why the site cannot remain as it is:

    “The land in the northeast corner of the park, proposed for the primary flood storage area, needs to be lowered to effectively hold stormwater. This will result in a permanently wet environment due to groundwater seepage.

    “It’s an opportunity to restore and enhance the wetland that historically existed here, providing ecological and recreational benefits beyond flood resilience,” he adds.

    Community engagement and next steps

    Auckland Council is now actively engaging with the broader community and stakeholders in a consultation process. If the business case is approved, there will be multiple opportunities for public input to shape the final design of the park.

    “By working together with local and central government, businesses, and residents, we can develop a solution that is effective, sustainable, and beneficial for the whole community,” says Tom Mansell. 

    “We also recognise the importance of golf to golfers in the North Shore community. As part of this process, the local community, golf community and other groups with interest in the project, will be engaged to assess current and future recreational needs. This will help determine how the space can best serve the wider community while supporting a transition plan for golf club members to alternative facilities.

    “We need to take a catchment-wide approach to flood resilience.

    “The challenges we face in the Wairau Valley are complex, with both natural and human-made barriers affecting water flow.

    “Prior to human settlement water flowed south into Ngataringa Bay, before the land around Lake Pupuke was raised by a significant rocky uplift which caused a layer of basalt rock to form a natural barrier. This changed the water course and forced it to change direction and flow through Wairau Creek to Milford Beach,” explains Mr Mansell.

    Next steps

    After the initial community engagement this month, the business case will be taken to the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee for endorsement in April.

    If approved, the project will be delivered in stages, with community input shaping its design. Construction is not expected to begin before 2027, allowing ample time for engagement and planning.

    For more information, visit the council’s website or contact the Making Space for Water team at bluegreen@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

    History:

    •   1912: H.G. Stringer leased Takapuna Reserve to develop an 18-hole golf course for Takapuna Golf Club
      • 1931: North Shore Golf Club established at what is now Thomas Park Municipal Course in Takapuna
      •           1959: Auckland Harbour Bridge motorway developments led to golf-course land reduction
      •           1961: Crown became the equitable owner of the North Shore Golf Club land
      •           1963: North Shore Golf Club relocated to Albany; Takapuna City Council accepted tenancy of the land
      •           1964: Public meeting endorsed Council purchasing the land for public recreation
      •           1965: Takapuna City Council acquired most of the land; Landcorp obtained a 30-year license
      •           1971: Council policy changed to include municipal golf links due to public demand
      •           1975: Land officially named A.F. Thomas Park
      •           1986: Takapuna City Council granted Ultra Golf Enterprises a 33-year lease to manage the Municipal Golf Course, ensuring public access.

    Present: Auckland Council owns AF Thomas Park, which is leased to the Takapuna Golf Club. The existing 33-year golf club lease expired in February and has moved to a month-by-month lease while consultation and design development is undertaken to ascertain the future uses of the park.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Virginia Man Convicted of Hate Crime for Attempted Church Shooting

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    After a four-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict today for Rui Jiang, of Falls Church, Virginia, who was charged with attempting to obstruct the congregants of a church in Haymarket, Virginia, in the free exercise of their religious beliefs. The charge included that the defendant’s attempted act involved a dangerous weapon and an attempt to kill. Jiang also faced charges for transmitting online threats and a firearms violation. The jury found Jiang guilty on all counts.

    According to evidence presented at trial, Jiang began posting online threats against the church on the evening of Sept. 23, 2023, which made clear his intention to kill congregants.

    On the morning of Sept. 24, 2023, police began searching for Jiang in response to a concerned citizen’s call about his posts. Police officers located Jiang inside the front entrance to the church while Sunday services were underway. Church volunteers, independently concerned about Jiang’s behavior, had just approached Jiang when police arrived. Jiang was armed with a semiautomatic handgun and two full magazines of ammunition. He had an additional 34 rounds of ammunition in his nearby car.

    During a search of Jiang’s apartment, police discovered five copies of a letter, each signed by Jiang in ink, which read in part, “To the families of those men about to be slain – I am sorry for what I have done and about to do (sic).”

    Jiang was arrested by Prince William County Police on Sept. 24, 2023, and has been in custody since that time.

    Jiang faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 18. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Assistant Director in Charge Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement. 

    The FBI investigated the case, with substantial assistance from the Prince William County and Fairfax County Police Departments. The Anne Arundel County Police Department also provided assistance.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas A. Durham and Troy A. Edwards Jr. for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Falls Church man convicted of hate crime for attempted church shooting

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. – After a four-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict today for Rui Jiang, of Falls Church, who was charged with attempting to obstruct the congregants of a church in Haymarket in the free exercise of their religious beliefs. The charge included that the defendant’s attempted act involved a dangerous weapon and an attempt to kill. Jiang also faced charges for transmitting online threats and a firearms violation. The jury found Jiang guilty on all counts.

    According to evidence presented at trial, Jiang began posting online threats against the church on the evening of Sept. 23, 2023, which made clear his intention to kill congregants.

    On the morning of Sept. 24, 2023, police began searching for Jiang in response to a concerned citizen’s call about his posts. Police officers located Jiang inside the front entrance to the church while Sunday services were underway. Church volunteers, independently concerned about Jiang’s behavior, had just approached Jiang when police arrived. Jiang was armed with a semiautomatic handgun and two full magazines of ammunition. He had an additional 34 rounds of ammunition in his nearby car.

    During a search of Jiang’s apartment, police discovered five copies of a letter, each signed by Jiang in ink, which read in part, “To the families of those men about to be slain – I am sorry for what I have done and about to do (sic).”

    Jiang was arrested by Prince William County Police on Sept. 24, 2023, and has been in custody since that time.

    Jiang faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison when sentenced on June 18. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mac Warner, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Roman Rozhavsky, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. accepted the verdict.

    The FBI investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Prince William County and Fairfax County Police Departments. The Anne Arundel County Police Department also provided assistance.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas A. Durham and Troy A. Edwards Jr. for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-65.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth, Democrats Demand Answers from Trump and VA Secretary Collins on Indiscriminate Firing of Veterans and VA Employees, Including Veterans Crisis Line Staff

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

    March 06, 2025

    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC)—led her fellow Democratic colleagues in demanding answers from President Donald Trump and Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins on their indiscriminate purge of Veterans and VA employees, including staff who help operate the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), under the direction of unelected co-president Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Veterans make up more than 30 percent of the federal workforce and it is estimated that the Trump Administration has already fired more than 6,000 men and women who have served in uniform. Duckworth and her fellow lawmakers are calling on Trump and Secretary Collins to immediately outline how many Veterans and VA employees have been fired since the start of this Administration and to tell the truth about how the VCL has been impacted by these terminations. For weeks, Duckworth has repeatedly called out Secretary Collins for denying the Trump Administration inflicted any damage on the VCL.

    In their letter, the lawmakers slammed Trump and Secretary Collins for smearing those who help prevent Veteran suicide as supposedly “non-essential” employees: “Claiming that only those who answer the phones at VCL are essential is an insult to the service and commitment to Veterans of the many dedicated employees who ensure that someone is ready to listen and help in a moment of crisis. We are shocked that Secretary Collins, who claimed that one of his top priorities as VA Secretary would be to address Veteran suicide, would participate in such a cynical cover-up for the Trump administration’s error— not only by going along with the lies, but also justifying them.”

    After the VA has refused to be transparent about the layoffs, Duckworth and her colleagues are demanding a list of public answers detailing the specific job categories that were impacted, how many of those fired were Veterans and more. The lawmakers are also asking how many VCL employees were terminated as part of each VA purge last month, the specific jobs they held at VCL, whether they’ve been reinstated at this time and if not, why. The lawmakers are requesting answers these questions by no later than March 12, 2025.

    The lawmakers concluded: “Our Veterans deserve honest and transparent answers. As a reminder, the American public elected President Trump into office to represent their best interests, and the actions of the VA Secretary are a direct reflection of President Trump’s leadership and priorities. Our Veterans’ interests should always come before any selfish agenda, and actions that impact their access to care and benefits should require immense scrutiny prior to implementation. We believe this close review has not been conducted, as evidenced by the VA’s scramble to rehire mission-critical positions such as VCL employees.”

    Along with Duckworth, the letter was co-signed by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

    A copy of the full letter is available on the Senator’s website and below:

    Dear President Trump and Secretary Collins:

    We write today to call into question President Trump’s series of egregious Executive Orders and other illegal actions in coordination with unelected co-president Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and with unquestioning execution by Secretary Collins, that have had increasingly detrimental impacts on the Veteran community and continue to create capability gaps that threaten the well-being of Veterans. The indiscriminate purge of Veterans and other federal employees at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) means slower claims processing, longer wait times for Veterans seeking access to their medical care and the end of important research that benefits Veterans and all Americans. We demand that you take accountability for these actions and share with the American people what exactly the plan is for the future of VA.

    Just last week, the VA announced a second wave of mass terminations, totaling 1,400 employees, claiming in the announcement that these are “non-mission critical” positions and exclude the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) – though we have already learned of at least two cases that prove this claim wrong. We challenge this disregard for the important work of the entire VA ecosystem that provides comprehensive and timely care and benefits to our Veterans, and we have yet to learn about a day-after plan that explains how exactly VA will function with so many sudden and senseless cuts. Claiming that only those who answer the phones at VCL are essential is an insult to the service and commitment to Veterans of the many dedicated employees who ensure that someone is ready to listen and help in a moment of crisis. We are shocked that Secretary Collins, who claimed that one of his top priorities as VA Secretary would be to address Veteran suicide, would participate in such a cynical cover-up for the Trump administration’s error— not only by going along with the lies, but also justifying them.

    Nearly 6,000 Veterans across the federal government have been terminated to date. Among the most patriotic people in our Nation, Veterans make up 30 percent of the federal workforce, which is a true reflection of their exceptional dedication to our country. Yet, their President will not even publicly acknowledge his error of judgment in allowing Elon Musk unfettered access across federal agencies in his quest to dismantle their critical contributions that save lives and deliver essential services. Instead, he quietly rehired certain mission-critical VA positions that never should have been terminated and brushed off the significant impact that this indiscriminate mass firing would have on morale, workflow and ability of the Department to deliver critical services to Veterans in a timely manner.

    We demand that you respond to the following questions no later than March 12, 2025, and that this information be made available to the public, and particularly Veterans, who are owed accountability and transparency from the administration that represents them.

    1. Please provide a list detailing, by job category, how many VA employees were terminated during the February 13, 2025, dismissal of 1,000 VA employees, as well as the February 24, 2025, dismissal of an additional 1,400 VA employees.
      1. How many of these employees are Veterans themselves? Please provide a numeric breakdown by job category and duty station.
      1. How many of these employees are disabled Veterans? Please provide a numeric breakdown by job category and duty station.
      1. How many of these employees were eligible for Veterans’ preference? Please provide a numeric breakdown by job category and duty station.
      1. How many of these employees were on probationary status because they had just been promoted? Please provide a numeric breakdown by job category and duty station.
      1. What is the administration’s plan, if any, to assist these dismissed Veterans with obtaining employment elsewhere? Has the administration considered how these terminations may increase the risk of Veteran homelessness?
      1. How many of these employees were military spouses? Please provide a numeric breakdown by job category and duty station.
    1. How many employees working for the VCL received notice of dismissal on February 13, 2025? Have all dismissed VCL employees been reinstated?
      1. If all dismissed VCL employees have not been reinstated, why not? How many positions remain open, and what are the functions of these positions?
      1. Assuming these dismissals were accidental, what error led to these employees being wrongfully terminated? Has this error been addressed in the evaluation process?
    1. How many employees working for the VCL received notice of dismissal on February 24, 2025? Have all dismissed VCL employees been reinstated?
      1. If all dismissed VCL employees have not been reinstated, why not? How many positions remain open, and what are the functions of these positions?
      1. Assuming these dismissals were accidental, what error led to these employees being wrongfully terminated? Has this error been addressed in the evaluation process?
    1. Do you acknowledge that all employees working for the VCL, including and not limited to phone operators, are critical to its mission to ensure that at-risk Veterans receive the assistance they need?
    1. Can you provide a justification for the numerous public reports that describe terminations of probationary employees despite positive evaluations by their respective management?
    1. What analysis is used, if any, to ensure that disabled Veterans using their Veterans’ Preference are not wrongfully wrapped into the administration’s attack on probationary employees?
    1. Can you please describe, in detail, DOGE’s evaluation process in determining cuts to VA employment? What checks are in place to ensure that these cuts do not continue to harm critical programs that provide care and benefits, including mental health services, to Veterans?
    1. What was the total cost spent by the U.S. government on recruiting and training the VA employees who have since been fired by DOGE?
    1. What is the administration’s plan to swiftly address postponements and cancellations of suicide prevention training sessions, health care appointment cancellations and new clinic opening delays?
      1. Please provide a list of programs and services that have been cancelled or delayed since February 13, 2025.
      1. Please include the number of Veterans or VA employees impacted by these cancelations and delays.
    1. How exactly will the claimed savings as a result of the mass terminations at VA be redirected back toward health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries?
      1. Please provide an itemized list of savings in dollar amounts by account, and for each amount, specify whether these are mandatory or appropriated funds.
      1. Please provide your spend plan for savings that you claim to recoup through these terminations. Which accounts do you intend to redirect these funds to, and which new services would these funds provide?
      1. For each of these proposed changes, specify whether you have the legal authority to reprogram these funds in the way intended. 
    1. Regarding the February 22, 2025, emails sent to all federal employees requiring an explanation of tasks completed the week prior, what exactly will be done with this information?
      1. Did all Veterans Crisis Line employees receive this email?
      1. Did all physicians and nurses employed in VA hospitals receive this email?
      1. Who is reading and analyzing responses to this email?
      1. Are responses being used to determine future layoffs or personnel changes?
    1. What analysis – if any – did the U.S. Office of Personnel Management conduct to examine the impact terminations or resignations resulting from this email would have on critical services across government?

    Our Veterans deserve honest and transparent answers. As a reminder, the American public elected President Trump into office to represent their best interests, and the actions of the VA Secretary are a direct reflection of President Trump’s leadership and priorities. Our Veterans’ interests should always come before any selfish agenda, and actions that impact their access to care and benefits should require immense scrutiny prior to implementation. We believe this close review has not been conducted, as evidenced by the VA’s scramble to rehire mission-critical positions such as VCL employees.

    We stand ready and willing to reach across the aisle for the best interests of our Veterans – a sentiment that Secretary Collins will recall from his hearing before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Support to our Veterans has historically been a bipartisan issue, and we do not want this long-standing tradition to fall because of a President and his VA Secretary turning their backs on our Veterans due to the influence of an unelected co-president who yields illegal privilege to invoke Executive authorities. He fools no one with his efforts to line the pockets of the wealthy, and we will not stand by while there is an active attack against our Nation’s Veterans.

    President Trump, Secretary Collins – we urge you to uphold with integrity your commitment to our Nation’s Veterans.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Over £48 million worth of drugs seized in crackdown on cannabis cultivation

    Source: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council

    More nationwide police action has removed cannabis with the street value of £48,328,000, disrupting organised criminal gangs. 

    Forces across the country have once again focused their efforts on targeting major cannabis grows to disrupt violence, exploitation and organised crime across England and Wales.  

    Operation Mille stems from years of investigations and information focused on organised crime groups (OCGs) who are directly involved in the growing and selling of large quantities of so-called commercial cannabis on an industrial scale.

    It is the third time police forces across the country have focused their efforts on the criminal networks involved in largescale cannabis production and sale, as part of a long term commitment to tackle this illicit activity.

    This significant action by police forces, regional organised crime units (ROCUs) and partner organisations has aimed to disrupt these criminal networks’ revenue streams and wider activity linked to issues like illegal migration, violent crime and the exploitation of vulnerable people.  

     
    Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Adam Ball, who led the operation, said: “This week of action has seen police carry out hundreds of warrants, seize dozens of weapons and take millions of pounds worth of illegal drugs off the streets. 

    “Cannabis may seem harmless but its production and subsequent selling has long fuelled other serious acts of criminality, which in turn blight our communities. It’s links to the importation of class A drugs, county lines and gang violence is prevalent, as well as the alarming levels of exploitation people fall victim to.  

    “The week also demonstrates what can be achieved when working together. For months we have coordinated with colleagues from the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement, the Home Office, the ROCU network and other partners to ensure this operation has been a success. What we have found will help inform all of us for future investigations. 

    “Although this latest phase of Operation Mille focused on a week of action, I want to make it clear that our work does not stop. We are already analysing results and working on information received to work out where we focus our efforts next. This is a long term commitment and there is much more police activity to come.

    “We all remain committed to disrupting cannabis cultivation and the terrible crimes associated with it, to make sure our communities are safeguarded against serious organised crime.”  

    As well as the cannabis plants, cocaine and ketamine were also seized in properties alongside 65 weapons, including 14 firearms, 12 machetes and 11 knives.  

    242 people have been arrested and 19 individuals suspected of being victims of modern slavery and human trafficking and have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism to receive appropriate support.  

    Almost half of the addresses raided by police did not have people in the premises, which matches a pattern noticed by police of an increase in empty cannabis farms. 

    Where people were living, officers often found squalid living conditions and numerous hazards at the address, such as dangerous wiring into the property from mains electricity, as well as damage from things like fumes and watering. 

    Police investigations at properties also highlighted the role of ‘professional enablers’ in these criminal networks.

    Those supporting this kind of activity includes landlords renting out spaces as well as tradespeople such as electricians, who help gangs set up and power their grows.


    ACC Ball continues:     “We remain concerned about the often vulnerable people manipulated into illegal migration to work for these organised criminal gangs.  
    “There is a heavy risk of exploitation for those who are coerced and manipulated into the cannabis trade. Where we spot this exploitation, we do all we can make sure that people are given the support they need to get help.” 

    Charles Yates, NCA deputy director, said: “The NCA was proud to have supported policing in this very important work combating the threat of cannabis, which is a gateway drug to other very harmful substances.

    “The agency deployed officers alongside policing colleagues in executing warrants, assisting with arrests, searches and interviews.

    “We also supported with a range of niche capabilities including the Joint International Crime Centre and NCA’s international network in our mission to combat the supply of illicit drugs into our communities.”

    Current results from Operation Mille include: 

    • 368 warrants and searches
    • 48,328  plants seized, worth an estimated street value of £48,328,000 (based on an average of £1,000 per plant).
    • 242 individuals have been arrested 
    • 65 weapons have been seized, including 14 firearms
    • £183,590 in cash seized

    +

    Cannabis farms also present a very real local threat.

    The size of criminal cannabis ‘farms’ means that damage is often caused to the properties themselves; the buildings can become dangerous as a result of fire risks, unlawful abstraction of electricity, fumes and water damage.

    Anyone with information about a potential cannabis factory or drug dealing can contact their local force online or via 101.

    People can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org

    There are some key signs to spot a property could be being used as a cannabis factory:

    • Frequent visitors to a property at unsocial hours throughout the day and night.
    • Blacked out windows or condensation on the windows, even when it is not cold outside.
    • Bright lights in rooms throughout the night.
    • Electricity meters being tampered with/altered and new cabling, sometimes leading to street lighting. High electricity bills could also be an indicator.
    • A powerful, distinctive, sweet, sickly aroma and noise from fans.
    • Lots of work or deliveries of equipment to an address, particularly those associated with growing plants indoors without soil such as heaters and lighting.
    • An excessive amount of plant pots, chemicals, fertilisers, and compost.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘No-one wants to go through this again’: how disaster-stricken residents in northern NSW are preparing for Cyclone Alfred

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca McNaught, Research Fellow, University of Sydney

    It’s been three years since floods pummelled the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Now, Cyclone Alfred is heading for the region, threatening devastation once more.

    On Thursday night and Friday morning, the NSW State Emergency Service asked residents in parts of the Northern Rivers to evacuate. Rain associated with Cyclone Alfred was expected to cause rapid river rises and extensive flooding.

    As you’d expect, many Northern Rivers residents feel very apprehensive right now. No-one wants to go through this again.

    I know of a woman who, just last week, had painters doing final repairs to her home after it flooded in 2022. Other people can’t afford to repair their homes at all.

    Damage from the last floods extends beyond the material. Many people in the Northern Rivers are still dealing with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and PTSD after the last disaster.

    Still, people are preparing for Cyclone Alfred’s arrival – and drawing lessons from the 2022 floods in the hope of a better outcome this time.

    Memories of Lismore floods

    I have 20 years’ experience working on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. My research focus includes the Northern Rivers, where I live. Last year, a study I led examined community collaboration across the region in response to disasters.

    The Northern Rivers is located in the NSW northeast and is drained by three major rivers: the Richmond, Tweed and Clarence. The city of Lismore is one of the most flood-prone urban centres in Australia.

    As my colleagues and I have previously written, the 2022 flood in Lismore and surrounds surprised even the most prepared residents.

    Floodwaters in Lismore reached more than two metres higher than the previous record. Shocked residents were left clinging to their roofs. Businesses moved their stock to higher ground, but it was still destroyed. Houses above the so-called “flood line” were inundated.

    Warning systems proved inadequate, and emergency agencies were overwhelmed. More than 10,800 homes were damaged.

    Landslides and boulders fell on homes and roads, leaving people trapped and isolated for up to six weeks. Others could not access cash, petrol, communications, food, schools, carer services and medical assistance for long periods.

    The 2022 floods were by no means the first disaster to befall the Northern Rivers. The region also flooded in 2017. In 2019 the region, like much of Australia, was deep in drought. The Black Summer bushfires hit in 2019-20, and Covid-19 struck in 2020. Parts of the region suffered bushfires in 2023.

    Now, we are facing Cyclone Alfred.

    The scale of the 2022 floods forced many residents to confront a harsh reality: in a disaster, emergency services cannot always help. Sometimes, people must fend for themselves.

    That realisation prompted a growing community-led resilience movement. As Cyclone Alfred approaches, that network has swung into action.



    Read more:
    When disaster strikes, emergency responders can’t respond to every call. Communities must be helped to help themselves

    A community coming together

    Since 2022, community-resilience groups have emerged in each local government area across the region. The groups comprise, and are led by, community volunteers.

    In my local government area, Byron Shire, there are 13 community resilience groups. I co-lead my local group.

    We work with local organisations, government agencies and emergency services to help the community before, during and after a disaster. The local council convenes regular meetings between all these organisations.

    My research shows strong information flows are crucial in disaster preparedness and recovery.

    Since the Cyclone Alfred threat began, my community group has received regular updates from the SES on matters such as locations of sandbags and sand, the latest weather information advice, and when evacuation centres will open.

    We also have an established a network of contacts who live on streets vulnerable to flooding. We pass on relevant information to other residents via Facebook and a WhatsApp group. In the past day we have been exchanging information such as whether flood pumps are working and the extent of beach erosion.

    The flow of information is two-way. Byron Shire’s community resilience network is chaired by the local council, and has links to emergency management – the “lights and sirens” people. In this way, community knowledge and contributions are recognised and valued by decision-makers and other officials.

    In recent days our group has fed advice up the chain to emergency services, such as the location of elderly and vulnerable people who may need help to evacuate.

    A man holding a portable emergency satellite provided to a community resilience group in the Northern Rivers.
    Facebook

    Byron Shire Council has also loaned portable Starlink satellite dishes to some community-resilience groups. These devices provide essential and communication if phone and internet services fail in a disaster.

    On a broader level, the Bureau of Meteorology is producing regular video updates about Cyclone Alfred in clear, plain language. This is helping to communicate the risks widely and give people the information they need.

    Community resilience groups also seek to adopt a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to disasters – such as helping residents prepare for the next flood event.

    This can be challenging. Many people and organisations in the region have understandably been focused on recovery after the 2022 floods. It can be hard to do this while also preparing for the next disaster.

    And sometimes, people don’t want constant reminders of the potential for flooding. Some people just want to move on and think about something other than disaster.

    If Cyclone Alfred brings destruction to the Northern Rivers, community resilience groups will play a big role in supporting health and wellbeing. Not everyone accesses formal mental health support after disasters. Communities and neighbours looking out for each other is crucial.

    Tough times ahead

    As I write, the Northern Rivers is starting to lose power and internet access. Winds are wild and rain lashed the region all night.

    As climate change worsens, all communities must consider how they will cope with more intense disasters. The model of community-led resilience in the Northern Rivers shows a way forward.

    There is still much work to do in the region. However, our experience of compounding disasters means we are well along the path to finding new ways to support each other through extreme events.



    Read more:
    Lismore faced monster floods all but alone. We must get better at climate adaptation, and fast

    Rebecca McNaught is a Research Fellow at the University Centre for Rural Health (University of Sydney) in Lismore. She has received scholarship funding from the Australian Government’s Research Training Program Stipend. She is affiliated with the South Golden Beach, New Brighton and Ocean Shores Community Resilience Team. She has also conducted paid and voluntary work for the Northern Rivers not-for-profit registered charity Plan C.

    – ref. ‘No-one wants to go through this again’: how disaster-stricken residents in northern NSW are preparing for Cyclone Alfred – https://theconversation.com/no-one-wants-to-go-through-this-again-how-disaster-stricken-residents-in-northern-nsw-are-preparing-for-cyclone-alfred-251650

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Drought declaration extended across three North Island and top of the South regions

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay today classified drought conditions in the Northland, Waikato, Horizons, and Marlborough-Tasman regions as a medium-scale adverse event, recognising the worsening conditions faced by many farmers across the country. 

    Mr McClay and Rural Communities Minister Mark Paterson said that the Government was acting quickly to give farmers certainty and release pressure building across farms in these areas. 

    “Below average rainfall continues to make it difficult for farmers as soil moisture levels dry out and stock feed and water become tight in same areas” Mr McClay says.

    “Northland, Waikato, King Country, Manawatu, Tararua, Marlborough, Tasman, Nelson and parts of Taupo and Rotorua are all experiencing extended hot, dry conditions. This has reduced pasture growth rates and farmers are having to feed-out earlier to fill the gap.”

    Mr McClay says the Government is making a total of $100,000 available to rural support groups and organisations that work with farmers on the ground across affected regions.

    Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson is encouraging farmers and growers to seek support if they need it.

    “I encourage farmers and growers to talk to their neighbours, mates, networks, and industry representatives if they need advice or support,” Mr Patterson says.

    Mr McClay has also instructed The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to continue monitoring the conditions across all regions as temperatures begin to drop and growth slows.

    The classifications unlock further support for farmers and growers, including tax relief, and it enables the Ministry of Social Development to consider Rural Assistance Payments Minister Paterson says.

    Farmers can contact their local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254 or MPI’s On Farm Support team on 0800 707 133 for support. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: March 6th, 2025 N.M. Delegation Oppose Plans to Use Kirtland & Fort Bliss for Immigration-Related Operations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    VIDEO
    Heinrich heard from fired public lands employees and a New Mexico small business owner about the impacts of Trump and Musk’s mass firings
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Interior Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Angus Kaine (I-Maine), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee, hosted a virtual roundtable with public lands employees fired President Trump and Elon Musk.
    The senators heard from professionals from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service, as well as small business owner, Nick Streit, who owns the Taos Fly Shop near the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument in northern New Mexico.
    VIDEO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich Hosts Virtual Roundtable with Fired Public Lands Employees, March 5, 2025.
    “President Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE illegal firings have targeted our Park Rangers, Refuge Managers, Forest Rangers, and BLM land managers,” said Heinrich. “This included many employees who were ‘red carded,’ meaning that they were trained for wildland firefighting. Not only have these DOGE firings made Western communities much less safe going into fire season. Staffing shortages in our public lands will also lead to reduced recreation opportunities and public access. This is a disaster for our local economies as we head into Spring Break, normally a peak season for visitation.”
    Heinrich continued, “We also need to be clear-eyed that this is just the start. Trump, Musk, and Republicans are defunding management of our public lands to make Americans think that they are being poorly managed. This is all part of their scheme to transfer our public lands to states so they can sell them to the highest bidder. I won’t stand for it.
    Heinrich is leading Senate Democrats in sounding the alarm on Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s destructive actions that are wreaking havoc on Americans, weakening our economy, and threatening the livelihoods of New Mexicans.
    Last month, Heinrich demanded that President Trump immediately halt his unlawful mass firings of federal employees on probationary status.
    In New Mexico, there are approximately 2,200 federal employees in their probationary period – including individuals who serve in critical roles across key agencies, including the Veterans Health Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among others.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Marshall Delivers Opening Statement as Chairman of Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology Subcommittee

