NewzIntel.com

Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMCB) Reports Increase in First Quarter 2025 Earnings Over Prior Year

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    First Quarter 2025 Highlights

    • Net income of $23.0 million, or basic earnings per share of $32.88 and diluted earnings per share of $32.86; diluted earnings per share up 9.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and up 7.6% compared to the first quarter of 2024;
    • Basic earnings per share of $123.34 over the trailing twelve months versus $116.37 over the same trailing period a year ago and $105.65 for the same period two years ago;
    • Tangible book value per share increased 13.49% to $843.33 compared to $743.08 as of March 31, 2024;
    • Achieved return on average assets of 1.70% and return on average equity of 15.65%;
    • Net interest income of $53.1 million up $0.95 million compared to in the fourth quarter of 2024; net interest margin (tax equivalent basis) of 4.20%, up from 4.09% in the fourth quarter of 2024;
    • Strong liquidity position continues with $607.3 million in cash, $1.3 billion in investment securities of which $495.4 million are available-for-sale and a borrowing capacity of $2.1 billion as of March 31, 2025;
    • Continue to grow our solid capital position with a total risk-based capital ratio of 15.23%, common equity tier 1 ratio of 13.75%, tier 1 leverage ratio of 11.32% and a tangible common equity ratio of 10.40%;
    • Credit quality remains strong with a total allowance for credit losses of 2.17%; net charge-offs for the quarter of $160,000 and non-accrual loans or leases at quarter-end of $193,000.

    LODI, Calif., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (OTCQX: FMCB) (the “Company” or “FMCB”), the parent company of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California (the “Bank” or “F&M Bank”), reported net income of $23.0 million, or $32.86 per diluted common share for the first quarter of 2025 compared with $22.7 million, or $30.56 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2024 and $21.8 million, or $29.89 per diluted common share for the fourth quarter of 2024. Annualized return on average assets was 1.70% and return on average equity was 15.65% for the first quarter of 2025 compared with 1.71% and 16.33% for the first quarter of 2024 and 1.62% and 15.30% for the fourth quarter of 2024. The expense efficiency ratio for first quarter was 43.86% down from 44.94% for the first quarter of 2024 and 46.57% for the fourth quarter of 2024.

    Net income over the trailing twelve months was $88.7 million compared with $87.5 million for the same trailing period a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share over the trailing twelve months totaled $123.32, up 5.97% compared with $116.37 for the same trailing period a year ago and $105.65 for the same period two years ago. Basic earnings per share over the trailing twelve months totaled $123.34, up 5.99% compared with $116.37 for the same trailing period a year ago and $105.65 for the same period two years ago.

    CEO Commentary

    Kent Steinwert, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are very pleased with the Company’s financial performance in the first quarter of 2025 highlighted by net income of $23.0 million and a return on average assets of 1.70% and return on average equity of 15.65%. After seven consecutive years of record-setting annual earnings, we begin 2025 with another high-performing first quarter. We achieved these impressive results while continuing to maintain a strong liquidity position and balance sheet at quarter end with $607.3 million in cash, $1.3 billion in investment securities of which $495.4 million are available-for-sale and access to $2.1 billion in borrowing capacity. Capital levels continue to strengthen and are significantly above the regulatory thresholds for “well-capitalized” banks. Core deposits increased $28.8 million in the first quarter from December 31, 2024 as we continued our focus on growing deposits with both our longstanding established client relationships while developing new client relationships. Gross loans and leases were $3.6 billion at the end of the first quarter, down 2.56% from December 31, 2024 due in part to some seasonality in agricultural lending and due to our continued conservative approach in underwriting given the inverted yield curve which continues to not price in duration risk for loans and leases beyond three years. Credit quality remains solid and we continue to work closely with our borrowers as they work through the current economic cycle, particularly in a few agricultural products adversely impacted by negative conditions in the export market. However, the recent tariffs coupled with the weakened US dollar may improve export market opportunities for these products and may provide financial relief to affected customers. Our Company remains in excellent financial condition and is well positioned to navigate the challenges ahead as we have for the past 109 years.”

    Earnings

    Net interest income for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 was $53.1 million compared with $51.7 million in the same quarter in 2024 and $52.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The Company’s net interest margin increased to 4.20% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with 4.09% in the fourth quarter of 2024 as the combination of a decrease in deposit costs and pricing discipline on loans and leases, which has helped maintain loan and lease yields, has collectively resulted in an increase in the net interest margin. Tangible book value per share increased to $843.33 at March 31, 2025, up 13.49% compared with $743.08 a year ago.

    Balance Sheet

    Total assets at quarter-end were $5.7 billion up from $5.4 billion as of December 31, 2024. Total cash and cash equivalents were $607.3 million, an increase of $394.7 million from December 31, 2024. Total loans and leases outstanding were $3.6 billion, a decrease of $94.7 million or 2.57% from December 31, 2024 and a decrease of $110.9 million or 2.99% from March 31, 2024. As of March 31, 2025 our total investment securities portfolio was $1.3 billion, an increase of $21.3 million from December 31, 2024 and an increase of $208.4 million from March 31, 2024. The portfolio is comprised of $495.4 million in available-for-sale securities and $759.8 million in held-to-maturity securities. Total deposits increased $278.8 million, or 5.93% to $5.0 billion at March 31, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024 due primarily to brokered deposits of $250.0 million. Excluding brokered deposits, total deposits increased by $28.8 million or 0.61% compared to December 31, 2024 due to an increase in savings and money market accounts. Our loan to deposit ratio was 72.23% as of March 31, 2025 down from 78.53% as of December 31, 2024 due to an increase in total deposits and a modest decrease in total loans and leases.

    Credit Quality

    The Company’s credit quality remained solid with only $193,000 in non-accrual loans and leases as of March 31, 2025 and a negligible delinquency ratio of 0.01% of total loans and leases. Net charge-offs were $160,000 in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $533,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024. Net charge-offs over the trailing twelve months were $895,000 or 0.02% of average total loans and leases. The total allowance for credit losses on loans and leases and unfunded commitments was $78.1 million as of March 31, 2025 compared to $78.0 million as of December 31, 2024. The allowance for credit losses on loans and leases increased by $0.1 million to $75.4 million, or 2.10% as of March 31, 2025 compared with $75.3 million or 2.04% as of December 31, 2024. A provision of $300,000 was recorded during the first quarter of 2025 compared to no provision during the first and fourth quarters of 2024.

    Capital

    The Company’s and Bank’s regulatory capital ratios continued to strengthen during the first quarter of 2025. At March 31, 2025, the Company’s preliminary total risk-based capital ratio was 15.23%, the common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 13.75% and the tier 1 leverage capital ratio was 11.32% an increase from 14.52%, 13.04% and 10.95% as of December 31, 2024, respectively. At March 31, 2025, all F&M Bank capital ratios exceeded the regulatory requirements to be classified as “well-capitalized”. At March 31, 2025, the tangible common equity ratio was 10.40%, up from 9.68% as of March 31, 2024.

    About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

    Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, trades on the OTCQX under the symbol FMCB, and is the parent company of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California, also known as F&M Bank. Founded in 1916, F&M Bank is a locally owned and operated community bank, which proudly serves California through 33 convenient locations. F&M Bank is financially strong, with $5.7 billion in assets, and is consistently recognized as one of the nation’s safest banks by national bank rating firms. The Bank has maintained a 5-Star rating from BauerFinancial for 35 consecutive years, longer than any other commercial bank in the State of California.

    Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has paid dividends for 89 consecutive years and has increased dividends for 59 consecutive years. As a result, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp is a member of a select group of only 51 publicly traded companies referred to as “Dividend Kings,” and is ranked 14th in that group based on consecutive years of dividend increases. A “Dividend King” is a stock with 50 or more consecutive years of dividend increase.

    In August 2024, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp was named by Bank Director’s Magazine as the #2 best performing bank in the nation across all asset categories in their annual “Ranking Banking” study of the top performing banks for 2023. Last year the Bank was named by Bank Director’s Magazine as the #1 best performing bank in the nation across all asset categories in their annual “Ranking Banking” study of the top performing banks for 2022.

    In April 2024, F&M Bank was ranked 6th on Forbes Magazine’s list of “America’s Best Banks” in 2023. Forbes’ annual “America’s Best Banks” list looks at ten metrics measuring growth, credit quality, profitability, and capital for the 2023 calendar year, as well as stock performance in the 12 months through March 18, 2024.

    In December 2023, F&M Bank was ranked 4th on S&P Global Market Intelligence’s “Top 50 List of Best-Performing Community Banks” in the US with assets between $3.0 billion and $10.0 billion for 2023. S&P Global Market Intelligence ranks financial institutions based on several key factors including financial returns, growth, and balance sheet risk profile.

    In October 2021, F&M Bank was named the “Best Community Bank in California” by Newsweek magazine. Newsweek’s ranking recognizes those financial institutions that best serve their customers’ needs in each state. This recognition speaks to the superior customer service the F&M Bank team members provide to its clients.

    F&M Bank is the 16th largest bank lender to agriculture in the United States. F&M Bank operates in the mid-Central Valley of California, including Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, and Merced counties and the east region of the San Francisco Bay Area, including Napa, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

    F&M Bank was inducted into the National Agriculture Science Center’s “Ag Hall of Fame” at the end of 2021 for providing resources, financial advice, guidance, and support to the agribusiness communities as well as to students in the next generation of agribusiness workforce. F&M Bank is dedicated to helping California remain the premier agricultural region in the world and will continue to work with the next generation of farmers, ranchers, and processors. F&M Bank remains committed to servicing the needs of agribusiness in California as has been the case since its founding over 109 years ago.

    F&M Bank offers a full complement of loan, deposit, equipment leasing and treasury management products to businesses, as well as a full suite of consumer banking products. The FDIC awarded F&M Bank the highest possible rating of “Outstanding” in their last Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) evaluation.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current expectations regarding the Company’s financial performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could” or “may.” Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding loan and deposit production levels of net interest margin, the ability to control costs and expenses, the competitive environment, financial and regulatory policies of the United States government, general economic conditions, inflation, recessions, tariffs, economic uncertainty in the United States, and changes in interest rates. Forward-looking statements in this earnings release include matters that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among others: the effects of and changes in monetary and fiscal policies, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board and their effects on inflation risk; political and economic uncertainty, including any decline in global, domestic or local economic conditions or the stability of credit and financial markets; and other relevant risks detailed in the Company’s Form 10-K, Form 10-Qs, and various other securities law filings made periodically by the Company, copies of which are available from the Company’s website. All such factors are difficult to predict and are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict. There also may be additional risks that the Company does not presently know, or that the Company currently believes to be immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those contained in these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances after the date of this press release or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

    For more information about Farmers & Merchants Bancorp and F&M Bank, visit fmbonline.com.

    Investor Relations Contact
    Farmers & Merchants Bancorp
    Bart R. Olson
    Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

    Phone: 209-367-2485
    bolson@fmbonline.com

                     
    FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS                
            Three Months Ended
    (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)       March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
    Earnings and Profitability:                
    Interest income       $ 67,138     $ 66,870     $ 66,641  
    Interest expense         13,997       14,681       14,928  
    Net interest income         53,141       52,189       51,713  
    Provision for credit losses         300       –       –  
    Noninterest income         5,021       4,578       5,075  
    Noninterest expense         25,509       26,434       25,521  
    Income before taxes         32,353       30,333       31,267  
    Income tax expense         9,344       8,487       8,544  
    Net income       $ 23,009     $ 21,846     $ 22,723  
                     
    Basic earnings per share       $ 32.88     $ 29.89     $ 30.56  
    Diluted earnings per share       $ 32.86     $ 29.89     $ 30.56  
    Return on average assets         1.70%       1.62%       1.71%  
    Return on average equity         15.65%       15.30%       16.33%  
                     
    Loan yield         6.07%       6.08%       6.09%  
    Cost of average total deposits         1.17%       1.23%       1.27%  
    Net interest margin – tax equivalent         4.20%       4.09%       4.14%  
    Effective tax rate         28.88%       27.98%       27.33%  
    Efficiency ratio         43.86%       46.57%       44.94%  
    Book value per share       $ 861.55     $ 818.91     $ 760.96  
    Tangible book value per share       $ 843.33     $ 800.52     $ 743.08  
                     
    Balance Sheet:                
    Total assets       $ 5,680,024     $ 5,370,196     $ 5,714,573  
    Cash and cash equivalents         607,254       212,563       738,397  
    of which held at Fed         515,758       141,505       672,601  
    Total investment securities         1,255,204       1,233,857       1,046,827  
    of which available-for-sale         495,433       464,414       239,856  
    of which held-to-maturity         759,771       769,443       806,971  
    Gross loans and leases         3,595,511       3,690,221       3,706,437  
    Allowance for credit losses – loans and leases         75,423       75,283       75,018  
    Total deposits         4,977,968       4,699,139       4,959,589  
    Borrowings         –       –       100,000  
    Subordinated debentures         10,310       10,310       10,310  
    Total shareholders’ equity       $ 602,306     $ 573,072     $ 565,217  
                     
    Loan-to-deposit ratio         72.23%       78.53%       74.73%  
    Percentage of checking deposits to total deposits         45.76%       51.08%       49.39%  
                     
    Capital ratios (Bancorp) (1)                
    Common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets         13.75%       13.04%       12.73%  
    Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets         13.97%       13.26%       12.95%  
    Risk-based capital to risk-weighted assets         15.23%       14.52%       14.21%  
    Tier 1 leverage capital ratio         11.32%       10.95%       10.83%  
    Tangible common equity ratio (2)         10.40%       10.46%       9.68%  
                     
    (1) Capital information is preliminary for March 31, 2025                
    (2) Non-GAAP measurement                
                     
    Non-GAAP measurement reconciliation:                
    (Dollars in thousands)       March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
                     
    Shareholders’ equity       $ 602,306     $ 573,072     $ 565,217  
    Less: Intangible assets         12,740       12,870       13,282  
    Tangible common equity       $ 589,566     $ 560,202     $ 551,935  
                     
    Total assets       $ 5,680,024     $ 5,370,196     $ 5,714,573  
    Less: Intangible assets         12,740       12,870       13,282  
    Tangible assets       $ 5,667,284     $ 5,357,326     $ 5,701,291  
                     
    Tangible common equity ratio (1)         10.40%       10.46%       9.68%  
                     
    (1) Tangible common equity divided by tangible assets                
                     

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘They are like my children’: research reveals 4 types of indoor plant owners. Which one are you?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brianna Le Busque, Lecturer in Environmental Science, University of South Australia

    maramorosz/Shutterstock

    Walk into any home or workplace today, and you’re likely to find an array of indoor plants. The global market for indoor plants is growing fast – projected to reach more than US$28 billion (A$44 billion) by 2031.

    People keep indoor plants inside for a variety of reasons, including as decoration, to clean the air and for stress relief. But my colleagues and I wanted to delve further. What sort of relationships do people have with indoor plants? And what can this tell us about ties between humans and nature?

    We surveyed indoor plant owners in Australia, and found many of us form highly meaningful connections with our leafy companions. Some people even consider their plants as family, get anxious about their health and mourn a plant when it dies.

    Some people worry about the wellbeing of their indoor plants.
    Yurii_Yarema/Shutterstock

    A blooming hobby

    People have grown plants inside for thousands of years.

    Evidence suggests Egyptians brought plants indoors in the 3rd century BC. The remains of the former city of Pompeii reveal indoor plants used there more than 2,000 years ago, and in medieval England, indoor plants were used in medicine and cooking.

    The keeping of indoor plants became widespread across the world in the second half of the 20th century. The practice was particularly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to a desire to connect with nature when access to outdoor green spaces was limited.

    The benefits of indoor plants go beyond nature connection. Studies show they can increase positive emotions, reduce stress, enhance productivity, and even decrease physical discomfort such as pain.

    However, people have varying levels of connection to their plants, as research by my colleagues and I shows.

    Why we love indoor plants

    We surveyed 115 Australian adults, recruited through social media posts and poster advertisements at the University of South Australia. Participants were roughly 69% female, 30% male and 1% non-binary, and ranged in age from 18 to 69.

    On average, participants owned 15 indoor plants. Some owned a single indoor plant and one person owned a whopping 500!

    Between them, respondents kept 51 different varieties of house plants. The most common were succulents, devil’s ivy and monstera. They most commonly kept the plants in the living room, kitchen or bedroom.

    Across all participants, 11 benefits of having indoor plants were reported.

    Half the respondents described the aesthetic appeal of indoor plants. Comments included that indoor plants were “nice to look at”, “soften rooms” and “add colour”. Participants also reported air quality benefits, and that they found indoor plants calming.

    Other less commonly reported benefits were that the plants helped the respondents set habits, improved their physical health, provided distraction, relieved fatigue and had a pleasant smell.

    4 types of relationships with indoor plants

    Our research identified four types of relationships people have with their indoor plants:

    1. Highly connected (14% of respondents)

    These people typically described a deep personal connection to their plants. Comments included:

    They are like my children. (male, 28)

    I often water them and take care of them as family members. (female, 26)

    Well I cried over my plants leaf getting broken off today, so you could say I’m pretty attached
    to her. (female, 21)

    I feel terrible if one dies, I feel as though I have let it down and generally bury it in the garden. (female, 34)

    2. Engaged (42% of respondents)

    These people enjoyed and tended to their plants, but without deep emotional attachment. For example:

    Watering them and watching them grow is exciting, I feel proud to keep them alive so long (female, 22)

    I get sad when one dies or is looking droopy, I feel happy when they look alive and freshly
    watered. (female, 22)

    One respondent said his plants were ‘like my children’.
    pikselstock/Shutterstock

    3. Limited engagement (23%)

    These respondents enjoyed having indoor plants but spent minimal time caring for them and reported minimal emotional connections to them. One participant said:

    Feel like indoor plants are fine but through our large windows we can see our outdoor plants and that’s more important to us. (female, 45)

    4. No relationship (12%)

    Participants who did not have a relationship with their indoor plants said:

    Hardly watered it as it’s a succulent. (male, 21)

    They are all gifts rather than something I’ve gone out to buy. (male, 21)

    (For the remaining 9% of participants, their responses to the question of their relationship with house plants were invalid and not included.)

    A minority of survey participants said they had no relationship with their indoor plants.
    Sophia Floerchinger/Shutterstock

    Unlocking the potential of indoor plants

    Our research suggests indoor plants can enrich our lives in ways we are only beginning to understand.

    It’s important to note that data for our study were collected in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This context may have influenced our results. For example, some participants may have felt particularly connected to their indoor plants because their access to outdoor green space was curtailed. So, further research is needed in the post-pandemic context.

    Human–nature relationships are an emerging field of research. By understanding the relationship between people and plants, we may help unlock the potential for nature to improve our health and wellbeing.

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

    – ref. ‘They are like my children’: research reveals 4 types of indoor plant owners. Which one are you? – https://theconversation.com/they-are-like-my-children-research-reveals-4-types-of-indoor-plant-owners-which-one-are-you-252387

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Kelly Request Answers from HHS Secretary Regarding Shutdown of Vital Maternal Health Data System

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) led colleagues in writing a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. regarding the suspension of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), leaving states, researchers, and health care providers without access to this vital data. 
    Last month, Senator Booker and Representative Kelly led colleagues in writing a letter to CDC Acting Director Susan Monarez regarding reports that suggested the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) had stopped operations. The CDC has not responded to the concerns outlined in the March 12, 2025 letter.
    “Since our initial correspondence on March 12, 2025, additional troubling developments have come to light that deepen our concerns. According to an April 1, 2025, STAT News report, the CDC has laid off all of its PRAMS staff. The loss of staff and data collection functions is a tremendous setback that will severely undermine our work on understanding and improving maternal health outcomes,” the lawmakers wrote. 
    The lawmakers requested answers to the following questions, and a response to their questions from their original correspondence last month:  
    What was the rationale behind the decision to terminate CDC personnel working on PRAMS?
    Were these terminations part of a broader restructuring effort, and if so, does the CDC intend to preserve its maternal health surveillance capacity amid these changes?
    Were state or local public health agencies given advance notice about the PRAMS staff layoffs?
    Is PRAMS currently collecting data? If so, what department is responsible for that collection? If not, when will it resume?
    Is there a staffing or funding plan in development to ensure PRAMS can resume and continue operations?
    How has funding to state, territorial or local health departments to support PRAMS been affected?
    “We have an ongoing maternal health crisis marked by rising mortality rates and barriers to access to quality care. As we stated in our previous letter, the absence of PRAMS jeopardizes the nation’s ability to monitor maternal and infant health trends and inform both broad programs and policies to improve maternal and child health. PRAMS was developed in 1987 and for the last 38 years the program has been the sole source of standardized, population-based data on maternal experiences before, during, and after pregnancy. Therefore, we urge the CDC to ensure the continuity of PRAMS in full immediately. This includes restoring its staffing capacity, resuming data collection and analysis, and reestablishing partnerships with state, territorial and local health departments,” the lawmakers concluded.
    The letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Yvette Clark (D-NY-09), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04), Diane Degette (D-CO-01), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-07), LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10), Kelly Morrison (D-MN-03), and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL).
    To read the full text of the letter, click here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lt. Governor Primavera Celebrates Military-Connected Students During Month of the Military Child

    Source: US State of Colorado

    AURORA — Today, Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera visited first-grade students at Edna and John W. Mosley P-8 in Aurora to celebrate the Month of the Military Child, a national recognition for the selfless service and sacrifices of military-connected children.

    Lt. Governor Primavera was joined by Chief Master Sergeant Lisa Perry, Senior Enlisted Leader of the Colorado National Guard, Senior Master Sergeant Kristina Davis, Christine Kaleikini, Director of 460th Force Support Squadron, and Stephanie Iverson, School Liaison Officer for Buckley Space Force Base.

    “Colorado is committed to being the best home for our military communities,” said Lt. Governor Primavera. “We honor the selfless service and sacrifice of our military-connected students. They carry strength beyond their years, which helps ensure their parents can fulfill the mission. It was important to me to show up for them, just like their families show up for our country.”

    Month of the Military Child is an opportunity for communities to show support for students whose parents or caregivers serve in the United States Armed Forces. Edna and John W. Mosley P-8 is home to a significant number of students from military families, and the Lt. Governor’s visit served as a heartfelt gesture of appreciation and encouragement.

    The visit reflects the Polis-Primavera administration’s continued support of Colorado’s military community, including efforts to improve access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunity. Colorado is proud of the role we play in ensuring our national security and military readiness.

    Earlier this month, Governor Polis and Commissioner of Education Susana Córdova awarded the state’s first-ever Purple Star School designation to 27 schools, including Edna and John W. Mosley P-8, from eight school districts and the Charter School Institute. The Purple Star School designation recognizes school communities for supporting military-connected students and their families. These awards are the result of House Bill 24-1076, signed into law by Governor Polis and sponsored by Reps. Bob Marshall (D-Douglas County) and Mike Weissman (D-Adams/Arapahoe) and Sens. Rhonda Fields (D-Adams/Arapahoe) and Bob Gardner (R-El Paso/Teller).

    ###
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Private Investigator Sentenced to Prison for Interstate Stalking and Harassment of Chinese Nationals on Behalf of the People’s Republic of China

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Michael McMahon, a Retired New York City Police Department (NYPD) Sergeant, and Two Co-Conspirators Were First Defendants Convicted After a U.S. Trial in Connection with Repatriation Program ‘Operation Fox Hunt’

    Today, in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Michael McMahon, 57, of Mahwah, New Jersey, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay an $11,000 fine for acting as an illegal agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit the same, for his participation in a scheme to coerce repatriation of a U.S. resident to the PRC as part of its international repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.” McMahon and co-defendants Zhu Yong, 68, of East Elmhurst, New York, and Congying Zheng, 29, of Brooklyn, were convicted by a federal jury in June 2023 following a three-week trial. In January 2025, Zhu and Zheng were sentenced respectively to 24 months and 16 months in prison.

    As proven at trial, between approximately 2016 and 2019, the defendants and their co-conspirators participated in an international campaign to threaten, harass, surveil, and intimidate John Doe #1 and his family in order to force him and his wife, Jane Doe #1, to return to the PRC to face purported corruption charges. Beginning in 2012, John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1 had been targeted for repatriation as part of the PRC’s transnational repression programs known as “Operation Fox Hunt” and “Operation Sky Net.” John Doe #1 and his family had accordingly sought to keep their address out of public records.

    Zhu hired McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant working as a private investigator, to locate John Doe #1. McMahon obtained sensitive information about John Doe #1, which he then reported back to Zhu and others, including a PRC police officer. McMahon also conducted surveillance outside the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s relative and provided Zhu and PRC officials with detailed reports of what he observed. The operation was supervised and directed by several PRC officials, including a PRC police officer and a PRC prosecutor.

    As McMahon knew, the operation was intended not only to locate John Doe #1, but to coerce him to return to the PRC by exerting pressure on his family members. In April 2017, PRC officials threatened to jail John Doe #1’s sister, who lived in the PRC, in order to coerce John Doe #1’s then-82-year-old father to travel from the PRC to their relative’s home in New Jersey. John Doe #1’s father, who had recently suffered a brain hemorrhage, was so frail that a doctor accompanied him for the trip. McMahon followed John Doe #1’s father from the relative’s New Jersey home, and, by doing so, was able to learn John Doe #1’s address. McMahon immediately provided this information to a PRC operative.

    On Sept. 4, 2018, Zheng and another co-conspirator drove to the New Jersey residence of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1 – at the address that McMahon had provided – where they pounded on the front door, attempted to enter the house, and then peered through the windows in the back of the home. They left a note on the front door informing John Doe #1 that his “wife and children will be okay” if John Doe #1 surrendered himself to face a ten-year prison term in the PRC.

    McMahon knew that the subjects of his investigation were wanted by the PRC government, a fact that he texted about with another investigator he contracted to help him. Following his arrest, McMahon acknowledged knowing that his employers wanted to get the victim back to China “so they could prosecute him.” After providing the victims’ address, McMahon told his surveillance partner that he was “waiting for a call” to find out what to do next. McMahon’s partner responded, “Yeah. From NJ State Police about an abduction,” to which McMahon responded “Lol.”  McMahon later suggested to a PRC co-conspirator that they “harass” John Doe #1 by “[p]ark[ing] outside his home and let[ting] him know we are there.” McMahon took other investigative steps designed to harass the victims, such as researching their daughter’s university residence and college major. McMahon was paid more than $19,000 in total for his role in the illegal repatriation scheme. In an apparent attempt to conceal the source, McMahon deposited payments from his PRC clients into his son’s bank account, the only time he had done so with client payments.

    Previously, three co-defendants pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the PRC-directed harassment and intimidation campaign. They are awaiting sentencing.

    Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney John J. Durham for the Eastern District of New York, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

    The FBI New York Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith A. Arfa and Irisa Chen for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christine A. Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Paralegal Specialist Rebecca Roth for the Eastern District of New York provided valuable assistance.

    The FBI has created a website for victims to report efforts by foreign governments to stalk, intimidate, or assault people in the United States. If you believe that you are or have been a victim of transnational repression, please visit the FBI’s website.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Former FAA Contractor Pleads Guilty to Illegally Acting as an Agent of the Iranian Government

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor Abouzar Rahmati, 42, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of Great Falls, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to act and acting as an agent of the Iranian government in the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General.

    According to court documents, from at least December 2017 through June 2024, Rahmati worked with Iranian government officials and intelligence operatives to act on their behalf in the United States, including by meeting with Iranian intelligence officers in Iran, communicating with Iranian intelligence officers and government officials using a cover story to hide his conduct, obtaining employment with an FAA contractor with access to sensitive non-public information about the U.S. aviation sector, and obtaining open-source and non-public materials about the U.S. solar energy industry and providing it to Iranian intelligence officers.

    In August 2017, Rahmati offered his services to the Iranian government through a senior Iranian government official who previously worked in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and with whom Rahmati had previously attended university. Four months later, in December 2017, Rahmati traveled to Iran, where he met with Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials and agreed to obtain information about the U.S. solar energy industry, to provide that information to Iranian officials, and to conduct future communications under a cover story based on purported discussions about research with fellow academics.

    Upon returning to the United States in early 2018, Rahmati obtained various private and open-source materials related to the U.S. solar energy industry and provided them to an official from the office of Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology in response to tasking from Iranian government officials.

    In response to tasking from Iranian officials, and in furtherance of his role as an agent of the Government of Iran, Rahmati exploited his employment as an FAA contractor, working for U.S. COMPANY 1, by downloading at least 172 GB of U.S. COMPANY 1 files, which included sensitive access-controlled FAA documents related to the National Aerospace System (NAS), NAS Airport Surveillance Radar systems, and radio frequency data. Rahmati stored those files on removable media, which he took to Iran, where he provided sensitive documents to the Government of Iran in April 2022.

    Also in April 2022, in response to tasking from Iranian government officials, Rahmati sent additional information relating to solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, U.S. airports, and U.S. air traffic control towers to his brother, who lived in Iran, so that he would provide those files to Iranian intelligence on Rahmati’s behalf.

    Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 26. Rahmati faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General, and up to five years in prison for conspiracy. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

    The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating the case, with significant assistance from the FAA’s Office of Counterintelligence and Technical Operations.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Kimberly Paschall for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Beau Barnes and Alexander Wharton of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: State Privacy Regulators Assemble: Attorney General Bonta Announces Bipartisan Consortium of Privacy Regulators

    Source: US State of California

    Continues commitment to protecting Californians’ privacy rights 

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced an agreement of formal collaboration between six states and the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) to promote collaboration and information sharing in the bipartisan effort to safeguard the privacy rights of consumers. Known as the Consortium of Privacy Regulators, the group regularly discusses developments in privacy law, shared priorities, and coordinates enforcement, as appropriate, based on the members’ common interest. In forming the Consortium of Privacy Regulators, Attorney General Bonta joins the CPPA and the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, and Oregon.

    “Data knows no borders — state and nationwide coordination is vital for protecting consumers’ rights, especially in our data-driven world,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Collaborating with partners across the country provides another tool in the toolbox for my office to tackle enforcement priorities and continue safeguarding the privacy rights of Californians.”

    Privacy matters because when information or data falls into the wrong hands, it can harm people, businesses, and organizations, often financially. The risk of harm continues to grow as more consumers conduct essential tasks online, like banking, shopping, or managing medical care. Businesses that collect this personal information also create the risk of data breaches when they fail to safeguard it. Lapses in upholding privacy laws can threaten to disclose information like our financial condition, health status, and sensitive aspects of our personal lives. Anyone can become vulnerable.  

    California’s Landmark Privacy Law: The CCPA

    The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) secures increased privacy rights for California consumers, such as the right to know how businesses collect, share, and disclose their personal information. Businesses that are subject to the CCPA have specific responsibilities, including responding to consumer requests to exercise these rights and giving consumers certain notices explaining their privacy practices. Under the CCPA’s right to opt-out, businesses that sell personal data or share personal information for targeted advertising must permit consumers the right to opt-out. Exercising this right should be easy and involve minimal steps.

    Our Recent Work to Protect Californians’ Privacy 

    Attorney General Bonta is committed to educating California consumers about their right to privacy and enforcing the nation’s toughest data privacy law.  

    Last month, Attorney General Bonta issued a consumer alert to customers of 23andMe, reminding Californians of their right to direct the deletion of their genetic data under the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) and the CCPA. Also last month, Attorney General Bonta announced an ongoing investigative sweep into the location data industry, which collect and share detailed data on consumers’ location. The risk posed by the widespread collection and sale of location data has become particularly relevant given federal threats to California’s immigrant communities, and to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare. In January, Attorney General Bonta reminded Californians of their right to stop or “opt-out” of the sale and sharing of their personal information under the CCPA.

    Attorney General Bonta has filed three enforcement actions involving alleged violations of the CCPA: 

    • In 2022, he announced a settlement with Sephora resolving allegations that it failed to disclose to consumers that it was selling their personal information and failed to process opt-out requests via user-enabled global privacy controls in violation of the CCPA.
    • In 2023, he secured a settlement with DoorDash after it sold the personal information of its customers without providing notice or the opportunity to opt-out.
    • In 2024, he worked with local partners to secure a settlement with video game developer Tilting Point Media for violating state and federal privacy laws by illegally collecting and sharing children’s data.   

    For more information about the CCPA, visit www.oag.ca.gov/ccpa. To report a violation of the CCPA to the Attorney General, consumers can submit a complaint online at www.oag.ca.gov/report.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former FAA Contractor Pleads Guilty to Illegally Acting as an Agent of the Iranian Government

    Source: United States Attorneys General 4

    Former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor Abouzar Rahmati, 42, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of Great Falls, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to act and acting as an agent of the Iranian government in the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General.

    According to court documents, from at least December 2017 through June 2024, Rahmati worked with Iranian government officials and intelligence operatives to act on their behalf in the United States, including by meeting with Iranian intelligence officers in Iran, communicating with Iranian intelligence officers and government officials using a cover story to hide his conduct, obtaining employment with an FAA contractor with access to sensitive non-public information about the U.S. aviation sector, and obtaining open-source and non-public materials about the U.S. solar energy industry and providing it to Iranian intelligence officers.

    In August 2017, Rahmati offered his services to the Iranian government through a senior Iranian government official who previously worked in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and with whom Rahmati had previously attended university. Four months later, in December 2017, Rahmati traveled to Iran, where he met with Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials and agreed to obtain information about the U.S. solar energy industry, to provide that information to Iranian officials, and to conduct future communications under a cover story based on purported discussions about research with fellow academics.

    Upon returning to the United States in early 2018, Rahmati obtained various private and open-source materials related to the U.S. solar energy industry and provided them to an official from the office of Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology in response to tasking from Iranian government officials.

    In response to tasking from Iranian officials, and in furtherance of his role as an agent of the Government of Iran, Rahmati exploited his employment as an FAA contractor, working for U.S. COMPANY 1, by downloading at least 172 GB of U.S. COMPANY 1 files, which included sensitive access-controlled FAA documents related to the National Aerospace System (NAS), NAS Airport Surveillance Radar systems, and radio frequency data. Rahmati stored those files on removable media, which he took to Iran, where he provided sensitive documents to the Government of Iran in April 2022.

    Also in April 2022, in response to tasking from Iranian government officials, Rahmati sent additional information relating to solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, U.S. airports, and U.S. air traffic control towers to his brother, who lived in Iran, so that he would provide those files to Iranian intelligence on Rahmati’s behalf.

    Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 26. Rahmati faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General, and up to five years in prison for conspiracy. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

    The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating the case, with significant assistance from the FAA’s Office of Counterintelligence and Technical Operations.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Kimberly Paschall for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Beau Barnes and Alexander Wharton of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison on Methamphetamine Distribution Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. on Wednesday sentenced a man who was caught in a stolen car with methamphetamine and marijuana to 87 months in prison.

    On August 17, 2024, Darryl Duane Jackson, now 23, of Cairo, Illinois, was stopped by a Charleston Police Department officer on Interstate 57 in Mississippi County, Missouri. The vehicle’s license plate matched that of a stolen vehicle. Jackson, the driver and sole occupant, had $1,670 in cash. He also had 78 grams of marijuana and 752 grams of meth, or more than 1.6 pounds, in a backpack.

    Jackson pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in January to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. This is his third felony conviction involving drug sale offenses.

    The Charleston Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Satellogic Announces Closing of $20 Million Registered Direct Offering of Class A Common Stock

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Satellogic Inc. (NASDAQ: SATL), a leader in high-resolution Earth observation data, announced today that it has closed the purchase and sale of 6,451,612 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock at a purchase price of $3.10 in a registered direct offering pursuant to a definitive share purchase agreement entered into with a certain institutional investor on April 15, 2025.

    Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

    The gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately $20 million, before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes.

    “This offering, coupled with our recently announced $30 million low latency, near-daily AI-first constellation contract, and our strategic realignment as a U.S. company, positions Satellogic to focus on significant growth opportunities, underscoring the value of our data insights and technology,” said Emiliano Kargieman, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

    Rick Dunn, Chief Financial Officer, added, “the additional $20 million bolsters our liquidity, allowing our team to fully focus on the operational execution of our strategy and high growth initiatives that will drive real outcomes for our customers.”

    The shares of Class A Common Stock issued in the offering were offered by the Company pursuant to a “shelf” registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-283719) previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and declared effective by the SEC on March 31, 2025. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement, relating to the offering that was filed with the SEC on April 15, 2025. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022, or by email at prospectus@cantor.com.

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy Class A Common Stock, nor shall there be any sale of Class A Common Stock in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

    About Satellogic

    Founded in 2010 by Emiliano Kargieman and Gerardo Richarte, Satellogic (NASDAQ: SATL) is the first vertically integrated geospatial company, driving real outcomes with planetary-scale insights. Satellogic is creating and continuously enhancing the first scalable, fully automated EO platform with the ability to remap the entire planet at both high-frequency and high-resolution, providing accessible and affordable solutions for customers.

    Satellogic’s mission is to democratize access to geospatial data through its information platform of high-resolution images to help solve the world’s most pressing problems including climate change, energy supply, and food security. Using its patented Earth imaging technology, Satellogic unlocks the power of EO to deliver high-quality, planetary insights at the lowest cost in the industry.

    With more than a decade of experience in space, Satellogic has proven technology and a strong track record of delivering satellites to orbit and high-resolution data to customers at the right price point.

    To learn more, please visit: http://www.satellogic.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intends”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “possible”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”, “should”, “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on Satellogic’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on Satellogic and include statements concerning Satellogic’s registered direct offering. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve, and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Satellogic. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) our ability to generate revenue as expected, (ii) our ability to effectively market and sell our EO services and to convert contracted revenues and our pipeline of potential contracts into actual revenues, (iii) risks related to the secured convertible notes, (iv) the potential loss of one or more of our largest customers, (v) the considerable time and expense related to our sales efforts and the length and unpredictability of our sales cycle, (vi) risks and uncertainties associated with defense-related contracts, (vii) risk related to our pricing structure, (viii) our ability to scale production of our satellites as planned, (ix) unforeseen risks, challenges and uncertainties related to our expansion into new business lines, (x) our dependence on third parties to transport and launch our satellites into space, (xi) our reliance on third-party vendors and manufacturers to build and provide certain satellite components, products, or services, (xii) our dependence on ground station and cloud-based computing infrastructure operated by third parties for value-added services, and any errors, disruption, performance problems, or failure in their or our operational infrastructure, (xiii) risk related to certain minimum service requirements in our customer contracts, (xiv) market acceptance of our EO services and our dependence upon our ability to keep pace with the latest technological advances, (xv) competition for EO services, (xvi) challenges with international operations or unexpected changes to the regulatory environment in certain markets, (xvii) unknown defects or errors in our products, (xviii) risk related to the capital-intensive nature of our business and our ability to raise adequate capital to finance our business strategies, (xix) substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, (xx) uncertainties beyond our control related to the production, launch, commissioning, and/or operation of our satellites and related ground systems, software and analytic technologies, (xxi) the failure of the market for EO services to achieve the growth potential we expect, (xxii) risks related to our satellites and related equipment becoming impaired, (xxiii) risks related to the failure of our satellites to operate as intended, (xxiv) production and launch delays, launch failures, and damage or destruction to our satellites during launch and (xxv) the impact of natural disasters, unusual or prolonged unfavorable weather conditions, epidemic outbreaks, terrorist acts and geopolitical events (including the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, in the Gaza Strip and the Red Sea region) on our business and satellite launch schedules. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of Satellogic’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed or to be filed by Satellogic from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Satellogic assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Satellogic can give no assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

    Media Contacts

    Satellogic, Inc.
    Ryan Driver, VP of Strategy & Corporate Development
    pr@satellogic.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Cracking regional tourism spending tipped for extended Easter and ANZAC Day holiday

    Source: Premier of Victoria

    • More than $750 million spending boost to regional towns expected
    • Local accommodation, hospitality and bakeries the big winners
    • Service station spending set to soar as Aussies opt for road trips to regional locations

    Regional towns across the country are expecting a bumper spending period this Easter as travellers flock to the regions to enjoy an extra-long holiday period.

    New NAB data reveals more than $750 million is expected to be spent on regional tourism, including accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions over the Easter period.

    More than $450 million is expected to be spent at regional service stations as Australians pack up the car and nearly $200 million will be spent at regional restaurants, bars and pubs.

    Whether it’s for a pitstop on the way through, or a pie and sausage roll for lunch, bakeries will also benefit from the influx of holidaymakers, expecting an $18m uptick and spending about 11% higher than normal.

    Aussies stocking up on last minute chocolate eggs will see regional confectionary stores benefit from more than $1.6m in spending.

    NAB Retail Customer Executive Larna Manson said many Aussies planned ahead this year and were enjoying a 10-day break by taking just three days off between the Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays.

    “We expect regional towns to be big winners out of this extra-long Easter break, with many accommodation providers, cafes and restaurants booked out ahead of time by travellers,” Ms Manson said.

    “With cost of living still at the forefront of many people’s minds, road trips across Australia are proving to be a more cost-effective way families can enjoy some time away and make new memories without the price tag of an overseas trip.”

    Tim Bone, owner of BIG4 Holiday Parks Bellarine and Anglesea, said the extra-long break coming off the back of school holidays was a welcome addition for the tourism industry.

    “We’re booked out for three weeks straight in April which is great,” Mr Bone said. “It’s definitely helped having school holidays combined with the Easter and ANZAC day periods together this year.

    “It’s been a slower start to the year for bookings, but this is a welcome boost for us and small businesses across the region.”

    Notes to the Editor: 
    Predictions made from NAB transaction data pulled during the 2024 Easter period.

    Topics

    SEE ALL TOPICS

    Media Enquiries

    For all media enquiries, please contact the NAB Media Line on 03 7035 5015

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud Medicare of $3.3 Million

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

    CONCORD – A Florida woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Concord in connection with her role in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare of $3.3 million, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.

    Yolanda Dupont, 38, of New Port Richey, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro scheduled sentencing for July 22, 2025.

    According to court documents, Dupont and her co-conspirators owned and operated Allstar Medical Supply Corp., a purported durable medical equipment business in New Hampshire selling orthotic braces.  As part of the conspiracy, Dupont served as the nominee owner of the business to conceal the identities of the true owners. Dupont certified that neither she nor Allstar would not submit false claims to Medicare. However, during the conspiracy, Dupont and her co-conspirators submitted, or caused the submission of, approximately $3.3 million in false and fraudulent claims for orthotic braces to Medicare. Medicare paid at least $1.6 million to Dupont and her co-conspirators for these claims.  Ultimately, Medicare beneficiaries received orthotic braces that were medically unnecessary, ineligible for reimbursement, and often not wanted or needed.

    The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General led the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Ward is prosecuting the case.

    ###

     

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Illegal Aliens and a Laredoan Charged with Various Firearms Offenses

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    LAREDO, Texas – Three men are in custody on charges related to the discovery of various weapons and ammunition at a Laredo residence linked to another crime, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.  

    Erick Lopez-Rivera Sr., 37, and Marcos Lora-Morales, 24, both illegal aliens unlawfully residing in Laredo, and Erick Lopez Jr., 18, Laredo, are expected to make their appearances before a U.S. magistrate judge in the near future.

    The investigation began March 21 when law enforcement discovered the location of a firearm allegedly used in a crime, according to the charges. During execution of search warrant at the residence, authorities allegedly discovered two machine gun conversion devices (MCDs) and a backpack that contained magazines and ammunition that Lopez had been storing.

    MCDs convert semi-automatic handguns into fully automatic weapons.

    According to the complaint, authorities also located .38 special and .22LR ammunition linked to Lopez-Rivera Sr.

    Upon further investigation, they allegedly found a grey backpack containing a 9mm S&W handgun Lora-Morales had purchased and a Mexican passport that belonged to him in a detached structure on the property. According to the complaint, Lora-Morales had overstayed his visa and was unlawfully present in the United States.

    Lopez-Rivera Jr. is charged with possession of a machine gun, while Lopez-Rivera Sr. and Lora-Morales are facing charges of alien in possession of ammunition and alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition, respectively. Lopez-Rivera Sr. is also charged with felony reentry of an alien.

    Possession of a machine gun carries a possible 10-year prison sentence, while alien in possession of ammunition and alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition have maximum penalties of 15 years. Illegal reentry after removal has a maximum 20-year-term of imprisonment. All three men could also be ordered to pay up to $250,000 in fines, upon each count of conviction.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, FBI and Laredo Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew P. Hakala-Finch is prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Expand Energy Provides 2025 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call Information

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    OKLAHOMA CITY, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE) announced today that it will release its 2025 first quarter operational and financial results after market close on April 29, 2025. A conference call to discuss the results has been scheduled for April 30, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. EST. Participants can view the live webcast here. Participants who would like to ask a question, can register here, and will receive the dial-in info and a unique PIN to join the call. Links to the conference call will be provided on Expand Energy’s website. A replay will be available on the website following the call.

    About Expand Energy
    Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE) is the largest natural gas producer in the United States, powered by dedicated and innovative employees focused on disrupting the industry’s traditional cost and market delivery model to responsibly develop assets in the nation’s most prolific natural gas basins. Expand Energy’s returns-driven strategy strives to create sustainable value for its stakeholders by leveraging its scale, financial strength and operational execution. Expand Energy is committed to expanding America’s energy reach to fuel a more affordable, reliable, lower carbon future.

    INVESTOR CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT:
    Chris Ayres
    (405) 935-8870
    ir@expandenergy.com    		 Brooke Coe
    (405) 935-8878
    media@expandenergy.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: New Aussie film The Correspondent is an extraordinary retelling of Peter Greste’s story

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Jean Baker, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Monash University

    Maslow Entertainment

    The Correspondent is a film every journalist should see.

    There are no spoiler alerts. It is based on the globally-publicised jailing in Cairo in 2013 of Australian journalist Peter Greste (played by Richard Roxburgh) and his Al Jazeera English colleagues, Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy (Julian Maroun) and local reporter Baher Mohamed (Rahel Romahn).

    The trio were jailed for over 400 days. They were accused of allegedly working without media accreditation, spreading fake news in the aftermath of the Arab Spring and associating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

    Skilfully directed by Kriv Stenders, The Correspondent follows Greste’s 2017 memoir. Roxburgh’s performance as the embattled journalist is breathtaking and career defining. With a tight screenplay by Peter Duncan, the film is a masterclass in political subtlety.

    Authenticity in truth telling

    At its world premiere at Adelaide Film Festival in October, Greste said The Correspondent “paid huge respect” to his memoir.

    The film begins with Greste’s surprise arrest in 2013 by Egyptian authorities at the Marriott hotel in Cairo. This is juxtaposed with historical snippets of the Arab Spring uprising in Tahrir Square in January 2011, which ended the 30-year dictatorship of President Hosni Mubarak.

    The next president after Mubarak was Mohamed Morsi, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party. This party was affiliated with the Brotherhood, the country’s oldest and largest Islamist organisation.

    In June 2013, a militarised coup d’état in Egypt was led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime. Morsi was jailed by the freshly minted President al-Sisi. By December, the Brotherhood was blacklisted and declared a terrorist organisation.

    The Correspondent argues the Al Jazeera English journalists were political pawns for the new Egyptian regime. The regime had a problematic relationship with its wealthy neighbour, Qatar, a country that partially funds Al Jazeera and publicly supported the Muslim Brotherhood.

    Working from a media bunker in the Marriott because their offices were subject to a series of raids and closed down by local police, the trio were accused of illegally mastering a grand conspiracy against al-Sisi’s authoritarian regime.

    Struggle for justice and risky business

    Set between the grimy underworld of the Egyptian jail and the endless circus of Egyptian court trials, The Correspondent is a look into the psychological torment of Greste and his colleagues.

    Between card playing, sarcastic humour and planned hunger strikes, the ritual reality of cell life sets in. Friendships are tested and forged between the journalists, student activist detainees and prison authorities.

    Greste spent decades writing headlines from conflict zones before becoming a headline himself.

    A repetitive motif in The Correspondent is Greste’s flashbacks to his BBC
    days during 2005 in Mogadishu, Somalia, where his producer Kate Peyton (Yael Stone) was killed outside the Sahafi Hotel. In these flashbacks, we are privy to Greste’s guilt-driven internal monologues.

    Roxburgh’s performance as the embattled journalist is breathtaking and career defining.
    Maslow Entertainment

    In three studies, I examined the reportage by the ABC, the BBC and the Al Jazeera network about Greste’s case. Across these publications, the safety of journalists received minimal coverage.

    Coverage focused on the innocence of the trio, impact of Greste’s sentencing on his ageing parents and press freedom. All these facets of the story are reflected in The Correspondent.

    Safety of journalists

    The Correspondent is a wake-up call about the safety of journalists.

    This month, the International Federation of Journalists said at least 156 journalists and media workers have been killed in the current war in Palestine. In December, the Committee to Protect Journalists put the number at more than 137, “making it the deadliest period for journalists since [the committee] began gathering data in 1992”.

    Imprisonment of a Western foreign correspondent often generates international headlines, but most journalists who are imprisoned are local journalists. Foreign correspondents rely on these local journalists, wrote Greste, “when they land in a new, dangerous environment”.

    In focusing tightly on Greste, the film omits the story of the local journalists imprisoned at the same time.
    Maslow Entertainment

    Local journalists hold power to account, as Greste describes it in “ways far more dangerous than any of us in more secure environments could possibly imagine”.

    In focusing tightly on Greste’s story, The Correspondent fails to shine a light on the dozens of local journalists imprisoned at the same time.

    As Greste said during the #FreeAJStaff campaign:

    Rarely have so many of us been imprisoned and beaten up, intimidated or murdered in the course of our duties.

    The Correspondent is an extraordinary film about human resilience and the importance of global diplomacy in the ongoing fight for press freedom.

    The Correspondent is in cinemas from today.

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

    – ref. New Aussie film The Correspondent is an extraordinary retelling of Peter Greste’s story – https://theconversation.com/new-aussie-film-the-correspondent-is-an-extraordinary-retelling-of-peter-grestes-story-237476

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: People are ‘microdosing’ weight-loss drugs. A GP explains what to watch out for

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Yates, General Practitioner, PhD Candidate, Bond University

    MillaF/Shutterstock

    Injectable medications originally developed for the treatment of diabetes are also effective for weight loss, and have surged in popularity for this purpose around the world.

    In Australia, Ozempic is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is approved for weight management. Both are formulations of the drug semaglutide, which mimics the action of the naturally occurring GLP-1 hormone on GLP-1 receptors in the gut and the brain, helping regulate appetite and making you feel fuller for longer.

    However these medications are expensive, and sometimes hard to get. They also come with side effects. For these reasons, people are taking to “microdosing” weight-loss drugs, or using less than the dose recommended by the manufacturer.

    But is this effective, and is it safe? As a GP, people are asking me these questions. Here’s what we know – and what we don’t know yet.

    Why are people microdosing weight-loss drugs?

    Microdosing usually refers to psychedelic medication, where people take a low dose of a psychedelic drug to enhance performance, or reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety.

    However, the term is increasingly being used to describe the use of weight-loss injectables at lower-than-recommended doses.

    Three common reasons come up when I ask patients why they microdose weight-loss drugs.

    Cost: injectables used for weight loss are not covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, so patients must pay for these out-of-pocket. Costs start from A$260 per month and increase from there.

    Availability: worldwide shortages of these injectable medications have led doctors and patients to seek alternative solutions.

    Side-effects: side-effects are common, and can include nausea, vomiting, bowel habit changes and reflux. Lower doses cause fewer side-effects, which is why the recommended dosing schedule starts low and gradually builds up.

    Weight-loss drugs can cause a range of gastrointestinal side-effects.
    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    How do people microdose weight-loss drugs?

    A standard dose of semaglutide is 2.4mg, but we start patients on much lower doses (0.25mg) and gradually build up to this by increasing the dose each month. This is because starting at the full dose invariably causes bad side-effects.

    Injectables come in an adjustable auto-injector pen which is twisted until the dose counter shows the prescribed dose in milligrams. There’s a click every time the dial is turned. Once the prescribed dose is showing, it’s injected under the skin.

    To microdose, patients simply turn the dial fewer times than recommended for the full dose. They estimate a microdose by “counting clicks”, which means they’re turning it according to the clicks they hear rather than until they see the dial showing the correct dose has been reached.

    Weight-loss drugs come in an adjustable auto-injector pen.
    myskin/Shutterstock

    Alternatively, they may inject the full recommended dose but do so less often than once per week.

    Is it safe?

    Using injectables in this way has not been researched, so the safety has not been established. However, it’s unlikely lower doses would lead to higher safety concerns.

    In fact, logically, lower doses are likely to mean fewer side-effects.

    But these drugs do expire after a few weeks, and microdosing could increase the risk of inadvertently using them after their expiration date. Injecting out-of-date medication can be a significant health risk. For example, it could cause infection if bacteria has started to grow.

    The biggest concern around the safety of microdosing is if patients are doing it without the knowledge of their treating team (such as their GP, dietitian and pharmacist).

    Because there are no clear guidelines around microdosing, patients should only try it with caution and under medical care. Their team can assist with issues such as accounting for the limited shelf-life of the medication.

    Is it effective?

    As lower doses than recommended for weight loss have not been tested, we cannot answer this question yet. However, reduced side-effects at lower doses make it likely there are also reduced therapeutic effects.

    In my experience there’s a reason patients increase their doses as recommended: they simply don’t lose enough weight on the starting doses.

    It’s best to seek advice from your medical team before making any dose changes.
    AnnaStills/Shutterstock

    At the height of semaglutide shortages in 2023, experts from the American Diabetes Association published recommendations around how to prescribe lower doses for patients with diabetes. But these recommendations were for diabetes management, not for patients using the drug for weight loss.

    It’s also important to note that for patients using Wegovy to reduce heart attack and stroke risk – which Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration recently approved it for – there’s no evidence that cardiovascular benefits will be achieved at lower-than-recommended doses.

    Is there any role for microdosing weight-loss drugs?

    There may be a role for microdosing in a few scenarios:

    When side-effects are not manageable: when side-effects are intolerable for patients, even on the lowest introductory dose, there may be a role for individualised approaches. But this is best done with clear communication and regular monitoring, so patients are not under-treated.

    Supply disruption: if there’s a supply disruption, lowering the dose or lengthening the time between doses may be preferable to ceasing the medication altogether.

    Maintenance of weight loss: once therapeutic levels have helped patients achieve their goal weight, lowering the dose may be a helpful longer-term way of keeping them there. We know stopping these drugs altogether results in rebound weight gain. We await evidence for microdosing for weight maintenance.

    So what’s the take-home message?

    Patients who use injectables as part of their approach to weight loss should be under the care of an experienced team, including a GP, who can monitor their progress and ensure they achieve their weight loss in a safe and sustainable way.

    Microdosing weight-loss drugs currently has no clear evidence base, but if a person wants to attempt it, they should do so with the full knowledge of their treating team.

    Natasha Yates wishes to thank Dr Terri-Lynne South – a GP, dietician, and the chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ specific interest group in obesity management – for providing feedback and peer review on this article.

    Natasha Yates is affiliated with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

    – ref. People are ‘microdosing’ weight-loss drugs. A GP explains what to watch out for – https://theconversation.com/people-are-microdosing-weight-loss-drugs-a-gp-explains-what-to-watch-out-for-253955

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: State of the states: six experts on how the campaign is playing out around Australia

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney

    The federal election campaign has passed the halfway mark, with politicians zig-zagging across the country to spruik their policies and achievements.

    Where politicians choose to visit (and not visit) give us some insight into their electoral priorities and strategy.

    Here, six experts analyse how the campaign has looked so far in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

    New South Wales

    David Clune, honorary associate, government and international relations, University of Sydney

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s strategy in NSW seems to include a tacit concession Liberal heartland seats won by the Teals in 2022 are unlikely to come back.

    Instead, the Liberals are hoping to make inroads into Western Sydney electorates held by Labor. It’s a fast-growing, diverse area where families are struggling to pay the mortgage and household bills, and young people have difficulty renting or buying homes. Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have concentrated their campaigning in this area, both claiming to be the best choice for cost-of-living relief and housing affordability.

    Many of these seats are among Labor’s safest. Most would require a two-party preferred swing of 6% or more to be lost. Historically speaking, swings of this size are unlikely, although nevertheless possible.

    Labor is putting much effort into “sandbagging” marginal coastal seats. A major issue is Labor’s emphasis on renewables versus the Coalition’s policy of building nuclear power plants, including one in the Hunter Valley.

    Dutton’s messaging in the early part of the campaign was confusing, combining pragmatic politics, such as cutting the excise on petrol, with right-wing ideology, such as slashing the public service. The former resonated in the marginals, the latter did not. Albanese, by contrast, stayed on message, releasing a stream of expensive handouts to win the votes of battling Sydneysiders.

    A wildcard is the emergence of Muslim lobby groups, The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter. These were formed to support pro-Palestine candidates in safe Labor seats in Western Sydney where there is a large Muslim population, such as Blaxland and Watson.

    One factor that won’t be influential is the state government. Premier Chris Minns leads a Labor administration whose performance has generally been lacklustre, but which is not notably unpopular. Unlike in Victoria, NSW voters seem to have their baseball bats in the closet.

    The opinion polls continue to show the trend developing since February of a swing back to Labor in NSW, mirroring the national trend. According to an aggregate of polling data, as at April 15 the Labor two-party preferred vote in NSW was 51.9%, an increase of 1.7% since the March federal budget.

    Queensland

    Paul Williams, associate professor of politics and journalism, Griffith University

    The fact neither Albanese nor Dutton has spent a disproportionate amount of time campaigning in Queensland underscores the view the Sunshine State is not a pathway to The Lodge.

    But the fact both leaders have made several visits – Albanese campaigned here four times in 12 days – also indicates neither leader is taking any seat for granted.

    Indeed, Albanese has visited normally tough-to-win seats, such as Leichhardt in far north Queensland (held by the Coalition for 26 of the past 29 years), which reveals an emboldened Labor Party. With the retirement of popular Coalition MP Warren Entsch, and held by just 3.44%, Labor thinks Leichhardt is “winnable”, especially after reports the LNP candidate Jeremy Neal had posted questionable comments regarding China and Donald Trump on social media.

    If so – and given the growing lead Labor boasts in national polls – the LNP would be also at least a little concerned in Longman (3.1%), Bonner (3.4%), Flynn (3.8%), Forde (4.2%) and Petrie (4.4%).

    At least the opposition can placate itself with this week’s Resolve Strategic poll, which indicates it still leads Labor in Queensland by six points after preferences, 53% to 47%. That’s just a one-point swing to Labor since 2022. However, it would be concerned that the LNP’s lead has been slashed ten points from the previous YouGov poll.

    But most concerning must surely be a uComms poll in Dutton’s own seat of Dickson, held by a slender 1.7%, which forecast the opposition leader losing to high-profile Labor candidate Ali France, 51.7 to 48.3%. The entry of the Climate 200-backed independent candidate Ellie Smith appears to have disrupted preference flows.

    Labor’s own polling indicated a closer contest at 50% each, while the LNP’s polling indicates an easy win for Dutton, 57% to 43%, despite Labor spending A$130,000 on France’s campaign.

    An alleged terror plot against Dutton in Brisbane doesn’t appear to have shifted the dial. But voters’ potential to conflate Dutton with Trump may well have, especially given Trump’s tariffs now threaten Queensland beef producers’ $1.4 billion trade with the United States. In the closing weeks, watch as Dutton draws on the new and popular Premier David Crisafulli for electoral succour.

    South Australia

    Rob Manwaring, associate professor of politics and public policy, Flinders University

    Is there a federal election campaign taking place? In South Australia, there is a something of an elusive air about the current festival of democracy, with many voters disengaged. The lack of excitement reflects the fact that only two seats in the state are marginal: Sturt (0.5%) and Boothby (3.3%).

    The party campaigns have sparkled and flickered, but not really caught alight. The signature move was Albanese’s early announcement of the $150 million new healthcare centre at Flinders, in the seat of Boothby. For the ALP, this neatly coalesced around Labor’s campaign on Medicare.

    Federal Labor also sees its strongest asset in the state in Premier Peter Malinauskas, who was prominent during the recent AFL gather round – the round played entirely in Adelaide and its surrounds.

    In a welcome development for the state, Labor’s announcement Adelaide would be put forward to host the next Climate COP conference in 2026 was an interesting flashpoint. Locally, many businesses welcomed the announcement, as it potentially will generate significant footfall and economic activity.

    Yet, the Coalition quickly announced they would not support the bid, trying to shift the attention away from climate to cost-of-living issues.

    More generally, there is a perception the Coalition has been struggling to build campaign momentum. Notably, in a recent visit by members of the shadow cabinet, energies appear to be focused more on sandbagging the seat of Sturt than on winning Boothy, which Labor holds with a nominal 3.3%.

    Other factors also might explain a sense of indifference in South Australia. There have been key developments in state politics, for example, notably the ongoing criminal case against former Liberal leader David Speirs, and independent MP, and former Liberal, Nick McBride, who faces assault charges related to family and domestic violence (to which he’s yet to enter a plea).

    Tasmania

    Robert Hortle, deputy director of the Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania

    The Labor and Liberal campaign strategies started quite differently across Tasmania’s five electorates.

    Labor is desperate to defend Lyons and Franklin and hopeful of picking up Braddon (though perhaps overly ambitious, given the 8% margin).

    Its candidates have focused on promoting Labor’s big, national-level policies. In the first couple of weeks of the campaign, this meant pushing its flagship healthcare and childcare policies. Following the campaign launches on the weekend, housing is the new flavour.

    The Liberal Party – there is no Coalition in Tassie – is focused on winning super marginal Lyons (0.9%) and holding Braddon and Bass. In contrast to Labor, the Liberal campaign was initially defined by lots of community-level funding announcements and Tasmania-specific infrastructure support.

    Since the Coalition’s plan to halve the fuel excise was announced, the approach has changed somewhat. Tasmanian Liberal candidates are now swinging in behind this and other national policy pronouncements about – you guessed it – housing.

    Both major party candidates have been pretty quiet on the controversial issue of salmon farming. This is surprising given the national spotlight on Braddon’s Macquarie Harbour and the waterways of Franklin. The only exception is Braddon Labor candidate Anne Urquhart’s very vocal support for the salmon industry.

    For the Greens, the goal is to build on their 2022 vote share and turn one Senate seat into two, although this is a long shot. They have campaigned hard on issues – mainly salmon farming and native forest logging – where agreement between the Labor and Liberal parties has left space for a dissenting voice.

    Although the Greens’ chances of winning any of the lower house seats are slim, they will be hoping these issues help them make further inroads into the declining primary vote share of the major parties.

    Victoria

    Zareh Ghazarian, senior lecturer in politics, school of social sciences, Monash University

    Victoria has several seats that can potentially change hands at this election. As ABC election analyst Antony Green reminds us, the state is home to at least a dozen seats the major parties hold by a margin of 6% or less. Additionally, the independents in Kooyong and Goldstein are also on thin margins (2.2% and 3.3% respectively).

    Within this context, the campaign in Victoria has been marked by several visits by the major party leaders. The challenge, however, has been how they have worked with their state counterparts.

    State Liberal Leader Brad Battin has fallen short of explicitly supporting the Coalition’s focus on nuclear energy. Instead, he says he’s ready to have an “adult conversation” about the prospect. Coal currently provides more than 60% of electricity in Victoria.

    Dutton was, however, happy to campaign alongside Battin and also visited a petrol station with the state leader while in Melbourne.

    The Labor Party in Victoria, on the other hand, has been grappling with a drop in support in the polls, with Premier Jacinta Allan’s popularity falling. As a result, there’s been much speculation among political commentators about whether Albanese would want to be campaigning with a leader seemingly struggling to attract support.

    In one of the first visits to the state, Albanese did not campaign with Allan. This was even though he had been happy to be with the premiers of South Australia and Western Australia while campaigning there.

    According to Albanese, it was the fact that parliament was sitting that made it impossible for Allan to join him on the campaign trail. Both leaders were together at a subsequent visit, but this elicited questions about the impact of Allan’s leadership on Labor’s standing in Victoria.

    Western Australia

    Narelle Miragliotta, associate professor in politics, Murdoch University

    Reports the state’s 16 seats will decide which party grouping will form government has resulted in WA voters being treated to regular visits by the major party leaders, including Labor’s campaign launch.

    The campaign context in WA is shaped by its mining economy. Perth is the fastest growing capital in the country, which has led to strong growth in the median housing price and an expensive rental market.

    While the state’s economic prosperity is one of the drivers of cost-of-living pressures, some of this has been offset by relief measures from the state Labor government, relatively low unemployment and some of the highest average weekly incomes in the country.

    On top of this two potentially divisive issues – the nature positive laws and North West shelf gas expansion – have been defused by federal Labor. The party has backtracked in the case of the former. In the case of the latter, it has merely delayed (not without criticism, however) what is likely to be an eventual approval.

    Clearer differences have emerged on future of the WA live sheep trade. But while important to communities directly affected by the phasing out of the practice, the issue does not appear to be capturing the attention of most metropolitan voters.

    What might we expect? Labor’s two-party-preferred margin is comfortable in eight of the nine seats it holds. The five Liberal-held seats are on much slimmer margins. Polling suggests little improvement in their state-wide share of the two party preferred vote since 2022.

    To the extent the polls portend the outcome, the Liberals’ lack of electoral momentum in WA suggests it will be a struggle to regain the target seats of Curtin and Tangney. Only the outcome in WA’s newest seat, Bullwinkel, remains uncertain.

    Paul Williams is a research associate with the TJ Ryan Foundation.

    David Clune, Narelle Miragliotta, Rob Manwaring, Robert Hortle, and Zareh Ghazarian do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. State of the states: six experts on how the campaign is playing out around Australia – https://theconversation.com/state-of-the-states-six-experts-on-how-the-campaign-is-playing-out-around-australia-253124

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Cracks in social cohesion – the major parties must commit to reinvigorating multiculturalism

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Jakubowicz, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Technology Sydney

    In the run up to the May 3 election, questions are being raised about the value of multiculturalism as a public policy in Australia.

    They’ve been prompted by community tensions arising from the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the sharp increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes.

    Is the erosion of social cohesion a consequence of multiculturalism? Or is multiculturalism the most effective approach to minimising the fissures opening up in the Australian community?

    Can Australia still pride itself on being one of the world’s most successful multicultural societies? Or will reinvigorating Australian multiculturalism be one of the great policy challenges for the next government?

    Landmark review

    It could be argued the election of the Albanese government three years ago was only possible because new multicultural candidates unexpectedly won in marginal electorates.

    Yet, the 2022 campaign barely mentioned multicultural policies apart from Labor’s pledge for a Multicultural Framework Review. That pledge was announced the day before the election. It was the first detailed examination of the state of Australia’s multicultural society in 40 years.

    Its report last year recommended the existing structures for managing multiculturalism be replaced. A Multicultural Affairs Commission and a standalone Department of Multicultural Affairs should be established.

    The existing Australian Multicultural Council was criticised as having “limited influence under Home Affairs”. Its proposed replacement, a renamed Multicultural Community Advisory Council, would be better armed to provide strategic advice. It would also have legislated powers to implement institutional change.

    But the government ignored the recommendation. It has persisted with the current Council with a slightly revised membership. Labor hasn’t indicated how it plans to overcome the problem of the Council’s ineffectual influence on multicultural affairs.

    The review stressed the importance of bipartisanship and found discrimination and prejudice is “stubbornly common” in Australia.

    But bipartisanship has been hard to find. Shadow Citizenship Minister Dan Tehan complained the review failed to deal with antisemitism. Nor did it tackle the strains on social cohesion. He blamed this on pro-Palestine civic action, hate speech and intimidation.

    Shifting focus

    The review was rapidly overtaken by events, especially public tensions associated with the Israel/Gaza war and local outbreaks of vandalism. Many grassroots initiatives proposed by the review to promote multiculturalism have been supplanted by urgent action to repair community facilities and improve safety.

    Two government-appointed envoys against antisemitism and Islamophobia have been crossing the country talking to communities, and testing the capacity of institutions to support their aspirations.

    This hive of activity around social cohesion distracts from the limited action on multiculturalism and the persistence and pervasiveness of racism in Australia.

    Last month’s federal budget funded increased security and support for multicultural communities. But the government has failed to rework the institutional infrastructure needed to move forward on the deeper issues raised by the review.

    Multicultural battleground

    There are signs in the first weeks of the campaign that the parties are aware of the issues facing particular communities. However, multiculturalism may struggle to flourish, whoever wins the election.

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton launched a preemptive attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), by threatening to sack DEI positions in the Australian Public Service. And he nailed his colours to the mast by declaring he won’t stand in front of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags if he is elected prime minister.

    The Coalition may have painted itself into a tight corner after Liberal Senator Dave Sharma declared Islamophobia in Australia was “fictitious”. He contradicted the envoy on Islamophobia and potentially alienated hundreds of thousands of conservative Muslim voters.

    Nor has Labor been served well by its initial small target position on multiculturalism and its lethargic implementation of the framework review.

    It’s been wedged on the Middle East conflict: pilloried by the Coalition for its perceived weakness on antisemitism, and condemned by the Greens, who accuse it of a morally questionable position on Gaza and Palestinian issues.

    Labor also suffered a setback with Senator Fatima Payman’s desertion to the cross bench over its approach to the war in Gaza. This was shadowed by rising hostility from the “Arab street”, which could put some Western Sydney seats at risk.

    For its part, the coalition is targeting Teal seats with Jewish communities, while the contest to secure the Chinese-Australian vote could be critical in up to ten seats.

    Muliticultralism post election

    Multicultural policy cannot be allowed to drift, let alone be degraded. High levels of political alienation in many communities across the country suggest a much more fractured electorate.

    It is critical for Australians’ sense of community cohesion, inclusion and social justice that a more robust multicultural strategy be articulated by the major parties. A Multicultural Community Advisory Council with the heft to influence debate must be adopted, as should the recommendation for a legislated Australian Multicultural Commission.

    Silence on multicultural policy will not deliver these outcomes. At the moment the sound of that silence is deafening.

    This is the ninth article in our special series, Australia’s Policy Challenges. You can read the other articles here

    Andrew Jakubowicz was a consultant to the Multicultural Framework Review on research.

    – ref. Cracks in social cohesion – the major parties must commit to reinvigorating multiculturalism – https://theconversation.com/cracks-in-social-cohesion-the-major-parties-must-commit-to-reinvigorating-multiculturalism-250635

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Private Investigator Sentenced to Prison for Interstate Stalking and Harassment of Chinese Nationals on Behalf of the People’s Republic of China

    Source: United States Department of Justice

    Today, in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Michael McMahon, 57, of Mahwah, New Jersey, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay an $11,000 fine for acting as an illegal agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit the same, for his participation in a scheme to coerce repatriation of a U.S. resident to the PRC as part of its international repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.” McMahon and co-defendants Zhu Yong, 68, of East Elmhurst, New York, and Congying Zheng, 29, of Brooklyn, were convicted by a federal jury in June 2023 following a three-week trial. In January 2025, Zhu and Zheng were sentenced respectively to 24 months and 16 months in prison.

    As proven at trial, between approximately 2016 and 2019, the defendants and their co-conspirators participated in an international campaign to threaten, harass, surveil, and intimidate John Doe #1 and his family in order to force him and his wife, Jane Doe #1, to return to the PRC to face purported corruption charges. Beginning in 2012, John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1 had been targeted for repatriation as part of the PRC’s transnational repression programs known as “Operation Fox Hunt” and “Operation Sky Net.” John Doe #1 and his family had accordingly sought to keep their address out of public records.

    Zhu hired McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant working as a private investigator, to locate John Doe #1. McMahon obtained sensitive information about John Doe #1, which he then reported back to Zhu and others, including a PRC police officer. McMahon also conducted surveillance outside the New Jersey home of John Doe #1’s relative and provided Zhu and PRC officials with detailed reports of what he observed. The operation was supervised and directed by several PRC officials, including a PRC police officer and a PRC prosecutor.

    As McMahon knew, the operation was intended not only to locate John Doe #1, but to coerce him to return to the PRC by exerting pressure on his family members. In April 2017, PRC officials threatened to jail John Doe #1’s sister, who lived in the PRC, in order to coerce John Doe #1’s then-82-year-old father to travel from the PRC to their relative’s home in New Jersey. John Doe #1’s father, who had recently suffered a brain hemorrhage, was so frail that a doctor accompanied him for the trip. McMahon followed John Doe #1’s father from the relative’s New Jersey home, and, by doing so, was able to learn John Doe #1’s address. McMahon immediately provided this information to a PRC operative.

    On Sept. 4, 2018, Zheng and another co-conspirator drove to the New Jersey residence of John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1 – at the address that McMahon had provided – where they pounded on the front door, attempted to enter the house, and then peered through the windows in the back of the home. They left a note on the front door informing John Doe #1 that his “wife and children will be okay” if John Doe #1 surrendered himself to face a ten-year prison term in the PRC.

    McMahon knew that the subjects of his investigation were wanted by the PRC government, a fact that he texted about with another investigator he contracted to help him. Following his arrest, McMahon acknowledged knowing that his employers wanted to get the victim back to China “so they could prosecute him.” After providing the victims’ address, McMahon told his surveillance partner that he was “waiting for a call” to find out what to do next. McMahon’s partner responded, “Yeah. From NJ State Police about an abduction,” to which McMahon responded “Lol.”  McMahon later suggested to a PRC co-conspirator that they “harass” John Doe #1 by “[p]ark[ing] outside his home and let[ting] him know we are there.” McMahon took other investigative steps designed to harass the victims, such as researching their daughter’s university residence and college major. McMahon was paid more than $19,000 in total for his role in the illegal repatriation scheme. In an apparent attempt to conceal the source, McMahon deposited payments from his PRC clients into his son’s bank account, the only time he had done so with client payments.

    Previously, three co-defendants pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the PRC-directed harassment and intimidation campaign. They are awaiting sentencing.

    Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney John J. Durham for the Eastern District of New York, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

    The FBI New York Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith A. Arfa and Irisa Chen for the Eastern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Christine A. Bonomo and Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Paralegal Specialist Rebecca Roth for the Eastern District of New York provided valuable assistance.

    The FBI has created a website for victims to report efforts by foreign governments to stalk, intimidate, or assault people in the United States. If you believe that you are or have been a victim of transnational repression, please visit the FBI’s website.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Labor and Allies Launch “Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network” to Support Fired Federal Workers

    Source: US GOIAM Union

    The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) has announced the launch of the “Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network.” This collaborative initiative, developed in partnership with the AFL-CIO, We The Action, Democracy Forward, AFGE, ACS, NTEU, Partnership for Public Service, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and other organizations, aims to provide free and direct legal support to federal workers who have been unjustly terminated or mistreated during the Trump administration.

    In light of the significant challenges faced by many federal employees, the Rise Up network seeks to ensure that those who have been wrongfully terminated, as well as current workers concerned about their employment rights, have access to essential legal resources and support. 

    Workers can find the assistance they need by visiting workerslegaldefense.org 

    “It is critical that federal workers have access to legal recourse as the Trump administration threatens and unlawfully terminates hundreds of thousands of proud civil servants,” said NFFE-IAM National President Randy Erwin. “We are incredibly grateful for the attorneys and allies in our communities who stand with federal workers delivering essential services to the American people.” 

    The Rise Up initiative represents a strong commitment to protecting the rights of federal workers and ensuring that they receive the justice they deserve. By connecting them with legal resources, the network aims to help restore dignity and support to those who have dedicated their careers to public service.

    For more information on the Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network, please visit workerslegaldefense.org.

    Share and Follow:

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Gabe Vasquez Issues Statement on Vehicle Accident Near Santa Teresa, New Mexico

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) issued the following statement in response to reports that two service members were killed and one seriously injured in a vehicle accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. 

    “I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of two service members today near Santa Teresa. My thoughts are with their families, loved ones, and fellow service members during this difficult time. With the recent deployments to and the new mission at the Southern border, we must fully review the circumstances surrounding this incident. We owe it to them—and all who serve—to ensure their safety is never compromised.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Coons makes Christian case for foreign aid during Holy Week op-ed for the National Catholic Reporter

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons

    WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, published an op-ed in the National Catholic Reporter during Holy Week, discussing how the Trump Administration’s dismantling of U.S. foreign assistance directly contradicts Jesus’ teaching about loving our neighbors.

    During Holy Week, Senator Coons is reflecting on the sacrifice of Jesus, and how U.S. foreign policy measures up to His teachings. Key to this reflection is the Trump Administration’s continued effort to dismantle foreign aid programs, which for decades have prevented hunger, sickness, and suffering for millions around the world. He wrote that while Scripture doesn’t align with a political party, messages in both the Old and New Testament are rooted in service to the poor and marginalized.

    Since Trump took office, his Administration has canceled billions of dollars to United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the main U.S. humanitarian aid agency. Senator Coons highlighted that faith-based organizations like Catholic Relief Services, Samaritan’s Purse, and World Vision — all known for helping those in need in Jesus’ name — have been forced to lay off workers or shut down programs due to slashed funding, leaving millions without aid. 

    Senator Coons said that Easter offers us, and America, a chance for redemption and revival — a chance to urge the Trump Administration to feed the hungry, respond to disasters and help those in need, and to live up to the true meaning of loving our neighbors.

    National Catholic Reporter: Trump’s USAID cuts contradict Jesus’ call to love thy neighbor

    Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself — and His parables worked to dramatically redefine who is our neighbor. From the good Samaritan to the woman at the well, Christ’s parables over and over push believers to embrace the widest understanding of neighbor, to see all people as God’s children, even those of different nations, races, languages and faiths.

    This administration has missed that core message. Nowhere is this more glaring than its destruction of our nation’s global network of partnerships that deliver foreign aid. For just 1% of our total federal spending, we have for years fought disease, fed the hungry and improved the lives of millions around the world.

    …

    It’s a stark departure from the golden rule of my faith, and nearly every other one: that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Until this year, we sought to demonstrate by our actions that we were capable of kindness. Through that aid, we showed hundreds of millions of people across scores of countries that we are a nation who cared about others. What are we showing them now? How should we expect them to treat us in return? 

    We are days from Easter Sunday, and the Resurrection that brings redemption. It is never too late for redemption, whether for ourselves or our country. We can draw on our faith to restore America’s compassion, to call on the Trump administration to use a small fraction of our federal budget to feed the hungry, to care for the widow and the orphan, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. After all, whose golden rule would we rather our nation aspire to?

    The full op-ed is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SCHUMER: UNDER TRUMP AND GOP PLAN TO CRIPPLE MEDICAID, COUNTLESS WESTERN NY SENIORS COULD BE KICKED OUT OF NURSING HOMES, REHAB FACILITIES & LOSE HEALTHCARE; STANDING WITH BUFFALO SENIORS AND NURSES,…

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer

    JUST LAST WEEK Congressional Republicans Voted To Advance The Biggest Medicaid Cut In History — $880 BILLION — Which Could Force Nursing Homes Across Upstate NY To Close Or Lay Off Staff, As Well As Hospitals, Health Centers, Addiction Treatment Centers, Kicking Patients To The Curb

    Lancaster’s Greenfield Health & Rehab Center Is 50% Funded By Medicaid, Paying For Seniors’ Care; GOP’s Dangerous Medicaid Cuts Would Impact 370,000+ WNYers, Forcing Families To Pick Up The Whole Bill To Keep Loved Ones In Facilities

    Schumer: We Are In A Fight Of A Lifetime To Protect WNY Seniors & Their Families From Looming GOP Medicaid Cuts

    Just a week after Congressional Republicans voted to advance the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer stood with Western NY seniors and nurses at GreenField Health & Rehabilitation Center to call on Congressional Republicans to block Trump’s plan to decimate Medicaid. The Republican plan to cut $880 billion from Medicaid would hurt more than 370,000 Western New Yorkers and millions more across the nation, forcing families to choose between taking their loved ones out of their homes and covering all the costs to keep them in facilities.

    “Last week, House Republicans voted to advance the biggest Medicaid cut in history, putting places like GreenField that care for our seniors in danger. Buffalo’s nursing homes, addiction treatment centers, hospitals and more all depend on Medicaid to provide care. If these cuts go through, it would risk care for over 370,000 in Western NY,” said Senator Schumer. “This proposal to decimate Medicaid is not just heartless, it would mean Western NY’s seniors can’t get the care they need and might face the prospect of being kicked out of homes like this. It would be a gut punch to our hospitals like Erie County Medical Center, jeopardize funding to addiction treatment centers worsening the opioid crisis here in Western NY. We are in the fight of a lifetime to block the Republican plan to gut Medicaid by $880 BILLION. That’s why I’m demanding Congressional Republicans stand up and protect Western NY’s seniors and their families from this awful choice.”

    Schumer said Western New York’s seniors and their families will face the worst when Republicans cut Medicaid. Over 370,000 people in Western New York have Medicaid for their insurance, and many of them are seniors who could be discharged from local nursing homes, rehab facilities, and assisted living care if Congressional Republicans Medicaid. Schumer explained that once Medicaid is forced to stop paying for senior care in these facilities, and once the facilities exhaust every possible way to keep seniors in place, many families could face a grueling dilemma: pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to keep ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ in care, or move them back home.

    In Western New York’s 23rd congressional district, Medicaid is a lifeline, covering nearly 70% of nursing home residents, 38% of children, close to half of all births, and nearly one-third of ER visits, outpatient surgeries, and clinic care. At Lancaster’s GreenField Health and Rehabilitation Center –50% of funding comes from Medicaid to ensure seniors can live there with dignity – the proposed cuts would deal a serious financial blow, not only to GreenField, but also to its parent organization, Lineage, which operates multiple senior care and health services across the region. Erie County Medical Center relies on over $800 million in revenue from Medicaid every year, which is 48% of the funding for Western NY’s premier Level 1 trauma center. For Catholic Health, Medicaid covers over $200 million in healthcare for patients across its four nursing homes and six hospital campuses.  It would also risk some of the region’s most critical medical services, like addiction treatment which heavily relies on Medicaid, and experts say would be among the hardest hit under the GOP cuts worsening the opioid crisis.

    The Congressional Republican proposal to cut $880 billion from Medicaid would mean that the costs of care shifts to states, which would result in slashed services, benefits, eligibility, and reimbursement rates. These agonizing decisions would happen at the state and local level, with county executives and state legislators forced to decide where to make up for the huge budget hole caused by Republicans slashing federal funding for Medicaid. Counties could even be forced to shoulder the burden of increased costs in Medicaid, using more local dollars to provide coverage because less federal funding will be coming in. This means legislators and county executives will have to decide who loses their Medicaid, what services will no longer be covered, or how much doctors will be paid. The senator said while some Congressional Republicans claim that this plan won’t cut Medicaid, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found the GOP plan could not be reached without reducing the funding that goes to Medicaid. There is no way to protect Medicaid benefits if Republicans move ahead with these cuts.

    Schumer added, “Trump wants these cuts for one reason: to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. It’s not looking out for your parents or grandparents. They have tried to hide their Medicaid cuts, use smoke and mirrors and claim this isn’t a cut, but the math shows this would hurt our seniors and families Medicaid, and places like Western NY the most.”

    “New York State Nursing homes face a Medicaid deficit in funding of over $100 per day per resident. Nearly 70,000 nursing home beds in New York are at risk for closing under this growing funding deficit. Without proper reimbursement, the post acute system will crumble, and residents of our community not be able to get the care they need. Further cuts to the Medicaid system will put the entire health care system at risk. We need others at the Federal level to follow Senator Schumer’s lead in making sure these cuts are stopped,” said Dr. Christopher Koenig, President of Lineage Care Group.

    “This idea to cut Medicaid is a shame. It shows we don’t value our elders. We don’t value our caregivers. If we did, we wouldn’t be talking about cutting this massively important funding—we’d be fighting to strengthen it. Cutting long term care Medicaid is a moral failure, not just a policy debate. I thank Senator Schumer for being here today and going to bat for healthcare workers and seniors all across Western New York and New York State,” said Sheri Scavone, Board Member of Niagara Lutheran and family member of affected patient.

    “Medicaid is an essential part of the healthcare of millions of Americans and thousands of Erie County residents in nursing homes, rehab facilities and elsewhere, helping them to live dignified and meaningful lives. Under this cruel and heartless GOP plan, our loved ones who rely on Medicaid will be sacrificed, healthcare workers could lose their jobs, and healthcare facilities could close all so that billionaires can get more tax breaks,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “All Americans should be gravely concerned about this brazen theft, the biggest Medicaid cut in history, and all should stand and speak against it. An administration that robs from the poor to give to the rich, aided and abetted by a craven GOP majority that has abandoned American principles, is actively working to hurt Americans and we cannot just stand by and let it happen.”

    Schumer detailed the scope of Medicaid enrollment throughout the country and warned that Medicaid serves as a lifeline for millions of seniors. More than 7 million New Yorkers are enrolled in Medicaid, and it is the primary payer for long-term care in the United States, including at nursing homes and for people living at home. Medicaid pays for services for 2 in 3 nursing home residents. Additionally, close to 4.5 million people across the country rely on Medicaid for home- and community-based services. Families will have nowhere else to turn if Medicaid is cut, and millions of people will be left trying to figure out how to access the care and services they rely on everyday.

    Major reductions in Medicaid spending will have serious consequences for seniors and people with disabilities. Nearly 1 in 4 Medicaid enrollees are eligible for the program because they are ages 65 and older or have a disability. Proposals to limit federal spending on Medicaid will force states to consider dropping or limiting eligibility or coverage for seniors and people with disabilities to make up for a huge budget hole with fewer federal dollars coming to New York. Loss of Medicaid coverage poses unique challenges for seniors and people with disabilities, people who are likely to live on fixed incomes, have high health care spending, and rely on Medicaid for help with everyday life and for coverage of long-term care.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Putin and Sobyanin visited the new campus of Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin visited the new campus of the Moscow State Technical University (MSTU) named after N.E. Bauman. He familiarized himself with the research and development of teachers, students and postgraduates in the field of space exploration, as well as in other areas. The Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin reported to the head of state on the work of the Moscow Government to develop Russia’s leading engineering university.

    Vladimir Putin also held a meeting at the university on the development of space activities, which was attended by representatives of departments related to this industry.

    “Our focus today is on the development of the domestic space industry for the long term. Addressing this topic is always a special responsibility to the pioneers of space, to those people who set the highest bar for us,” said the Russian President.

    Vladimir Putin congratulated veterans of the industry, cosmonauts and servicemen of the Russian Aerospace Forces on the recent Cosmonautics Day, and also thanked all employees of state enterprises, private space companies, scientific organizations and universities for their work. Particular attention was paid to the merits of the team of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, among whose graduates there is a whole galaxy of famous cosmonauts, outstanding scientists and designers.

    “The best traditions of personnel training are developing and multiplying these days, and, as we have seen, in the new campus. Modern conditions are being created here for obtaining in-demand competencies. Of course, we will implement such projects in other cities of Russia,” Vladimir Putin emphasized.

    Construction of the campus of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    The project for the construction of a new educational complex of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University was implemented by the Moscow Government together with the Russian Government on behalf of Vladimir Putin. The new campus became the first facility in the country built under the federal project “Creation of a Network of Modern Campuses”. It became part of the national project “Science and Universities”, the implementation of which has been ongoing since 2025 within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children”This is one of the largest and most complex projects in the field of development of higher professional education.

    “A total of 14 buildings with a total area of about 170 thousand square meters were built and restored in the shortest possible time. This was achieved through coordinated work – the facilities were built and designed in parallel. In almost 90 percent of cases, components and equipment from domestic manufacturers were used,” the Moscow Mayor said.

    in his telegram channel.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin

    In 2022 – early 2024, six facilities of the MSTU research cluster were opened.

    The Life Sciences Engineering Cluster (formerly the Biomedical Systems and Technologies Center) is designed to implement modern educational programs, conduct research and development in the field of engineering and life sciences. Along with the educational programs of the Biomedical Engineering Faculty, research and development in the field of advanced biomedical engineering is conducted here. The building houses classrooms, including an office with a transformable partition, rooms for teachers, and a meeting room. Much space is allocated to advanced laboratories, including Biophotonics and Visualization of Living Systems, Neuroinfobionics, Rapid Prototyping, Cellular Technologies and Tissue Engineering, and Functional Hydrogels.

    The Engineering Center for Ground Transport and Technological Systems is designed to carry out research and development work, as well as to implement educational programs in the field of creation and operation of ground transport and technological machines and complexes. The building houses laboratories, engineers’ offices, educational and laboratory premises, office premises for employees, a classroom, premises for scientific research and meetings. The KAMAZ-Bauman Scientific and Educational Center and several specialized laboratories operate here. In particular, the Wheeled Machines laboratory has been opened, conducting work in five key areas, such as Traction Electric Drives and Mechatronic Transmissions, Intelligent NTTS Systems, Hydraulic Testing, On-Board Storage Devices, and Acoustic Testing.

    The multifunctional scientific and educational building is a new five-story building with an area of 20 thousand square meters, designed to accommodate research laboratories, scientific, administrative and educational spaces. The building houses seven departments of the university, as well as a complex of laboratories of mechanical engineering technologies, ground-based technological and launch equipment for rocket and space, vacuum and compressor technology. In total, 26 laboratories are open here, including laboratories of additive manufacturing technologies, reverse engineering and prototyping, research and certification of additive materials and additive manufacturing technologies.

    The exhibition and educational media space “Palace of Technologies” is located in the building of an architectural monument – the restored two-story Phanagoria barracks built in the 18th century. The ceremonial halls of the palace are intended for holding ceremonies, international meetings, scientific and educational forums and other thematic events of congress and exhibition activities. The university’s specialized departments are located here – the information policy department and the organizational and protocol work department. In December 2023, the building hosted the first open day of the Faculty of Robotics and Complex Automation, which was attended by more than 200 people. Representatives of the faculty prepared lectures on the digital transformation of industry, robotics and engineering infrastructure of a modern industrial enterprise. Applicants and their parents were told about the admission rules, curricula of educational programs, as well as future employment, career and salary prospects.

    The research center is a new six-story building with an area of 5.1 thousand square meters. The advanced engineering school “System Engineering of Rocket and Space Technology” operates on its basis. In addition, departments developing products for space and aviation have launched their activities here.

    The multifunctional library building is a restored three-story building of the chemical laboratory of the Imperial Moscow Technical School, built in the 19th century according to the design of the architect Lev Kekushev. It trains IT specialists. It houses classrooms and computer labs for lectures, seminars and laboratory work, specialized laboratories for classes with senior students of the university’s industrial partners – IT companies, as well as coworking spaces and premises for teachers and postgraduate students of the departments. Since February 2024, the building has been hosting strategic sessions, scientific and practical conferences and other socially significant events. In addition, it was used as an accreditation center on the day of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University alumni meeting, which was attended by more than two thousand people.

    Vladimir Putin and Sergei Sobyanin opened new buildings of Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    By September 2024, work on several sites was completed.

    The central cluster with a total area of about 51 thousand square meters includes five buildings of different heights – from four to six. The main task of the architects was to visually separate different functional areas without disturbing the overall harmony of the ensemble. To do this, they decided to detail the facades of the buildings with the help of scientific formulas. The facade glass looks different: in some places the formulas and equations are visible as clearly as possible, in others they are reflected, and in buildings with atrium spaces they can disappear depending on the viewing angle. All five buildings are united by a hovering dome roof – a membrane structure with an area of 2.5 thousand square meters, which will protect the ensemble and the inner courtyard from bad weather and make it more comfortable.

    The center of the square is the “tree of knowledge” – an oak tree, around which an amphitheater for students and employees of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University is located. The inner courtyard is open to city residents, which made it possible to create a new center for meetings and communication.

    The central cluster of Bauman Moscow State Technical University houses an innovation hub and a congress center, a cluster of “Environmental Protection Technologies – Green Territory”, a center of excellence and a scientific and educational cluster of digital transformation, a center of excellence and a scientific and educational cluster of “Digital Materials Science”, as well as a federal testing center.

    The multifunctional complex “Quantum Park” with a total area of 13.8 thousand square meters houses research laboratories with advanced equipment, including world-class “clean rooms”, co-working spaces and transformable spaces for presenting scientific developments.

    Today, it is one of the most advanced research complexes in the world. It is designed to solve practical problems at the intersection of quantum, photonic and fluid technologies that will determine the future of science and industry.

    The Quantum Park building is one of the largest and at the same time the most equipped in the new cluster. “House of Light” was the working title of the new building. The architects sought to make it truly airy and luminous.

    The Bauman Moscow State Technical University dormitory complex consists of the Spektr and Strela buildings. It is designed to accommodate about 2.3 thousand students.

    According to Sergei Sobyanin, a small plot of land between the river and the city collector was chosen for its construction. Now the dormitories have everything necessary for a comfortable stay of students.

    In addition to living quarters, the buildings with a total area of 60.5 thousand square meters house a multifunctional educational and leisure center, multimedia spaces and the necessary social infrastructure. An unusual form of faceted crystals was chosen for the student dormitory buildings: the monoform effect was achieved by increasing the size of the glass on the facades.

    The flat facade of the building reflects the surrounding environment during the day: trees, clouds and sun. From the street, spectacular panoramic glass spanning the entire floor is visible. The windows inside the building are not only beautiful, but also fully functional: there are window sills and ventilation sashes.

    The seven-story Spektr building on Gospitalnaya Embankment is designed for 550 students who live in single, double, triple and quadruple rooms. Some of the rooms have been adapted for people with disabilities. The residential units have a kitchen area, an entrance hall, a bathroom with a bathtub, and modern and functional furniture. The building houses the Novoselye information center. It processes documents for moving in and accepts requests for electrical, plumbing and furniture repairs. Public spaces include coworking spaces and rooms with individual work areas, music classrooms and rehearsal rooms. The Spektr building also has a modern canteen with 140 seats.

    Sergei Sobyanin announced the completion of construction of two new buildings of Baumanka

    Metro station and pedestrian bridges

    Simultaneously with the construction of the research cluster, the Moscow Government implemented a set of measures to develop transport infrastructure and improve the territory in the area of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

    Opened in 2020 Elektrozavodskaya station Large metro ring line. Thanks to the improvement of the adjacent territory, convenient approaches and access roads to it from residential buildings were provided.

    In April 2022, a pedestrian bridge across the Yauza River was opened near the new station. The 111-meter-long artificial structure connected residential areas on the Semenovskaya and Rubtsovskaya embankments, providing convenient access for teachers and students of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, as well as local residents, to the Elektrozavodskaya metro station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya and Big Circle Lines and the station of the same name on the third Moscow Central Diameter.

    In September 2024, the construction of a 243-meter-long bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Yauza River was completed. It provides a connection between the educational buildings of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, as well as unimpeded passage from Rubtsovskaya Embankment to the buildings of the N.N. Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital. The artificial structure was made in the form of open caissoned steel structures with lighting from the bottom. This gives a sense of the fluidity of the bridge and the river beneath it. The smooth lines of the structures compositionally continue the lines of the concrete supports.

    The accent points of the bridge are the staircase and elevator units, made in the form of crystals. They harmoniously connect the appearance of the engineering structure with the architecture of the new campus buildings. In addition, the crystals have a symbolic connection with education and scientific activity. Cyclists and pedestrians can move along the bridge. There is a recreation area and a viewing area – a comfortable observation deck with an amphitheater. In addition to bike paths, the bridge is equipped with ramps for cyclists, stairways and elevators for people with limited mobility.

    Moscow Mayor: 25 Tunnels, Overpasses, Bridges and Overpasses Built in 2024

    Metallurg Stadium

    The historic Metallurg stadium on the bank of the Yauza River was donated to Bauman Moscow State Technical University. It became the university’s main home arena.

    According to Sergei Sobyanin, a complete reconstruction of the stadium is currently underway, within the framework of which a modern gym and changing rooms will be built here, and all the necessary infrastructure will be created.

    The comprehensive renovation of the sports facility is planned to be completed in the third quarter of 2025. It will house a football and rugby field, a basketball and volleyball court, beach volleyball, workout and tennis areas. In addition, sports enthusiasts will be provided with a physical education and health complex and an administrative and household complex with volleyball courts that can be transformed for other sports (table tennis, basketball and mini-football), as well as a hall for the volleyball super league, exercise machines, comfortable locker rooms, coaches’ rooms, a room for storing sports equipment and a first aid station. In addition, the stadium will have an event venue, a recreation area, a pavilion-cafe with a summer terrace and a children’s play area.

    The renovated Metallurg stadium will become a modern sports complex — Sobyanin

    Improvement of neighborhoods in the area of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    “Along with the construction of the research cluster, much was done to improve the transport infrastructure in the area of the university. The nearby neighborhoods were also improved,” said Sergei Sobyanin

    in his telegram channel.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin

    Landscaping works were carried out in the areas located near the Bauman Moscow State Technical University complex of buildings and the Metallurg stadium. In particular, in 2023, landscaping of 14 objects was completed: Baumanskaya, 2-ya Baumanskaya, Malaya Pochtovaya and Ladozhskaya streets, as well as Staro-Kirochny, Denisovsky, Gardnerovsky, Brigadirsky, Maly Gavrikov, Gospitalny and Spartakovsky lanes, Proektiruyemy proezd No. 1106, the inter-yard area from Lefortovskaya Square to Gospitalny Lane, as well as Khomutovsky blind alley.

    Comfortable conditions for pedestrians were created on the landscaped streets: sidewalks were widened where possible, new outdoor lighting supports with energy-saving lamps were installed, and comfortable public spaces with places to rest were arranged.

     

    Four new pavilions with charging slots and information boards were installed at public transport stops. Convenient parking for 278 cars was arranged, and for cyclists – bicycle parking for 63 places.

    During the additional landscaping work, lawns and flower beds with a total area of over 14 thousand square meters were laid out, and large trees and shrubs were planted.

    Under the Clean Sky project, overhead cable lines were moved to underground collectors. In addition, storm drains were put in order, the asphalt pavement of the roadway was replaced, road signs and other infrastructure facilities were updated.

    Sobyanin: A number of areas near universities in Moscow will be improved by 2024

    In September 2024, the reorganization of the space between Lefortovo Embankment and Bauman Moscow State Technical University was completed. A convenient route from the main building of the university to the Faculty of Power Engineering and a new pedestrian path from Lefortovo Square to the embankment were created for students and teachers. The area in front of Lefortovo Palace was also transformed: an additional approach to the main building of the university was organized in place of the dilapidated buildings, the granite paving of the staircase near the building was renewed, benches were installed on the territory, a lawn was laid out and a video surveillance system was installed. The sidewalk along the embankment was widened, protective screens and lanterns with energy-efficient lamps were installed, and the parking area was reorganized.

    Leading space university in Russia

    Bauman Moscow State Technical University is rightfully considered the largest center for training personnel for the space industry. Among the university’s graduates are outstanding designers Sergei Korolev, Vladimir Barmin, Nikolai Pilyugin, many other managers and leading employees of industry enterprises, as well as 15 cosmonauts.

    Today, more than 4.5 thousand students are studying at the university in areas related to space exploration. By the end of 2024, 90 percent of graduates in these specialties were successfully employed.

    For the practice-oriented training of students and the implementation of research and development work on space topics, specialized divisions operate at Bauman Moscow State Technical University:

    — educational and experimental center based at the Dmitrov branch;

    — an educational and scientific youth space center with a flight control center, in which students develop microsatellites, payloads for space experiments, and special software and mathematical support;

    — the design bureau “Breakthrough Space Research and Technology”, which implements the full cycle of spacecraft and their systems development, integration of target equipment from third-party developers and leading domestic scientific organizations. Currently, there are six satellites in orbit, designed for weather monitoring and forecasting. They are also used for marine navigation of ships, including in the Northern Sea Route zone;

    — advanced engineering school “System Engineering of Rocket and Space Technology”. The federal project was created in 2022 on the initiative of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation with the aim of training specialists in the field of system design to solve breakthrough problems in the rocket and space industry, as well as to implement projects in the interests of high-tech companies. Special equipment and machinery have been purchased for specific educational and research purposes, which are already being used by teachers and students.

    Today, 160 students are studying at the engineering school. The training includes practical work at enterprises of the state corporation Roscosmos and private space companies in the laboratories of the advanced engineering school, work with mentors in team projects. Students in interdisciplinary teams participate in the implementation of research and development work commissioned by industry enterprises. The school works in several areas, including the creation of the Russian orbital station and the production of a promising component base to ensure Russia’s technological sovereignty in space.

    Which capital companies offer internship and practical training programs for university and college students

    On cooperation with the Moscow Innovation Cluster

    MSTU named after N.E. Bauman is a member Moscow Innovation Cluster. The university carries out research and development work for government and commercial customers in the field of creating spacecraft, electronic systems, and other strategically important areas. In particular, work is underway on the project of a small-sized descent vehicle “Zaryanka” – a system for delivering samples and materials for research from orbit of space stations.

    On the development of the Moscow aerospace industry

    Moscow is the center of the rocket and space industry of Russia, where over 40 enterprises, scientific and technical centers, laboratories and research institutes work. They employ over 30 thousand people. These are engineers and designers, developers and other specialists in related fields, thanks to whom almost everything is created in the city: from ultra-light cables to launch vehicles and components for spacecraft.

    In 2024, manufacturers of aircraft, including spacecraft, and related equipment increased shipments by 11.7 percent compared to 2023: companies delivered products worth about 214.4 billion rubles. The revenue of enterprises in 2024 amounted to almost 200 billion rubles, and investments in fixed assets exceeded nine billion rubles.

    The Khrunichev State Space Research and Production Center operates in Moscow. It is one of the basic enterprises of the Roscosmos state corporation, a leading domestic developer and manufacturer of space launch vehicles of various payload capacities and their components for federal and commercial programs. For example, it created the third stage, assembly units, payload fairing and other parts of the Angara-A5 heavy rocket, which was launched on April 11, 2024.

    The development of control systems for rocket and space technology is carried out by the Scientific and Production Center for Automation and Instrumentation (NPCAI) named after Academician N.A. Pilyugin. Here they produced the control system for the Angara-A5 rocket, and for the Proton-M launch vehicle – a single hardware and software complex that ensures control of pre-launch preparation and flight mode. In addition, the Fregat upper stage, designed to launch spacecraft into various specified orbits, is equipped with an integrated inertial-satellite control system of JSC NPCAI.

    A unique development of Moscow industrialists was space bread. The capital’s Research Institute of the Baking Industry is responsible for its production. This product, which can be stored for 15 months, is supplied to cosmonauts in the form of mini-loaves. In addition, flour flatbreads with onions, cheese and ketchup are prepared for them, as well as mini-muffins and rolls for tea.

    The capital’s Spetskabel plant produces a cable for onboard computer networks using SpaceWire technology. Information is transmitted at a speed of 400 megabits per second, four times faster than similar products. It is manufactured using lightweight foam insulation technology, which makes the cable thinner and lighter than foreign analogues. Its operating temperature is from minus 198 to plus 200 degrees, which guarantees stable operation in extreme space conditions.

    In the Moscow engineering center “Automated Control Systems” they test the electronic component base for products of the rocket and space industry in the components of ground simulators for training cosmonauts for flight, as well as in many other devices. They are tested, in particular, for resistance to shock loads and for determining the critical frequencies of the product.

    Ventilation systems produced in the capital are used at key facilities in the space industry. Thus, the GalVent ventilation factory ensures a comfortable microclimate in the premises at the Vostochny and Plesetsk cosmodromes, the country’s scientific and production centers, and the center for the operation of ground-based space infrastructure facilities.

    The Russian aerospace company Bureau 1440 is developing a low-orbit satellite constellation that will provide broadband Internet access with data transfer rates of up to one gigabit per second with minimal delays anywhere on Earth. The work is being carried out as part of the national project Data Economy.

    Sobyanin: Moscow remains the center of Russia’s high-tech industry

    A number of other companies also work in the Moscow space industry. For example, the N.A. Dollezhal Research and Design Institute of Power Engineering produces systems for the automation of reactors and nuclear space installations.

    ExpertStroyProekt LLC produces antenna and telemetry systems, ground-based receiving telemetry stations, as well as command radio line equipment, space, rocket and aviation based for stationary monitoring of the Earth’s surface and its atmosphere, measuring, receiving and control radio engineering and optoelectronic testing complexes for rocket and aviation equipment.

    The State Research Institute of Instrument Engineering produces drones and various devices of a wide range, on-board systems for space and aircraft.

    The Kometa Corporation produces computing systems, automated control systems, spacecraft payloads, television systems, automatic equipment, radio measuring equipment, artistic castings and television surveillance systems. The Research Institute of Precision Instruments produces products for radio control of spacecraft.

    The research and production enterprise (RPE) “Impulse” is creating a controlled thermostatic system for liquid fuel of a rocket engine under conditions of variable thermal load, and the RPE “Quantum” is creating autonomous power supply systems.

    OOO Sputniks (Skolkovo) manufactures debugging tools and devices for microsatellites, and the scientific and production concern Barl develops and implements solutions in the field of remote sensing of the Earth and satellite communications.

    The VNIIEM corporation is engaged in space systems for remote sensing of the Earth, and the scientific and production association Nauka creates life support systems.

    The All-Russian Research Institute of Aviation Materials of the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” is producing a light-filtering gold coating for the Orlan spacesuit.

    JSC Aeropribor-Voskhod produces aerometric, radio-electronic and navigation equipment, precision and working pressure gauges for aviation and space technology.

    A large number of projects in this industry and the telecommunications sector are being implemented in the special economic zone (SEZ) Technopolis Moscow. At the Pechatniki site, one of the leading Russian developers of high-tech equipment, Neoros LLC, in partnership with Biforcom Tek LLC, produces transceivers used in telecommunications equipment. The Goodwin Concern produces a microcellular communication system used to service subscribers. Labs 1440 JSC (ICS Holding Company) has placed the production of components for a low-orbit satellite system.

    At the Alabushevo site in Zelenograd, the Electroinvest group of companies launched the production of radiation-resistant secondary power sources.

    The construction of the Moscow Photonics Center has been completed. Its production capacity will be 100 thousand photonic integrated circuits (PIC) per year. A PIC is a microchip designed for ultra-fast processing of light (photonic) signals, which increases the data transfer rate by 100 times. It is a basic element for the implementation of modern technologies of artificial intelligence, fifth-generation mobile communications (5G), biomedicine, lidars, radars and much more.

    Another important project at the Alabushevo site is the construction of a photomask center, which is used to create integrated circuits. The enterprise’s capacity will allow it to produce up to 5.5 thousand photomasks per year.

    Over the year, 30 high-tech production facilities have been launched in the Technopolis Moscow SEZ

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

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

    HTTPS: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/12629050/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Assault on inmate at Millhaven Institution 

    Source: Government of Canada News

    April 16, 2025 – Bath, Ontario – Correctional Service Canada

    On April 15, 2025, an inmate was the victim of an assault at Millhaven Institution, a maximum-level security federal institution.

    The injured inmate was evaluated by staff members and transported to an outside hospital to receive treatment.

    The Ontario Provincial Police and the institution are currently investigating.

    No staff members or other inmates were injured during this incident.

    The safety and security of institutions, their staff, and the public remains the highest priority in the operations of the federal correctional system.

    In order to improve practices aimed at preventing this type of incident, the Correctional Service of Canada will review the circumstances of the incident and take the appropriate measures.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: People in British Columbia encouraged to prepare for seasonal hazards

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    People in British Columbia are urged to prepare for seasonal hazards as the warming weather increases the likelihood of climate-related emergencies, including spring flooding, wildfires and drought.

    “Over the past year, we’ve taken significant action to strengthen our ability to mitigate and respond to emergencies to better support people,” said Kelly Greene, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “Preparing for emergencies is a team effort, and as warmer weather arrives, it’s equally important that people have their own emergency plan, have a grab-and-go bag ready and know what to do in all types of emergency situations. By being prepared, we will get through whatever this season brings together.”

    Warming weather in the coming weeks will cause snowpack to melt, leading to increased spring runoff. When paired with heavy or extended rainfall, this can heighten the risk of flooding in rivers, streams and lakes. The latest snowpack surveys from the River Forecast Centre, released on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, show B.C.’s overall snowpack is at 79% of normal. Comparatively, in April 2024, the provincial snowpack averaged 63% of normal, the lowest it had been in 50 years.

    “Even though it’s only April, drier than normal conditions in parts of the province, combined with long-term water supply challenges, mean we already need to be mindful of water use,” said Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. “That’s why we continue to update our Drought and Water Scarcity Response Plan and invest in long-term water security, including through the $100-million Watershed Security Fund.”

    Flooding and drought preparedness:

    To prepare for potential flooding, people living in low-lying areas are encouraged to move equipment and other assets to higher ground and clear perimeter drains, eavestroughs and gutters. People should be on alert if they notice a rapid change in water levels, especially a drop, as this indicates a problem upstream. People should call their local fire, police or public works department immediately if they suspect something is out of the ordinary.

    The River Forecast Centre snowpack survey also provides insight into how people and communities in B.C. could be affected by drought. In summer 2024, many parts of the province experienced one of the most severe droughts in recorded history. As B.C. continues to get less snow and rain than average, it’s having a lasting impact on water levels and there is potential for prolonged drought this year.

    Communities and businesses are encouraged to take steps to use water more efficiently and plan for potential drought conditions. Everyone can help save water. Small changes make a big difference when people do them together.

    Wildfire preparedness:

    BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) forecasts indicates that British Columbia may experience an active spring wildfire season due to persistent drought conditions. This activity is expected to increase if there continues to be limited precipitation over the next several weeks and months. Until significant and sustained rains occur, the risk of ignition will remain elevated.

    “Every day, the hard-working members of the BC Wildfire Service are preparing for the 2025 wildfire season,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “We don’t know what it will bring, but we are putting in the work each and every day to protect our communities. With warmer weather just around the corner, I urge British Columbians to do their part to help protect their homes and communities through our provincial FireSmart program.”

    The Province is working to keep communities safe by focusing on all four phases of emergency management: prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. As part of these efforts, a series of enhancements were made to improve firefighter recruitment and training, step up wildfire-prevention work, expand BCWS contracts for aerial support and incorporate new technologies to better support firefighting.

    How people can prepare for emergencies:

    To prepare for seasonal hazards, people should put together an emergency kit that includes essentials, such as water, non-perishable food, medication and a first-aid kit. In addition, pack a grab-and-go bag, which is a small emergency kit that’s easy to take with you, in case you need to leave right away. Having a home emergency plan with important details, such as contact information and emergency meeting places, is also encouraged.

    When there is an evacuation order, Emergency Support Services (ESS) will be available to support people with their short-term basic needs, such as accommodation, food and clothing. People can create an Emergency Support Services profile here: https://ESS.gov.bc.ca
    In the event you are evacuated, having a profile can make it even easier and quicker to receive support.

    In 2024, the Province improved how people are supported by ESS, including introducing the option for evacuees to receive $200 per night for accommodation, providing evacuees with a direct deposit payment option to reduce lineups at reception centres during large-scale emergencies, and establishing the BC Evacuation Helpline to help people get connected to supports remotely.

    Having home or tenant insurance is one of the best ways people can protect their families, homes and property in the event of an emergency. In B.C., home insurance that provides coverage for fire damage and losses is readily available in every community in B.C. Both home and tenant insurance policies typically have additional coverage for living expenses if you need to leave your home during an evacuation order.

    Quick Facts:

    • The Province issues BC Emergency Alerts to cellphones, radio and television for wildfires, floods, extreme heat and tsunamis.
    • Natural Resources Canada issues emergency alerts for earthquakes. 
    • Since 2017, the Province has provided approximately $500 million to First Nations and local governments for approximately 2,600 disaster-preparedness and mitigation projects through Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness funding programs.
    • For wildfire-prevention initiatives through BCWS, FireSmart initiatives and the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), $90 million has been allocated in 2025.
    • There are 88 cultural and prescribed burn projects planned for 2025, 48 were completed in 2024.

    Learn More:

    To learn more about how to prepare for emergencies, including information about emergency kits, household emergency plans and hazard-specific guides, visit: https://PreparedBC.ca  

    For information on evacuation alerts and orders, visit: https://EmergencyInfoBC.ca or follow @EmergencyInfoBC on X.

    To learn about flood conditions and advisories, visit: https://gov.bc.ca/riverforecast

    To learn about how to prepare for wildfires, visit: https://firesmartbc.ca/

    To learn more about open burning safety, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status

    Real-time wildfire information can be found on the BC Wildfire Service mobile app, which is available for Apple and Android users.

    To register with Emergency Support Services, visit: https://ess.gov.bc.ca/  

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Former Gambian solider convicted on torture charges in unprecedented US trial, following ICE investigation

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    DENVER — A former member of the Gambian military was convicted April 15 on torture charges, following his involvement in crimes committed while the West African country’s then-President, Yahya Jammeh, was still in power.

    Michael Sang Correa, 46, was indicted in 2020 and is the first non-United States citizen to be convicted under the U.S. criminal torture law. He was found guilty of inflicting torture on specific individuals as well as conspiring to commit torture against suspected opponents of Jammeh’s while serving in a military unit within the Gambia Armed Forces known as the “Junglers.”

    “Correa’s crimes caught up with him today,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Denver Special Agent in Charge Steve Cagen, who also oversees Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. “Correa chose the wrong country to try to escape from justice. HSI actively investigates and apprehends human rights violators who run from their criminal pasts and come here. We have a zero-tolerance policy for human rights violators.”

    “Michael Sang Correa tried to evade responsibility for his crimes in The Gambia by coming to the United States and hiding his past,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “But we found him, we investigated him, and we prosecuted him. The lesson is: if you commit violent crimes — let alone torture or other human rights violations — do not come to the United States. If you do, the Department of Justice, together with its law enforcement partners, will leave no stone unturned to see that your crimes are exposed and justice is served. I thank the jurors for their service and the witnesses for the courage to relive the horror they experienced at Correa’s hands.”

    “The torture inflicted by Michael Sang Correa and his co-conspirators is abhorrent,” said acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado. “Today’s verdict shows you can’t get away with coming to Colorado to hide from your past crimes. The jurors are to be commended for their service throughout this trial and the witnesses for traveling so far to serve the interests of justice.”

    Evidence presented at trial proved that in March 2006, shortly after a failed coup attempt, Correa and his co-conspirators transported the victims to Gambia’s main prison, known as Mile 2 Prison, where they subjected the victims to severe physical and mental abuses.

    For the rest of the month of March and well into April 2006, Correa and his co-conspirators beat, stabbed, burned and electrocuted the victims, among other horrific acts. One victim testified that he had his thigh burned by hot, molten plastic; the Junglers also placed the victim in a large bag, suspended him in the air, and dropped him to the ground. Another victim testified that Correa and his co-conspirators suffocated him with a plastic bag and put the barrel of a pistol in his mouth. In addition to suffocation from plastic bags, another victim testified that Correa and his co-conspirators electrocuted him on his body, including his genitals; hanged him upside down and beat him in that position; and stabbed him in the shoulder. A fourth victim endured electrocution and was hit in the head with a pistol. A fifth victim testified that he had cigarettes extinguished into his skin, experienced electrocution, and that he was struck in the face with a hammer.

    Correa came to the U.S. in December 2016, eventually settling in Denver. Having overstayed his visa, ICE arrested Correa in 2019 and subsequently placed him in removal proceedings.

    Correa faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the five torture counts and the count of conspiracy to commit torture. He will remain in U.S. custody pending his sentencing.

    ICE HSI Denver investigated this case, with support from HSI agents in Dakar, Senegal, as well as personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Banjul and the FBI Legal Attaché in Dakar. The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center also provided significant support. Established in 2009, the HRVWCC leverages the expertise of criminal investigators, attorneys, historians, intelligence analysts and federal partners to provide a whole of government approach to prevent the U.S. from becoming a haven for individuals who commit war crimes, genocide, torture and other human rights abuses around the globe.

    Currently, ICE has more than 180 active investigations into suspected human rights violators and is pursuing more than 1,945 leads and removals cases involving suspected human rights violators from 95 different countries. The center has issued more than 79,000 lookouts since 2003, for potential perpetrators of human rights abuses and stopped over 390 human rights violators and war crimes suspects from entering the U.S.

    Members of the public who have information about foreign nationals suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes are urged to call the ICE Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. You can also email HRV.ICE@ice.dhs.gov or complete the online tip form.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE San Juan arrests 5 illegal aliens at a Vega Baja construction site

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    VEGA BAJA, Puerto Rico — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with support from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, Vega Baja Municipal Police, and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, arrested five illegal aliens April 10 during a targeted worksite enforcement operation in Vega Baja.

    The multiagency operation took place at a construction worksite where one Haitian national and four Dominican nationals were taken into custody. All five individuals are currently being held by ICE pending removal proceedings.

    “Through worksite enforcement investigations, ICE often uncovers more than just unauthorized employment — many cases reveal serious crimes like document fraud, human smuggling, and human trafficking,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Juan Special Agent in Charge Rebecca González-Ramos. “Following the president’s executive order, ICE San Juan will continue enforcing the immigration laws in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

    ICE officials emphasized the agency’s continued focus to identifying public safety and national security threats. Individuals unlawfully present in the United States who are encountered during enforcement operations may be taken into custody and processed for removal in accordance with federal law.

    Members of the public with information about suspected immigration violations or related criminal activity are encouraged to contact the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or submit information online via the ICE tip form.

    For more information about ICE HSI San Juan and its efforts to enhance public safety in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, follow: Instagram: @HSISanJuan Facebook: @HSISanJuanPR X: @HSISanJuan

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mississippi Firm to Pay $1,207,600 to Resolve Disaster Recovery Claims

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced today that Horne LLP, of Ridgeland, Mississippi, has agreed to pay the United States $1,207,600 to resolve civil allegations that it received improper payments from federal disaster recovery grant funds in connection with disaster recovery services it provided in 2017 and 2018 in West Virginia.

    On June 23, 2016, portions of the Southern District of West Virginia experienced extreme levels of rainfall, resulting in historic flooding over a vast swath of the region. Flood waters rushing across West Virginia’s mountainous landscape damaged or swept away thousands of homes, businesses, bridges and other infrastructure, leaving thousands of West Virginia residents homeless and at least 23 dead. Following a presidential disaster declaration issued in response to the flooding, Congress appropriated funds for disaster recovery in West Virginia to be administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the form of Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. These funds were made available to fund an array of recovery needs in West Virginia including housing rehabilitation and replacement for low income homeowners.

    Soon after CDBG-DR funds were appropriated, Horne was selected by the West Virginia Development Office (WVDO) to develop the state’s Action Plan for use of the disaster recovery grant funds. Horne is an accounting and professional services firm specializing in administering state and federal disaster recovery programs across the United States. Horne’s contract with the State of West Virginia included task orders requiring Horne to assist the WVDO in developing a CDBG-DR Action Plan which were to be used to secure additional project funding and to provide program guidance, design and development services. The contract which provided for total compensation of $900,000 was approved by the West Virginia Department of Administration Purchasing Division (WVDAPD). 

    Although the contract provided for total compensation of $900,000, additional “task orders” were added to the contract that inflated the cost of the contract to more than $18,000,000. As a result of these additions, Horne was awarded responsibility for the housing rehabilitation program, which was later re-branded as “Rise West Virginia Housing Restoration Program” (WV-HRP or “RISE”).

    The RISE program came under scrutiny in late 2017 when Horne’s contract was reviewed by the West Virginia Department of Administration Purchasing Division. During the review, it was discovered that Horne’s original contract price had ballooned from $900,000 to more than $18,000,000 without competitive bidding, review, or approval by the WVDAPD or the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office.

    The administration of then-Gov. Jim Justice declared the additional work orders to be illegal, and that Horne could not be paid for any services competed under them. This prompted Horne to seek to sell the data it had generated through its operations in West Virginia to the government at a price intended to reflect the value of its prior services. Horne submitted an invoice totaling $6,739,575, and the invoice was paid on November 6, 2018, from the federal CDBG-DR funds.

    After Horne transmitted its project data to state officials, investigators discovered that many of the services sold to the sate were problematic. In particular, investigators discovered that many of the “personal consultations,” included on Horne’s invoice at $950 each, were for cold calls that resulted in a finding of “no unmet need.” Despite a quick call confirming the homeowner had no need of Horne’s services, Horne created an applicant file for each person, complete with fictitious birthdates, social security numbers, and fake signatures on legal documents. Investigators also found that in some cases these personal consultations were actually performed by staff for Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), not Horne. Investigators found that approximately 48 of the physical property inspections, costing the government $1,850 each, were for vacant lots where an inspection was not required. Similarly, Horne billed $1,650 for each of 72 repair estimates where there was nothing to repair.

    The Settlement Agreement announced today requires Horne to pay $1,207,600 to resolve the government’s claims.

    “Thousands of West Virginians remained in need after historic flooding damaged or destroyed their homes, and the Horne firm took advantage of the situation,” said Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “This settlement agreement is a result of the excellent work by HUD-OIG and the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations, our office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement and Health Care Fraud Investigative Specialist Tyler E. Japhet, and Assistant United States Attorney Gregory P. Neil.”

    “The alleged actions of Horne, LLP undermine the mission of HUD’s disaster recovery efforts and takes critical resources away from those who need them the most,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Shawn Rice with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG). “HUD OIG is committed to partnering with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to pursue accountability for those who seek to exploit federal programs.”

    “The Commission on Special Investigations began investigating the handling of flood related disaster assistance in December of 2018,” said West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations Director Rick Eplin. “Investigators conducted interviews and documented conditions throughout 12 counties in West Virginia touched by the flooding. Investigators documented tragic stories from the families whose homes were destroyed by flood waters. They were struck by the resiliency of the citizens and their commitment to their communities. In the course of the investigation, it was determined that data collected by Horne did not accurately reflect the conditions and circumstances observed by CSI investigators. In partnership with the HUD Office of Inspector General and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia a positive resolution was achieved.”

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

    ###

     

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal, Courtney, DeLauro, Hayes, 171 Colleagues Introduce Bicameral Legislation To Raise Minimum Wage To $17 By 2030, Benefitting Nearly 22 Million Americans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-Conn.-02), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.-03), and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.-05) joined 171 members of Congress and 85 organizations from across the country in introducing the Raise the Wage Act of 2025. This bicameral legislation would ensure American workers make a living wage, drive economic growth, and reduce income inequality by raising the minimum wage to $17 for all workers and gradually eliminating subminimum wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, and youth workers. The minimum wage in Connecticut is $16.35 per hour.

    “It’s shameful that there are millions of people in this country who work full-time jobs and yet they can’t afford rent or pay for their groceries. Raising the federal minimum wage to $17 would help 42,000 workers in Connecticut keep up with the cost of living, but it’s just a start. Our economy is failing working people, and I will keep fighting for a future where hard work gives everyone in this country a fair shot at the American Dream,” said Murphy.

    “Low wages have impoverished workers in our country for too long. Raising the minimum wage would drive much-needed economic growth, reduce wealth inequality, and raise 22 million Americans across the country out of poverty. I’m proud to support the Raise the Wage Act and I urge my colleagues to do the same because working class Americans deserve economic security,” said Blumenthal.

    “American workers have gone for more than a decade without a raise in the federal minimum wage,” said Courtney. “At a pitiful $7.25 an hour, the current federal minimum wage does not provide working people with a paycheck that meets the true cost of living. Increasing the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation will go a long way to helping 42,000 Connecticut workers meet their basic needs. ”

    “Working-class Americans are struggling with the high cost of living, and Democrats are moving policies to put more money in their pockets right now,” said DeLauro. “The Raise the Wage Act would ensure the minimum wage is $17 for all workers, strengthening economic security for workers across America – including the 42,000 minimum wage earners in Connecticut. I am proud to join my colleagues in championing this critical legislation.”

    “Connecticut has been ahead of the curve in providing workers with a livable wage,” said Hayes. “The benefits of raising the federal minimum wage would be far-reaching, as there has been no change since 2009 at the federal level. A person who works should be paid a living wage that meets their basic needs.”

    Last year, nearly one in four workers in the U.S. made less than $17 per hour. The Raise the Wage Act of 2025 would raise the federal minimum wage to $17 over five years, eliminate the tipped subminimum wage over seven years, eliminate the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities over five years, and eliminate the subminimum wage for youth workers over seven years. According to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), passing the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 would provide raises to over 22 million workers across the country by 2030.

    In 2024, voters in Missouri and Alaska overwhelmingly voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. In 2022, voters in Nebraska voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. In 2020, Florida voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. As a result of inflation, $15 an hour a couple of years ago would be over $18 an hour today. Moreover, if the minimum wage had increased with worker productivity over the last 57 years, it would be over $23 an hour today, not $7.25 an hour.

    Over the last 50 years, nearly $80 trillion in wealth has been redistributed from the bottom 90 percent of America to the top one percent. Today, the value of the current federal minimum wage – $7.25 per hour – is the lowest it has been since 1956 and has declined by over 32 percent since it was last increased in 2009. While approximately four million tipped workers in the U.S. depend on tips for as much as half of their income or more, the tipped sub-minimum wage has remained stagnant at just $2.13 per hour since 1991. The current median wage for at least 37,000 workers with disabilities is just $3.50 per hour.

    Meanwhile, across every state in the country, a living wage for a worker in a family with two working adults and one child is greater than $17 per hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) Family Budget Calculator. Many of these low-wage workers face persistent economic insecurity, struggling to put food on the table and afford basic necessities, including housing, health care, and childcare.

    Black and Hispanic workers disproportionately feel the burden of these low wages as compared to their white counterparts, and that disparity is even worse for women of color. Nearly 40 percent of Hispanic women and 35 percent of Black women make less than $17 per hour.

    U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also cosponsored the legislation.

    More than 85 organizations endorsed the Raise the Wage Act of 2025, including Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Equal Pay Today, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), National Education Association (NEA), National Employment Law Project (NELP), The National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), One Fair Wage, Oxfam America, Patriotic Millionaires, UNITE HERE, United Autoworkers (UAW), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), United for Respect, and United Steelworkers (USW).

    The full bill text is available HERE and a fact sheet is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –