Category: Transport

MIL-OSI Video: Secretary Rubio with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)

Secretary of State Marco A. Rubio meets with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Department of State on June 10, 2025.

———-
Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.

The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2DV6ifzH04

MIL OSI Video –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Lee Condemns Comey’s Death Threat Against President Trump

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Utah Mike Lee
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a resolution condemning former FBI Director James Comey for inciting violence against President Donald Trump in a recent social media post. In response to Comey’s reckless threat on the President’s life, the resolution condemns his incitement of violence, bars Comey from future employment by the federal government, and calls for investigations by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security into Comey’s threats. The resolution was cosponsored by U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), and a companion resolution was led by Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Laurel Lee (R-FL) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“For the former FBI director to be amplifying threats against the President of the United States is disgraceful,” said Senator Mike Lee. “President Trump has been targeted in two assassination attempts and wounded in one, which killed Corey Comperatore. Congress should unite to condemn Jim Comey in the strongest terms.”
“As violent riots rage across Los Angeles, it has never been more important to have leaders in Washington that are prepared to defend the rule of law and uphold our shared values,” said Rep. August Pfluger, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee. “James Comey’s reckless incitement of violence is another reminder of how dangerous it is when former public officials prioritize politics over the values our nation was founded upon. This bicameral resolution demands the accountability and transparency the American people deserve, ensuring Comey never again holds a position of public trust.”
“For years, we’ve heard accusations from the Left about so-called dangerous rhetoric. But now, former FBI Director James Comey—the same official who helped launch the discredited Russia collusion hoax —is engaging in rhetoric that carries an implicit threat against President Trump. As a former federal prosecutor and judge, I take this very seriously. James Comey should never again hold a position of public trust in the United States Government, and we formally urge the Department of Justice to investigate whether his conduct violates applicable laws. The American people deserve equal justice—not selective outrage. If we are to preserve the rule of law, then even those who once led law enforcement must be held accountable.” – Representative Laurel Lee
Resolution
A resolution condemning James B. Comey, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for inciting violence against President Donald J. Trump.
Whereas James B. Comey, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (in this preamble, referred to as the ‘‘FBI’’), on May 15, 2025, posted an image on Instagram depicting the numbers ‘‘86 47’’ with the cryptic caption ‘‘cool shell formation’’;
Whereas this message promotes violence against the sitting President of the United States, Donald J. Trump;
Whereas Mr. Comey posted this to his public Instagram account during President Trump’s first overseas trip to the Middle East, jeopardizing his security and invigorating the enemies of the United States abroad;
Whereas it is indefensible and inexcusable to issue a call for violence against the President of the United States;
Whereas Mr. Comey exhibits a clear desire to undermine President Trump; Whereas there have been multiple assassination attempts against President Trump;
Whereas former public officials owe a special duty of care not to use their past positions and influence accrued through public service to threaten the lives of their political opponents; and
Whereas Congress must hold Mr. Comey accountable for his violations of the public trust and preserve the rule of law to protect our institutions from those that seek to sow discord and promote violence against their political opponents:
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) unequivocally condemns James Comey’s ap3 parent incitement of political violence against President Trump;
(2) urges the relevant authorities to take every relevant action to ensure that Mr. Comey is never again permitted to serve as an employee of the Federal Government; and
(3) requests that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security conduct a full and comprehensive investigation of Mr. Comey’s attempts to incite violence against the President, and release the findings to the relevant committees of Congress and the public.
Read exclusive coverage from The Daily Signal here.
See the official resolution text here.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: NEW: Report Shows Republicans’ Bill Will Terminate Health Insurance for Over 250,000 Wisconsinites

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report was released showing that 258,396 Wisconsinites will have their health care terminated under Republicans’ House-passed budget bill to gut Medicaid and dismantle key parts of the Affordable Care Act to pay for tax cuts for corporations and wealthy Americans. Nationwide, 16 million Americans’ care is in jeopardy, including over 8.5 million Americans who rely on Affordable Care Act coverage and 7.4 million Americans on Medicaid.
“Republicans’ plan is simple: gut benefits for working Americans so that the wealthiest Americans and big corporations can get richer. My phones have been ringing off the hook from Wisconsinites who are terrified their health care coverage is on the chopping block, and now we see just how many of our neighbors are in jeopardy,” said Senator Baldwin. “If Republicans get their way, 250,000 Wisconsinites will lose their coverage as health care costs are jacked up on thousands more. We should be working to make sure more people have health care and lowering costs – not taking it away from the elderly, the disabled, and hardworking families. We’re making sure Americans know who will pay the price so Donald Trump and Republicans can give handouts to billionaires.”
The Republicans’ plan includes changes to the Medicaid program designed to kick eligible Americans off their health care, with a new report today showing an estimated 148,254 Wisconsinites would lose their Medicaid benefits. The Republican plan would also allow the enhanced Affordable Care Act Premium Tax Credits, which save Americans on average $700 each year on their coverage, to expire, jacking up the cost of coverage and putting insurance out of reach for 110,142 Wisconsin families. Senator Baldwin leads legislation to make these tax breaks for working families permanent.
In Wisconsin, over 1.2 million are enrolled in Medicaid. About 1 in 3 children in both Wisconsin’s rural and metro communities have Medicaid coverage. Severe cuts to Medicaid will also jeopardize rural hospitals and clinics’ ability to keep their doors open. Over 12 million rural Americans rely on Medicaid for health care.
Senator Baldwin has been leading the charge to fight back against cuts to Medicaid. This year, Senator Baldwin has made eleven stops on her “Hands Off Medicaid Tour,” holding roundtable discussions statewide calling out Republicans’ plan to slash Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. During each stop, Senator Baldwin heard directly from Wisconsinites who depend on Medicaid and highlighted the dire consequences cuts to the lifesaving program would mean for them and their loved ones.
Full report is available here with a breakdown by Congressional District available here.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: OPINION | Sarah Huckabee Sanders: My State is Taking On the Middlemen Who Inflate Drug Prices

Source: US State of Arkansas

ICYMI: OPINION | Sarah Huckabee Sanders: My State is Taking On the Middlemen Who Inflate Drug Prices

The New York Times published “My State is Taking On the Middlemen Who Inflate Drug Prices,“ an op-ed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on what Arkansas is doing to fight anti-competitive practices by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs):

Behind inflated prescription prices, complicated insurance plans and dying local pharmacies, there is a little-known culprit: pharmacy benefit managers that operate as self-serving middlemen between drug manufacturers, insurance companies and you. Now my home state, Arkansas, is taking action against them.

I am proud to be the first governor in the country to ban the anticompetitive practices that allow P.B.M.s to dominate the prescription drug market, and to encourage other states and Congress to follow Arkansas’s lead.

P.B.M.s started as a good idea that quickly went sour. They initially served as negotiators between pharmacies and insurance companies. P.B.M.s are supposed to keep track of fast-changing drug prices, insurance plans and government regulations, and are intended to keep patient costs low and prescriptions filled. But anyone who has had to pay an insurance premium or co-pay recently likely knows they don’t always work as intended.

Instead, some of these P.B.M.s opened their own pharmacies and others were acquired by existing pharmacy chains, in both cases creating huge conflicts of interest. The result: P.B.M.s forcibly steer patients away from independent operators and inflate drug prices in the vacuum left behind. That consolidation has only hastened in recent years. Today the nation’s three largest P.B.M.s process 80 percent of all prescriptions, and their affiliated pharmacies bring in 70 percent of all specialty drug revenue. They bring in steep profits, too: Pharmacies associated with the nation’s largest P.B.M.s received $1.6 billion in excess revenue from just two cancer drugs in under three years.

Especially in places like rural Arkansas, that puts patients at risk. I heard from one woman in Camden, Ark., who was a longtime patient at a community pharmacy where she always picked up her prescription in person.

But when she developed a life-threatening breathing disorder that required an inhaler, she ran into problems with her health plan, which is administered by one of the largest P.B.M.s in the country, CVS Caremark.When it came time for her routine refill, her claim was denied. She was told she had to use one of CVS’s pharmacies (which share a parent company with the P.B.M.), the closest of which was an hour and a half drive away.

She had three options: drive three hours round-trip, pay hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket at her trusted local pharmacy or risk enrolling in mail-order prescriptions.

She reluctantly chose mail-order, which required jumping through various hoops, including a new doctor’s appointment and onerous paperwork, only to encounter delays that left her without an inhaler for weeks. After finally getting an inhaler, she went to refill the prescription and was told it was no longer covered for mail orders.

This red tape isn’t just annoying; it’s also life-threatening. And the only purpose it serves is to line the pockets of corporate suits who stand between patients and the care they need.

Arkansas is fixing this problem. The legislation I just signed makes it so that a P.B.M. cannot also own a pharmacy. They can still operate in our state; they just can’t continue to mistreat patients and box out other pharmacies.

Not surprisingly, these multibillion-dollar companies are engaging in an all-out broadside against our new law. CVS flooded Arkansas airwaves with hair-on-fire ads before the legislation was signed. Now, CVS is threatening to close down every pharmacy it operates in our state — preferring to take its ball and go home rather than divest from its P.B.M. and actually serve the patients it claims to care about.

CVS and another major P.B.M., Express Scripts, are using all the legal firepower their money can buy to take Arkansas to court. And I have no doubt that lobbyists in other states and Washington, D.C., are about to make a pretty penny representing these panicked corporations.

Arkansas isn’t scared. We won’t sacrifice our veterans, seniors or rural patients in service of P.B.M. stock prices.

If you’d asked me a year ago if we could change these entrenched interests, I’m not sure I would have thought it possible. But with President Trump in office, everything is changing. He signed an executive order last month that targets P.B.M.s. “We’re going to cut out the middlemen,” he promised in a recent news conference.

Republicans have a chance to lead on this issue — but we have to act now. My fellow governors and congressional lawmakers should ignore the fear mongering from P.B.M.s and stand up for patients and local pharmacists to end these anti-competitive practices and fix the broken, backward system that has tarnished America’s health care for too long.

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MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congress’ Failure and Devastating, Cruel Bill Could Lead to Tens of Thousands of Coloradans Losing Health Coverage in 2026

Source: US State of Colorado

DENVER – This week, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) informed health insurance companies that the agency was revising the expected impact of Colorado’s Reinsurance Program to reflect the Republican controlled Congress’s failure to extend enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market. Governor Jared Polis wrote to Colorado’s Congressional delegation urging them and Congress to help keep thousands of Coloradans on their health care coverage by extending tax credits for those buying insurance off the health exchange. House Speaker Julie McCluskie and Senator Dylan Roberts also expressed concerns.

Since the inception of the bipartisan reinsurance initiative from 2020 through 2025, Coloradans will have saved over $2.1 billion dollars. Failing to extend these enhanced tax credits that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, when combined with harmful provisions of the Reconciliation bill, will increase costs on Colorado families and individuals.

“On top of the destructive proposed cuts to Medicaid, which will throw hundreds of thousands of Coloradans off of their health care, failure of the Republican controlled Congress to extend these ACA tax credits, which have saved Colorado families hundreds of millions in premiums, will throw even more people off of health insurance who rely on reinsurance and marketplace coverage to save money. While Republicans fight with each other, hardworking Coloradans are focused on keeping health care that is accessible and affordable, and want to see costs go down, not up. The Senate should take action to extend these critical tax credits for hardworking families and start from scratch on the reconciliation bill,” said Governor Jared Polis.

The Republican controlled House passed Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by a one-vote margin, 215 – 214. Representatives Pettersen, Neguse, DeGette, and Crow voted no, while Representatives Hurd, Evans, Crank and Boebert voted yes.

Governor Polis wrote to Colorado’s members of Congress today: “Amongst its many failures, the Reconciliation bill passed by the House fails to extend the enhanced tax credits that Coloradans rely on to make their health insurance affordable. If the Republican controlled Congress allows those cuts to go into effect, tens of thousands of Coloradans will no longer be able to afford their health care.

Coloradans who receive enhanced tax credits will see net premiums increase on average by 104%, simply due to the expiration of these credits. The end of enhanced tax credits will effectively be a tax increase for Coloradans and, moreover, will usher in the return of the “subsidy cliff” – where Coloradans making more than 400% of the federal poverty level (household income of $84,600 for a family of two) are left paying the full cost of their health insurance premiums without any assistance. The combined effect will disproportionately impact households with enrollees over age 55.

The end of the enhanced tax credits would significantly reduce the positive benefits of Colorado’s reinsurance initiative by materially reducing the federal support received to reduce individual market rates. Since the inception of the bipartisan reinsurance initiative in 2020 through 2025, Coloradans will have saved over $2.1 billion dollars. The reinsurance initiative operates under an ACA Section 1332 waiver, and is funded by the dollars that would otherwise flow through premium tax credits without increasing costs for the federal government. If the enhanced tax credits are not extended, state reinsurance initiative would have less funding available to lower premiums for all consumers in the market.”

The reconciliation bill would also increase red tape for Coloradans and create new barriers to enrollment.

“Between the cuts to Colorado’s Medicaid coverage and the cuts to Colorado’s ACA market, this bill will dramatically increase the uninsured rate in Colorado, rip away people’s access to health care, and lead to a substantially higher amount of uncompensated care that must be absorbed by Colorado’s hospitals and health care providers. That, in turn, will mean that employers will see their health insurance premiums rise as well. No corner of our health care system will be safe from the damage that this bill will inflict,” the Governor continued. “I urge you to take action, either through amendments to the reconciliation bill or through standalone legislation, to extend these enhanced premium tax credits and to scrap additional provisions in the reconciliation bill that will further raise health insurance costs and make health care unaffordable for many Coloradans.”

“If Congressional Republicans fail to extend the enhanced ACA tax credits, many Coloradans who buy their own health insurance will lose the coverage they rely on and many more will see their premiums go up, especially in the high country and rural parts of our state,” said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. “These premium increases and the loss of insurance coverage, on top of the proposed cuts to Medicaid, will be devastating for families and destabilize rural health care systems that cannot absorb the cost of more uninsured patients at their facilities. In Colorado, we’ve worked together to lower costs for families with the successful reinsurance program. Washington Republicans must extend these ACA credits, or Colorado families will be stuck with the bill.”

“It is hard to overstate the negative impact that losing health insurance affordability tax credits would have on Coloradans, especially those in our rural and mountain communities,” said State Senator Dylan Roberts (D-Frisco). “Colorado’s bipartisan leadership in using savings from the ACA to create the Reinsurance and Colorado Option programs has kept insurance rates from spiking and allowed tens of thousands of more Coloradans to have access to the financial security of health insurance coverage. Slashing these tax credits will undermine all of that, spike health insurance rates, and lead to more Coloradans being uninsured, particularly the rural residents our state’s Republican members of Congress represent. It’s truly baffling they’d harm their constituents like this.”

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MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: With so many parties ‘ruling out’ working with other parties, is MMP losing its way?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

There has been a lot of “ruling out” going on in New Zealand politics lately. In the most recent outbreak, both the incoming and outgoing deputy prime ministers, ACT’s David Seymour and NZ First’s Winston Peters, ruled out ever working with the Labour Party.

Seymour has also advised Labour to rule out working with Te Pāti Māori. Labour leader Chris Hipkins has engaged in some ruling out of his own, indicating he won’t work with Winston Peters again. Before the last election, National’s Christopher Luxon ruled out working with Te Pāti Māori.

And while the Greens haven’t yet formally ruled anyone out, co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has said they could only work with National if it was prepared to “completely U-turn on their callous, cruel cuts to climate, to science, to people’s wellbeing”.

Much more of this and at next year’s general election New Zealanders will effectively face the same scenario they confronted routinely under electoral rules the country rejected over 30 years ago.

Under the old “first past the post” system, there was only ever one choice: voters could turn either left or right. Many hoped Mixed Member Proportional representation (MMP), used for the first time in 1996, would end this ideological forced choice.

Assuming enough voters supported parties other than National and Labour, the two traditional behemoths would have to negotiate rather than impose a governing agenda. Compromise between and within parties would be necessary.

Government by decree

By the 1990s, many had tired of doctrinaire governments happy to swing the policy pendulum from right to left and back again. In theory, MMP prised open a space for a centrist party which might be able to govern with either major player.

In a constitutional context where the political executive has been described as an “elected dictatorship”, part of the appeal of MMP was that it might constrain some of its worst excesses. Right now, that is starting to look a little naive.

For one thing, the current National-led coalition is behaving with the government-by-decree style associated with the radical, reforming Labour and National administrations of the 1980s and 1990s.

Most notably, the coalition has made greater use of parliamentary urgency than any other government in recent history, wielding its majority to avoid parliamentary and public scrutiny of contentious policies such as the Pay Equity Amendment Bill.

Second, in an ironic vindication of the anti-MMP campaign’s fears before the electoral system was changed – that small parties would exert outsized influence on government policy – the two smaller coalition partners appear to be doing just that.

It is neither possible nor desirable to quantify the degree of sway a smaller partner in a coalition should have. That is a political question, not a technical one.

But some of the administration’s most unpopular or contentious policies have emerged from ACT (the Treaty Principles Bill and the Regulatory Standards legislation) and NZ First (tax breaks for heated tobacco products).

Rightly or wrongly, this has created a perception of weakness on the part of the National Party and the prime minister. Of greater concern, perhaps, is the risk the controversial changes ACT and NZ First have managed to secure will erode – at least in some quarters – faith in the legitimacy of our electoral arrangements.

The centre cannot hold

Lastly, the party system seems to be settling into a two-bloc configuration: National/ACT/NZ First on the right, and Labour/Greens/Te Pāti Māori on the left.

In both blocs, the two major parties sit closer to the centre than the smaller parties. True, NZ First has tried to brand itself as a moderate “common sense” party, and has worked with both National and Labour, but that is not its position now.

In both blocs, too, the combined strength of the smaller parties is roughly half that of the major player. The Greens, Te Pāti Māori, NZ First and ACT may be small, but they are not minor.

In effect, the absence of a genuinely moderate centre party has meant a return to the zero-sum politics of the pre-MMP era. It has also handed considerable leverage to smaller parties on both the left and right of the political spectrum.

Furthermore, if the combined two-party share of the vote captured by National and Labour continues to fall (as the latest polls show), and those parties have nowhere else to turn, small party influence will increase.

For some, of course, this may be a good thing. But to those with memories of the executive-centric, winner-takes-all politics of the 1980s and 1990s, it is starting to look all too familiar.

The re-emergence of a binary ideological choice might even suggest New Zealand – lacking the constitutional guardrails common in other democracies – needs to look beyond MMP for other ways to limit the power of its governments.

Richard Shaw 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. With so many parties ‘ruling out’ working with other parties, is MMP losing its way? – https://theconversation.com/with-so-many-parties-ruling-out-working-with-other-parties-is-mmp-losing-its-way-257974

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Kansas man indicted for machinegun possession

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

WICHITA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a Kansas man with a firearms offense.

According to court documents, Leonard Rrapaj, 61, of Topeka, is charged with illegal possession of a machinegun.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigated the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Debenham and Stephen Hunting are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

OTHER INDICTMENTS

Alejandro Espinosa-Hinostroza, 32, a Mexican national residing illegally in Topeka, Kansas, was indicted on one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of reentry of a removed alien. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hunting is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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MIL Security OSI –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Folsom Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Visa Fraud

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Marcus Taslim, 70, of Folsom, was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison for visa fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. Taslim was also ordered to pay the victim $39,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, Taslim brought the victim to the United States from Indonesia in December 2018 to provide caregiving services for Taslim’s mother. He obtained a non‑immigrant visa for the victim through lies and false statements, falsely representing to a consular officer that the victim’s length of stay in the United States would only be one month, that she would be paid minimum and overtime wages under the laws of the State of California, that she would be paid bi-weekly and in full, and that he had paid the victim’s one-month salary in advance. Taslim knew these statements were not true. As soon as the consular officer received proof that Taslim had paid the victim’s advance salary, he ordered the victim to withdraw that money and return it to him, which she did.

According to court documents, the victim continued caring for the mother in the United States for about six months. She typically worked seven days a week, beginning work as early as 5 or 6 a.m. and ending at about 8 or 9 p.m. Taslim paid the victim far less than minimum wage, did not pay her bi-weekly and in full, and also confiscated her passport so she could not leave. The victim was only able to leave in June 2019, following intercession from the Folsom Police Department.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot C. Wong prosecuted the case.

MIL Security OSI –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Mexican Man and Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Being Found in the United States Illegally

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

A Mexican man who was illegally in the United States pled guilty June 9, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City.

Gerardo Morales-Ramirez, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of being a felon found in the United States after illegal reentry.

On February 28, 2025, Morales-Ramirez was arrested in Sioux City, Iowa, after an encounter with officers from the Department of Homeland Security. Officers were able to determine Morales-Ramirez is a citizen of Mexico, that he did not have permission to lawfully be present in the United States, and that he was previously removed from the United States on three occasions. Prior to his last removal in 2021, Morales-Ramirez had been convicted of felony operating while intoxicated – third or subsequent offense.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Morales-Ramirez remains in custody of the United States Marshals and will remain in custody pending sentencing. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 25-CR-4014. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

MIL Security OSI –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Mexican Man Pleads Guilty to Being an Aggravated Felon Found in the United States Illegally

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

A Mexican man who was illegally in the United States pled guilty June 9, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa. Jose De Jesus Mejia-Fraijo, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of being an aggravated felon found in the United States after illegal reentry.

On March 1, 2025, officers from the Iowa State Patrol encountered Mejia-Fraijo in Sioux City, Iowa, when they arrested him for driving without a valid driver’s license and interference with official acts after a brief attempt to flee from officers on foot. Officers with the Department of Homeland Security were able to determine Mejia-Fraijo is a citizen of Mexico, that he did not have permission to lawfully be present in the United States, and that he was previously removed from the United States on two occasions. Prior to his last removal in 2022, Mejia-Fraijo had been convicted of an aggravated felony offense, namely conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Mejia-Fraijo remains in custody of the United States Marshals and will remain in custody pending sentencing. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 25-4015. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

MIL Security OSI –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Convicted Felon Indicted for Operating Enormous Fentanyl Pill Pressing Lab with Weapons Stash

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ATLANTA – Bartholomew Keeton Harralson, 47, of Atlanta, Ga., was charged earlier today by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Harralson allegedly possessed 28 firearms, including a machine gun, and hundreds of thousands of pills containing fentanyl and other illicit drugs.

“Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, DEA, and our U.S. Attorney, Georgians are safer following this drug bust. This defendant was using state-of-the-art pill presses to produce poison on a massive scale — he will now face severe consequences for his alleged crimes as we continue to shut down fentanyl networks across the country,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

“This armed felon allegedly ran a massive fentanyl pill pressing operation in our community, producing enough deadly fentanyl to potentially kill millions of people,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Due to the quick action and seamless collaboration of our law enforcement partners, Harralson now faces federal drug and firearms charges, his operation has been dismantled, and countless lives have almost certainly been saved.”

“The scale of this fentanyl operation—run by a convicted felon—posed a grave threat to our community,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The presence of high-powered firearms alongside industrial pill-pressing equipment underscores the deadly convergence of drug trafficking and violence. The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to dismantling these operations and holding dangerous individuals accountable.”

“The DEA and our partners are working hard day in and day out to protect our communities from the dangers and violence associated with drug trafficking. DEA’s priorities are to save American lives and to keep our communities safe,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “We will continue to leverage every partnership, and every resource available to ensure drug traffickers who distribute poison, like fentanyl and other illicit drugs in our communities, are brought to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: On June 5, 2025, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Bartholomew Keeton Harralson’s Atlanta-area residence. Once inside, law enforcement located over 56 kilograms of fentanyl, 84 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 10 kilograms of heroin, and approximately four kilograms of cocaine – all in the form of powders and hundreds of thousands of pressed pills. Law enforcement also located nine firearms, including one converted to function as a machine gun, $145,000 in cash, and a book titled “How to Avoid Federal Drug Conspiracy & Firearms Charges.” Harralson was arrested at the scene.

Later that same day, law enforcement executed another federal search warrant at Harralson’s Douglasville, Georgia residence. In that residence, law enforcement found two large pill press machines capable of pressing up to 25,000 pills per hour, three hydraulic presses used to form kilogram-sized bricks of narcotics, more than 37 kilograms of fentanyl, approximately 13 kilograms of methamphetamine, just over eight kilograms of heroin, and more than six kilograms of cocaine. These drugs, like those recovered during the search of Harralson’s other residence, were in the form of powder and hundreds of thousands of pressed pills. In addition, in a machine shop located behind the Douglasville residence, law enforcement found approximately 1,375 pounds of binding agent used to press pills, 564 punch dies to mark the pills, 19 firearms, four drum-style magazines, and a significant amount of ammunition.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with valuable assistance provided by the South Fulton Police Department and Douglasville Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Forsyth, III is prosecuting the case.

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

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

MIL Security OSI –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: NATO and Bosnia and Herzegovina boost practical cooperation

Source: NATO

Four military police vehicles were donated to the Military Police of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina at a ceremony held today (10 June 2025), at the Rajlovac barracks. The ceremony marked the completion of the delivery of this equipment and associated training, under Slovenia’s lead, in the framework of NATO’s Defence Capacity Building Package for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Piers Cazalet, Director for Defence and Security Cooperation at NATO Headquarters in Brussels participated, together with high-level representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the International Community, including Zukan Helez, Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borut Sajovic, Minister of Defence of Slovenia, Brigadier General Matthew Valas, Commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, and Ambassador Vladimir Vucinic, Head of the NATO Political Engagement Support Cell.

“Today, we take stock of an important milestone in NATO’s cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Mr. Cazalet said. “Slovenia’s steadfast leadership has been key to complete this programme. Slovenia is the first NATO Ally that stepped up its support to Bosnia and Herzegovina, when the NATO Defence Capacity Building Package of assistance was agreed; thanks to Slovenia, the Armed Force of Bosnia and Herzegovina are now better equipped and trained to conduct military police tasks, to cooperate with civilian authorities in the event of emergencies, and to be interoperable with NATO in operations and missions; this is a win-win for all,” he added.

In February 2023, Allied Defence Ministers endorsed a new Defence Capacity Building package for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assistance package will strengthen the country’s defence and security capabilities, including in areas such as crisis management, cyber defence, aero-medical evacuation and countering terrorism.

MIL Security OSI –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Children in urgent need of immunization as measles spreads in Darfur News Jun 10, 2025

Source: Doctors Without Borders –

Outbreaks of measles have spread widely across Sudan’s Darfur region over the past year, affecting people in many communities where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are treating patients. While mass vaccination campaigns are finally underway in several locations across the region, it is vital to increase efforts to reach children who have never been vaccinated.

MSF first observed a surge in measles cases in June 2024 in Rokero, Central Darfur, where MSF teams have been running the local Ministry of Health hospital without interruption since 2020. At the start of 2025, cases were also reported in East Jebel Marra in South Darfur, and in Forbrenga in West Darfur. More recently, new surges are occurring in Zalengei, Sortony, and in Tine, eastern Chad—all places where MSF operates.

From June 2024 until the end of May 2025, more than 9,950 patients were treated for measles in health facilities run or supported by MSF in the region. Around 2,700 were complicated cases requiring hospitalization, and 35 deaths were recorded. To manage the influx of patients, MSF had to expand pediatric bed capacity in three hospitals.

Zubeida holds her 21-month-old, Halima, in one of three measles isolation wards MSF set up in Rokero Hospital. | Sudan 2025 © Thibault Fendler/MSF

Conflict and low immunization coverage compound threat

One of the root causes of this situation is the region’s already-low immunization coverage. “In Forbrenga, 30 percent of the measles patients we are receiving are above the age of 5 years and only 5 percent of them are vaccinated,” explains Sue Bucknell, MSF’s deputy head of mission in West Darfur. “This suggests that the lack of vaccination dates back further than the recent conflict.”

“The ongoing conflict is also contributing to this outbreak, constraining the capacities of medical actors to both prevent and respond to outbreaks of contagious diseases,” adds Dr. Cecilia Greco, MSF medical coordinator for Central Darfur. “Mass population displacement has made the illness spread even faster across the region, further complicating the situation.”

Reactive campaigns are only a Band-Aid on an open wound unless massive efforts are put in place for immunization and prevention across Darfur, including its most remote areas.
Dr. Cecilia Greco, MSF medical coordinator for Central Darfur

Since the war broke out in Sudan in April 2023, constant administrative impediments and regular blockades of key supply roads have caused vaccine shortages throughout Darfur. This led to the disruption of routine immunization programs in several locations, sometimes for months. In Sortony, for example, a camp for internally displaced people in North Darfur hosting more than 55,000 people, vaccination stopped completely from May 2024 to February 2025.

These constraints and shortages have also limited MSF’s ability to respond. Last year, MSF carried out several vaccination campaigns, including one in North Jebel Marra in November 2024 in which 9,600 children were vaccinated. However, due to limited vaccine supplies, MSF teams were forced to exclude children over 5 years old, despite clear needs. This inevitably reduced the long-term impact of these campaigns. While the vaccination campaign in North Jebel Marra initially slowed the outbreak, cases began to rise sharply again in February.

Asha rests in MSF’s isolation ward in Tawila Hospital, where her 14-month-old child, Marwan, was admitted with measles symptoms two days prior. MSF has had to triple its pediatric bed capacity in response to the measles outbreak. | Sudan 2025 © Thibault Fendler/MSF

Massive efforts are needed for prevention

Although mass vaccination campaigns are now underway in different parts of Darfur, they were delayed by lengthy negotiations. After MSF first raised the alarm about multiple surges in measles cases, it took months for the federal Ministry of Health in Port Sudan and UNICEF to release the needed vaccines from their stocks, finally enabling mass vaccination campaigns to be launched in different areas of Darfur.

Last week, 55,800 children from nine months to 15 years old were vaccinated in Forbrenga as part of a campaign led by the Ministry of Health and supported by MSF. In a similar campaign, 93,000 more children are set to receive the vaccine in North Jebel Marra and Sortony by the end of this week.

“Even if they represent a certain achievement, these campaigns should have happened much sooner,” says Dr. Greco. “Many measles cases and their consequences could have been prevented. And as much as they are needed, such reactive campaigns are only a Band-Aid on an open wound unless massive efforts are put in place for immunization and prevention across Darfur, including its most remote areas.”

The threat of further outbreaks of disease will persist unless such efforts are initiated. “Measles is not the only contagious illness currently present in Darfur with the potential to turn into outbreaks,” says Bucknell. Over the last 10 days, about 200 people with suspected cases of cholera arrived in MSF-supported health facilities in two different Darfur states. This follows a significant cholera outbreak in Khartoum state and other parts of Sudan.

“It is essential that federal and local health authorities, UN agencies, and all medical actors on the ground collaborate not only to catch up on the vaccination of all the children left behind by immunization programs over the years, but also to enhance their ability to respond quickly and efficiently should any other outbreaks, like cholera, start spreading in Darfur,” adds Dr. Greco. “This includes the capacity to supply vaccines in and across Sudan, without facing the same impediments anymore.”

We speak out. Get updates.

MIL OSI NGO –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Bacon, Min Reintroduce Orozco Act

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Don Bacon (2nd District of Nebraska)

Bacon, Min Reintroduce Orozco Act

The legislation allows immediate relatives of first responders who die in the line of duty to continue to process their immigration application in a timely manner despite the death of their loved one.

Washington – Yesterday, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02), along with Rep. Dave Min (D-CA-47), re-introduced H.R. 3832, the “Kerrie Orozco First Responders Family Act.” This legislation allows immediate relatives of first responders who die in the line of duty to continue to process their immigration application in a timely manner despite the death of their loved one. It simply extends the privilege to first responders that current law affords to spouses of U.S. military serving our country.

The legislation is named after Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco, who was gunned down ten years ago on May 20 while serving a felony arrest warrant as part of the city’s gang unit. Orozco, who had delayed her maternity leave until her premature baby girl Olivia could come home, was due to pick her up hours later that day. In addition to her husband Hector, she was survived by her stepchildren Natalie and Santiago.

“Four years ago, when Officer Kerrie Orozco was killed, her husband Hector was going through the immigration process. His immigration status should not have been put in jeopardy because his wife made the ultimate sacrifice protecting our community,” said Rep. Bacon. “Our first responders put their lives on the line every time they go to work ensuring our families and communities are safe. If they are killed in the line of duty, we owe them peace of mind knowing their families will be taken care of and not forgotten.”

“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe,” said Rep. Min. “The families of the officers who make the ultimate sacrifice for us shouldn’t be forced to deal with extra red tape as they’re grieving. I’m proud to support this common-sense legislation to support the brave law enforcement families around our nation.”
Under current law, the surviving family members of first responders who have pending immigration applications face delays in the naturalization process.

The legislation is supported by: American Business Immigration Coalition (AIBC), FWD.us, National Immigration Forum, Police Officers’ Defense Coalition, and the U.S. Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

“This bill is a compassionate, commonsense step toward honoring those who make the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country and local communities, and the families who carry their legacy forward. It recognizes that many of our country’s heroes are part of immigrant families, and that their spouses and children are deeply rooted in our communities. These families embody the strength and values that hold our country together. Protecting them isn’t just the right thing to do, it reflects who we are as a nation,” said ABIC CEO, Rebecca Shi.

“In the aftermath of a line of duty death, the FOP, the fallen heroes department and the community grieve together and do what they can to support the family and loved ones they leave behind. In the tragic case of Officer Kellie Orozco, who was shot and killed just days before she was to bring home her baby—a daughter that was born prematurely—she left behind a husband who faced a lengthy nationalization process while caring for their three children as a single parent. Modeled on the Gold Star Families program, the legislation would provide that a surviving spouse, child or parent of a U.S. citizen public safety officer who died in service or as a result of their service to apply for U.S. citizenship more quickly by waiving the five-year continuous residence and the 30-month physical presence requirements for naturalization. The FOP is proud to support the bill,” said Patrick Yoe, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police.

“The National Immigration Forum supports The Kerrie Orozco First Responders Act, a commonsense, bipartisan immigration reform that recognizes the sacrifice of fallen first responders and their family members. This bill helps surviving non-citizen spouses, parents, or children of U.S. citizen public safety officers by streamlining their process for obtaining citizenship, providing them a measure of stability and peace of mind. This compassionate and sensible reform would afford these family members a more direct path to permanent status and citizenship, an important and well-deserved gesture at a particularly difficult time,” said Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum.

“This important legislation stands as a profound and compassionate testament to the brave men and women who make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. By allowing the spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen public safety officer to be naturalized- provided the officer’s death resulted from a line-of-duty injury and all relevant immigration law requirements are met-this bill affirms a deep moral truth: that our nation not only values the lives of those who serve, but also honors and supports the families they leave behind,” said Bert Eyler, President of the Police Officers’ Defense Coalition.

This legislation is part of Rep. Bacon’s overall approach to immigration, which includes securing our borders and fixing our broken immigration system.

Click here to read the legislation.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Scott Perry Introduces the “No Desire for Streetcars Act”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10) introduced the No Desire for Streetcars Act, a bill prohibiting mass transit pet projects masquerading as legitimate public infrastructure.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, unless we’re talking about publicly-funded streetcars – expensive, ugly, and slow,” said Congressman Perry. “Academic, out-of-touch city planners are the only proponents of building roads to nowhere. Streetcars are the worst of the worst – dysfunctional and expensive at best, and funnel tax dollars to large coastal cities and out of the pockets of hardworking Americans.”

The No Desire for Streetcars Act ends funding for the D.C. streetcar boondoggle, and for any current or future copycat transit infrastructure projects. In Washington, the streetcar cost exceeded $200 million, took years to implement, and never collected a single fare.

Washington D.C. is phasing out the streetcar line by 2025, and replacing it with an electric bus after the abject failure of the decades-long project. Taxpayers can’t afford another failed mass transit project, and the No Desire for Streetcars Act eliminates the risk of one by codifying common sense.

Read more here.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: World’s most powerful ex-New Yorker gets a DC military parade, not a ticker-tape celebration in Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lincoln Mitchell, Lecturer, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

Heavy equipment and military vehicles arrive in Jessup, Md., for the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade on June 14, 2025, which coincides with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump’s plan for a military parade on June 14, 2025, officially to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army as well as coinciding with the president’s 79th birthday, is yet another indication of his affinity for authoritarian leaders and regimes.

Although the parade, which will include 6,000 soldiers, 150 military vehicles and 50 helicopters − and will temporarily close Reagan National Airport and cost more than US$45 million − is ostensibly to celebrate the military, the idea is pure Trump.

When pressed about his desire for the parade, the president has explained his reasoning for having the parade.

“We had more to do with winning World War II than any other nation. Why don’t we have a Victory Day? So we’re going to have a Victory Day for World War I and for World War II.”

While big military parades in Washington, D.C., other than immediately following a major military victory, are largely without precedent, there is another American city that has a much richer tradition of parades. That city is New York.

Melania Trump and President Donald Trump joined French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, to watch the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris on July 14, 2017, an event that inspired Trump to seek a parade in Washington, D.C.
Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Trump vs. NYC

New York is a parade town. It’s also a city with which Trump has a long, complex relationship.

Trump was born in New York and began his business career there. Before Trump was a politician, or even a reality TV star, he was a fixture in the New York tabloids. His marriages, divorces, dating life and business successes and failures were splashed across more headlines than can be easily counted beginning in the early 1980s, but Trump was always presented as a clownish figure, albeit a very rich one.

In those years, continuing into the first decade of this century, the local media always presented him as gaudy, loud and not quite as business savvy as he claimed – hence the coverage of his bankruptcies.

While much of the rest of the country bought the Trump narrative that he was a brilliant businessman surrounded by beautiful women, doting staff and fawning celebrities, many New Yorkers never did.

New Yorkers, including me, remembered an earlier Trump who almost ran the family business into the ground over many years. Nonetheless, New York has always been important to Trump. Although he still is a well-done steak with ketchup kind of guy, while New York is a soup dumplings, or bagels and lox, or arroz con pollo, or even caviar kind of town, Trump still has a connection to this city and wants to be celebrated here.

Politicians, heroes and ticker tape

And the city celebrates with big parades honoring everything from sports championships, which used to be much more common for New York teams, to the U.S. winning wars, most recently following the first Gulf War in 1991. Additionally, New York has parades for many of the hundreds of ethnic groups that make up the city.

For decades on Thanksgiving Day, as they roast their turkey, prepare the stuffing and finalize preparations for the traditional feast, millions of Americans have watched the Thanksgiving parade, which is always held in Manhattan, frequently referred to as the Macy’s Day parade because Macy’s has long sponsored the event.

In many of New York City’s legendary parades, including those celebrating LGBTQ+ pride, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, St. Patrick’s Day, West Indian American Day and others, politicians march, often in the lead, alongside their constituents.

Some, like the Thanksgiving parade, have their own rituals, such as watching the balloons being inflated behind the American Museum of Natural History on the evening before Thanksgiving.

However, the most famous of all parade types in New York is the ticker-tape parade. Dating from the days when paper, not computers, dominated trading floors and offices, people would throw ticker tape and other papers out their windows as the parade passed through the Financial District area that became known as the Canyon of Heroes.

Not all New York parades are the same. Some, like the Thanksgiving parade, are simply fun and celebratory. Ticker-tape parades honor individuals or groups that have accomplished something significant, like landing on the Moon or winning the Super Bowl. They can recognize important foreign guests and dignitaries, while other parades celebrate the contributions of various peoples or groups of New Yorkers.

But New Yorkers never throw parades for their politicians and tend to favor drums and floats rather than tanks and soldiers at these events.

An avalanche of confetti rains down on Aug. 13, 1969, honoring the three astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission, who became the first people to walk on the Moon.
Bettman/Getty Images

No ticker tape for Trump

While there are parades for all kinds of people and events in New York, there has never been a parade there for Donald Trump. There was a pretty massive street party in the city when it was announced that Trump had lost the 2020 election.

Although Trump changed his primary residence to Florida in 2019, Trump was a New Yorker for many years and like many longtime residents had the chance to see many heroes – Mickey Mantle, John Glenn, Tom Seaver, Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Nelson Mandela, American war veterans, numerous foreign leaders and many others – feted with a parade down the Canyon of Heroes. Jeter was celebrated five times, John Glenn and Mickey Mantle twice.

It is impossible to know Trump’s motivations for pushing the parade in the nation’s capital. But we also know that he is a man who holds himself in high regard and craves attention. Trump will likely never get a parade in his erstwhile hometown, so Washington must be the next best thing.

Trump’s newfound parade fetish underscores his love-hate relationship with New York.

New York is the city that made him famous and made his family, primarily because of his father’s work, very rich. It is also the city that has repeatedly rejected Trump. It is the home of some of his worst real estate deals, the place where the business community lost patience with his antics and unwillingness to pay contractors, and where three times the voters turned out in huge numbers against him.

A Washington, D.C., parade celebrating an unappreciated New Yorker who years ago decamped to Florida and Washington is a pale imitation of the Canyon of Heroes, where New Yorkers honor beloved leaders, war heroes, explorers and their favorite sports stars. But it is all Trump has.

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

– ref. World’s most powerful ex-New Yorker gets a DC military parade, not a ticker-tape celebration in Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes – https://theconversation.com/worlds-most-powerful-ex-new-yorker-gets-a-dc-military-parade-not-a-ticker-tape-celebration-in-manhattans-canyon-of-heroes-258110

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Reaching out for a clearer view of the economy
Source: Bank of Canada

We’re gathering more information

Traditional data on inflation, jobs and housing are key to our decisions about whether to lower, raise or maintain our policy interest rate. But they often just give the big picture. And they show what has already happened, weeks later.

Non-traditional data can help us see what’s happening under the surface—and in a timelier way. That’s especially helpful in uncertain and rapidly changing situations.
- At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we used data on restaurant reservations, flight bookings and credit card transactions to see how consumer spending patterns were shifting in real time.
- Today, to gauge the early impact of tariffs, we’re looking at changes in the number of trucks crossing the Canada-US border and the volume of ships entering and leaving ports.
Similarly, our surveys give us a clearer sense of the evolution of the economy, and timelier insights from Canadians across regions and sectors. The quarterly Business Outlook Survey (BOS), the monthly Business Leaders’ Pulse (BLP) and the quarterly Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations have been especially helpful in recent years.

MIL OSI Canada News –
June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Bank of Canada holds policy rate at 2¾%

Source: Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 2.75%, with the Bank Rate at 3% and the deposit rate at 2.70%.

Since the April Monetary Policy Report, the US administration has continued to increase and decrease various tariffs. China and the United States have stepped back from extremely high tariffs and bilateral trade negotiations have begun with a number of countries. However, the outcomes of these negotiations are highly uncertain, tariff rates are well above their levels at the beginning of 2025, and new trade actions are still being threatened. Uncertainty remains high.

While the global economy has shown resilience in recent months, this partly reflects a temporary surge in activity to get ahead of tariffs. In the United States, domestic demand remained relatively strong but higher imports pulled down first-quarter GDP. US inflation has ticked down but remains above 2%, with the price effects of tariffs still to come. In Europe, economic growth has been supported by exports, while defence spending is set to increase. China’s economy has slowed as the effects of past fiscal support fade. More recently, high tariffs have begun to curtail Chinese exports to the US. Since the financial market turmoil in April, risk assets have largely recovered and volatility has diminished, although markets remain sensitive to US policy announcements. Oil prices have fluctuated but remain close to their levels at the time of the April MPR.

In Canada, economic growth in the first quarter came in at 2.2%, slightly stronger than the Bank had forecast, while the composition of GDP growth was largely as expected. The pull-forward of exports to the United States and inventory accumulation boosted activity, with final domestic demand roughly flat. Strong spending on machinery and equipment held up growth in business investment by more than expected. Consumption slowed from its very strong fourth-quarter pace, but continued to grow despite a large drop in consumer confidence. Housing activity was down, driven by a sharp contraction in resales. Government spending also declined. The labour market has weakened, particularly in trade-intensive sectors, and unemployment has risen to 6.9%. The economy is expected to be considerably weaker in the second quarter, with the strength in exports and inventories reversing and final domestic demand remaining subdued.

CPI inflation eased to 1.7% in April, as the elimination of the federal consumer carbon tax reduced inflation by 0.6 percentage points. Excluding taxes, inflation rose 2.3% in April, slightly stronger than the Bank had expected. The Bank’s preferred measures of core inflation, as well as other measures of underlying inflation, moved up. Recent surveys indicate that households continue to expect that tariffs will raise prices and many businesses say they intend to pass on the costs of higher tariffs. The Bank will be watching all these indicators closely to gauge how inflationary pressures are evolving.

With uncertainty about US tariffs still high, the Canadian economy softer but not sharply weaker, and some unexpected firmness in recent inflation data, Governing Council decided to hold the policy rate as we gain more information on US trade policy and its impacts. We will continue to assess the timing and strength of both the downward pressures on inflation from a weaker economy and the upward pressures on inflation from higher costs.

Governing Council is proceeding carefully, with particular attention to the risks and uncertainties facing the Canadian economy. These include: the extent to which higher US tariffs reduce demand for Canadian exports; how much this spills over into business investment, employment and household spending; how much and how quickly cost increases are passed on to consumer prices; and how inflation expectations evolve.

We are focused on ensuring that Canadians continue to have confidence in price stability through this period of global upheaval. We will support economic growth while ensuring inflation remains well controlled.

Information note

The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is July 30, 2025. The Bank will publish its next MPR at the same time.

MIL OSI Canada News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Care Reform (Scotland) Bill passed
Source: Scottish Government

Transforming social care.

Plans to transform social care across Scotland will be progressed after the Scottish Parliament approved the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Thousands of people with experience of accessing, delivering and receiving social care, social work and community health services have helped co-design the legislation, putting people at the heart of reform.

The Bill will bring forward a number of enhancements to social care that include:
- enshrining Anne’s Law into legislation to uphold the rights of people living in adult care homes to see loved ones and identify an essential care supporter
- strengthening support for unpaid carers by establishing a legal right to breaks, following the additional £13 million already allocated for up to 40,000 carers to take voluntary sector short breaks
- empowering people to access information on their care and improving the flow of information across care settings
- improving access to independent advocacy to guarantee people are heard and involved in decisions about their own care
- creating a National Chief Social Work Adviser role to provide professional leadership and champion the sector, as part of plans for a new National Social Work Agency.
Alongside the Bill, an advisory board will be established to drive progress and scrutinise reform, replacing an interim board that met for the first time in May.

Social Care Minister Maree Todd said: “More than 200,000 people across Scotland access care each year.

“Anyone may need care during their lives, and that care should be high quality and delivered consistently across Scotland. That is why we have been so determined to bring forward much-needed reform, alongside the work we are already doing through the near £2.2 billion total investment in social care and integration in 2025-26.

“Reform is not easy to deliver and it is being made more challenging by recent UK Government changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions and changes to migration. These will undoubtedly impact on care delivery.

“However, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to deliver the sustainable change to social care that people urgently need.

“This is a significant step that will strengthen the rights of people living in care homes, support unpaid carers and social workers and improve experiences for the many people who access social care across Scotland.”

Background
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Israel and the OPTs: Minister for the Middle East Statement

Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

Written statement to Parliament

Israel and the OPTs: Minister for the Middle East Statement

Minister for the Middle East statement to Parliament on UK sanctions on Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich

With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The two-state solution is in peril.

Catastrophic conflict in Gaza…

and a shocking deterioration in the West Bank.

This is an affront to the rights of Palestinians…

but is also against the interests of Israelis…

against their long-term security and their democracy.

Today, I will update the House on new actions we are taking…

to uphold human rights…

and defend the vision and viability of two sides living side-by-side in peace.

Mr Speaker, 2024 saw the worst settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in the last two decades.

2025 is on track to be just as violent.

Between 1996 and 2023, an average of seven illegal settler outposts were established annually.

In 2024, settlers erected 59.

These outposts are illegal under both Israeli and international law.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli government itself announced 22 new settlements in the West Bank.

Every outpost…

every building the settlers erect…

is a flagrant breach of international law…

and disregards the views of Israel’s partners.

There are now in excess of five hundred thousand settlers living in the West Bank…

and over 100,000 in East Jerusalem…

the territory that must form the heart of a sovereign, viable and free Palestine.

Mr Speaker, the sharp growth in settlements alone is dangerous enough.

But it has been accompanied by a steep rise in settler violence and extremist rhetoric.

Itamar Ben-Gvir has led seven provocative intrusions into Haram Al Sharif/Temple Mount since 2022.

In 2023, settlers rampaged through the village of Huwara…

in what Israel’s own West Bank military commander described as a “pogrom done by outlaws”.

Last month, the villagers of Mughayyir ad-Deir fled their homes in fear after the construction of an illegal outpost 100m away.

This month, settlers attacked the town of Deir Dibwan…

setting fire to houses and injuring residents.

This violence and rhetoric is deeply concerning.

An assault not just on Palestinian communities…

but on the very fundamentals of a two-state solution.

An attempt to entrench a one-state reality, where there are no equal rights.

The two-state solution remains the only viable framework for a just and lasting peace…

I know it is supported on every side of this House.

Israelis living in secure borders…

recognised and at peace with their neighbours…

free from the threat of terrorism.

Palestinians living in their own state…

with dignity and security…

free of occupation.

Mr Speaker, we are steadfastly committed to defending that vision…

not just with words, but with action.

That is why we have pledged £101m in additional support to the Palestinian people this year.

Why we are working to strengthen and reform the Palestinian Authority…

Why My Right Honourable Friend the Foreign Secretary signed a landmark agreement with Prime Minister Mustafa…

and why my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister welcomed him to Downing Street.

Why we are clear that Hamas must release the hostages immediately and unconditionally, and that Hamas can have no role in Palestinian governance.

Why we are committed to working with civil society – Israeli and Palestinian – to support those who believe in peace and coexistence.

However, Mr Speaker, the gravity of the situation demands further action.

The reality is that these human rights abuses…

incitement to violence…

the extremist rhetoric…

comes not just from an uncontrolled fringe…

but from individuals who are Ministers in this Israeli government.

We have to hold them to account and protect the viability of the two-state solution.

And so today, we are sanctioning Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir…

acting alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway…

who have also announced their own measures today.

These two men are responsible for inciting settler violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank…

violence which has led to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of whole towns and villages.

This violence constitutes an abuse of Palestinians human rights.

It is cruel and degrading…

and completely unacceptable.

We have told the Israeli Government repeatedly that we would take tougher action if this did not stop.

It still didn’t.

The appalling rhetoric has continued unchecked.

Violent perpetrators continue to act with encouragement and impunity.

So let me tell the House now…

when we say something, we mean it.

Today, with our partners…

we have shown the extremists we will not sit by while they wreck the prospects of future peace.

Mr Speaker, our actions today do not diminish our support for the security of Israel and the Israeli people.

The agendas of these two men are not even supported by the majority of Israelis…

Israelis recognise that these individuals are not working in their interest.

As the Foreign Secretary said to this House last month…

we want a strong friendship with Israel based on shared values and our many close ties.

Our condemnation of Hamas, a proscribed organisation…

and the appalling attacks of October 7th is unequivocal.

Our commitment to Israel’s security and future is unwavering.

We will continue to press for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza…

the release of the hostages still held so cruelly by Hamas…

a ramping up of aid to those Gazans in desperate need.

The repeated threats by Hamas to the lives of the hostages are grotesque…

and prolongs the agony of their families and loved ones.

Hamas should release all the hostages immediately and unconditionally.

Mr Speaker, the situation in the West Bank cannot be seen in isolation from events in Gaza.

Extremist rhetoric advocating forced displacement of Palestinians…

denial of essential aid…

the creation of new Israeli settlements in the Strip…

is equally appalling and dangerous.

This Government will never accept the unlawful transfer of Gazans from or within Gaza…

nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza Strip.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic.

While Israel’s ground and air operations expand, Gazans have been pushed into less than 20% of the territory.

Hospitals have been destroyed and damaged.

Gaza’s entire population is at risk of famine.

Meanwhile, Israel’s newly introduced measures for aid delivery endanger civilians and foster desperation.

They are inhumane.

The Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah reported last week that it has responded to an unprecedented five mass casualty incidents in the two weeks prior…

in each case, Palestinians have been killed or injured trying to access aid sites in Gaza.

Desperate civilians who have endured twenty months of war should never face the risk of death or injury simply to feed themselves and their families.

We need further action from the Israeli government now…

to lift all restrictions on aid…

to enable the UN and aid partners to do their work…

and to ensure food and other critical supplies can reach people safely wherever they are.

We will continue to support the UN and other trusted NGOs as the most effective and principled partners for aid delivery.

Our support has meant over 465,000 people have received essential healthcare…

640,000 have received food…

and 275,000 people have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

We support the efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

And we welcome France and Saudi Arabia’s initiative to chair an international conference later this month to advance a two-state solution.

Mr Speaker, it is a two-state solution that is the only way to bring the long-lasting peace that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve.

But it must not remain an empty slogan…

repeated by generations of diplomats and politicians…

but increasingly divorced from the reality on the ground.

Mr Smotrich said there is no such thing as a Palestinian nation.

Mr Ben Gvir has spoken of his rights in the West Bank…

a territory his government is occupying…

as more important than the rights of millions of Palestinians.

Their own words condemn them, Mr Speaker.

To defend those Palestinians’ rights…

to protect the two-state solution…

to see Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in safety and security…

this Government is taking action.

I commend this statement to the House.

Updates to this page

Published 10 June 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Bilirakis Bill to Crack Down on Crime By Eliminating Inmate Cell Phone Use

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12)

Washington, DC: Earlier today, Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) re-filed the Eliminate Non-approved Devices and Contraband Electronics Limiting Links to Society (END CELLS) Act. Congressman Bilirakis was prompted to take action after countless reports of rising rates of prisoners using contraband cellphones to facilitate crime in communities throughout the country despite being locked behind bars. The END CELLS Act will provide additional penalties on prisoners who are found to illegally possess cellphones while incarcerated and on those who have smuggled or attempted to smuggle wireless devices into prisons. Specifically, the legislation will amend the federal Communications Act to make it unlawful for anyone to provide or attempt to provide a federal, state or local prisoner with a wireless communications device and further make it unlawful for a prisoner to possess such a device while incarcerated. Additionally, the measure creates criminal and civil penalties of up to $50,000 for each violation.

“Americans deserve the confidence of knowing that once a criminal has been locked away, that the perpetrator cannot continue to victimize others from behind bars,” said Congressman Gus Bilirakis. “We have seen prisoners use illegal devices to facilitate escape attempts, coordinate murders, and endanger children to sexual predators. Enough is enough!We can lower the incidence of criminal acts taking place from behind bars by cracking down on those who smuggle electronic devices into prisons and on those who are found in possession of these illegal devices.”

“One of the most fundamental rules in securing a facility is controlling an inmate’s ability to plan an escape or contraband introduction with someone on the outside,” said Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis. “It is also important, when trying to dismantle a criminal enterprise, to limit the ability of those incarcerated leaders to run the organization from prison. Therefore, if we want to give our prison administrators the tools they need to prevent escapes, reduce contraband, and hold criminals accountable, we must send a very clear message that prisoner accessible cell phones will not be tolerated. It is simply a common sense measure from Congressman Gus Bilirakis, who is known for his common sense approach to these criticality important public safety issues.”

“My primary focus is keeping our community safe,” said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco. “I fully support, and thank Congressman Bilirakis for his leadership in, any efforts to reduce victimization in our community and to hold those who commit crime in our community accountable for their actions, which includes not being able to commit any further offenses while they are incarcerated.”

“As President of the American Jail Association (AJA), which represents the dedicated men and women working in our nation’s local jails, I applaud Congressman Bilirakis for his bold action to address a serious threat to public and facility safety. Contraband cell phones undermine security, compromise investigations, and endanger communities. Jail professionals work hard to prevent escapes and disrupt criminal enterprises, and this legislation gives us stronger tools to stop criminal activity behind bars,” noted Shaun Klucznik, President of AJA.

Kelly Cole, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs of CTIA remarked, “CTIA applauds Representative Gus Bilirakis for reintroducing the END CELLS Act, which expressly makes it illegal for a prisoner to possess a cellphone, setting new penalties for violations. The unauthorized use of cellphones by the incarcerated is a serious issue, and the wireless industry is committed to working with policymakers, corrections officials and other stakeholders to advance solutions that keep cellphones out of prisons, while also protecting lawful communications.”

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Zealand Veterinary Association Award Evening

Source: New Zealand Government

Good evening,
It’s a real privilege to be here with you tonight, among people who play such a vital role in the wellbeing of our animals, our communities, and our economy.

Veterinarians are essential to New Zealand. Upholding our global reputation for world-leading animal welfare standards, something we are known for and proud of.
Let’s not forget, we are a country with one of the highest rates of companion animal ownership in the world, and large parts of our economy rely on production animals.

Our food and fibre sector is the backbone of this country, making up 10% of our GDP and supporting around 360,000 jobs. In the year to April 2025, dairy exports brought in $26.8 billion, and meat exports $9.7 billion. None of this would be possible without the work of our veterinarians.

You are essential to the success of our animal-based industries. You’re not just treating animals; you’re enabling our trade, our economy, and our reputation.

You make market access possible, protect the health and welfare status of our animals, and serve as trusted advisors on farms—the first line of defence in our surveillance programmes. Those of you working at MPI ensure our compliance with international standards, manage disease control and quarantine, and give markets confidence in our systems.

Take our biosecurity system, one of the best in the world. This system, which helps us detect threats like Mycoplasma bovis early, relies on your vigilance, expertise, and commitment. Without vets, we don’t maintain those crucial disease-free statuses, and without those, we don’t trade. It’s that simple.

Looking ahead, climate change and sustainability are rising priorities, not just here but for our trading partners too. Veterinarians, with your deep understanding of the interconnectedness of animals, humans, and the environment, are uniquely placed to be a part of this conversation, and I believe your insights are key.

As a government, we absolutely recognise your value. That’s why, back in 2009, we established the Veterinary Bonding Scheme. Since then, it has helped 483 graduate vets into rural practice, where they are most needed. Each year, over 30 new graduates join the scheme, and in 2024, we saw the highest intake yet: 35.

We’re continuing to listen to the profession to hear what you need. Just this April, I announced a change to the regulations allowing trained non-veterinarians, under a vet’s authorisation, to perform subgingival dental procedures on cats and dogs.

As a farmer, I know how stretched vets are, and I also know how skilled our veterinary nurses are. This change gives them the legal protection to put those skills to use, meaning better dental care for our pets, allowing vets to focus on more complex cases, and overall, providing better service for pet owners.
I want to sincerely thank the New Zealand Veterinary Association, particularly the Companion Animal Veterinarians Branch, for your work with MPI to develop this regulation. Your advocacy and collaboration, alongside other industry voices, have made a real difference.
Thank you for everything you do to keep our animals well, safeguard our biosecurity, and protect our food safety systems.
And finally, a massive congratulations to the eight award winners we’re celebrating tonight. Your excellence lifts the whole profession. And as I know a few of you I am looking forward to congratulating you in person.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: China to Build National Heritage Route Along Ancient Silk Road

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

LANZHOU, June 10 (Xinhua) — China plans to build its first national heritage route along the historically significant Hexi Corridor in northwest China within the next 10 years, part of its goal to strengthen the protection, preservation and utilization of cultural and natural heritage.

The plan was announced on Tuesday at a press conference by the people’s government of Gansu Province in northwest China.

According to He Xiaozu, head of the provincial department of culture and tourism, a series of projects will be implemented in Gansu focusing on heritage protection and utilization, infrastructure construction, tourism facility distribution, and international exchanges and cooperation. They will cover a total of 52 representative cultural and natural heritage sites and 20 national-level intangible cultural heritage projects along the Hexi Corridor, he said.

The total investment to support the implementation of 120 specific tasks related to the construction of the route will amount to 610 million yuan (US$84.9 million), He Xiaozu said.

For many years, China has carried out large-scale work to preserve and rationally utilize the cultural heritage in the Hexi Corridor. Thus, the Chinese government has invested a total of 540 million yuan in preserving the cultural heritage of the relevant section of the Great Wall of China and has facilitated the implementation of more than 110 protection and restoration projects.

The Hexi Corridor, part of the ancient Silk Road and stretching for nearly 1,000 km across Gansu Province, is home to five UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 53 grottoes.

“The national heritage route will be built in strict accordance with the principle of minimal interference and will become an important platform for China to share cultural achievements with the rest of the world and promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations,” said Qiu Jian, head of the Gansu Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Huizenga Introduces Clear the ROADS Act to hold Governor Newsom Accountable, Freeze Federal Highway Funding
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02)

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) announced the reintroduction of the Clear the ROADS (Reckless Obstructions and Dangers on Streets) Act. The Clear the ROADS Act is a direct response to the increasing trend of unlawful traffic-obstructing protests that have been deployed across the United States. News reports highlight how rioters and those protesting the removal of criminal illegal immigrants in California shut down the 101 in downtown Los Angeles.

“The Clear the ROADS Act would provide the Trump Administration with another tool to hold states accountable for ensuring federally funded roads aren’t overrun by these dangerous roadblocking activities,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “If States are neglecting their duties to keep their federal taxpayer-funded roads free from these traffic-obstructing actions, then federal taxpayer funds should be withheld from those States. My legislation recognizes that endangering the free flow of ambulances, fire trucks, and other drivers is not an option. Based on Governor Gavin Newsom’s handling of the recent road-blocking riots in California, the Clear the ROADS Act would provide President Trump, Secretary Duffy, and the Administration with the ability to penalize California’s access to roughly 400 million in taxpayer-funded federal transportation dollars.”

Currently, states are required to meet certain criteria and conditions to receive their federal transportation funding. These standards are used to encourage basic road safety and traffic laws, or even the national minimum drinking age. In a similar manner, the Clear the ROADS Act would:
- Withhold 10% of a State’s federal highway funds if the State has not made reasonable efforts to prohibit the reckless obstruction of lawful vehicle traffic on their federal-aid eligible roadways
- Require the Secretary of Transportation to annually certify whether a State has met this requirement prior to federal highway funds being apportioned
The Clear the ROADS Act is supported by the America First Policy Institute. Text of the legislation is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –
June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Trahan, Massachusetts Delegation Demand Reversal of Trump Administration’s Disastrous Job Corps Center Closures

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) was joined by fellow members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) as well as Representatives Richard E. Neal (MA-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) and Bill Keating (MA-09) in demanding that the Trump administration reverse its decision to cancel federal Job Corps funding, threatening the abrupt closure of 99 contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.
The letter sent today to U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez DeRemer highlights the impact to Massachusetts’ three Job Corps centers: Shriver Job Corps Center in Devens, Grafton Job Corps Center in North Grafton, and Westover Job Corps Center in Chicopee.
“We are writing to express our deep concerns regarding the Department of Labor’s recent decision to pause operations at Job Corps centers across the country. We urge you to consider the long-standing value and potential of the Job Corps program in offering young people a critical second chance at personal and professional success,” the lawmakers wrote.
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a pause in operations at contractor-run Job Corps centers across the U.S. With more than 120 centers nationwide, the Job Corps program provides opportunities for low-income and at-risk youth to gain the skills necessary to begin successful careers in a skilled trade or other profession.
“With 92,000 Massachusetts residents aged 18 to 24 living in poverty, the Shriver, Grafton, and Westover Job Corps Centers stand as vital resources for economic mobility and career development. Combined, they contribute an estimated $80 million to the local economy annually and across the state, we have seen the impact. Graduates have become union carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, police officers, cybersecurity professionals, and entrepreneurs. This is not just an investment in the local talent pipeline for employers but an investment in our communities as many of these graduates stay in the region to live, work, and raise their families. Pausing operations at these centers at the end of the month will directly detract from workforce training and discourage economic development in communities across the country like Devens, North Grafton, and Chicopee,” the lawmakers continued.
The decision to close Job Corps centers was met with swift legal opposition. On June 3, 2025, the National Job Corps Association, a trade organization representing Job Corps centers nationwide, filed a lawsuit against the DOL, arguing that the closure of the country’s largest residential career training program was both unlawful and based on misleading data about its performance. The following evening, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, blocking the DOL from suspending program operations.
“The Job Corps program is built on second chances, and we urge you to offer this program the same opportunity to adapt and grow that it has provided its students for the last 60 years,” the lawmakers concluded.
A copy of the letter sent today can be accessed HERE.
###

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Nobody beats Alberta drilling
Alberta is home to the best drilling expertise in the world. Decades of oil and gas development has made the province a proven drilling leader, while Alberta-led advancements in geothermal, lithium and other areas continue growing Alberta’s reputation as a powerhouse in energy innovation.

However, many promising technologies and products have challenges reaching the market due to high costs and limited access to demonstration sites where testing can be done in real-world settings. With the right resources, Alberta’s energy developers can bring drilling technologies to market faster and more affordably.

Alberta’s government is investing more than $20 million in industry-funded TIER dollars to launch the Alberta Drilling Accelerator program and keep pushing Alberta’s drilling expertise to greater heights. Delivered through Emissions Reduction Alberta, this funding will help Alberta companies advance new and emerging technologies, reduce emissions and, ultimately, increase responsible energy production around the world.

“Alberta’s drilling expertise is second to none. The world needs energy and Alberta has the experience, geology, expertise and innovative spirit needed to deliver it. This funding is all about getting the next generation of drilling tech out of the lab and into the field, powering the world and Alberta’s economy at the same time.”

Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

“Drilling technology is highly relevant to Emissions Reduction Alberta’s mandate, as it offers a potential pathway to direct emissions reduction in the oil and gas sector while also playing a critical role in commercializing technologies in emerging areas like geothermal and critical minerals extraction. We look forward to sharing the scope of this funding in the fall.”

Justin Riemer, CEO, Emissions Reduction Alberta

This new funding program will help speed up the development of geothermal, helium, critical minerals, carbon capture, utilization and storage, and other technologies and commodities that rely on Alberta’s world-class drilling expertise, further establishing Alberta’s global leadership in providing affordable, reliable, responsibly produced energy.

More details on the program will be announced when it officially launches this fall.

This is phase one of the province’s Alberta Drilling Accelerator. Future phases and initiatives will be developed as government continues accelerating new technologies that rely on Alberta’s world-class drilling expertise.

Quick facts
- The Alberta Drilling Accelerator program will launch in fall 2025, with planning and engagement taking place this summer.
- Funding for the program comes from the industry-funded Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.
- Demand for new and more efficient technologies is rising globally, and Alberta is well-positioned to capitalize. For example, cumulative geothermal investment is poised to reach $1 trillion by 2050, while investment for oil and gas, carbon capture and storage and other sectors continues to grow.
MIL OSI Canada News –
June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Peters Helps Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Restore Pensions of Delphi Salaried Retirees

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters
Published: 06.09.2025
Michigan is Home to More Than 5,800 Delphi Retirees

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) helped reintroduce the Susan Muffley Act of 2025. This bipartisan legislation would restore the pensions of more than 21,000 Delphi salaried retirees – including over 5,800 Michiganders – and provide payback for the past 15 years. Peters has been a consistent advocate of the legislation and supporting Delphi retirees.
“Every Michigander deserves the retirement benefits they earned during their career,” said Senator Peters. “The Susan Muffley Act is a bipartisan solution that would finally restore the benefits that the over 5,800 Delphi retirees in Michigan were promised and worked their whole lives to secure. I’ve been a proud cosponsor of this commonsense bill and will continue working to see it passed into law.”
Named in honor of the late wife of a Delphi salaried retiree, the Susan Muffley Act of 2025 would restore the pensions of those who lost their earned benefits.
If enacted, the Susan Muffley Act of 2025 would ensure Delphi salaried retirees receive payment covering the pension benefits they should have received over the past 15 years, with 6 percent interest added to account for the delay. The legislation would also fully restore their pensions going forward.
Peters has long fought to protect Michiganders’ hard-earned benefits and ability to retire with dignity and security. Peters cosponsored and helped pass the Social Security Fairness Act to ensure public sector workers receive their full Social Security benefits. Peters also championed the Butch Lewis Act, signed into law in 2021, which would address multi-employer pension plans facing insolvency without sacrificing workers’ benefits. Additionally, Peters is also a proud cosponsor of, and has urged Congress to pass, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would strengthen the federal laws that protect workers’ right to form a union to collectively bargain for better wages and benefits.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins 32 Colleagues in Amicus Brief Challenging Trump Administration Abuse of Emergency Powers to Impose Tariffs

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, recently joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and 29 of his colleagues in filing an amicus brief in a key case, Oregon v. Department of Homeland Security, challenging the Trump Administration’s abuse of emergency powers to impose tariffs. The brief opposes the Administration’s request for a stay of a recent court decision that struck down these tariffs. Vermont was a part of the twelve-state coalition that filed this legal challenge.
In May, the U.S. Court of International Trade held that the Trump Administration lacked authority to issue the challenged tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—a statute that no president prior to President Trump has ever tried to use to impose tariffs. The Senators’ amicus brief argues that a stay should be rejected.
“Granting a stay will cause irreparable harm to constituents of Amici, particularly thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that will continue to be harmed if the President persists in collecting the unlawful IEEPA tariffs,” wrote the Senators. “Small businesses do not have cash-on-hand or capital reserves to pay the increased tariffs, nor can they quickly adapt to them by modifying supply chains. If they cannot pass on the tariff costs to consumers—which would create additional harms for Amici’s constituents—many face letting employees go or filing for bankruptcy. Even a few weeks of additional tariffs means small businesses will suffer irreparable harm.”
“The powers to impose tariffs and regulate international trade were given to Congress for a reason,” continued the Senators. “Absent authorization from Congress to impose tariffs and approval to enter binding, durable trade agreements, it is contrary to the public interest for the President to arrogate Congress’s power to himself.”
“Further, the broad-based tariffs, which include extensive levies on treaty allies Japan, Canada, and members of the NATO alliance, undermine U.S. national security by weakening U.S. alliances,” concluded the Senators. “Amici regularly interact with U.S.-allied leaders who want to work with the U.S. on security and economic matters; IEEPA tariffs have been raised as one of the foremost irritants and obstacles to maintaining strong partnerships with the U.S. Multiple allied governments, including Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, have threatened retaliation targeting American exports and American companies—further compounding the economic harm to Amici’s constituents. Denying a stay will ensure the Administration cannot continue to usurp powers granted to Congress, and it will promote U.S. national security and economic interests.”
In addition to Senators Welch, Shaheen, Wyden, and Schumer, the letter was cosigned by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Maine), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
Read and download the full amicus brief.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Welch, Hawley Lead Bipartisan Bill to Raise the Federal Minimum Raise

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee,today joined Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in introducing the Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2025, bipartisan legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and allow the federal minimum wage to increase with inflation in subsequent years. When adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage is lower than at any point since the 1940s. Meanwhile, the cost of housing, health care, and education has skyrocketed, leaving millions of full-time workers struggling to make ends meet.
“We’re in the midst of a severe affordability crisis, with families in red and blue states alike struggling to afford necessities like housing and groceries. A stagnant federal minimum wage only adds fuel to the fire. Every hardworking American deserves a living wage that helps put a roof over their head and food on the table—$7.25 an hour doesn’t even come close,” said Senator Welch. “Times have changed, and working families deserve a wage that reflects today’s financial reality. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan effort to raise the minimum wage nationwide to help more folks make ends meet.”
“For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline. One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hardworking Americans every day. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that workers across America benefit from higher wages,” Senator Hawley said.
Senator Welch has championed efforts in the Senate to boost the minimum wage and help more Vermonters make ends meet. In April, Senator Welch cosponsored the Raise the Wage Act, bicameral legislation to ensure American workers make a living wage, drive economic growth, and reduce income inequality by raising the minimum wage to $17 for all workers by 2030. The bill would also gradually eliminate subminimum wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities.
Last Congress, Senator Welch joined colleagues in introducing the PRO Act to protect the right to unionize and stop predatory behavior from companies trying to hinder workplace organizing. Senator Welch also supported the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would guarantee the right of public sector employees to organize, act concertedly, and bargain collectively in states that currently do not afford these basic protections.
Read and download the full text of the bill.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: PKK’s decision to disband shows the benefit of engaging in politics rather than an armed struggle

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Lucas, Senior Analyst – Defence Economics and Acquisition, RAND Europe

The recent decision by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to disarm and disband has important lessons for any country facing a seemingly intractable insurgency. On May 12, the group stated that following its 12th Congress it will “dissolve the PKK’s organizational structure and end the armed struggle method”. The organisation has said that it will now pursue its goals “through democratic politics”.

The PKK’s decision follows talks between the Turkish government and the group’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who has been in Turkish custody since 1998. Regional dynamics, Turkish domestic politics, and personal ambition have all played key roles in bringing the conflict to this point.

Much uncertainty remains. The PKK and Turkey have embarked on peace processes before, only to return to conflict. But the group’s formal announcement of its intention to disband marks an important step towards ending an insurgency that has lasted over 40 years. If so, it will bring to an end a conflict that has cost all sides involved tens of thousands of lives.

The possibility of ending this insurgency not only raises questions about this specific conflict, but also what we know more broadly about how insurgencies end.

Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

The PKK has a long track record of combining military action with political struggle. As with many other insurgent organisations, the group has worked to gain and maintain public support among ethnic Kurds, despite its use of violence.

Its strategy has also evolved over the years to adapt to circumstances. It moved away from the its original Marxist beginnings with the end of the cold war and over the years changed its fundamental aim from separatism to increased regional autonomy and local government, through the system of what it calls democratic confederalism. Over the decades the group and its affiliates have also decreased their use of terrorism in Europe and western Turkey.

This is in keeping with characteristics that researchers have found facilitate the transformation of organisations from armed groups to participants in institutional politics. There are a large number of cases in which insurgencies or terrorist organisations shifted – successfully or unsuccessfully – to either transform into a political party or combine with one.

There’s no doubt that military pressure has been important in downgrading the PKK as an insurgency. But military victories over the PKK have failed to end the conflict – in fact military oppression against the PKK has often backfired and reinforced public support for the group.

Many of the factors that have made it possible for the PKK to transform itself have been political, rather than narrowly military. Research by the RAND Corporation thinktank has found that rather than simply aiming to defeat an insurgency, it’s usually more effective to combine military pressure with political reform that aims to remove the reasons for the insurgency.

Combining armed force with political pressure

Turkey has taken this mixed approach, something many analysts have attributed to the foreign minister, Hakan Fidan. Ankara has pursued parallel tracks of negotiation and force. This has included improved counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency techniques, investment in drones and other military pressure.

But Ankara has in parallel cut off financial flows to the organisation, while strengthening economic opportunities for Kurdish citizens – particularly in western Turkey. Many Kurds moved west to escape violence in the traditionally Kurdish regions in Turkey’s southeast: Istanbul is now the city with the largest Kurdish population in Turkey.

The Turkish government has also strengthened its relationships with other Kurdish groups, primarily the Kurdistan Democratic Party in northern Iraq, to provide both military and political support.

This case is another example of the importance of blending strictly military tactics with diplomacy, economic policy and strategic communications. The celebrated Prussian military theorist, Carl von Clausewitz said that war is politics by other means – and many insurgencies are fundamentally political in nature. So this requires multiple lines of effort to be pursued in parallel to effectively respond to this – with an emphasis on political solutions rather than just the use of force.

This has been seen in conflicts with a number of insurgent groups in recent years – including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) or the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (Biaf) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines. In all of these cases, central governments have engaged in constructive political dialogue, providing amnesty and other incentives for fighters to demobilise while offering broader concessions in order to build a more sustainable peace.

Successfully bringing insurgencies to and through a negotiated settlement requires long-term investment and effort. The issues that caused the insurgency in the first place do not simply disappear when the document is signed. In the case of the PKK, there are a number of ways in which this recent progress could be reversed. Concerns have been raised about whether the Turkish government will deliver on promised constitutional reforms or prisoner releases. There is also the question of whether PKK fighters will be willing and able to demobilise and reintegrate into society.

Research has indicated that states with flawed democracies have more difficulty ending insurgencies on favourable terms. Freedom House and similar organisations currently rank Turkey as “Not Free”. The country has been backsliding for years under the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Despite these misgivings, the initial success of Turkey’s approach support previous research on how insurgencies end, and how armed groups might turn instead to politics. For the governments of countries facing insurgency, it means taking a comprehensive and multi-sectoral approach to encourage this to happen. Governments may also need to move away from a binary definition of “winning” or “losing” to a more nuanced understanding of how all parties stand to gain from the end of an insurgency.

Rebecca Lucas 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. PKK’s decision to disband shows the benefit of engaging in politics rather than an armed struggle – https://theconversation.com/pkks-decision-to-disband-shows-the-benefit-of-engaging-in-politics-rather-than-an-armed-struggle-258221

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 11, 2025