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall
    Washington – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), Chairman of the Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology Subcommittee, today delivered opening remarks for the hearing regarding the Fix Our Forests Act.
    This legislation is especially important in the wake of several catastrophic fires in Southern California and the Hawaiian island of Maui. Senator Marshall also highlighted the importance of grassland management and the need to address wildfires in Kansas. The Fix Our Forests Act will provide common-sense deregulation that streamlines fire prevention – both reactively and proactively.
    Agriculture Committee Hearings to examine options to reduce catastrophic wildfire, including H.R.471, to expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands, in Washington, DC on March 6, 2025. (Official U.S. Senate photo by Renee Bouchard)
    Click here or on the image above to watch the opening statement, or read Senator Marshall’s full remarks below:
    “Good morning and welcome everybody.
    “It is my privilege to call this hearing to order. I would like to thank our witnesses for taking time out of your busy schedules to come share your expertise and perspectives on the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 471), which the House passed – for the second time – by an overwhelming vote of 279-141 in January 2025. Just a month or so ago.
    “We know wildfires are indifferent to federal, state, tribal, and private property jurisdictions, and we have all seen the destruction catastrophic wildfire can cause on our rural and urban communities. 
    “Just this week we are witnessing fires threatening lives and property in the Carolinas, and unfortunately, recent history is replete with incidents illustrating the devastating impacts fires have on our communities from the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California to the 2023 Lahaina fires in Maui, Hawaii, to the 2025 Southern California fires as well.
    “In order to treat an issue, first we must identify the symptoms, diagnose the root cause of the problem, and implement scientifically sound treatments. The loss of human life and property from these fires is an acute and painful symptom of a system that is not working. The causes come from misguided policies one could argue goes all the way back to the Forest Service’s 1930’s so-called “10 AM Policy,” which required all fires to be extinguished by 10 AM the day after they were discovered. 
    “These causes have been compounded by the federal government’s inability or unwillingness to treat the right acres at the right time at the right scale over numerous administrations. Treating this problem comes in the form of an all-of-the-above approach to modernizing the federal technological toolbox for assessing and identifying wildfire risk, facilitating early response and suppression, and updating the public-private partnership model for federal, state, tribal, county, and private landowners to address fire risk rather than jurisdictional or political subdivision boundaries.
    “Every fire is unique – my dad was chief of a fire department for years before becoming Chief of Police, and indeed, he would tell me that every fire was very unique. But the most catastrophic fires all have similarities. Proper management of our nation’s forest lands can help prevent a small spark from turning into a raging fire with devastating consequences.
    “My own state of Kansas is not immune to wildfire. In 2021, strong winds and dry air combined to create ideal conditions for wildfires in the grasslands of Western and Central Kansas in the Four Counties Fire. That fire was clocked at over 180 miles per hour on the wind turbines as it sailed through those prairies.
    “Not all management methods for the grasslands of Kansas mirror what the science tells us should be conducted on forested acres, but the important role of proper management on our landscapes rings true for both.
    “The Fix our Forests Act (FOFA) is a rare bipartisan opportunity for Congress to provide the United States Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, states, tribes, counties, and private partners with a modernized and streamlined toolbox to fight fire. 
    Regardless of our respective views on the appropriate use of federal lands and resources, we all need to help mitigate the frequency and intensity of catastrophic wildfires while ensuring the scientifically sound and sustainable stewardship of our federal lands.
    “The Fix our Forest Act provides agencies with critically needed and appropriately calibrated increases in the acreage limitations for Categorial Exclusions available to forest managers and increases which agency analysis has shown will help provide the flexibility to better address forest management.
    “To be clear, Categorical Exclusions are not a free pass for an agency to go in and clear-cut forests as some are lead to believe. They are one way for federal agencies to comply with NEPA based upon extensive uses of prior Environmental Assessments that show no significant effect and are still subject to scoping before moving forward.
    “FOFA instructs the federal government to identify at the fireshed scale, the top 20 percent of firesheds that are at risk of fire exposure over the next five years in order to better focus limited resources. FOFA permanently fixes, in statute, the disastrous Ninth Circuit’s “Cottonwood” decision, which the Obama administration petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn, has led to delays in management projects through unnecessary and duplicative scoping in an attempt to avoid frivolous litigation. 
    “FOFA also adopts litigation reforms used by past Republican and Democratic administrations in statute to limit litigation delays to essential projects, and FOFA strengthens Good Neighbor Authority, a critical and overwhelmingly successful program that has allowed local and state partners the ability to supplement the work the Forest Service is not able to do on their lands.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: “Ukraine has a right to peace and security, and it is in our interest”

    Source: France-Diplomatie – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development

    President Emmanuel Macron addresses the French people from the Élysée Palace (March 5, 2025)

    Men and women of France, my fellow citizens,

    I am speaking to you this evening because of the international situation and its consequences for France and Europe, following several weeks of diplomatic activity.

    You are rightfully concerned by the historic events under way that are disrupting the world order.

    The war in Ukraine, which has killed or injured nearly a million people, is continuing at the same level of intensity.

    The United States of America, our ally, has changed its position on this war, lessening its support for Ukraine and raising doubts about what is to come. At the same time, the United States intends to impose tariffs on products from Europe.

    Meanwhile, the world continues to be ever more violent, and the terrorist threat has not lessened.

    All in all, our prosperity and our security have become increasingly uncertain. Clearly, we are entering a new era.

    The war in Ukraine has gone on for more than three years now. We decided on day one to support Ukraine and to sanction Russia, and it was the right thing to do, because not only are the Ukrainian people bravely fighting for their freedom, but our own security is under threat as well.

    Indeed, if a country can invade its European neighbor with impunity, we can no longer be certain of anything. Might makes right and peace can no longer be guaranteed on our own continent. History has taught us this.

    The Russian threat goes beyond Ukraine and affects every country in Europe. It affects us.

    Russia has already made the Ukrainian conflict a global conflict. It has deployed North Korean soldiers and Iranian equipment on our continent, while helping those countries to further rearm. President Putin’s Russia violates our borders to murder his opponents and manipulates elections in Romania and Moldova. It organizes digital attacks against our hospitals to keep them from functioning. Russia is attempting to manipulate our opinions, spreading lies on social media. Basically, it is testing our limits in the air, on the seas, in space and behind our screens. Its aggressiveness seems to know no bounds. At the same time, Russia is continuing to rearm, spending more than 40% of its budget for that purpose. By 2030, it plans to have further expanded its army – to have an additional 300,000 troops, 3,000 tanks and 300 fighter planes. So how believable is it, then, that today’s Russia will stop at Ukraine? Russia has become a threat to France and Europe now and for years to come. I deeply regret it and I am convinced that in the long term, peace will return to our continent, with a once-again peaceable and peaceful Russia, but this is where we are today and we have to deal with it.

    In this world fraught with danger, it would be madness to stand back and watch from the sidelines. We must make decisions about Ukraine and about the security of the French people and the people of Europe without further delay.

    About Ukraine, first of all. All initiatives that help bring about peace are a step in the right direction, and I want to applaud them this evening. We must continue helping the Ukrainians to resist until they can negotiate a deal with Russia that ensures a solid peace for themselves and for all of us. That’s why we can’t abandon Ukraine on the road to peace – on the contrary. A peace deal can’t be signed at any price on orders from Russia. Peace can’t mean Ukraine’s capitulation. It can’t mean its collapse. Nor can it come about through a ceasefire, which would be too fragile. Why? Because once again, we’ve learned from the past. We can’t forget that Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014, that we negotiated a ceasefire in Minsk, that Russia did not abide by that ceasefire and that we were unable to maintain it due to a lack of solid guarantees. We can no longer take Russia at its word.

    Ukraine has a right to peace and security, and it is in our interest – the interest of European security. It is with this in mind that we are working with our British and German friends, as well as several other European countries. That’s why over the past few weeks, you saw me bring together several of them in Paris, and that’s why I met with them again a few days ago in London, to solidify the necessary commitments to Ukraine. Once a peace deal has been signed, ensuring that Ukraine will not be invaded again by Russia, we have to prepare for it. That will most certainly require long-term support for the Ukrainian army. It may also involve the deployment of European forces. They wouldn’t immediately go off to fight – they wouldn’t be fighting on the front lines – but they would be there once a peace deal is signed in order to ensure full compliance. Next week, the joint chiefs of the countries that wish to shoulder their responsibilities in this regard will meet in Paris. What we prepared together with the Ukrainians and several European partners is a plan for a solid, lasting, verifiable peace. It’s the plan I championed in the United States two weeks ago, and around Europe. I want to believe that the United States will stand with us, but we must be ready if that’s not the case.

    Whether or not peace is achieved quickly in Ukraine, the European nations must be able to better defend themselves and to deter any new aggression, given the Russian threat I just described. Yes, whatever happens, we must be better equipped; we must improve our defense posture for the sake of peace and for the purpose of deterrence. In that regard, we remain committed to NATO and to our partnership with the United States, but we must do more – we must increase our independence in the areas of security and defense. Europe’s future cannot be decided in Washington or Moscow. And yes, the threat is back in the East, and the innocence, as it were, of the last 30 years, since the fall of the Berlin Wall, is now a thing of the past.

    In Brussels tomorrow, at the extraordinary meeting with the 27 heads of state and government, the Commission and the Council President, we will take decisive steps. We will make several decisions that France has been proposing for years. Member states will be able to increase their military spending without adding to their deficit. We will decide on large-scale, joint funding for the purchase and production in Europe of ammunition, tanks, weapons and some of the most innovative equipment that exists. I have asked my administration to work to make sure that this strengthens our military as quickly as possible and accelerates the reindustrialization of every region in France. I will be holding a meeting with the relevant ministers and industry representatives in the coming days.

    Now, the Europe of Defense that we have been championing for eight years has become a reality. That means European countries that are better able to defend and protect themselves, that work together to produce the equipment that they need in their own countries, and that are willing to cooperate more and reduce their dependence on the rest of the world, and that’s a good thing. Germany, Poland, Denmark, the Baltic states and many other partners of ours have announced plans for unprecedented military spending.

    Now, at this long-awaited time for action, France is in a unique position. We have the most effective military in Europe and, thanks to the decisions made by our predecessors after World War II, we possess nuclear deterrence capabilities. That affords us much better protection than a number of our neighbors. Moreover, we didn’t wait for the invasion of Ukraine to understand that the world was in trouble, and, thanks to the two military programming laws that I put forth, which were passed by two successive Parliaments, our military budget will have doubled over close to ten years. However, given the way that threats are evolving and in light of the acceleration I just described, we will need to make new budgetary decisions and additional, henceforward essential investments.

    I have asked my administration to get to work on this as quickly as possible. These new investments will require us to mobilize both private and public funding without raising taxes. To achieve this, we will need reforms, choices and courage.

    Our nuclear deterrence protects us. It is thorough, sovereign and French from start to finish. Since 1964, it has played a clear role in the preservation of peace and security in Europe. However, in response to the historic call sounded by the future Chancellor of Germany, I decided to launch a strategic debate on using our deterrence to protect our allies on the European continent. Whatever happens, that decision has always been, and will always be, up to the President and Commander in Chief of France.

    In order to control our destiny and increase our independence, we must step up our military efforts, as well as our economic efforts. Economic, technological, industrial and financial independence are critical. We must be prepared for the United States to impose tariffs on European goods, just as they confirmed they are doing with Canada and Mexico. This decision, which is just as incomprehensible for the U.S. economy as it is for our own, will bear consequences for some of our sectors. It makes these times more difficult but we will not let these tariffs go unanswered. Therefore, as we prepare to respond with our European colleagues, as I did two weeks ago, we will continue trying to convince them by every means possible that this decision will hurt us all. And yes, I hope that I can convince and dissuade the President of the United States of America.

    In sum, this time calls for decisions that have no precedent going back for many decades. When it comes to our agriculture, our research, our industrial sector, and all of our public policies, we cannot keep having the same debates as before. That is why I asked the Prime Minister and his cabinet to make proposals in light of this new context. I invite all the political, economic and union representatives of France to do the same. Tomorrow’s solutions cannot be yesterday’s habits.

    My fellow citizens,

    Faced with these challenges and these irreversible changes, we must not give in to any form of excess: neither excessive warmongering, nor excessive defeatism. France will follow only one course: that of the desire for peace and freedom, true to its history and its principles. Yes, that is what we believe in for our security, and that is also what we believe in when it comes to defending democracy, a certain idea of the truth, a certain idea of free research, a certain idea of respect in our society, a certain idea of freedom of expression that eschews hate speech, and a certain idea of humanism. That is what we believe in and that is what is at stake. Our Europe has the economic strength, the power and the talent to rise to meet our time. We have the means to hold our own in comparison with the United States of America and, to an even greater extent, Russia. Therefore, we must take action, united as Europeans and determined to protect ourselves. That is why our country needs you and your commitment. Political decisions, military equipment and budgets are important, but they can never replace a nation’s strength of character. No longer will our generation enjoy the peace dividends. It is up to us to ensure that one day, our children will enjoy the dividends of our efforts.

    So we will face this together.

    Vive la République.

    Vive la France

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office and HSI Charge Four Illegal Aliens with Firearms Offenses in New Mexico

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – Federal authorities announced charges against four illegal aliens for unlawful possession of firearms and related offenses following a series of state-wide law enforcement operations.

    On February 25, 2025, HSI executed a search warrant at an apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In one bedroom, agents recovered a loaded pistol with an extended magazine containing 19rounds of ammunition. A witness stated that the firearm belonged to Maikol Ramos and had previously seen it in his possession.

    Ramos, a citizen of Venezuela, was confirmed to be present in the United States unlawfully. Ramos is charged by criminal complaint with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

    In another bedroom, agents recovered another loaded pistol and ammunition from under a bed. Antoni Herrera, confirmed to be a Venezuelan national unlawfully present in the U.S., admitted the firearm was his and that he had received it two weeks prior as payment for a debt.

    Herrera is charged by criminal complaint with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

    On February 19, 2025, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a federal search warrant at a residence of Raul Esparza-Gonzalez in Espanola, New Mexico. Agents discovered 11 firearms, including pistols, revolvers, shotguns, and rifles. Esparza-Gonzalez admitted to purchasing the firearms privately, knowing it was illegal for him to possess them. He stated he had been deported to Mexico previously and re-entered the United States illegally about six years ago. Esparza-Gonzalez is charged by criminal complaint with being an alien in possession of a firearm.

    In a separate investigation, HSI initiated an inquiry into Cristhian Ortega-Lopez in January 2025, following an anonymous tip. Ortega-Lopez, an illegal alien from Venezuela suspected of being affiliated with Tren de Aragua, was allegedly residing with other illegal aliens in Las Cruces and had been in possession of firearms. The investigators determined Ortega-Lopez had entered the U.S. illegally on December 15, 2023, and was released pending removal proceedings. Social media evidence showed Ortega-Lopez in possession of multiple firearms at a shooting range in Las Cruces.

    Ortega-Lopez is charged by criminal complaint with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

    All four men will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, they each face 15 years in prison.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, made the announcement today.

    Homeland Security Investigations investigated these cases with enforcement assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque Police Department, the

    Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Trembley, Patrick Cordova, Maria Armijo, and Ry Ellison are prosecuting these cases.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Buffalo man sentenced for being a felon in possession of a firearm

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Henry Ford, 37, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, was sentenced to time serve (approximately 11 months) and three years’ supervised release  by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna M. Duncan, who handled the case, stated that in April 2024, a search warrant was executed on Ford’s person and at Ford’s Erb Street residence. Investigators recovered a loaded handgun from Ford’s pocket. Subsequent investigation revealed the handgun was reported stolen from Georgia in September 2019. During the search of Erb’s residence, investigators recovered a second firearm and ammunition. That firearm was reported stolen in the City of Buffalo in March 2024. In October 2008, Ford was convicted of a felony in Erie County Court and is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

    The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Alphonso Wright.

    # # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch, Colleagues Call on FEMA to Respond to Questions about Disaster Victim Data, Mass Firings, and Funding Freezes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Peter Welch and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) today led nine of their colleagues in calling on leadership of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to unanswered questions about Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) and its reported access to sensitive disaster victim data. The Senators also demanded answers about how FEMA’s firing of hundreds of personnel and freezing of certain grants will impact the agency’s capacity to mitigate and quickly respond to disasters.  
    Sens. Welch and Padilla were joined by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Senator Welch and his colleagues previously requested details on who has been granted access to victim data, the extent of access to that data, and FEMA’s protocols for ensuring Americans’ data is not misused, but FEMA failed to respond. 
    In their letter to the Senior Official Performing the Duties of FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton, the Senators wrote: “Our constituents—rebuilding from severe flooding in Vermont, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, as well as catastrophic wildfires in Hawai’i, New Mexico, Oregon, and California—have experienced first-hand the shortcomings of the federal approach to disaster resilience and recovery. Instead of addressing their needs and concerns, the Trump Administration has taken a sledgehammer to the foundation of FEMA. We agree FEMA needs fixing, but effective reform requires thoughtful and precise solutions, not brute force and arbitrary terminations.” 
    The Senators continued: “Last month, FEMA fired over 200 probationary employees, including new hires and those recently promoted, despite longstanding and severe staffing shortages. The Administration claims only ‘non-mission critical’ personnel were impacted by the firings. However, we have yet to receive any evidence to support that assertion. Instead, reporting indicates that these firings will undermine federal disaster response and hamper FEMA’s ability to provide critical support to our constituents.” 
    “In addition to mass firings, stakeholders have informed us that the Administration has suspended disbursement of certain FEMA grants. In Vermont, a federal subrecipient received notice that it could not access its Next Generation Warning System grant to modernize aging broadcast equipment and emergency alert systems,” wrote the Senators. “These apparent freezes have left frontline organizations in limbo and our communities in jeopardy. The Administration’s destructive approach will not assist the disaster-impacted communities across the country hoping to rebuild and move forward. To the contrary, it will leave the nation more vulnerable to future disasters and less prepared to pick up the pieces when the dust settles.” 
    In their letter, the Senators requested prompt responses to the questions posed in their previous inquiry, as well as responses to the following questions regarding reports of mass firings and funding freezes at FEMA: 
    Under what authority has FEMA fired individuals between January 20, 2025, and March 5, 2025? 
    What procedures did FEMA follow to evaluate the performance of those individuals prior to termination? 
    What procedures did it follow to evaluate the impact of each firing on the overall performance of FEMA operations? 
    From what positions has FEMA fired individuals between January 20, 2025, and March 5, 2025? Please provide a complete list of impacted positions and the associated duties of each position. 
    How many grant programs has FEMA frozen for any duration of time between January 20, 2025, and March 5, 2025? 
    Please list the frozen grant programs. Of those, how many remain frozen? 
    How many individual recipients have had their funding frozen, disaggregated by each program? 
    What evaluations, if any, has FEMA conducted to review the impact of these frozen disbursements on disaster-impacted communities? Please provide detailed accounting of the results of these evaluations. 
    Read the full text of the letter. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Remarks by President Trump in Joint Address to Congress

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    class=”has-text-align-center”>U.S. Capitol
    Washington, D.C.
    9:19 P.M. EST
    (March 4, 2025)
         THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Thank you very much.  It’s a great honor.  Thank you very much. 
    Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, the first lady of the United States — (applause) — members of the United States Congress, thank you very much.  
    And to my fellow citizens, America is back.  (Applause.)
    AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA! 
    THE PRESIDENT:  Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America.  From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. 
    We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started.  (Applause.)  Thank you. 
    I return to this chamber tonight to report that America’s momentum is back, our spirit is back, our pride is back, our confidence is back, and the American dream is surging bigger and better than ever before.  (Applause.)  The American dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback, the likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never witness again.  There’s never been anything like it.  (Applause.)
    The presidential election of November 5th was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades.  We won all seven swing states, giving us an electoral college victory of 312 votes.  (Applause.)  We won the popular vote —
    REPRESENTATIVE GREEN:  (Inaudible.)
    THE PRESIDENT:  — by big numbers and won counties in our country —
    AUDIENCE:  Booo —
    AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!
    REPRESENTATIVE GREEN:  You are — you have no right to cut Medicaid.
    AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA! 
    THE PRESIDENT:  — and won counties in our country 2,700 to 525 on a map that reads almost completely red for Republican.  (Applause.) 
    Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction.  In fact, it’s an astonishing record: 27-point swing, the most ever.  (Applause.)
    Likewise, small-business optimism saw its single largest one-month gain ever recorded. 
    SPEAKER JOHNSON:  Mr. President —
    THE PRESIDENT:  A 41-point jump.
    (Speaker Johnson strikes the gavel.) 
         SPEAKER JOHNSON:  Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions.  That’s your warning.
    REPRESENTATIVE GREEN:  He has no mandate to cut Medicaid.
    SPEAKER JOHNSON:  Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum, and the chair is prepared to direct the sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session.  (Applause.)
    Mr. Green, take your seat.  Take your seat, sir. 
    REPRESENTATIVE GREEN:  He has no mandate to cut Medicaid.
    SPEAKER JOHNSON:  Take your seat.
    (Cross-talk.) 
    Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order.  (Applause.)  Remove this gentleman from the chamber.  (Applause.)
    REPRESENTATIVE GREEN:  Shame on all of you.
         (Members of the audience sing “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”)
         (Cross-talk.)
         You have no mandate.
    SPEAKER JOHNSON:  Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House.
    Mr. President, you can continue.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.
    Over the past six weeks, I have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken more than 400 executive actions — a record — to restore common sense, safety, optimism, and wealth all across our wonderful land.  The people elected me to do the job, and I’m doing it.  (Applause.)
    In fact, it has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency — it’s our presidency — (applause) — is the most successful in the history of our nation by many.  (Applause.)  And what makes it even more impressive is that — do you know who number two is?  George Washington.  How about that?  (Laughter and applause.)  How about that?  I don’t know about that list, but we’ll take it. 
    Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border — (applause) — and I deployed the U.S. military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion of our country.  And what a job they’ve done. 
    As a result, illegal border crossings last month were, by far, the lowest ever recorded. Ever.  (Applause.)  They heard my words, and they chose not to come.  Much easier that way. 
    In comparison, under Joe Biden, the worst president in American history — (applause) — there were hundreds of thousands of illegal crossings a month, and virtually all of them, including murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and people from mental institutions and insane asylums, were released into our country.  Who would want to do that?
    This is my fifth such speech to Congress, and, once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud.  Nothing I can do.  I could find a cure to the most devastating disease — a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded, and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.  They won’t do it no matter what.
    Five times I’ve been up here.  It’s very sad, and it just shouldn’t be this way.  (Applause.)
    So, Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America?  For the good of our nation, let’s work together and let’s truly make America great again.  (Applause.)
    Every day, my administration is fighting to deliver the change America needs, to bring a future that America deserves, and we’re doing it.  This is a time for big dreams and bold action. 
    Upon taking office, I imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring, a freeze on all new federal regulations, and a freeze on all foreign aid.  (Applause.)  I terminated the ridiculous Green New Scam.  I withdrew from the unfair Paris Climate Accord, which was costing us trillions of dollars that other countries were not paying.  (Applause.)  I withdrew from the corrupt World Health Organization.  (Applause.)  And I also withdrew from the anti-American U.N. Human Rights Council.  (Applause.)
    We ended all of Biden’s environmental restrictions that were making our country far less safe and totally unaffordable.  And importantly, we ended the last administration’s insane electric vehicle mandate, saving our autoworkers and companies from economic destruction.  (Applause.)
    To unshackle our economy, I have directed that for every 1 new regulation, 10 old regulations must be eliminated, just like I did in my very successful first term.  (Applause.)  And in that first term, we set records on ending unnecessary rules and regulations like no other president had done before. 
    We ordered all federal workers to return to the office.  They will either show up for work in person or be removed from their job.  (Applause.)  
    And we have ended weaponized government, where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent, like me.  How did that work out? (Laughter.)  Not too good.  (Applause.)  Not too good. 
    And I have stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America.  It’s back.  (Applause.) 
    And two days ago, I signed an order making English the official language of the United States of America.  (Applause.)  
    I renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.  (Applause.) 
    And, likewise, I renamed — for a great president, William McKinley — Mount McKinley again.  (Applause.)  Beautiful Alaska.  We love Alaska.
    We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and, indeed, the private sector and our military.  (Applause.)  And our country will be woke no longer.  (Applause.)
    We believe that whether you are a doctor, an accountant, a lawyer, or an air traffic controller, you should be hired and promoted based on skill and competence, not race or gender.  Very important.  (Applause.)  You should be hired based on merit.  And the Supreme Court, in a brave and very powerful decision, has allowed us to do so.
    Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
    We have removed the poison of critical race theory from our public schools.  And I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.  (Applause.) 
    I also signed an executive order to ban men from playing in women’s sports.  (Applause.) 
         Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete — one of the best — preparing for a future in college sports.  But when her girls’ volleyball match was invaded by a male, he smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face, causing traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side, and ending her athletic career.  It was a shot like she’s never seen before.  She’s never seen anything like it.
    Payton is here tonight in the gallery.  And, Payton, from now on, schools will kick the men off the girls’ team or they will lose all federal funding.  (Applause.) 
    And if you really want to see numbers, just take a look at what happened in the woman’s boxing, weightlifting, track and field, swimming, or cycling, where a male recently finished a long-distance race five hours and 14 minutes ahead of a woman for a new record by five hours.  Broke the record by five hours. 
    It’s demeaning for women, and it’s very bad for our country.  We’re not going to put up with it any longer.  (Applause.) 
    What I have just described is only a small fraction of the commonsense revolution that is now, because of us, sweeping the entire world.  Common sense has become a common theme, and we will never go back.  Never.  Never going to let that happen.  (Applause.)
    Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families.  As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.  Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up grocery costs, and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions and millions of Americans.  They’ve never had anything like it. 
    We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years but perhaps even in the history of our country. They’re not sure.  As president, I’m fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again.  (Applause.)
    Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control.
    AUDIENCE:  Booo —
    THE PRESIDENT:  The egg price is out of control, and we’re working hard to get it back down. 
    Secretary, do a good job on that.  You inherited a total mess from the previous administration.  Do a good job.  (Applause.) 
    A major focus of our fight to defeat inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy.  The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95 percent, slowed pipeline construction to a halt, and closed more than 100 power plants.  We are opening up many of those power plants right now.  (Applause.) 
    And, frankly, we have never seen anything like it.  That’s why, on my first day in office, I declared a national energy emergency.  (Applause.)  As you’ve heard me say many times, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any nation on Earth and by far.  And now I’ve fully authorized the most talented team ever assembled to go and get it.  It’s called drill, baby, drill.  (Applause.) 
    My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska — among the largest in the world — where Japan, South Korea, and other nations want to be our partner with investments of trillions of dollars each.  There’s never been anything like that one.  It will be truly spectacular.  It’s all set to go.  The permitting is gotten.
    And later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA.  (Applause.)  
    To further combat inflation, we will not only be reducing the cost of energy, but we’ll be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars.  (Applause.)  And to that end, I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency – DOGE. (Applause.) Perhaps you’ve heard of it — perhaps — which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.  (Applause.)
    Thank you, Elon.  He’s working very hard.  He didn’t need this.  (Laughs.)  He didn’t need this.  Thank you very much.  We appreciate it.  Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe.  (Applause.)  They just don’t want to admit that.
    Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified.
    $22 billion from HHS to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens.
    $45 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma.
    $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants.  Nobody knows what that is.  (Laughter.) 
    $8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.  (Laughter.)
    $60 million for Indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian empowerment in Central America.  $60 million.
    $8 million for making mice transgender.  (Laughter.)  This is real.
    $32 million for a left-wing propaganda operation in Moldova.
    $10 million for male circumcision in Mozambique.
    $20 million for the Arab “Sesame Street” in the Middle East.  It’s a program.  $20 million for a program.
    $1.9 billion to recently created decarbonization of homes committee, headed up — and we know she’s involved — just at the last moment, the money was passed over — by a woman named Stacey Abrams.  Have you ever heard of her?
    AUDIENCE:  Booo —
    THE PRESIDENT:  A $3.5 million consulting contract for lavish fish monitoring.
    $1.5 million for voter confidence in Liberia.
    $14 million for social cohesion in Mali.
    $59 million for illegal alien hotel rooms in New York City. 
    AUDIENCE:  Booo —
    THE PRESIDENT:  He’s a real estate developer.  He’s done very well.
    $250,000 to increase vegan local climate action innovation in Zambia.
    $42 million for social and behavior change in Uganda.
    $14 million for improving public procurement in Serbia.
    $47 million for improving learning outcomes in Asia.  Asia is doing very well with learning.  (Laughter.)  Don’t know what we’re doing.  We should use it ourselves.
    And $101 million for DEI contracts at the Department of Education, the most ever paid.  Nothing even like it.
    Under the Trump administration, all of these scams — and there are far worse, but I didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about them.  They’re so bad.  Many more have been found out and exposed and swiftly terminated by a group of very intelligent, mostly young people, headed up by Elon.  And we appreciate it.  We’ve found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.  (Applause.)
    And we’ve taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things.  Taken back a lot of that money.  We got it just in time. 
    AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  (Inaudible.)
    THE PRESIDENT:  This is just the beginning.  The Government Accountability Office, a federal government office, has estimated annual fraud of over $500 billion in our nation, and we are working very hard to stop it.  We’re going to.
    We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors and that our seniors and people that we love rely on.  Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old.
    THE PRESIDENT:  It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119.  I don’t know any of them.  I know some people that are rather elderly, but not quite that elderly.  (Laughter.) 
    3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129. 
    3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139.
    3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149.
    And money is being paid to many of them, and we’re searching right now. 
    In fact, Pam, good luck.  Good luck.  You’re going to find it.
    But a lot of money is paid out to people because it just keeps getting paid and paid, and nobody does — and it really hurts Social Security and hurts our country.
    1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159.  And over 130,000 people, according to the Social Security databases, are age over 160 years old.  
    We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby.  (Laughter and applause.)
    Including, to finish, 1,039 people between the ages of 220 and 229; one person between the age of 240 and 249; and one person is listed at 360 years of age.
    AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Joe Biden!  (Laughter.)
    THE PRESIDENT: More than 100 years older than our country. 
    But we’re going to find out where that money is going, and it’s not going to be pretty. 
    By slashing all of the fraud, waste, and theft we can find, we will defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower car payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors, and put more money in the pockets of American families.  (Applause.) 
    And today, interest rates took a beautiful drop — big, beautiful drop.  It’s about time.
    And in the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24 years: balance the federal budget.  We’re going to balance it.  (Applause.) 
    With that goal in mind, we have developed in great detail what we are calling the gold card, which goes on sale very, very soon.  
         For $5 million, we will allow the most successful, job-creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship.  It’s like the green card but better and more sophisticated.  (Laughter.)  And these people will have to pay tax in our country.  They won’t have to pay tax from where they came.  The money that they’ve made, you wouldn’t want to do that, but they have to pay tax, create jobs.
    They’ll also be taking people out of colleges and paying for them so that we can keep them in our country, instead of having them being forced out.  Number one at the top school, as an example, being forced out and not being allowed to stay and create tremendous numbers of jobs and great success for a company out there.
    So, while we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers, and child predators who were allowed to enter our country under the open border policy of these people — the Democrats, the Biden administration — the open border, insane policies that you’ve allowed to destroy our country — we will now bring in brilliant, hardworking, job-creating people.  They’re going to pay a lot of money, and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money.  (Applause.)
    Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change.  For nearly 100 years, the federal bureaucracy has grown until it has crushed our freedoms, ballooned our deficits, and held back America’s potential in every possible way.  The nation founded by pioneers and risk-takers now drowns under millions and millions of pages of regulations and debt. 
    Approvals that should take 10 days to get instead take 10 years, 15 years, and even 20 years before you’re rejected.  Meanwhile, we have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work. 
    My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again. (Applause.)  Any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately — (applause) — because we are draining the swamp.  It’s very simple.  And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.  (Applause.)
    And the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody.  They’re in there.  They’re waiting for you to vote.  (Applause.) 
    And I’m sure that the people on my right — I don’t mean the Republican right, but my right right here — I’m sure you’re going to vote for those tax cuts, because, otherwise, I don’t believe the people will ever vote you into office.  So, I’m doing you a big favor by telling you that.  (Applause.)
    But I know this group is going to be voting for the taxes.  (Applause.)
    Thank you.  It’s a very, very big part of our plan.  We had tremendous success in our first term with it.  A very big part of our plan.  We’re seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board.
    And to get urgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation, I’m calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security benefits for our great seniors.  (Applause.) 
    (Addressing Speaker Johnson.)  Good luck.
    And I also want to make interest payments on car loans tax deductible but only if the car is made in America.  (Applause.)  
    And, by the way, we’re going to have growth in the auto industry like nobody has ever seen.  Plants are opening up all over the place.  Deals are being made.  Never seen. That’s a combination of the election win and tariffs. 
    It’s a beautiful word, isn’t it? 
    That, along with our other policies, will allow our auto industry to absolutely boom.  It’s going to boom.  Spoke to the majors today — all three — the top people, and they’re so excited.  In fact, already, numerous car companies have announced that they will be building massive automobile plants in America, with Honda just announcing a new plant in Indiana, one of the largest anywhere in the world.  (Applause.) 
    And this has taken place since our great victory on November 5th, a date which will hopefully go down as one of the most important in the history of our country.  (Applause.)  
    In addition, as part of our tax cuts, we want to cut taxes on domestic production and all manufacturing.  And just as we did before, we will provide 100 percent expensing.  It will be retroactive to January 20th, 2025, and it was one of the main reasons why our tax cuts were so successful in our first term, giving us the most successful economy in the history of our country.  First term — we had a great first term.  (Applause.) 
    If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and, in some cases, a rather large one.  Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries.
    On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Canada — have you heard of them? — and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them.  It’s very unfair.  India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent.  China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them.  And South Korea’s average tariff is four times higher.  Think of that: four times higher.  And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea, but that’s what happens.
    This is happening by friend and foe.  This system is not fair to the United States and never was.  And so, on April 2nd — I wanted to make it April 1st, but I didn’t want to be accused of April Fool’s Day.  (Laughter.)  Just one day, which cost us a lot of money.  (Laughter.)  But we’re going to do it in April. I’m a very superstitious person. April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in.  And whatever they tariff us — other countries — we will tariff them.  That’s reciprocal, back and forth.  (Applause.)  Whatever they tax us, we will tax them.
    If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.  There’s a lot of that too.  They don’t even allow us in their market.
    We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.  I did it with China, and I did it with others.  And the Biden administration couldn’t do anything about it because it was so much money.  They couldn’t do anything about it.
    We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer.  (Applause.) 
    Much has been said over the last three months about Mexico and Canada, but we have very large deficits with both of them.  But even more importantly, they have allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens and many very young, beautiful people — destroying families.  Nobody has ever seen anything like it. 
    They are, in effect, receiving subsidies of hundreds of billions of dollars.  We pay subsidies to Canada and to Mexico of hundreds of billions of dollars.  And the United States will not be doing that any longer.  We’re not going to do it any longer.  (Applause.)
    Thanks to our America First policies we’re putting into place, we have had $1.7 trillion of new investment in America in just the past few weeks.  (Applause.)  The combination of the election and our economic policies — the people of SoftBank, one of the most brilliant anywhere in the world, announced a $200 billion investment.  OpenAI and Oracle — Larry Ellison — announced $500 billion investment, which they wouldn’t have done if Kamala had won.  (Applause.)
    Apple announced $500 billion investment.  Tim Cook called me.  He said, “I cannot spend it fast enough.”  It’s going to be much higher than that, I believe.  They’ll be building their plants here, instead of in China. 
    And just yesterday, Taiwan Semiconductor — the biggest in the world, most powerful in the world, has a tremendous amount — 97 percent of the market, announced a $165 billion investment to build the most powerful chips on Earth right here in the USA.  (Applause.) 
    And we’re not giving them any money.  Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing.  We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesn’t mean a thing.  They take our money, and they don’t spend it.  All that meant to them — we’re giving them no money.  All that was important to them was they didn’t want to pay the tariffs, so they came and they’re building.  And many other companies are coming.  
    We don’t have to give them money.  We just want to protect our businesses and our people.  And they will come because they won’t have to pay tariffs if they build in America.  And so, it’s very amazing.
    You should get rid of the CHIP Act.  And whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt or any other reason you want to.  (Applause.) 
    Our new trade policy will also be great for the American farmer — I love the farmer — (applause) — who will now be selling into our home market, the USA, because nobody is going to be able to compete with you.  Because those goods that come in from other countries and companies, they’re really, really in a bad position in so many different ways.  They’re uninspected.  They may be very dirty and disgusting, and they come in and they pour in, and they hurt our American farmers.
    The tariffs will go on agricultural product coming into America.  And our farmers, starting on April 2nd — it may be a little bit of an adjustment period.  We had that before, when I made the deal with China.  Fifty billion dollars of purchases, and I said, “Just bear with me,” and they did.  They did.  Probably have to bear with me again, and this will be even better.  
    That was great.  The problem with it was that Biden didn’t enforce it.  He didn’t enforce it.  Fifty billion dollars of purchases, and we were doing great, but Biden did not enforce it.  And it hurt our farmers, but our farmers are going to have a field day right now.
    So, to our farmers, have a lot of fun.  I love you too.  I love you too.  (Applause.)  It’s all going to happen.
    And I have also imposed a 25 percent tariff on foreign aluminum, copper, lumber, and steel, because if we don’t have, as an example, steel and lots of other things, we don’t have a military and, frankly, we just won’t have a country very long.
    Here today is a proud American steelworker, fantastic person from Decatur, Alabama.  Jeff Denard has been working at the same steel plant for 27 years in a job that has allowed him to serve as the captain of his local volunteer fire department; raise seven children with his beautiful wife, Nicole; and over the years, provide a loving home for more than 40 foster children.  So great, Jeff.  (Applause.) 
    Thank you, Jeff.  Thank you, Jeff.  (Applause.)
    Stories like Jeff’s remind us that tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs.  They’re about protecting the soul of our country.  Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again.  And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly.
    There will be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that.  It won’t be much. 
    AUDIENCE MEMBER:  No, we’re not!
    THE PRESIDENT:  No, you’re not.  Oh.  (Laughter.)
    And look — and look where Biden took us.  Very low.  The lowest we’ve ever been.
    Jeff, I want to thank you very much.
    And I also want to recognize another person who has devoted herself to foster care community.  She worked so hard on it.  A very loving person.  Our magnificent first lady of the United States.  (Applause.)
    Melania’s work has yielded incredible results, helping prepare our nation’s future leaders as they enter the workforce.  
    Our first lady is joined by two impressive young women — very impressive: Haley Ferguson, who benefited from the first lady’s Fostering the Future initiative and is poised to complete her education and become a teacher, and Elliston Berry, who became a victim of an illicit deepfake image produced by a peer.  With Elliston’s help, the Senate just passed the Take It Down Act — 
    This is so important.  Thank you very much, John.  John Thune, thank you.  (Applause.)  Stand up, John.  Thank you, John.  (Applause.)  Thank you all very much.  Thank you.
    And thank you to John Thune and the Senate.  A great job.
    — to criminalize the publication of such images online.  This terrible, terrible thing.  And once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law.  Thank you.  
    And I’m going to use that bill for myself too, if you don’t mind — (laughter) — because nobody gets treated worse than I do online.  Nobody.  (Laughter.) 
    That’s great.  Thank you very much to the Senate.  Thank you.
    But if we truly care about protecting America’s children, no step is more crucial than securing America’s borders.  Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States.  Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members, and other criminals from the streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world.  Because of Joe Biden’s insane and very dangerous open border policies, they are now strongly embedded in our country, but we are getting them out and getting them out fast.  (Applause.)
    And I want to thank Tom Homan.  And, Kristi, I want to thank you.  And Paul of Border Patrol, I want to thank you.  What a job they’ve all done.  Everybody.  Border Patrol, ICE.  Law enforcement, in general, is incredible.  We have to take care of our law enforcement.  (Applause.)  We have to. 
    Last year, a brilliant 22-year-old nursing student named Laken Riley — the best in her class, admired by everybody — went out for a jog on the campus of the University of Georgia.  That morning, Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized, and horrifically murdered.  Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Biden’s open southern border and then set loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration.  It was indeed a failed administration.
    He had then been arrested and released in a Democrat-run sanctuary city — a disaster — before ending the life of this beautiful young angel.
    With us this evening are Laken’s beloved mother, Allyson, and her sister, Lauren.  (Applause.)
    Last year, I told Laken’s grieving parents that we would ensure their daughter would not have died in vain.  That’s why the very first bill I signed into law as your 47th president mandates the detention of all dangerous criminal aliens who threaten public safety.  It’s a very strong, powerful act.  (Applause.)  It’s called the Laken Riley Act.  (Applause.) 
    So, Allyson and Lauren, America will never, ever forget our beautiful Laken Hope Riley.  (Applause.)
    Thank you very much.
    Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history, and we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossers ever recorded.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
    The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation.  “We must have legislation to secure the border.”  But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.  (Applause.) 
    AUDIENCE:  Trump!  Trump!  Trump!
    THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.
    Joe Biden didn’t just open our borders.  He flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals, and communities throughout the country.  Entire towns, like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like nobody has ever seen before.  Beautiful towns destroyed.
    Now, just as I promised in my Inaugural Address, we are achieving the great liberation of America.  (Applause.)
    But there still is much work to be done. 
    Here tonight is a woman I have gotten to know: Alexis Nungaray from Houston.  Wonderful woman.  Last June, Alexis’s 12-year-old daughter, her precious Jocelyn, walked to a nearby convenience store.  She was kidnapped, tied up, assaulted for two hours under a bridge, and horrifically murdered.  Arrested and charged with this heinous crime are two illegal alien monsters from Venezuela, released into America by the last administration through their ridiculous open border.
    The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly. 
    Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter — your magnificent daughter.  And earlier tonight, I signed an order keeping my word to you.  
    One thing I have learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much.  She loved nature.  Across Galveston Bay from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you will find a magnificent national wildlife refuge. A pristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God’s creatures on the edge of the Gulf of America.
    Alexis, moments ago, I formally renamed that refuge in loving memory of your beautiful daughter, Jocelyn.
    So, Mr. Vice President, if you would, may I have the order?  (Applause.)
    (The president holds up the executive order.)
    Thank you very much. 
    All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken’s murders were members of the Venezuelan prison gang — the toughest gang, they say, in the world — known as Tren de Aragua.  Two weeks ago, I officially designated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations.  (Applause.)  They are now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that’s not good for them. 
    Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the U.S. by the Biden administration, but now every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or, if they’re too dangerous, put in jails, standing trial in this country, because we don’t want them to come back ever.
    With us this evening is a warrior on the front lines of that battle, Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz.  Great guy.  (Applause.)  
    In January, Roberto and another agent were patrolling by the Rio Grande, near an area known as Cartel Island — doesn’t sound too nice to me — when heavily armed gunmen started shooting at them.  Roberto saw that his partner was totally exposed, in great danger, and he leapt into action, returning fire and providing crucial seconds for his fellow agent to seek safety, and just barely.  I have some of the prints of that event, and it was not good. 
    Agent Ortiz, we salute you for your great courage and for your line of fire that you took and for the bravery that you showed.  We honor you, and we will always honor you.  Thank you, Roberto, very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Roberto. 
    And I actually got to know him on my many calls to the border.  He’s a great, great gentleman.
    The territory to the immediate south of our border is now dominated entirely by criminal cartels that murder, rape, torture, and exercise total control — they have total control over a whole nation — posing a grave threat to our national security.  The cartels are waging war in America, and it’s time for America to wage war on the cartels, which we are doing.  (Applause.)
    Five nights ago, Mexican authorities, because of our tariff policies being imposed on them — think of this — handed over to us 29 of the biggest cartel leaders in their country.  That has never happened before.  They want to make us happy.  (Applause.)  First time ever.
    But we need Mexico and Canada to do much more than they’ve done, and they have to stop the fentanyl and drugs pouring into the USA.  They’re going to stop it.  
    I have sent Congress a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats to protect our homeland and complete the largest deportation operation in American history, larger even than current record holder, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate man but someone who believed very strongly in borders.  Americans expect Congress to send me this funding without delay so I can sign it into law. 
    So, Mr. Speaker, John Thune, both of you, I hope you’re going to be able to do that.  Mr. Speaker, thank you.  Mr. Leader, thank you.  Thank you very much.  And let’s get it to me.  I’ll sign it so fast, you won’t even believe it.  (Applause.)
    And as we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns.  (Applause.)  In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by radical-left lunatics.  Many jurisdictions virtually ceased enforcing the law against dangerous repeat offenders while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents like me.
    My administration has acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law, starting at the FBI and the DOJ.  
    Pam, good luck.  Kash, wherever you may be, good luck.  (Applause.)  Good luck.  Pam Bondi, good luck.  So important.  Going to do a great job.  (Applause.)  
    Kash, thank you.  Thank you, Kash.  (Applause.)
    They have already started very strong.  They’re going to do a fantastic job.  You’re going to be very proud of them. 
    We’re also, once again, giving our police officers the support, protection, and respect they so dearly deserve.  They have to get it.  They have such a hard, dangerous job, but we’re going to make it less dangerous.  The problem is the bad guys don’t respect the law, but they’re starting to respect it, and they soon will respect it.
    (Cross-talk.)
    This also includes our great fire departments throughout the country.  Our firemen and women are unbelievable people, and I will never forget them.  And besides that, they voted for me in record numbers, so I have no choice.  (Applause.)
    One year ago this month, 31-year-old New York police officer Jonathan Diller — unbelievably wonderful person and a great officer — was gunned down at a traffic stop on Long Island.  I went to his funeral.  The vicious criminal charged with his murder had 21 prior arrests, and they were rough arrests too.  He was a real bad one.
    The thug in the seat next to him had 14 prior arrests and went by the name of “Killer.”  He was Killer.  He killed other people.  They say a lot of them. 
    I attended Officer Diller’s service, and when I met his wife and one-year-old son, Ryan, it was very inspirational, actually.  His widow’s name is Stephanie, and she is here tonight.  Stephanie, thank you very much, Stephanie.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)
    Stephanie, we’re going to make sure that Ryan knows his dad was a true hero — New York’s Finest.  And we’re going to get these cold-blooded killers and repeat offenders off our streets, and we’re going to do it fast.  Got to stop it. 
    They get out with 28 arrests.  They push people into subway trains.  They hit people over the back of the head with baseball bats.  We got to get them out of here. 
    I’ve already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer.  And, tonight, I’m asking Congress to pass that policy into permanent law.  (Applause.)
    I’m also asking for a new crime bill, getting tough on repeat offenders while enhancing protections for America’s police officers so they can do their jobs without fear of their lives being totally destroyed.  They don’t want to be killed.  We’re not going to let them be killed.
    Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police.  His name is D.J. Daniel.  He is 13 years old, and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer.  (Applause.)
    But in 2018, D.J. was diagnosed with brain cancer.  The doctors gave him five months at most to live.  That was more than six years ago.  (Applause.)
    Since that time, D.J. and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true, and D.J. has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer, actually, a number of times.  Pec- — the police love him.  The police departments love him. 
    And tonight, D.J., we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all.  I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.  (Applause.)
    (Director Curran presents Mr. Daniel with a Secret Service Agent credential.)
    AUDIENCE:  D.J.!  D.J.!  D.J.!
    THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, D.J. 
    D.J.’s doctors believe his cancer likely came from a chemical he was exposed to when he was younger.  Since 1975, rates of child cancer have increased by more than 40 percent.  Reversing this trend is one of the top priorities for our new presidential commission to make America healthy again, chaired by our new secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  (Applause.) 
    AUDIENCE MEMBER:  MAHA, baby!
    THE PRESIDENT:  With the name “Kennedy,” you would have thought everybody over here would have been cheering.  (Laughter.)  How quickly they forget.  
    Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong.  
    As an example, not long ago — you can’t even believe these numbers — 1 in 10,000 children had autism. 1 in 10,000.  And now it’s 1 in 36.  There’s something wrong.  One in 36.  Think of that. 
    So, we’re going to find out what it is, and there’s nobody better than Bobby and all of the people that are working with you — you have the best — to figure out what is going on.  
    Okay, Bobby?  Good luck.  It’s a very important job.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.
    My administration is also working to protect our children from toxic ideologies in our schools. 
         A few years ago, January Littlejohn and her husband discovered that their daughter’s school had secretly socially transitioned their 13-year-old little girl.  Teachers and administrators conspired to deceive January and her husband, while encouraging her daughter to use a new name and pronouns — “they/them” pronouns, actually — all without telling January, who is here tonight and is now a courageous advocate against this form of child abuse.  January, thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you. 
    Stories like this are why, shortly after taking office, I signed an executive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology.  (Applause.) 
    I also signed an order to cut off all taxpayer funding to any institution that engages in the sexual mutilation of our youth.  (Applause.)  And now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.  This is a big lie.  (Applause.)
    And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.  (Applause.)
         Because we’re getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military, and it’s already out, and it’s out of our society.  We don’t want it.  Wokeness is trouble.  Wokeness is bad.  It’s gone.  It’s gone.  And we feel so much better for it, don’t we?  Don’t we feel better?  (Applause.)  
         Our service members won’t be activists and ideologues.  They will be fighters and warriors.  They will fight for our country.           And, Pete, congratulations.  Secretary of Defense, congratulations.  (Applause.)
         And he’s not big into the woke movement, I can tell you.  (Laughter.)  I know him well. 
         I am pleased to report that, in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services.  (Applause.)  What a difference.
         And you know it was just a few months ago where the results were exactly the opposite.  We couldn’t recruit anywhere.  We couldn’t recruit.  Now we’re having the best results, just about, that we’ve ever had.  What a tremendous turnaround.  It’s really a beautiful thing to see.  People love our country again.  It’s very simple.  They love our country, and they love being in our military again.  So, it’s a great thing.  And thank you very much.  Great job.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
         We’re joined tonight by a young man, Jason Hartley, who knows the weight of that call of duty.  Jason’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all wore the uniform. 
         Jason tragically lost his dad, who was also a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, when he was just a boy, and now he wants to carry on the family legacy of service.  Jason is a senior in high school, a six-letter varsity athlete — a really good athlete, they say — a brilliant student, with a 4.46 — that’s good — GPA.  (Laughter.)  And his greatest dream is to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  (Applause.) 
         And, Jason, that’s a very big deal getting in.  That’s a hard one to get into.  But I’m pleased to inform you that your application has been accepted.  You will soon be joining the Corps of Cadets.  (Applause.) 
         Thank you.  Jason, you’re going to be on the Long Gray Line, Jason. 
         As commander in chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future.  As a first step, I’m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland, all made in the USA.  (Applause.) 
         And Ronald Reagan wanted to do it long ago, but the technology just wasn’t there, not even close.  But now we have the technology.  It’s incredible, actually.  And other places, they have it: Israel has it.  Other places have it.  And the United States should have it too.  Right, Tim?  Right?  (Applause.)  They should have it too.  So, I want to thank you. 
         But it’s a very important.  This is a very dangerous world.  We should have it.  We want to be protected.  And we’re going to protect our citizens like never before.
         To boost our defense industrial base, we are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding.  (Applause.)
         And for that purpose, I am announcing tonight that we will create a new Office of Shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, where it belongs. 
         We used to make so many ships.  We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon.  It will have a huge impact.          To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it.  (Applause.)
         Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals. 
         The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others, but others could use it.  But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure.  Thirty-eight thousand workers died building the Panama Canal.  They died of malaria.  They died of snake bites and mosquitoes.  Not a nice place to work.  They paid them very highly to go there, knowing there was a 25 percent chance that they would die.  The most expensive project, also, that was ever built in our country’s history, if you bring it up to modern-day costs.
         It was given away by the Carter administration for $1, but that agreement has been violated very severely.  We didn’t give it to China.  We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.  (Applause.)
         And we have Marco Rubio in charge.  Good luck, Marco.  (Laughter and applause.)  Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong.  (Laughter.) 
    No, Marco has been amazing, and he’s going to do a great job.  Think of it.  He got a hundred votes.  (Applause.)  You know, he was approved with, actually, 99, but the 100th was this gentleman, and I feel very certain — so, let’s assume he got 100 votes.  And I’m either very, very happy about that or I’m very concerned about it.  (Laughter.) 
         But he’s already proven — I mean, he’s a great gentleman.  He’s respected by everybody.  And we appreciate you voting for Marco.  He’s going to do a fantastic job.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  He’s doing a great job.  Great job. 
         And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland.  (Laughter.)  We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and, if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. 
         We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it.  But we need it, really, for international world security.  And I think we’re going to get it.  One way or the other, we’re going to get it.  
    We will keep you safe.  We will make you rich.  And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.  
         It’s a very small population but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.
         America is once again standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism. 
         Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan — not that they were withdrawing; it was the way they withdrew.  Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.  
         Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.  (Applause.)
         And I want to thank, especially, the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster. 
         This was a very momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them, whose children were murdered, and the many people that were so badly — over 42 people — so badly injured on that fateful day in Afghanistan.  What a horrible day.  Such incompetence was shown that when Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, “Wow, maybe this is my chance.”  That’s how bad it was.  Should have never happened.  Grossly incompetent people. 
         I spoke to many of the parents and loved ones, and they’re all in our hearts tonight.  Just spoke to them on the phone.  We had a big call.  Every one of them called, and everybody was on the line, and they did nothing but cry with happiness.  They were very happy — as happy as you can be under those circumstances.  Their child, brother, sister, son, daughter was killed for no reason whatsoever. 
         In the Middle East, we’re bringing back our hostages from Gaza.  In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations: the Abraham Accords.  (Applause.) 
    And now we’re going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region.  A lot of things are happening in the Middle East.  People haven’t been talking about that so much lately with everything going on with Ukraine and Russia, but a lot of things are happening in the Middle East.  It’s a rough neighborhood, actually.
         I’m also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine.  Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict with no end in sight. 
         The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense with no security, with no anything.  (Applause.)
         Do you want to keep it going for another five years? 
         SENATOR WARREN:  Yes!
         THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Yeah, you would say — Pocahontas says, “Yes.”  (Laughter.)
         AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Booo —
         THE PRESIDENT:  Two thousand people are being killed every single week — more than that.  They’re Russian young people.  They’re Ukrainian young people.  They’re not Americans.  But I want it to stop.
         Meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far.  Think of that.  They’ve spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending.  And we’ve spent, perhaps, $350 billion.  Like taking candy from a baby, that’s what happened.  And they’ve spent $100 billion.  What a difference that is.  And we have an ocean separating us, and they don’t. 
         But we’re getting along very well with them, and lots of good things are happening. 
         Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent by billions and billions of dollars.  It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t have stopped it and said, at some point, “Come on.  Let’s equalize.  You got to be equal to us.”  But that didn’t happen.
         Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine.  The letter reads, “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.”  “Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,” he said.  (Applause.)  “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.  We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.  Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.” 
         I appreciate that he sent this letter.  Just got it a little while ago.  
         Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace.  Wouldn’t that be beautiful?  Wouldn’t that be beautiful?  (Applause.)  Wouldn’t that be beautiful?
         It’s time to stop this madness.  It’s time to halt the killing.  It’s time to end this senseless war.  If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides. 
         Nearly four years ago, amid rising tensions, a history teacher named Marc Fogel was detained in Russia and sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony.  Rough stuff. 
         The previous administration barely lifted a finger to help him.  They knew he was innocent, but they had no idea where to begin.  But last summer, I promised his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, that we would bring her boy safely back home.          After 22 days in office, I did just that, and they are here tonight.  (Applause.) 
         To Marc and his great mom, we are delighted to have you safe and sound and with us. 
         As fate would have it, Marc Fogel was born in a small, rural town — in Butler, Pennsylvania — have you heard of it? — where his mother has lived for the past 78 years.
         I just happened to go there last July 13th for a rally. That was not pleasant.  (Laughter.)  And that is where I met his beautiful mom, right before I walked onto that stage.  And I told her I would not forget what she said about her son.  And I never did, did I?  Never forgot.  
         Less than 10 minutes later, at that same rally, gunfire rang out, and a sick and deranged assassin unloaded eight bullets from his sniper’s perch into a crowd of many thousands of people.           My life was saved by a fraction of an inch, but some were not so lucky.  Corey Comperatore was a firefighter, a veteran, a Christian, a husband, a devoted father, and, above all, a protector. 
         When the sound of gunshots pierced the air — it was a horrible sound — Corey knew instantly what it was and what to do.  He threw himself on top of his wife and daughters and shielded them from the bullets with his own body.
         Corey was hit really hard.  You know the story from there.  He sacrificed his life to save theirs. 
         Two others — very fine people — were also seriously hit.  But thankfully, with the help of two great country doctors, we thought they were gone, and they were saved.  So, those doctors had great talent. 
         We’re joined by Corey’s wife, Helen, who was his high school sweetheart, and their two beloved daughters, Allyson and Kaylee.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
         To Helen, Allyson, and Kaylee, Corey is looking down on his three beautiful ladies right now, and he is cheering you on.  He loves you.  He is cheering you on. 
         Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave us all with a shining example of the selfless devotion of a true American patriot.  It was love like Corey’s that built our country, and it’s love like Corey’s that is going to make our country more majestic than ever before.  
         I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good reason.  I was saved by God to make America great again.  I believe that.  (Applause.)  Thank you. 
         Thank you.  Thank you very much.  
         From the patriots of Lexington and Concord to the heroes of Gettysburg and Normandy, from the warriors who crossed the Delaware to the trailblazers who climbed the Rockies, and from the legends who soared at Kitty Hawk to the astronauts who touched the Moon, Americans have always been the people who defied all odds, transcended all dangers, made the most extraordinary sacrifices, and did whatever it took to defend our children, our country, and our freedom.
         And as we have seen in this chamber tonight, that same strength, faith, love, and spirit is still alive and thriving in the hearts of the American people.  Despite the best efforts of those who would try to censor us, silence us, break us, destroy us, Americans are today a proud, free, sovereign, and independent nation that will always be free, and we will fight for it till death. 
         We will never let anything happen to our beloved country, because we are a country of doers, dreamers, fighters, and survivors. 
         Our ancestors crossed a vast ocean, strode into the unknown wilderness, and carved their fortunes from the rock and soil of a perilous and very dangerous frontier.  They chased our destiny across a boundless continent.  They built the railroads, laid the highways, and graced the world with American marvels, like the Empire State Building, the mighty Hoover Dam, and the towering Golden Gate Bridge. 
         They lit the world with electricity, broke free of the force of gravity, fired up the engines of American industry, vanquished the communists, fascists, and Marxists all over the world, and gave us countless modern wonders sculpted out of iron, glass, and steel.  
         We stand on the shoulders of these pioneers who won and built the modern age, these workers who poured their sweat into the skylines of our cities, these warriors who shed their blood on fields of battle and gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom.  
         Now it is our time to take up the righteous cause of American liberty, and it is our turn to take America’s destiny into our own hands and begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country. 
         This will be our greatest era.  
         With God’s help, over the next four years, we are going to lead this nation even higher, and we are going to forge the freest, most advanced, most dynamic, and most dominant civilization ever to exist on the face of this Earth. 
         We are going to create the highest quality of life, build the safest and wealthiest and healthiest and most vital communities anywhere in the world. 
         We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond.  (Applause.)
         And, through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit, and we are going to renew unlimited promise of the American dream. 
         Every single day, we will stand up and we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in and for the country our people deserve.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.
         AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Fight!  Fight!  Fight!
         THE PRESIDENT:  My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future, because the golden age of America has only just begun.  It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before. 
         Thank you.  God bless you.  And God bless America.  (Applause.)
         Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Thank you very much.  Thank you. 
    Thank you very much.  Appreciate it.
    Thank you very much.
                                 END                11:00 P.M. EST

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: With Yemen Poised for Renewed Conflict, Insufficient Aid and Environmental Crisis, Security Council Hears Political Process, Humanitarian Funding Urgently Needed

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    “Numbers in My Next Briefings Will Be Worse,” Says Emergency Relief Coordinator

    Fear of Yemen plunging back into widespread conflict is “palpable”, the United Nations’ top official in that country told the Security Council today, calling on the parties to refrain from military posturing and instead agree on a nationwide ceasefire.

    “I see and hear the deep frustration of the Yemeni people who continue to bear the heavy burden of a decade of war” and whose grinding hardship “only deepens”, said Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen.  He added that gross domestic product (GDP) per capita has more than halved, the Yemeni rial in Government-controlled areas has fallen by 50 per cent in the last year and poverty has surged across the country.

    Even though large-scale ground operations have not resumed since the UN-mediated truce was implemented in April 2022, he reported that military activity continues.  On that, he voiced concern over recent reports of shelling, drone attacks, infiltration attempts and mobilization campaigns recently witnessed in Ma’rib, Al Jawf, Shabwa and Ta’iz.  Relatedly, he warned against a rise in rhetoric from the parties, who are pre-positioning themselves publicly for military confrontation.  Words, intent and signals matter, and “escalatory discourse can have real consequences”, he added.

    Stressing that his team remains “undeterred” amid enormous challenges, he highlighted its recent, relentless engagement with both Yemeni and international stakeholders.  To settle the conflict, the parties must agree on a nationwide ceasefire and a mechanism to implement it.  Furthermore, he underlined the need for a political process that includes “a broad spectrum of Yemenis that will allow this conflict to settle once and for all”.

    While welcoming the continued cessation of attacks by Ansar Allah on vessels in the Red Sea and targets in Israel during the last month, he emphasized that “enabling environments for peace can be fragile and fleeting” and “positive developments must be put on a more-permanent footing”.  Reiterating his determination to convene the parties at any opportunity to end this decade-long conflict, he stated:  “We owe it to the millions of Yemenis not to waver or falter in our determination on this.”

    “I am not here to defend programmes, spreadsheets and institutions, but people,” said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.  Severe funding cuts are a “body blow”, he stressed.  Humanitarian coordinators are analysing where to make dramatic cuts, as well as “the implications of the tough choices we are making on which lives not to save”, he added.  On the United States’ designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, he said that it is vital to ensure civilians in Yemen have access to essential food and medicine — whether through commercial or humanitarian channels.

    Continuing, he observed that 9.6 million women and girls in Yemen are in severe need of life-saving humanitarian assistance, while 1.5 million girls remain out of school — preventing them from breaking cycles of discrimination.  “As your funding for Yemen evaporates, the numbers in my next briefings will be worse,” he warned, adding that more women will die and more will be forced into survival sex, begging, coerced prostitution, human trafficking and selling their children.  And yet, he noted, women remain on the frontlines of survival and recovery — 40 per cent of the Yemen Humanitarian Fund goes to women-led organizations, most of which are local.

    Also briefing the Council today was Nesmah M. Ali, civil-society representative from the Peace Track Initiative, who said that Yemen’s myriad crises have weakened State institutions, collapsed social protection systems and created multidimensional insecurities.  Recalling that she was forced to leave her hometown in 2020, she stated:  “I am a migrant of conflict and climate change.”  The war has devastated Yemen’s environment, she said, adding that attacks on oil refineries and ports, landmines in fields and coastal areas and destruction of power stations and water systems have left that country in ruins.

    And climate change is deepening Yemen’s crisis, she stressed, as floods displace landmines, complicate demining actions and exacerbate pre-war intertribal conflicts over scarce resources.  While women are disproportionately affected by climate change and more vulnerable to natural disasters, their stories of determination — “amid vanishing fish, ruined crops and deferred dreams” — highlight their unwavering strength, and she urged the Council to prioritize the impact of climate change and conflict on gender equality.

    Council Members Condemn Detentions

    In the ensuing discussion, many Council members condemned the ongoing detention by the Houthis — officially known as Ansar Allah — of UN personnel and the tragic death of a World Food Programme (WFP) staff member in their captivity.

    Among them was Panama’s delegate, who called for the immediate and unconditional release of all humanitarian and diplomatic personnel, as well as respect for their fundamental human rights.  The representative of France urged the Houthis to end all threats and disinformation campaigns against humanitarian actors.  Picking up that thread, the United Kingdom’s delegate expressed support for the UN’s decision to pause humanitarian operations in Saada, describing this pause as “a direct consequence” of the Houthi threat undermining the security and safety of aid workers.

    United States Designates Houthis as Terrorist Organization, Others Urge Dialogue

    The representative of the United States said that her country is taking concrete steps to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities by designating them as a foreign terrorist organization and using targeted sanctions to deprive them of illicit revenues.  “Our sanctions seek to preserve space for legitimate activities that support Yemenis living in Houthi-controlled territory who bear no responsibility for the Houthis’ malign actions,” she stressed.  Washington, D.C., will also take steps to stop Iran’s support for Houthi terrorism, and she added:  “We will take action against the Houthis should they resume their reckless attacks in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways and on Israel.”

    However, her counterpart from the Russian Federation called on the United States Government to reconsider its decision to designate Ansar Allah as a terrorist organization, stressing that “openly antagonising one of the key sides to the conflict will do no good”.  The voices of all political forces must be considered, and the ineffective logic of maximum pressure abandoned, he stressed, drawing attention to Moscow’s proposal to create a framework for collective security in the Persian Gulf.

    Pakistan’s delegate also emphasized the critical role of dialogue, highlighting regional initiatives led by Saudi Arabia and Oman.  He also noted that there have been no new attacks on commercial shipping since the onset of the ceasefire in Gaza.  “While we unequivocally condemn such attacks,” he added that it is crucial to acknowledge that “the absence of the attacks coincides with the maintenance of the ceasefire in Gaza”. 

    While also welcoming the pause in attacks in the Red Sea and on Israel, the representative of the Republic of Korea voiced concern over the Houthis’ “repeatedly declared” readiness to resume such attacks if the hard-won ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza breaks down.  “This is simply unacceptable,” he asserted.

    Speakers Underline Nexus between Conflict and Environment

    On the fragile situation on the ground, the speaker for Greece said that “the risk of military escalation has not eclipsed”.  As a historic seafaring nation, Greece supports the freedom of navigation and is committed to safeguarding maritime security in the region.  Highlighting the interconnectedness of climate, peace and security, he said that the FSO Safer and the Greek-flagged MV Sounion cases demonstrated the conflict’s environmental and humanitarian consequences.

    The convergence of prolonged conflict, environmental degradation and climate change has created a perfect storm of crises in Yemen, echoed Denmark’s delegate, Council President for March, speaking in her national capacity.  As the world’s third-most vulnerable country to climate change, Yemen is highly affected by climate-induced disasters, she observed, urging the Council to ensure that climate considerations are integrated into peacebuilding strategies, local mediation efforts and a future peace settlement process.

    Also highlighting the impact of climate change and conflict on food and water insecurity, the representative of Slovenia — whose country is a founding member of the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts — called for the protection and development of water resources and infrastructure in Yemen.  “We strongly believe that water issues can be an entry point for grassroots dialogue and mutual understanding between parties, as well as empowering women,” he added. 

    Painting a grim picture of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, Sierra Leone’s delegate — who also spoke for Algeria, Guyana and Somalia — called for increased support for the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan. “Despite shrinking aid budgets, we recognize the tireless efforts of humanitarian organizations and their personnel to meet the urgent needs of the Yemeni people,” he said.  China’s representative also urged States to increase humanitarian assistance and prioritize food security, emphasizing that “a political solution is a fundamental way out of the Yemeni issue”.

    Yemen’s Speaker Urges Aid Organizations Relocate to Aden

    As the conflict enters its eleventh year, the Yemeni people aspire to peace, said that country’s representative. However, these aspirations could not materialize due to the destructive approach of Iran-backed Houthi militias who rejected all efforts to that end, he said, welcoming the United States’ designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization.  He underscored the importance of strategic partnerships to support the Government’s efforts to end the coup, restore State institutions and extend State authority over all Yemeni soil. 

    He further stressed that, despite the economic, humanitarian, social and institutional challenges caused by the war, the Government is making “tremendous efforts” to address currency depreciation and unemployment.  Condemning the ongoing detention of international personnel, he cautioned that the militias “will not stop their blackmailing of the international community”.  Accordingly, he urged the UN and other international organizations to transfer their headquarters to Aden, the temporary capital.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with FIVEAA Breakfast with David Penberthy and Will Goodings

    Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs

    Sonya Feldhoff, Host: This is a breakfast that is the biggest breakfast not only in South Australia. So, let’s get this right, this is all over the country and for the 23rd year running, it is hosted by Senator Penny Wong, who joins us now. Senator, thank you for your time.

    Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good morning to everybody. Happy, well, it’s not quite IWD because we hold this breakfast the closest day to, but happy almost International Women’s Day.

    Feldhoff: Now, this is your 23rd year as host, but I want to take a moment because this breakfast wouldn’t be without the person who founded it and led it for the first, what, 10 or 11 years? Senator Rosemary Crowley.

    Foreign Minister: Yes that’s right, who passed away just recently. And look, on International Women’s Day and at this breakfast, you’ve heard me talk about the importance of remembering and honouring women who’ve gone before and who’ve paved the way, as well as thinking about what more we have to do. And it’s really important for us to honour Rose today. I mean, she was the first woman the Labor Party sent to Canberra, elected in the early 80s, which seems remarkable that it took that long. First woman to be a Minister from South Australia in the Federal Parliament. And one of the things she did, as you said Sonya, was establish this breakfast. And I remember I was actually on her breakfast committee before I went into Parliament, helping organise it. It was smaller then and it’s grown year on year and it was something Rosemary was so committed to. So, it’s really wonderful to be able to honour her today.

    Feldhoff: And we talk about those important things that she did. But having sat next to her on several occasions, she had a fiery, fire in her belly. She had a sense of humour. She was an amazingly fun woman to be around.

    Foreign Minister: She really was. She had a great sense of humour, very witty, sometimes quite bawdy. I remember.

    Jules Schiller, Host: Bawdy.

    Foreign Minister: Bawdy, yes.

    Feldhoff: She was.

    Foreign Minister: I’d say Rose, Rose, I can’t say that.

    Feldhoff: She was an amazing woman. So, we remember her today and I think that she’ll be in the minds of many people today.

    Foreign Minister: Absolutely.

    Schiller: Let’s get to your portfolio, Penny.

    Foreign Minister: Can’t we just talk about this? This is much more, this is much more relaxed.

    Schiller: Well, I’ll hit you with a quote because I think this is a good quote to sum up what’s happened. Vladimir Lenin said ‘there are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.’ Does that sum up what’s happened this week with some momentous kind of tectonic plate shifting with alliances and, you know, support for Ukraine and not support for Ukraine? How are you handling everything?

    Foreign Minister: Okay, well, first, I don’t think the Australian Foreign Minister should be quoting Lenin. So, I’m just going to leave that with you. But you’re right, I mean, I think tectonic is probably the, you know, the phrase that people have been using which is, you know, this is a very different time. I’ve said for some time President Trump and the Trump administration have said they were going to do things differently. So, we ought not be surprised about that. And what’s important is that we remain cool headed and disciplined, work together and navigate what is a very changing world, in Australia’s national interests. And that’s certainly how I will approach it and how the Prime Minister is approaching it.

    Feldhoff: Is your job as Foreign Minister more difficult today than it was a week ago? Given what we’ve seen in the last week.

    Foreign Minister: I probably measure it in slightly longer terms. Before the election I did think a lot about what sort of world we were in and I talked about the fact that how many changes, how much there was moving in the international landscape and certainly since the election I think we’ve continued to see that. And it’s very important that one, to remain cool headed and calm and to work as we are to try and maximise Australia’s relationships, to elevate our presence in the region and to work with others across the world in support of those international rules which matter to us. I talk about relationships, rules and region, and that’s really defined what we have done this term and what I’ve done as your Foreign Minister.

    Schiller: We had Chinese warships obviously doing live fire exercises and that was big news. You know, Virgin flight kind of reported it and that was all. Have you been speaking to your Chinese counterparts about how that unfolded and maybe you’d like to see it happen differently next time?

    Foreign Minister: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I spoke to the Prime Minister when that happened and I was actually in South Africa for the G20 and had a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi scheduled and we agreed that I would speak very directly and clearly to the Chinese about our views. Obviously, we also operate in international waters. Australia does, and we support the international laws which enable countries to operate in those waters, which are international waters. So, not Australia’s territorial waters. But when we do so, and if we engage in these sorts of exercises, we do give much more notice. You do issue what’s called a notice to airmen – still men, I’m afraid, Sonya – which is to ensure that all aircraft and vessels in the area are aware. But we also give earlier notice. And what I said very clearly to the Foreign Minister of China is that our expectation is that notice such as Australia would give in the South China Sea or elsewhere where we operate would be what we would expect.

    Feldhoff: You’re listening to 891 ABC Radio Adelaide. Sonya and Jules here with you for breakfast, broadcasting here from the Convention Centre which will host the International Women’s Day Breakfast, the biggest one in the country.

    Foreign Minister: I’m just going to tell your listeners that this is, we are sitting at a desk, being very good and talking to each other as these massive number of women and some men walk in and lots of school kids, I can see, who got up early. So, it’s pretty busy.

    Feldhoff: This is the thing, isn’t it? We’ve got a whole heap of school kids here and when we take it, look at the message for girls and women. But people generally, you know, I think a lot of us would have felt unsettled with the talk of nuclear weapons from Emmanuel Macron yesterday. As you talk to these women and men who will be in the room today, do you have a sense of optimism? Because I think there would be a lot of people at the moment for whom that would be far away.

    Foreign Minister: Well, first, just on the number of young women, that’s one of the things I have really sought to do as host, and that is to increase the number of schools that attend. And we’ve been really pleased at how that’s been taken up, because I think part of what matters today is that mix across generations and that you get women who’ve done a lot and been around a lot and have seen a lot engaging with girls, school kids who are at the beginning of their adult life and having that discussion. Optimism, I suppose. I think that we have agency so we have the capacity to do what we can do and we should do that. So, we should be talking about de-escalation, we should be talking about engagement and dialogue, because we know that to avert, to keep peace, you need both deterrence, but you also need reassurance and you need to engage as an international player in a way that provides both deterrence and reassurance. That’s how you ensure stability and peace. So, I suppose I think of it much more as what can we do? And we should focus on maximising what we can do rather than wringing our hands about what others are doing.

    Schiller: I know you have to go, Penny, but just message to women listening. I mean, I was thinking of younger women, especially because they’re facing – you’ve got Andrew Tate, they’ve got revenge porn, you know, all this, all these threats to, kind of things to overcome for them. Like, I guess women of your generation were. So, what’s your message to women on this day?

    Foreign Minister: Well, can I message both men and women? First I would say what I said about marriage equality. There’s nothing to fear from equality. Equality is about all of us having an opportunity and the world is a better place where we all have an opportunity. And what I’d say to young women is what I always say, is that women can do anything.

    Feldhoff: On that note, we’ll make sure you get to where you need to be to make sure you can do anything. Senator Penny Wong, who will be hosting this breakfast for the 23rd time consecutively. Thank you so much.

    Foreign Minister: Thank you. And can I just plug for the ABC? Know that they didn’t ask me to do this. Thank you so much for your support for this over so many years. It’s part of the, you know, what Adelaide does and we really appreciate the ABC support.

    Schiller: Thank you, Penny.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with ABC Adelaide Breakfast with Sonya Feldhoff and Jules Schiller

    Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs

    Sonya Feldhoff, Host: This is a breakfast that is the biggest breakfast not only in South Australia. So, let’s get this right, this is all over the country and for the 23rd year running, it is hosted by Senator Penny Wong, who joins us now. Senator, thank you for your time.

    Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good morning to everybody. Happy, well, it’s not quite IWD because we hold this breakfast the closest day to, but happy almost International Women’s Day.

    Feldhoff: Now, this is your 23rd year as host, but I want to take a moment because this breakfast wouldn’t be without the person who founded it and led it for the first, what, 10 or 11 years? Senator Rosemary Crowley.

    Foreign Minister: Yes that’s right, who passed away just recently. And look, on International Women’s Day and at this breakfast, you’ve heard me talk about the importance of remembering and honouring women who’ve gone before and who’ve paved the way, as well as thinking about what more we have to do. And it’s really important for us to honour Rose today. I mean, she was the first woman the Labor Party sent to Canberra, elected in the early 80s, which seems remarkable that it took that long. First woman to be a Minister from South Australia in the Federal Parliament. And one of the things she did, as you said Sonya, was establish this breakfast. And I remember I was actually on her breakfast committee before I went into Parliament, helping organise it. It was smaller then and it’s grown year on year and it was something Rosemary was so committed to. So, it’s really wonderful to be able to honour her today.

    Feldhoff: And we talk about those important things that she did. But having sat next to her on several occasions, she had a fiery, fire in her belly. She had a sense of humour. She was an amazingly fun woman to be around.

    Foreign Minister: She really was. She had a great sense of humour, very witty, sometimes quite bawdy. I remember.

    Jules Schiller, Host: Bawdy.

    Foreign Minister: Bawdy, yes.

    Feldhoff: She was.

    Foreign Minister: I’d say Rose, Rose, I can’t say that.

    Feldhoff: She was an amazing woman. So, we remember her today and I think that she’ll be in the minds of many people today.

    Foreign Minister: Absolutely.

    Schiller: Let’s get to your portfolio, Penny.

    Foreign Minister: Can’t we just talk about this? This is much more, this is much more relaxed.

    Schiller: Well, I’ll hit you with a quote because I think this is a good quote to sum up what’s happened. Vladimir Lenin said ‘there are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.’ Does that sum up what’s happened this week with some momentous kind of tectonic plate shifting with alliances and, you know, support for Ukraine and not support for Ukraine? How are you handling everything?

    Foreign Minister: Okay, well, first, I don’t think the Australian Foreign Minister should be quoting Lenin. So, I’m just going to leave that with you. But you’re right, I mean, I think tectonic is probably the, you know, the phrase that people have been using which is, you know, this is a very different time. I’ve said for some time President Trump and the Trump administration have said they were going to do things differently. So, we ought not be surprised about that. And what’s important is that we remain cool headed and disciplined, work together and navigate what is a very changing world, in Australia’s national interests. And that’s certainly how I will approach it and how the Prime Minister is approaching it.

    Feldhoff: Is your job as Foreign Minister more difficult today than it was a week ago? Given what we’ve seen in the last week.

    Foreign Minister: I probably measure it in slightly longer terms. Before the election I did think a lot about what sort of world we were in and I talked about the fact that how many changes, how much there was moving in the international landscape and certainly since the election I think we’ve continued to see that. And it’s very important that one, to remain cool headed and calm and to work as we are to try and maximise Australia’s relationships, to elevate our presence in the region and to work with others across the world in support of those international rules which matter to us. I talk about relationships, rules and region, and that’s really defined what we have done this term and what I’ve done as your Foreign Minister.

    Schiller: We had Chinese warships obviously doing live fire exercises and that was big news. You know, Virgin flight kind of reported it and that was all. Have you been speaking to your Chinese counterparts about how that unfolded and maybe you’d like to see it happen differently next time?

    Foreign Minister: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I spoke to the Prime Minister when that happened and I was actually in South Africa for the G20 and had a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi scheduled and we agreed that I would speak very directly and clearly to the Chinese about our views. Obviously, we also operate in international waters. Australia does, and we support the international laws which enable countries to operate in those waters, which are international waters. So, not Australia’s territorial waters. But when we do so, and if we engage in these sorts of exercises, we do give much more notice. You do issue what’s called a notice to airmen – still men, I’m afraid, Sonya – which is to ensure that all aircraft and vessels in the area are aware. But we also give earlier notice. And what I said very clearly to the Foreign Minister of China is that our expectation is that notice such as Australia would give in the South China Sea or elsewhere where we operate would be what we would expect.

    Feldhoff: You’re listening to 891 ABC Radio Adelaide. Sonya and Jules here with you for breakfast, broadcasting here from the Convention Centre which will host the International Women’s Day Breakfast, the biggest one in the country.

    Foreign Minister: I’m just going to tell your listeners that this is, we are sitting at a desk, being very good and talking to each other as these massive number of women and some men walk in and lots of school kids, I can see, who got up early. So, it’s pretty busy.

    Feldhoff: This is the thing, isn’t it? We’ve got a whole heap of school kids here and when we take it, look at the message for girls and women. But people generally, you know, I think a lot of us would have felt unsettled with the talk of nuclear weapons from Emmanuel Macron yesterday. As you talk to these women and men who will be in the room today, do you have a sense of optimism? Because I think there would be a lot of people at the moment for whom that would be far away.

    Foreign Minister: Well, first, just on the number of young women, that’s one of the things I have really sought to do as host, and that is to increase the number of schools that attend. And we’ve been really pleased at how that’s been taken up, because I think part of what matters today is that mix across generations and that you get women who’ve done a lot and been around a lot and have seen a lot engaging with girls, school kids who are at the beginning of their adult life and having that discussion. Optimism, I suppose. I think that we have agency so we have the capacity to do what we can do and we should do that. So, we should be talking about de-escalation, we should be talking about engagement and dialogue, because we know that to avert, to keep peace, you need both deterrence, but you also need reassurance and you need to engage as an international player in a way that provides both deterrence and reassurance. That’s how you ensure stability and peace. So, I suppose I think of it much more as what can we do? And we should focus on maximising what we can do rather than wringing our hands about what others are doing.

    Schiller: I know you have to go, Penny, but just message to women listening. I mean, I was thinking of younger women, especially because they’re facing – you’ve got Andrew Tate, they’ve got revenge porn, you know, all this, all these threats to, kind of things to overcome for them. Like, I guess women of your generation were. So, what’s your message to women on this day?

    Foreign Minister: Well, can I message both men and women? First I would say what I said about marriage equality. There’s nothing to fear from equality. Equality is about all of us having an opportunity and the world is a better place where we all have an opportunity. And what I’d say to young women is what I always say, is that women can do anything.

    Feldhoff: On that note, we’ll make sure you get to where you need to be to make sure you can do anything. Senator Penny Wong, who will be hosting this breakfast for the 23rd time consecutively. Thank you so much.

    Foreign Minister: Thank you. And can I just plug for the ABC? Know that they didn’t ask me to do this. Thank you so much for your support for this over so many years. It’s part of the, you know, what Adelaide does and we really appreciate the ABC support.

    Schiller: Thank you, Penny.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Tinamba mum joins in on Champs family fun

    Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

    David Hood, Kasey Schoenmaekers, Leon Schoenmaekers, Cameron Hood, Brent McKenzie, Liam Smith, Charlie Giles

    Tinamba Fire Brigade Captain, Kasey Schoenmaekers, did not envisage she would be taking up running in the CFA/VFBV State Championships in her forties, but here she is, and loving it.

    As a member for twelve years and an Elderly Care Advisor by day, it wasn’t until her son became more involved in Champs that the remainder of her family wanted to give it a go.

    “Nothing like a 40th revolution to start running!’ Kasey said.

    “My middle child, who is now in top age under 14’s was really enjoying it, and the more we saw, the more we said, we could do this. It seemed fun and exciting, and we wanted to improve our fitness and fit more physical activity in.

    “Our youngest daughter and my husband have also joined this year and are running with us at Maffra. We couldn’t get my eldest son to run, but he has just signed up as a volunteer firefighter and recently completed his General Firefighter course. The whole family is now breathing CFA.”

    Only in her second year of running, Kasey said the whole experience has been surprising and she is very grateful for how welcoming everyone has been.

    “The Maffra members have been so inviting and patient, especially team members Charlie and Brent. They gave me a 12-month challenge to work towards competing in the hydrant race because last year I thought I would never be able to do it,” Kasey said.

    “I decided to give it a go at the Hallam demo day and although it is challenging in the heat, I quite liked the sprinting event.

    “Now that I’ve had the encouragement, I’m really looking forward to it this year. Even though some events are harder than others, you push yourself, challenge yourself and you just do it.”

    Kasey specialities are in the truck, Two Marshall and Y Coupling events, but she also competes in the Wet Hose Striking as the hydrant operator, a skill her son Tyler is quite renowned for.

    “I can actually sink a hydrant which is very unexpected. Everyone thinks Tyler got the talent from me, but I think it’s because I’ve watched him so many times, I’ve worked it out from him!”

    “The training is completely different to firefighting training, apart from the hose bowling and rolling, but it really is a great environment.”

    With camaraderie a key highlight, Kasey also said they have found some of their junior members who are autistic have really benefitted from being involved in the running teams.

    “It’s a sport that doesn’t limit anyone and it really suits them because it’s hands-on. They can really grasp it and can go back and forth to connect the dots of all the techniques,” Kasey said.

    “It’s just sad there’s not more people out there doing it. Although my kids were never that energetic, and never showed much sporting interest, they absolutely love it.

    “They get a taste of it, and understand how fun it really is, and how much they love squirting hoses. It seems they then get motivation to want to get on a truck and to keep moving forward as a senior firefighter – it is fantastic.”

    Kasey and her family have just moved to Maffra, ten minutes up the road, so will now look to support them too, hopping on the truck if they are able to and at home during the day.

    Submitted by CFA media

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: RIF support for West Coast projects

    Source: New Zealand Government

    A total of $15.3 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund will go towards upgrading Hokitika Airport and key port facilities at Greymouth and Westport, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.

    “Ensuring the West Coast continues to be well-connected, productive and resilient is important to the economic health of the region and the entire country,” Mr Jones says.

    Hokitika Airport, the largest airport on the West Coast and critically important to the region, will receive a $9.8m loan towards its $16.4m upgrade to help to reduce flight delays and cancellations, reduce aircraft maintenance costs and increase airport operational safety. Around 38 jobs will be created during construction.

    The West Coast Ports Infrastructure upgrade programme will receive a $5.5m loan to upgrade Westport Port and Greymouth Port.

    “These are the only port facilities of their kind on the West Coast between Nelson and Bluff, making them vitally important for the local fishing industry and minerals sector. The upgrades will make these ports more resilient and support the expansion of mineral extraction and fisheries operations, helping to drive the West Coast’s economic development,” Mr Jones says.

    “This work will help boost the New Zealand economy. Good regional infrastructure supports the efficient and sustainable movement of people and goods and facilitates trade and investment. We are committed to prioritising spending to areas where it matters most.

    “Resilient and enabling infrastructure is clearly needed on the West Coast and these investments from the Regional Infrastructure Fund are a strong statement that the Coalition Government is delivering to drive economic growth in the region.”

    Mr Jones also today welcomed the completion of a significant flood resilience project on the West Coast. 

    “It’s fantastic to see the completion of the Hokitika Floodwall. This is a key flood resilience project on the West Coast and was part of the Shovel-Ready Programme funded through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund – Infrastructure Reference Group.

    “It will provide West Coast communities with greater protection during severe weather events,” Mr Jones says.

    Under-Secretary Jenny Marcroft spoke at the opening of the floodwall today.

    In Budget 2024, the Coalition Government announced a $101m investment from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to support 42 flood resilience projects across the country. Good progress is being made on these projects including 30 with shovels in the ground, all contracts signed with funding recipients, two projects complete, and six projects on track to be completed by June 2025.

    Since 2018, through Kānoa – Regional Development & Commercial Services, the New Zealand Government has approved more than $244.6m in funding toward projects on the West Coast.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mahnomen Felon Indicted for Illegal Possession of Firearms

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MINNEAPOLIS – A Mahnomen man has been charged with illegal possession of firearms as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

    According to court documents, on July 17, 2023, Adam James Webster, 23, was found in possession of a Remington rifle and 12 gauge shot gun.

    Because Webster has a prior felony conviction in Mahnomen County for third degree assault, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

    The indictment charges Webster with one count of illegal possession of firearms. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Alice R. Senechal in the District of North Dakota.

    This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the White Earth Police Department, the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force, the Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Nichole J. Carter is prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –