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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI USA: Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs Signs Agreement with Coquille Indian Tribe to Assist Tribal Veterans

    Source: US State of Oregon

    he Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs signed a formal agreement with the Coquille Indian Tribe last week that will provide a framework for collaboration and increased resources dedicated to supporting the Tribe’s veterans in accessing their earned federal and state veterans’ benefits.

    The Memorandum of Understanding was signed Tuesday, May 13, by ODVA Director Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels and Tribal Council Vice Chair Jen Procter Andrews, with Tribal government leaders and representatives, Tribal veterans and ODVA staff gathered to commemorate the historic partnership.

    The formal signing was hosted on the Tribe’s sovereign land in North Bend in a ceremony that honored both the significance of the partnership and the traditions of the Coquille Indian Tribe.

    The agreement will pave the way for the establishment of the Coquille Indian Tribe’s first Tribal Veterans Service Officer (TVSO), which will be jointly funded by ODVA and the Coquille Indian Tribe to serve Tribal veterans and their families.

    “Tribal Veteran Service Officers play a vital role in ensuring Oregon’s Tribal veterans are seen, heard, and supported — not only as veterans, but as members of sovereign nations with deep cultural roots and histories,” said Dr. Daniels.

    “This agreement marks a meaningful step forward, creating space for trusted advocates who understand both the federal VA system and the unique needs of their communities. Today isn’t just about a signature — it’s about the shared commitment we’re building together to honor and serve all who have worn the uniform, and we’re proud to mark that step forward in a way that reflects the meaning of ceremony for the Coquille Indian Tribe.”

    “Native Americans continue to serve at a higher rate than any other ethnic group and have enlisted to protect their lands as far back as the Revolutionary War,” said Vice Chair Procter Andrews. “This partnership shows Oregon’s dedication to ensure that our veterans receive the benefits and respect they deserve, in a way that works for them. We hope this partnership is the first step towards a better relationship with the state and increased services for our vets!”

    This Memorandum of Understanding is ODVA’s fifth with Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

    Oregon’s statewide network of County and Tribal Veteran Service Offices are collaborative partnerships between the state and counties or Tribal governments to provide free, local expertise and assistance to veterans and their families in accessing their earned benefits.

    Tribal Veteran Service Officers (TVSOs) are trained by ODVA and then accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. TVSOs assist veterans and their families with access to a wide variety of benefits and services that were earned through military service.

    To learn more about veteran benefits, resources and services near you, or to schedule an appointment with your local Veteran Service Officer, visit the website of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs at www.oregon.gov/odva/Services/Pages/Tribal-Veteran-Services.aspx.

    About the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs

    Established in 1945, the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs is dedicated to serving Oregon’s diverse veteran community that spans five eras of service members. ODVA administers programs and provides special advocacy and assistance in accessing earned veteran benefits across the state. Learn about veteran benefits and services, or locate a local county or tribal veteran service office online at oregon.gov/odva.

    About the Coquille Indian Tribe

    The Coquille Indian Tribe flourished in Oregon’s southwestern corner for thousands of years, cherishing the bountiful forests, rivers and beaches of a homeland encompassing more than 750,000 acres. In 1954, Congress declared the Coquille Tribe “terminated.” 35 years later the Tribe was formally restored to federal recognition in 1989. Today the Tribe numbers more than 1,200 members and it has regained more than 10,000 acres of ancestral homeland, proudly managing the bulk of it as sustainable forest. The Tribe provides education assistance, health care, elder services and (where needed) housing assistance to its people, while contributing substantially to the surrounding community’s economy. Its various enterprises employ approximately 1000 people, and its community fund is the region’s leading local source of charitable grants. For more about the Coquille Indian Tribe, visit coquilletribe.org.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: The Week at State – new visa policies, Memorial Day, Syria and Venezuela Updates

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

    This week at State:
    – Secretary Rubio announces new visa policies that put America first
    – We recognize the sacrifice of our Nation’s fallen heroes on Memorial Day
    – Ambassador Thomas Barrack is now Presiden Trump’s Special Envoy to Syria
    – We warn U.S. citizens to not travel to Venezuela for any reason

    ———-
    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.

    Get updates from the U.S. Department of State at www.state.gov and on social media!
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statedept
    X: https://x.com/StateDept
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statedept
    Flickr: https://flickr.com/photos/statephotos/
    Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/StateDept
    Substack: https://statedept.substack.com

    Watch on-demand State Department videos: https://video.state.gov/
    Subscribe to The Week at State e-newsletter: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USSTATEBPA/signup/32562

    State Department website: https://www.state.gov/
    Careers website: https://careers.state.gov/
    White House website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
    Terms of Use: https://state.gov/tou

    #StateDepartment #DepartmentofState #Diplomacy

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYMk1VioDeY

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Foreign Nationals Indicted for Plot to Silence U.S. Dissident and Smuggle U.S. Military Technology to China

    Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

    Defendants Charged in Los Angeles and Milwaukee with Interstate Stalking, Arms Export Violations, and Smuggling

    Federal grand juries in Milwaukee and Los Angeles each returned indictments charging two foreign nationals, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking (Los Angeles) and conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Arms Export Control Act (Milwaukee).

    “As alleged, the defendants targeted a U.S. resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on U.S. soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defense systems. We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge.”

    “The defendants allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People’s Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America,” said FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. “The same individuals also are charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China. I want to commend the good work of the FBI and our partners in the U.S and overseas in putting a stop to these illegal activities.”

    Allegations in the Central District of California

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, Cui and Miller enlisted two individuals (Individual 1 and Individual 2) inside the United States to carry out a plot to prevent the Victim from protesting President Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2023. The victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC government and President Xi.

    “The indictment alleges that Chinese foreign actors targeted a victim in our nation because he criticized the Chinese government and its president,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “My office will continue to use all legal methods available to hold accountable foreign nationals engaging in criminal activity on our soil.”

    Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 1 and Individual 2 were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the victim, to install a tracking device on the victim’s car, to slash the tires on the victim’s car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statues created by the victim depicting President Xi and President Xi’s wife.

    A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statues of President Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, Cui and Miller paid two other individuals (Individual 3 and Individual 4), approximately $36,500 to convince the victim to desist from the online display of the statues. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 3 and Individual 4 were also affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    Allegations in the Eastern District of Wisconsin

    According to court documents, beginning in November 2023, Miller and Cui solicited the procurement of U.S. defense articles, including missiles, air defense radar, drones, and cryptographic devices with associated crypto ignition keys for unlawful export from the United States to the People’s Republic of China from two individuals (Individual 5 and Individual 6).  

    In connection with the scheme, Cui and Miller discussed with Individuals 5 and 6 ways to export a cryptographic device from the United States to the People’s Republic of China, including concealing the device in a blender, small electronics, or motor starter, and shipping the device first to Hong Kong. Cui and Miller paid approximately $10,000 as a deposit for the cryptographic device via a courier in the United States and a wire transfer to a U.S. bank account.

    ***

    If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years in prison for conspiracy; five years in prison for interstate stalking; 20 years in prison for violation of the Arms Export Control Act; and 10 years in prison for smuggling.

    The FBI is investigating the case. The United States is coordinating with Serbian authorities regarding the pending extraditions of Cui and Miller from Serbia.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda B. Elbogen for the Central District of California, Benjamin Taibleson for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the cases, with valuable assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Road closures – Race for Life – Inverness

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    A number of roads will be closed in Inverness this weekend due to the Race for Life 5K and 10K events.

    The roads order will apply on Sunday 1 June 2025 between 08:00 and 13:30. The restrictions are necessary to ensure the safety of participants in Cancer Research UK’s events.

    Vehicles will not be permitted on the following roads between the above times:

    U3823 Bught Road, Inverness, between its junction with the U3821 Bught Avenue and its junction with the U4158 Ness Walk Upper.

    U4158 Ness Walk Upper, Inverness, between its junction with the U3823 Bught Road and its junction with the U3788 Ballifeary Lane.

    U4158 Ness Walk Upper, Inverness, between its junction with the U3788 Ballifeary Lane and its junction with the U3813 Bishop’s Road.

    U4624 Ardross Terrace, Inverness, between its junction with the U4624 Ness Walk and its junction with the U4624 Ardross Street.

    U4624 Ness Walk, Inverness, closed between its junction with Young Street (forming part of the 8861 Inverness – Leys – lnverarnie Road) and its junction with the U4624 Ardross Terrace.

    Castle Road (forming part of the 8862 Fort Augustus – Whitebridge – Torness – Dares – Inverness Road), Inverness, between its junction with Haugh Road (8862) and its junction with Bridge Street (8861). Access for southbound traffic will be maintained.

    C1201 Ness Bank and Gavell Gardens Road, Inverness, closed to through traffic between its junction with Castle Road (8862) and its junction with Island Bank Road (8862).

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Pupils join City Leader for the official opening of Whin Park in Inverness

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    Earlier today (Friday 30 May) pupils from local schools joined the City Leader and guests for the official opening of Whin Park.

    Since the redevelopment works were completed at the start of April, the new-look park has become a “must go to” destination for local children and their families, as well as visitors to Inverness.

    Helping to make the official opening a memorable event were pupils from St Joseph’s and Muirtown primary schools, as well as young people from Millburn Academy who enjoyed demonstrating all the equipment to guests. Adding to the occasion and entertaining guests were young pipers from Inverness Royal Academy.

    Before getting pupils to help him cut the ribbon, City Leader Cllr Ian Brown thanked everyone involved with the ambitious and creative project to transform the space and bring new life to the park and surrounding area.

    He said: “I’m delighted this project has been delivered. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the consultation to help shape the facilities, especially the young people. The results thanks to their input from the start of the design process is an inclusive, sustainable play space which all ages and abilities can enjoy spending time in.  

    “We now have a park we can enjoy and be proud of. I would encourage anyone who has not yet come along, to make the most of the weather and get out and use the facilities. Enjoy them and look after them.”

    A consultation on the play area design was carried out, ensuring that children’s views were heard and informed the project.  Features include an interactive Nessie, Legend Seeker play ship, swing area, climbing birds’ nest, an adventure mound with tube slide, scramble net and interactive arch. The Sona dance and play arch is an audio-based piece of equipment made for the outdoors which utilises the latest technology and a range of games to encourage children to be more active outdoors.

    Some of the children who helped design the park said:

    “I enjoyed being part of the consultation process because we got to contribute what we would like to see in the park to make it enjoyable for everyone of all ages.”

    “I thought the process was quite fun and you could choose from lots of great ideas and fun things that would be exciting for kids.”

    “It was very exciting as we got to design new spaces and I think this park is way better than the one before.”

    The newly developed site complements family activities already available at Whin Park including the boating pond, Ness Islands railway and a shop serving drinks and snacks.

    Improvement works began in January 2025 by Jupiter Play and Leisure Ltd who appointed Play Works Ltd as their on-site contractor to install the new equipment. Work was completed on site by end of March 2025 and the project was delivered within budget.

    Funding for the contract was awarded by the Scottish Government Play Area Fund and was allocated to the redevelopment of the park by Members of the Inverness, Central, Ness-side, Millburn, and Inverness West Wards.  In 2023, Inverness City Committee Members agreed £150k Inverness Common Good Funding and in 2024 a further £102k from the Community Regeneration Fund towards the park development costs.  A total budget of £500,000.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Remarks by Minister of National Defence David McGuinty at CANSEC 2025

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Check Against Delivery

    Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant-General Kelsey, 
    Members of the Canadian Armed Forces, 
    International delegates, 
    Service members from our Allies and partners, 
    Members of the diplomatic corps, 

    Fellow parliamentarians, 

    And finally, industry partners,

    Good morning everyone, bonjour à tous.

    It’s a privilege to join you for this year’s CANSEC. My thanks to Christyn Cianfarani and everyone at CADSI for organizing this important event, and for bringing us together.

    It is especially an honour to be here as CANSEC is hosted in the electoral district I represent. I want to welcome you all to Ottawa South.

    Many of the companies in this room have a home in the National Capital Region. With over 10,000 workers, Ottawa’s defence sector is a major employer. We have talent working in all aspects of the industry from tech, aerospace, and manufacturing. This is my first major engagement as Minister of National Defence.

    Many of you are new faces—but I’m looking forward to getting to know you, and learning more about how your work strengthens Canada’s defence and security.

    Building a business is difficult. It comes with a lot of uncertainty and financial risk. Without you taking on that risk, we wouldn’t have the equipment and services needed to keep Canadians safe.

    So, thank you, for getting to work, thank you for employing Canadians, and thank you for growing our economy.

    For those of you here today in uniform…
    The people who commit their lives to service…
    Who take on the hardest tasks in the toughest conditions…
    Who are ready at the drop of a hat… 
    Who deserve the best from those of us who support them— 

    Thank you for choosing to serve Canada.

    I’ve been struck by the deep sense of shared purpose I’ve seen—across government and industry—to strengthen our defence capabilities, and ensure our people are equipped for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s threats.

    We have a clear direction, and we’ve made a decision. We’ve decided to act without delay, in close cooperation with our industry partners.

    The global security environment today is volatile and uncertain.

    Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine has stretched into a third, brutal year. China’s imperial ambitions are increasingly clear—in its military buildup and its assertive posture toward other international powers.

    And, states like North Korea and Iran continue to act as destabilizing forces in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East.

    Canada is not immune to these threats.

    We face real challenges—both military and non-military—that demand an equally strong and coordinated response.

    This includes growing activity in the Arctic, where our competitors have shown little hesitation in challenging Canada’s territorial sovereignty.

    As well as the threats posed by emerging technologies that are changing the very nature of war.

    And we get it.

    We are moving quickly to ensure our military has the tools to defend our country and continent—while remaining an engaged, reliable partner abroad.

    And here is the key message: this work can only be done in partnership with you. 

    It is work that needs the full spectrum of equipment and services offered in this room—from quantum computing to shields to ammunition.

    A new government was elected some four short weeks ago, and having run on a platform to strengthen Canada’s sovereignty and security, your government is moving to take immediate and decisive action to rebuild Canada’s defence capacity, rearm the Canadian Armed Forces, and invest in the Canadian defence industry.

    The commitments we are making will support skilled and reliable jobs and stimulate growth in our communities across the country—including in more than 3,000 communities where the Canadian Armed Forces are present.

    Already, in Canada, defence accounts for two hundred seventy-six thousand direct and indirect jobs.

    Let’s be practical: we see this with the opening of the new B Jetty in CFB Esquimalt, which created close to 1,300 jobs during its construction.

    We see this in our Future Aircrew Training program, an $11.2 billion investment in training the next generation of Canadian aviators – which will create or maintain 3,400 jobs annually across Canada.

    We see this with our River-Class Destroyer project, which will sustain over 5,000 jobs over the next 15 years, many of them in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    And by sourcing Canadian-made steel, aluminum, and critical minerals, we will multiply the economic benefits and strengthen local industries— like the aluminium industry in Québec.

    But that’s not enough. I share in your ambition to do more.

    Now is the time to scale up our production here at home. Now is the time for government and industry to work together.

    Now is the time for your government to invest in you—to capitalize on the immense and growing defence opportunities.

    Canada’s defence is bolstered by the strong relationships we have with our Allies and international partners.

    We have over fifty international delegates attending CANSEC this year – a testament to the high calibre of the Canadian defence industry.

    And as we strengthen these international ties, there will be opportunities for industry to help us deliver on shared priorities.

    In November, Canada and Australia signed an agreement to work together on researching emerging missile threats, with a focus on countering hypersonic weapon systems.

    And, earlier this year, Prime Minister Carney announced further cooperation with the Australians—investing over six billion dollars in a partnership to develop advanced Over the Horizon Radar capabilities.

    After all, the Canadian Arctic belongs to Canada.

    I want to increase the work our defence industry does with our Allies and partners.

    My promise to you is that I will be: 

    Unafraid to carry the flag of the Canadian defence industry around the globe. 

    Unafraid to champion the innovative and class leading technology of Canadian companies. 

    Unafraid to help you compete on the world stage.

    Our defence industry is world-class.

    Innovative, highly skilled, and globally competitive.

    Yet we need to better harness what you bring to the table.

    In previous engagements between National Defence and industry, many of you raised concerns—about friction points, timelines, and the need for clear, consistent guidance.

    I want to reassure you that your comments have been heard.

    Our forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will put your insights into action.

    We’ll build a secure, resilient industrial base that supports long-term defence goals.

    Canada has planned to triple defence spending from 2014 levels by 2030—but, your government is moving to accelerate this.

    Your government will invest more to acquire the necessary equipment the CAF needs to be successful in carrying out its missions.

    We’re also taking real steps to improve how we buy, maintain, and upgrade our equipment. That includes streamlining our requirements and speeding up delivery—so CAF members get the tools they need, faster.

    And we’re moving toward a more regular, ongoing approach to defence planning. One that helps us stay on top of global threats, track our progress, and fix gaps before they grow.

    I don’t need to remind you that the world is changing fast—and this new approach will help us keep up. It will also give more consistency and predictability to our industry partners.

    Having a strong, well-equipped military, supported by a strong defence industrial base, is top priority for me, for the Prime Minister, and for your government—as demonstrated by the PM’s appointment of Canada’s first-ever Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, Stephen Fuhr.

    And as your government promises to do more, we ask that you do more.

    We simply cannot afford to wait a decade for the capabilities we need today.

    We need you to help us meet our ambitious timelines.

    Canadians have a legacy of mobilizing quickly when times get tough.

    During the Second World War, we went from just six ships to the third-largest navy in the world.

    We can—and we will—recapture that same innovative spirit.

    By procuring new equipment we can meet modern challenges.

    But, we need people.

    We need soldiers, aviators, and sailors.

    The people that make up the Canadian Armed Forces are our greatest asset. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything we set out to do.

    Last fiscal year, we surpassed our recruitment goals, bringing in over 6,700 new Regular Force members.

    That’s a 55% increase from the year before.

    And we will build on this success and grow our recruitment numbers even further.

    We’re going to do that by making it easier to serve, by building more housing units on bases, by expanding access to childcare, by providing better training, better equipment, and meaningful opportunities for career growth.

    And by building a culture rooted in dignity, inclusion, and respect for everyone who serves.
    We ask a hell of a lot of our military members and their families. 
    We ask them to be apart for extended periods of time. 
    We ask them to carry out dangerous missions. 
    In fact, we ask them to put the safety of others before their own—in defence of peace, freedom, and democracy.

    That is a lot to ask.

    And no matter the task, they carry out their duties with the utmost skill, dedication, and professionalism.

    To the Canadian Armed Forces members listening: you are simply second to none.

    To conclude we’re ready to work with you to bring this vision for defence, and for Canada’s defence industry, to life. In fact, no government can do this without you.

    Without your risk taking.

    Without your creativity.

    Without your entrepreneurship.

    Our cooperation will ensure our Armed Forces members have everything they need to protect our country and those who call it home.

    And reaffirm Canada’s position as a reliable and valuable partner on the international stage.

    We are seized with the urgency of this task—and I know you are too. Our country is calling on us to take on this responsibility in the defence of Canadians, their security and sovereignty.

    Thank you. Merci.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Mexico Man Indicted in El Paso for Drug, Firearm and Murder Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    EL PASO, Texas – A New Mexico man is in federal custody after being indicted by a federal grand jury in El Paso in 2021 and expelled to the U.S. by Mexican authorities earlier this week.

    Jaime Renteria-Fernandez, 31, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is charged in a superseding indictment with nine counts related to alleged offenses committed in support of the Barraza Drug Trafficking Organization. Co-conspirator Alex Barraza was the leader of the DTO and was sentenced to life in federal prison Oct. 24, 2024.

    Renteria-Fernandez made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday. The indictment includes multiple counts related to drug possession and trafficking, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, as well as discharging firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and murder resulting from the use and carrying of firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years, with a maximum of life in federal prison, and possibly the death penalty. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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

    Homeland Security Investigations El Paso is investigating the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Johnston, Andres Ortega and Susanna Martinez are 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.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Defendants Sentenced and Another Pleads Guilty for Roles in Transnational Drug Trafficking Operation

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Three individuals from Pennsylvania, Washington, and Arizona were sentenced, and another individual from Ohio pleaded guilty, in federal court on May 28, 2025, to charges of violating federal narcotics and money laundering laws in relation to a transnational drug trafficking organization (DTO), Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. The defendants were among 35 individuals charged through a Second Superseding Indictment unsealed in January 2024 for their participation in a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

    The sentences imposed by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan were:

    Defendant

    		 Age

    Residence

    Sentence
    James Pinkston 34 New Kensington, Pennsylvania 220 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release
    Alicia Parks 26 Kent, Washington 84 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release
    Marco Armenta 24 Phoenix, Arizona 12 months and one day in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release

    According to information presented to the Court, on various dates from in and around August 2021 to in and around June 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pinkston and Parks conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine. Similarly, from in and around August 2022 to January 2023, Armenta conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture of fentanyl. The defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others. Additionally, the Court was advised that, in and around March 2023, Pinkston possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of cocaine, and, from in and around April 2022 to March 2023, conspired to commit money laundering by using a payments app to receive and initiate payments for drug transactions.

    The Second Superseding Indictment alleges that the operation imported from Mexico millions of fentanyl pills, kilograms of fentanyl powder, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, and dozens of kilograms of cocaine that then were distributed and sold throughout the United States. Pinkston served as the western Pennsylvania connection to the Phoenix DTO responsible for importing the drugs from Mexico.

    In addition to the sentencings, another defendant in the case—Diamond Williams-Dorsey, 32, of Cleveland, Ohio—pleaded guilty before Judge Ranjan to Count One of the Second Superseding Indictment. In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around July 2022 to August 2022, Williams-Dorsey conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture of fentanyl. Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for November 4, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

    With this week’s three sentencings and guilty plea, 20 of the 35 defendants charged in the Second Superseding Indictment have now pleaded guilty in the case, with nine having been sentenced thus far.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Arnold P. Bernard Jr. and Tonya S. Goodman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

    Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of the defendants. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Defendants Plead Guilty to Participating in Cross-State Drug Trafficking Ring

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Three individuals from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey pleaded guilty in federal court this week to charges of violating federal narcotics laws in connection with a cross-state drug trafficking ring, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. The defendants were among 27 individuals charged through a Superseding Indictment unsealed in March 2023 for their participation in a cross-state narcotics conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, crack, and heroin.

    Pleading guilty this week before United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan were:

    Plea Date Defendant Age Residence
    May 28 Robert Hurst 46 North Royalton, Ohio
    May 28 Melissa Frain 36 Indiana, Pennsylvania
    May 29 Kevin Thomas 48 Newark, New Jersey

    In connection with the guilty pleas, the Court was advised that, in and around October 2022 to March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Hurst conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, 40 grams or more of a mixture of fentanyl, and a quantity of a mixture of crack. Similarly, from in and around September 2021 to January 2022, Frain conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute quantities of mixtures of cocaine, fentanyl, and crack. From in and around October 2022 to March 2023, Thomas conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of cocaine and a quantity of a mixture of crack. The defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others.

    Hurst was one of the managers of the New Kensington-based drug trafficking group. Hurst primarily resided in Cleveland, Ohio, but maintained a premises in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, which served as a distribution point for the organization. Hurst exercised decision-making authority on behalf of the organization and dictated who could be supplied with the group’s drugs.

    Judge Horan scheduled sentencings for September 17, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal history, if any, of each defendant.

    With this week’s guilty pleas, 22 of the 27 defendants charged in the Superseding Indictment have now pleaded guilty in the case, with 14 defendants having been sentenced thus far. Included in those sentencings is Misti Durante, 40, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, who Judge Horan sentenced this week to time served for her role in the conspiracy.

    Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of the defendants. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lansdowne Station — Pictou County missing persons investigation continues with ground search this weekend

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Ground search efforts are planned for tomorrow (May 31) as the missing persons investigation into the disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan continues.

    In an effort to advance the ongoing investigation and locate Lilly and Jack, searchers from ground search and rescue teams and the RCMP will focus on specific areas around Gairloch Rd. and the nearby pipeline trail, where a boot print was previously located.

    We continue to ask that the public avoid the search area to allow trained searchers to do their work.

    Any future searches will be determined based on the course of the investigation.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Seizure of contraband and unauthorized items at Warkworth Institution

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    May 30, 2025 – Campbellford, Ontario – Correctional Service Canada

    On May 27, 2025, as a result of the vigilance of staff members, a package containing contraband was seized at Warkworth Institution, a medium security federal institution.

    The contraband seized included tobacco and marijuana. The total estimated institutional value of these seizures is $52,860.

    The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has heightened measures to prevent contraband from entering its institutions in order to help ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone. CSC also works in partnership with the police to take action against those who attempt to introduce contraband or unauthorized items into correctional institutions.

    CSC has set up a telephone tip line for all federal institutions so that it may receive additional information about activities relating to security at CSC institutions. These activities may be related to drug use or trafficking that may threaten the safety and security of visitors, inmates, and staff members working at CSC institutions.

    The toll-free number, 1‑866‑780‑3784, helps ensure that the information shared is protected and that callers remain anonymous. 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Supporting survivors of sexual violence with counselling

    Sexual violence is devastating and can have lifelong impacts on a survivor’s health, relationships and overall sense of safety. Almost 1.8 million Albertans have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.

    To help support access to counselling services for survivors of sexual violence, Alberta’s government is investing an additional $1.5 million in sexual assault centres, further delivering on its commitment to increase funding for sexual assault centres by $10 million. This investment builds on the $1.5 million that was distributed to sexual assault centres in March 2025, and is in addition to the $13.8 million invested annually to 15 sexual assault centres across the province and the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services for sexual violence supports and services. 

    “The work of sexual assault centres across Alberta is incredibly important. To stop the growth of sexual violence in our communities, we continue to make investments that enhance sexual violence programming to better support survivors. Together, we can keep our communities safe from sexual violence and let survivors know that we believe them and that they can access the supports they need.”

    Searle Turton, Minister of Children and Family Services

    This investment is another step in helping to ensure that Alberta is the safest place to live, work and raise a family. It builds on the recent release of Building on our Strengths, Alberta’s 10-Year Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence, which outlines how the Government of Alberta will work to prevent gender-based violence, support those impacted and ensure those committing these crimes are held to account.

    “As we mark the end of Sexual Violence Awareness Month, our government remains committed to addressing the unacceptable rates of all forms of gender-based violence, including sexual violence. Alberta’s comprehensive strategy to end gender-based violence advances over 100 initiatives to prevent violence and support survivors. With continued investments in vital programs, we are ensuring survivors can access the supports they need, where and when they need them.” 

    Tanya Fir, Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women 

    “We appreciate this investment in sexual assault services. Sustained funding is essential to ensure those affected by sexual assault and abuse receive timely, compassionate support that is both trauma-informed and specific to sexual violence, and responsive to the diverse needs of Albertans.”

    Haley Scott, co-CEO, Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services

    Sexual assault centres play a critical role in supporting survivors. By providing access to services such as counselling, sexual assault centres support survivors work through their trauma in a safe, caring environment.

    If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual violence, you are not alone. You can call or text the Alberta One Line for Sexual Violence at 1-866-403-8000 or visit your local sexual assault centre for support.

    Key facts

    • More information about preventing sexual violence is available at alberta.ca/sexual-violence-prevention.
    • Sexual assault centres offer crisis intervention supports, counselling, police and court support, education, outreach and advocacy to help Albertans in need.
    • Budget 2025 invests more than $88 million for the prevention of family and sexual violence which includes sexual assault centres to help individuals and families get the support they need.

    Related information

    • Sexual violence prevention and support
    • Sexual assault services
    • Family Violence Info Line

    Related news

    • Sexual Violence Awareness Month (May 1, 2025)
    • Strengthening support for sexual violence survivors (April 30, 2024)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: New research shows more anti-racism work needed

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Key findings from three research priorities identified by B.C.’s Anti-Racism Data Committee reveal the need for greater equity and diversity within the BC Public Service, some progress has been made in representation to appointments on B.C.’s agencies, boards and commissions, and pay differences between racialized and white workers in B.C.’s private and public sectors.

    “To address systemic racism in provincial government policies, programs and services, it’s crucial that we focus on research areas that matter most to Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities,” said George Chow, Minister of Citizens’ Services. “I would like to thank Indigenous partners and the Anti-Racism Data Committee (ARDC) for their tireless work to help the Province identify and understand where people are experiencing barriers accessing services — in partnership with them, we can meaningfully tackle issues of systemic racism with active solutions.”

    The Anti-Racism Data Act came into effect in 2022 and requires the Province to publish statistics and other information regarding systemic racism and racial equity by June 1 each year. The act also requires the Province to identify research priorities every two years. Research priorities were set in 2023 and updated priorities were released on Friday, May 30, 2025.

    “In these challenging times where other governments are removing diversity initiatives, British Columbia remains committed to doing what’s right and working to level the playing field for racialized and Indigenous people,” said Jessie Sunner, parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives. “The findings of this research are essential to that work and will influence the development of the Anti-Racism Action Plan that is currently underway. We will continue to lift people up so they can build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities.”

    This is the third release under the act. This year’s key findings include:

    Racial diversity and equity in the BC Public Service

    • Indigenous and racialized employees continue to be under-represented in the BC Public Service in leadership roles and overall.
    • Many racialized groups are also over-represented in lower-level and non-permanent positions.

    Representation on provincial boards

    • Government has made progress in the representation of racialized people on provincially nominated boards and Crown agencies.
    • First Nations and Métis people are represented among appointees at a similar level to their share in the B.C. population.
    • However, some Indigenous and racialized communities, along with other equity-deserving groups, continue to face barriers to civic participation, and those living in rural and remote areas may still be under-represented.

    Economic inclusion

    • In nine of 26 occupation groups, racialized workers in B.C. earned significantly less on average than white workers, even after accounting for differences in age, gender, education and being born in Canada.
    • In six occupations, racialized people with the same education level as white workers did not see higher levels of education linked to higher earnings. These findings challenge a common assumption that more education will always translate into more pay.
    • It’s important to note that not all occupations have similar earnings gaps and to look at each occupation individually.

    Government is addressing these challenges by:

    • conducting research with Indigenous and racialized employees within BC Public Service to understand their lived experience and inform actions to remove barriers to hiring and career growth;
    • continued focus on anti-racism learning and supporting career development, and increased representation within the public service;
    • adjusting recruitment strategies to enhance representation on B.C.’s agencies, boards and commissions; and
    • broadening economic-inclusion research to include feedback from Indigenous and racialized communities.

    The Province worked in collaboration with the Anti-Racism Data Committee and in consultation with Indigenous Peoples to set research priorities for 2025-27. Priorities are meant to help steer the Province toward research that identifies systemic barriers and requires action to advance racial equity. Priorities also help focus research on the areas that matter most to Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities. 

    Themes of the 2025-27 priorities include: health and wellness, education, housing, racial equity within the BC Public Service, justice system and community safety, sports and economic inclusion.

    Quotes:

    June Francis, chair, Anti-Racism Data Committee —

    “We cannot fix what we do not understand. Dismantling systemic racism requires us to truly understand the barriers that Indigenous, Black and racialized people face. By working with communities to understand their experiences and to put research behind it allows us to advocate and amplify our voices – data and research supports community empowerment. With the release of updated research priorities, we are steering the B.C. government to take a deeper dive into health, education and justice, yet we also expect these will trigger an all-of-government approach, as we know inequities remain in many other areas. We trust these data and the research priorities will catalyze the B.C. government to take urgent and intentional actions to address the inequities that are being made transparent, and to focus more research in priority areas to deliver real and lasting change for the many people in British Columbia who face racism and discrimination each and every day. This new release of research findings increases the Province’s understanding of what Indigenous and racialized people have been saying for many years – government programs are not serving people equitably.”

    Michael Suedfeld, lands manager, Skawahlook First Nation —

    “It’s encouraging to see the Province finally taking steps to look at long-standing issues, such as public-sector employment and civic participation. Over the coming years, we hope to see government continue to tackle topics that are front of mind for members of the Skawahlook Nation, including health and mental-health outcomes, housing, the justice system and Declaration Act Action Plan commitments. We look forward to being part of this conversation.”

    Susie Hooper, Minister of Citizenship, Métis Nation British Columbia —

    “Research from the 2023-2025 priorities highlighted barriers for Métis people in health care and advancing careers in the BC Public Service. These updated priorities provide an opportunity to broaden the research focus to consider key concerns for our government, including improving health and well-being, especially for those in care, and reducing barriers experienced by Métis students. We look forward to continued participation in these dialogues to shape future research in partnership with the provincial Ministry of Citizens’ Services.”

    Learn More:

    To learn more about the Anti-Racism Data Act, view the research findings and actions to date, visit: https://antiracism.gov.bc.ca/

    To learn more about the Declaration Act Action Plan, visit: https://declaration.gov.bc.ca/declaration-act-action-plan/

    Three backgrounders follow.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Hassan, Shaheen, and Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Expand Medicare Drug Price Negotiation and Lower Costs for Americans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen joined their colleagues in reintroducing the Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayer (SMART) Prices Act. This legislation would expand Medicare negotiation of drug prices to lower drug costs for consumers, reduce federal spending, and give the Department of Health and Human Services stronger tools to negotiate lower drug prices in Medicare Part B and Part D.
    “In 2023, my colleagues and I took on Big Pharma and moved to help lower prescription drug costs by finally allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of medications. But rather than build upon this important work, the Trump Administration wants to add loopholes and exemptions that weaken this program and result in higher prices for patients,” said Senator Hassan. “This legislation rejects the Trump Administration’s handouts to Big Pharma and instead accelerates the drug price negotiation efforts that will help more people afford the medications that they need.”
    “Granite Staters are having their budgets upended by the sky-high costs of the prescription drugs they need,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m laser-focused on taking action to give families more breathing room in their household budgets and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to lower prescription drug prices in recent years, but we have more work to do. The SMART Prices Act is common sense legislation that will expand our ability to take on Big Pharma and accelerate our work to bring health care costs down.”
    According to preliminary estimates from a model by West Health and Verdant Research, if the SMART Prices Act was enacted in 2026, it would save 33 percent more by 2030 than current law. It would also allow Medicare to begin negotiations earlier and bring down the price of more expensive drugs.
    This legislation builds on a provision that Senators Hassan and Shaheen worked with their colleagues to enact – passing into law in 2022 and beginning in 2023 – that has empowered Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices for the first time, helping to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors in New Hampshire and across the country. The SMART Prices Act would extend this progress by more than doubling the number of prescription drugs Medicare must negotiate to a minimum of 50 per year, allowing the most costly prescription drugs and biologics to have negotiated prices five years after approval by the Food and Drug Administration, and by increasing the discount that Medicare is allowed to negotiate.
    Senators Hassan and Shaheen are leading efforts in the Senate to lower health care costs and make essential medications more affordable. For instance, Senator Hassan recently reintroduced bipartisan legislation to streamline the approval process for generic drugs, which will help generics enter the market more quickly and lower prescription drug prices for patients. Senator Hassan also helped pass into law three bipartisan measures to increase access to generic and biosimilar medications, which are often cheaper than their brand name counterparts.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Colleagues Call on DHS to Prioritize Cybersecurity, Reestablish Cyber Safety Review Board

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), both members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging her to reestablish the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) after the Trump administration dismissed members earlier this year.
    The CSRB, established in 2022 under President Biden, convenes cybersecurity experts from across multiple government agencies and the private sector to investigate serious cybersecurity breaches and make recommendations for businesses, government agencies, and individuals to better protect themselves. In January of this year, the board was disbanded.
    The senators wrote, “The CSRB played a vital role in U.S. national security carrying out post-incident reviews and providing information and making recommendations to improve public and private sector cyber security. Therefore, we urge you to swiftly reconstitute the Board with qualified leaders to shape our nation’s cyber response.”
    In their letter, the senators highlighted the key work that CSRB has done to investigate some of the most serious cyber incidents our country has faced, including Salt Typhoon, a breach believed to be perpetrated by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that compromised U.S. and global telecommunications infrastructure.
    “Against the backdrop of repeated insistence by this Administration on the need to leverage private sector and external expertise in government, the decision to dismantle this successful collaboration between the federal government and the private sector is particularly confounding,” the senators continued. “The CSRB has spearheaded crucial fact-finding efforts following cyber incidents, and developed recommendations and reports reflecting lessons learned following some of the most serious cyber incidents of the past few years, such as the Microsoft Exchange Online intrusion, the SolarWinds hack, and most recently (until the CSRB’s dissolution) the Salt Typhoon campaign against U.S telecommunications infrastructure.”
    The senators concluded, “As we have said before, inadequate cyber security practices put our economy, our national security and even lives at risk. The January dismissal of CSRB members, and continued uncertainty about the future role of the Board, has undermined cyber defense preparations for public and private entities across the United States. In this age of great innovation, we cannot afford to see our private or public systems compromised by malicious actors. You have had more than four months to reestablish this Board to conduct this critical work – DHS leadership and CISA must work together to immediately reinstate the Board as a crucial part of America’s cyber defense infrastructure.”
    A copy of letter is available here and text is below.
    Dear Secretary Noem:
    We write to you today with regard to the need to act to reestablish the Cyber Safety Review Board (“CSRB” or “Board”). As members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence or the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, we extremely concerned with ensuring that America’s intelligence community, law enforcement agencies, state and local governments, and businesses have access to the best tools and resources to prepare for, and protect themselves against, ongoing cyber threats facing our nation. The CSRB played a vital role in U.S. national security carrying out post-incident reviews and providing information and making recommendations to improve public and private sector cyber security. Therefore, we urge you to swiftly reconstitute the Board with qualified leaders to shape our nation’s cyber response.
    As chartered, the CSRB is composed of 20 standing members, with additional members appointed on a case-by-case basis for the purpose of specific investigations. All members bring expertise from both the public and private sector, and are to be selected on the basis of significant professional and technical expertise and regardless of political affiliation. This structure serves to create a body with a deep well of cyber security capabilities and knowledge that can conduct thorough reviews of cyber incidents and provide trusted, fact-based recommendations on how businesses, individuals, and agencies across all layers of government can better protect themselves.
    When building cyber security capabilities, the software and IT ecosystem benefits tremendously from transparent, accessible, and rigorous research and forensics. Against the backdrop of repeated insistence by this Administration on the need to leverage private sector and external expertise in government, the decision to dismantle this successful collaboration between the federal government and the private sector is particularly confounding.
    The CSRB has spearheaded crucial fact-finding efforts following cyber incidents, and developed recommendations and reports reflecting lessons learned following some of the most serious cyber incidents of the past few years, such as the Microsoft Exchange Online intrusion, the SolarWinds hack, and most recently (until the CSRB’s dissolution) the Salt Typhoon campaign against U.S telecommunications infrastructure.  
    These comprehensive and incredibly fact-intensive investigations have provided invaluable transparency and lessons for the wider software and IT sectors. For instance, the CSRB’s review of the 2023 Microsoft cyber incident, recently cited by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard when presenting the Annual Threat Assessment at the March 25, 2025 SSCI open hearing, identified several operational and strategic lapses that contributed to this intrusion, with recommendations around authentication, logging, and public communication around security incidents that benefited the entire ecosystem.
    As we have noted, the CSRB had been actively investigating potentially the most expansive and impactful cyber security breach in U.S. history: the unprecedented compromises of U.S. and global telecommunications infrastructure by threat actors associated with the People’s Republic of China, widely referred to as “Salt Typhoon.” However, the CSRB’s investigation into the Salt Typhoon compromises of U.S. telecommunication firms, launched in 2024, was effectively terminated on January 20, 2025 and is depriving the public of a fuller accounting of the origin, scope, scale, and severity of these compromises. It is essential that the U.S. develop a complete and thorough understanding of the factors that contributed to the success of these intrusions – including clear root-cause analyses of each successful penetration – and present key recommendations for the telecommunications sector to better protect itself against similarly complex and large-scale compromises by future threat actors.
    As we have said before, inadequate cyber security practices put our economy, our national security and even lives at risk. The January dismissal of CSRB members, and continued uncertainty about the future role of the Board, has undermined cyber defense preparations for public and private entities across the United States. In this age of great innovation, we cannot afford to see our private or public systems compromised by malicious actors. You have had more than four months to reestablish this Board to conduct this critical work – DHS leadership and CISA must work together to immediately reinstate the Board as a crucial part of America’s cyber defense infrastructure.
    Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this important issue. It is our hope that we can work together to continue developing a robust cyber security infrastructure that protects all Americans.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Trump Administration Launches Permitting Technology Action Plan

    Source: US Whitehouse

    Today, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in consultation with the National Energy Dominance Council and relevant permitting agencies, issued a Permitting Technology Action Plan to modernize Federal environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects involving roads, bridges, mines, factories, power plants and more.

    The Permitting Technology Action Plan provides a government-wide strategy to optimize technology to effectively and efficiently evaluate environmental permits, allowing for seamless information exchange between agencies, simplified interactions for applicants, and greater transparency and predictability on environmental review and permitting schedules for sponsors and stakeholders.

    The Permitting Technology Action Plan contains:

    • Minimum functional requirements for environmental review and permitting systems;
    • An initial National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and permitting data and technology standard;
    • A timeline and implementation roadmap for agencies; and
    • A governance structure for implementation.

    This Permitting Technology Action Plan is a testament to the Trump Administration’s commitment to expediting and simplifying the environmental review and permitting process. It delivers on President Trump’s Memorandum, Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century, and follows the establishment of the Permitting Innovation Center. Working with the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services, the CEQ-led Permitting Innovation Center will design and test prototype permitting technology systems in order to advise Federal agencies on the adoption of the best-in-class-tools. 

    “The Trump Administration is working tirelessly to implement innovation-driven environmental review and permitting reforms to eliminate needless delays that cripple the growth of the U.S. economy, replacing outdated technology with efficient, speedier solutions,” said Katherine Scarlett, Chief of Staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Through interagency coordination, this Administration has taken bold action to streamline the NEPA process and get America back to building infrastructure projects of all kinds.”

    “Under President Trump’s leadership, we will ensure the Federal government is maximizing modern technologies to streamline permitting,” said Thomas Shedd, Technology Transformation Services Director at the General Services Administration. “Technology Transformation Services remains committed to supporting the execution of the Permitting Technology Action Plan by building the tools agencies can use to accelerate their environmental review and permitting processes – with results in weeks or months, not years.”

    The solutions laid out in the Permitting Technology Action Plan will leverage technology to tackle longstanding problems identified in CEQ’s E-NEPA Report to Congress—including, reliance on outdated systems, fragmented data management, and disconnected digital tools—reinforcing this Administration’s unwavering dedication to deliver outstanding results at 21st century speeds.

    In Case You Missed It: President Trump Unleashes Permitting Technology for the 21st Century

    “We need to drill more, map more, mine more, and build more — all while innovating faster than our global competitors,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “The Permitting Technology Action Plan will channel our greatest asset, American innovation and technology, to overhaul our current permitting process and power our nation faster, better, cleaner, and more reliably than ever before. Embracing cutting-edge development and modernizing this outdated system will pave the way to American success.”

    “With President Trump’s leadership, this administration is taking action to fix a broken system that’s slowing down critical energy projects across the country. Outdated permitting systems are creating costly delays at the exact moment we need to be expanding capacity, strengthening our energy security, and building the infrastructure that powers American industry and lowers costs for families,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “As Secretary of Energy and Vice Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council, I welcome this decisive action to modernize permitting technology, cut red tape, and align the full force of the federal government behind getting these essential projects approved and built—because energy dominance isn’t possible without the infrastructure to support it.”

    “When President Trump says American farmers and ranchers have been the lifeblood of our economy for centuries, he means it. For too long, our producers have experienced delays and uncertainty as they navigate a complex permitting process that gets in the way of American innovation and stifles energy and timber production. This historic Memorandum will increase efficiency and transparency so farmers, foresters, and producers can get back to the work they do every day to feed, fuel, and clothe our nation,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

    “It takes too long to build in America,” said Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy. “Ridiculous red tape and outdated regulations add cost and delays to projects. It has to stop. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are slashing the bureaucracy and getting back to actually building things in America again. We are doing that by harnessing innovative technology to expedite the permitting process.”

    “I applaud President Trump for his actions to streamline environmental reviews and permitting processes which will bolster American innovation and grow our economy. Pillar Three of my Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative is permitting reform, cooperative federalism, and cross-agency partnership and under President Trump’s leadership, EPA will leverage technology to maximize efficiency and maintain the quality of review while expediting permits for infrastructure projects. No longer will applicants face years-long, uncertain, and costly permitting processes. Instead, we will safeguard our environment and incentivize investment into our economy creating American jobs,” said Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The onus is on Russia and Putin to show they are serious about peace: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Speech

    The onus is on Russia and Putin to show they are serious about peace: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Statement by Fergus Eckersley, UK Minister Counsellor, at the Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security.

    We’ve listened very carefully to the Russian delegation, including their attacks on the UK.

    Let me say one thing.

    Let us all hope that Russia engages more seriously and with more sincerity in the peace talks than we’ve heard here today.

    Russia has just blamed the UK and other European countries for somehow sabotaging peace.

    They’re trying to complicate things and confuse us.

    But the reality is quite simple. Let me restate a few simple facts.

    1) Russia invaded Ukraine twice in fact, in recent years.

    2) Russia violated the UN Charter.

    3) Russia is right, as we speak, trying to annex Ukrainian land.

    4) Russia appears, from its public statements, to be seeking the overthrow of the government in Kyiv and to impose limits on Ukraine’s independence.

    5) Russia has rejected an unconditional ceasefire.

    6) Russia continues to bomb cities across Ukraine, 900 drone and missile attacks in just three days last week.

    There is plenty more we could talk about, including Russia’s use of sophisticated weaponry in urban areas, killing civilians, or its reckless seizure of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. 

    We could talk about the enablers of Russia’s war, such as weapons flows from Iran and its military partnership with DPRK, in violation of Council resolutions, and weaponised dual-use goods from other third parties.

    But in the end, we don’t really need to look beyond the most essential facts about Russia’s invasion to understand the situation and what needs to happen next.

    Ukraine on the other hand:

    1) Is defending its territory.

    2) Is defending the principles of the UN Charter.

    3) Has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire.

    President Zelenskyy has even offered direct talks with President Putin, which President Putin has rejected.

    So yes, the UK stands proudly with Ukraine as it seeks a just and lasting peace.

    Supporting Ukraine to defend itself from Russian attacks is not the cause of this war; it is a necessary response to it.

    The onus really is on Russia, and President Putin, to show they are serious about ending the war that they started. Let us hope they do that very soon.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: De La Cruz, Sykes Announce Bipartisan Women’s Caucus Shared Agenda for Women and Families

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Monica De La Cruz (TX-15)

    Washington, DC – Co-chairs, Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) and Congresswoman Emilia Strong Sykes (D-OH), along with Vice-Chairs, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) and Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (D-OR) announce theBipartisan Women’s Caucus priorities for the 119th Congress.

    The Caucus outlined the following legislative priorities:

    • Caregiving:Exploring ways to better support caregivers

    • Food and Nutrition:Expanding access to healthy and nutritious food

    • Small Business and Entrepreneurship:Promoting programs for women-owned businesses

    • STEM/STEAM:Creating greater opportunities and a pipeline for women and girls

    • Women Veterans:Addressing military sexual trauma and enhancing research on women veterans’ health

    • Violence Against Women:Supporting efforts to promote the economic security of survivors

    • Women’s Health:Strengthening and funding maternal health, mid-life health and expanding IVF insurance coverage

    • Women’s History Museum:Ensuring women’s contributions throughout our country’s history is recognized and honored

    “As Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus, I’m committed to working across the aisle to advance policies that support women-owned small businesses, strengthen families, and expand access to childcare and elder care.Empowering women is at the heart of our mission, and I look forward to delivering commonsense solutions on the priorities we share.”-Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz (TX-15)

     

    “As the representative for one of the most bipartisan congressional districts in the country, it is an honor to Co-Chair the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus to prioritize real change for women and girls in America. Whether we are working to raise awareness around violence against women, improving women’s health, expanding opportunities for women and girls in STEAM, or engaging in efforts to improve access to healthy foods and ensure food is safe for our children, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with so many amazing women across the political spectrum to make sure that women and girls are not left behind by our government.”–Congresswoman Emilia Strong Sykes (OH-13)

     

    “As Vice-Chair serving in the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus, I remain committed to advancing commonsense, bipartisan policies that support women and families nationwide. We’ve worked to increase the Child Tax Credit and expand women’s health care, support women-owned businesses, advance STEM opportunities, supporting solutions to increase access to child care, and champion a National Women’s History Museum. We’re working across the aisle to empower current and future generations of women and girls.”-Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis.

     

    “Every day I hear from Oregonians that want lower costs, better jobs, and a fair chance at the American Dream. I remain firmly committed to working across the aisle as Vice-Chair of the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus to deliver real results to improve Americans’ quality of life.”-Congresswoman Janelle Bynum

     

    “In keeping with their 48-year history, the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus’ legislative priorities for the 119th Congress demonstrate their continued commitment to work across the aisle to ensure women and their families are economically secure, healthy and safe. WCPI will continue to work alongside the Caucus to hold regular briefings and engage in thoughtful bipartisan discussions and learning opportunities for Members and congressional staff.”-President of the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute (WCPI) Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat

     

    Background:

    The Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues was founded in 1977 and later renamed to the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus (BWC). When it was founded, the Caucus included 15 of the 18 women servingin the House of Representatives. Today, nearly one-third of the House are women members. With its founding, the Caucus offered a space for women members to speak in public and with each other about women’s policy issues with the goal of developing, initiating, and promoting bipartisan legislation and public policies for women.

     

    Some of the early accomplishments of the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus included:

    • The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978)

    • The Retirement Equity Act (1984)

    • The Women’s Business Ownership Act (1988)

    • The Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act (1990)

    • The Family and Medical Leave Act (1993)

    • The Violence Against Women Act (1994)

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Yorkshire Water fined after pumping station sewage incident

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Yorkshire Water fined after pumping station sewage incident

    Yorkshire Water has been fined £350,000 after one of its sewage pumping stations polluted a York watercourse.

    Following an investigation by the Environment Agency, the company appeared at York Magistrates’ Court on Friday 30 May for sentencing for two offences – one of illegally polluting Foss Dyke with sewage and another in relation to failing to maintain a pump at the pumping station.

    It had previously pleaded guilty to the two offences in November 2024.

    The court heard that Yorkshire Water was aware Fossbridge Sewage Pumping Station’s backup pump had not been working for five months.

    It had failed to repair it, despite the issue having been noted repeatedly during regular maintenance checks. It should have been fixed within 24 hours.

    Yorkshire Water ‘failed to take action’

    Martin Christmas, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said:

    Water companies have a responsibility to ensure their assets are maintained and in working order to protect the environment.

    Yorkshire Water failed to take action despite being aware of the risks posed by one of its pumps being out of action, which led to a sewage spill.

    We expect full compliance and are committed to taking robust enforcement action where we see serious breaches.

    Alongside increased inspections at sewage treatment works, additional enforcement tools and better reporting we’re determined to hold water companies to account.

    Sewage pumping stations pump sewage through the system to sewage treatment works. It is illegal, unless authorised by an environmental permit, to discharge pollution into watercourses.

    Under the environmental permit for Fossbridge Sewage Pumping Station, such a discharge is only allowed in an emergency, such as an electrical or mechanical failure or a blockage, which, if it occurs, must be remedied without delay.

    Fossbridge pumping station has a main pump and a backup pump. There is an emergency overflow pipe which discharges sewage into the River Foss if the station fails, to avoid nearby homes connected to the system from being inundated.

    Sensors enable Yorkshire Water to monitor the station’s performance including power, pump condition, levels and the operation of the emergency overflow.

    Backup pump was blocked

    On 5 October 2017, Yorkshire Water noted the inlet pipe feeding the backup pump was blocked and effluent couldn’t reach it, meaning the pump could not operate.

    Although a job was raised to fix this blockage, and it was noted it needed repairs during several subsequent regular maintenance visits, it was never carried out.

    Comments from Yorkshire Water during interview said the repair of the backup pump was to be done by an external contractor but had ‘got lost in the ether’.

    On 12 March, 2018, the sewage pumping station filled to the point where telemetry alarms sounded indicating a discharge of sewage into Foss Dyke. The alarms were noted at Yorkshire Water’s control centre and attributed to high rainfall.

    High rainfall was not a valid reason as the sewage pumping station was only allowed to discharge in an emergency as set out in its environmental permit and not, as with some water company assets like combined sewer overflows, in ‘storm conditions’.

    Yorkshire Water did not attend the pumping station, despite the data indicating a sewage spill.

    Report of discharge of sewage

    Two days later on 14 March, Yorkshire Water received a report from the public about a discharge of sewage from Fossbridge pumping station.

    It was found the main pump was running but on ‘low amps’ – which indicates a potential air lock – and the backup pump was still not repaired. Yorkshire Water had no functioning pumps at the pumping station.

    The company stopped the discharge and arranged for tankers to transport the sewage away from the pumping station while it was repaired. Reports suggest the pumping station had been discharging intermittently into the watercourse on 12 March, 2018.

    Over the following days, two further discharges took place at the pumping station, one because only one tanker was being used to transport sewage from the pumping station and it had not been able to keep up with the flow, and another after the main pump blocked again.

    Water samples showed high ammonia levels in the watercourse.

    If members of the public see any signs of pollution, they should report it to the environment Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 807060.

    Background

    Full charges

    • Yorkshire Water Services Limited between 11 and 19 March 2018, caused a water discharge activity, namely the discharge of sewage into the Foss Dyke near York which was not authorised by an environmental permit.

    Contrary to Regulation 38(1)(a) and Regulation 12(1)(b) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.  

    • Yorkshire Water Services Limited between 1 October 2017 and 19 March 2018 at Fossbridge Sewage Pumping Station, York, failed to comply with condition 1.6.2 of Environmental Permit number 27/24/0440, in that the company failed to maintain the standby pump in working order.

    Contrary to regulation 38(2) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: High School Teams from Across North Carolina Amaze in Ready, Set, App! Competition

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: High School Teams from Across North Carolina Amaze in Ready, Set, App! Competition

    High School Teams from Across North Carolina Amaze in Ready, Set, App! Competition
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Today Governor Josh Stein announced the three winning North Carolina high school teams of the sixth annual Ready, Set, App! competition. Nine student teams from across the state attended the final event to pitch their original mobile apps to a panel of business and tech-industry professionals along with a live audience of family members, teachers, and peers.

    “I am proud to recognize these competitors for their technical acumen and hard work to develop apps that will make a difference for their friends, family, and neighbors,” said Governor Josh Stein. “We must expand opportunity so that students can apply what they learn in the classroom to solve real problems. I look forward to seeing all that these students achieve in the future.”

    The following teams were selected as the winners for this year’s competition:

    • First place was ASLephant from Mallard Creek High School in Mecklenburg County, who created an app to teach users about the foundations of American Sign Language (ASL) through a gamified leveling system, which features unique quizzes and flashcards. Team members include Elizabeth Bui, Linh Thai, and Laylah Pegues. Watch ASLephant’s presentation here.
    • Second place went to Color Catch from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics – Morganton in Burke County. Their app empowers individuals with color blindness by enabling them to easily identify the colors of everyday objects, enhancing their independence. Team members include Rohin Patel, Avika Gera, Peter Tenholder, Sai Yadavalli, and Ishaan Joshy. Watch Color Catch’s presentation here.
    • Third place was ApneaAid from Enloe High School in Wake County, who created an AI-powered app that detects sleep apnea risk using your phone’s microphone and provides unique recommendations and trends to improve sleep quality. Team members include Madhav Annachi, Sehajpreet Bajwa, Aarush Jain, Ahan Jaiswal, Abhinay Ruddarraju. Watch ApneaAid’s presentation here. 

    The Ready, Set, App competition is hosted by the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE), a business-led, education non-profit within the Governor’s Office, and sponsored by Lenovo. The contest challenges student teams to design and develop an original android mobile application to solve a problem in their school or community. 

    This year, Ready, Set, App! teams are comprised of three to five students along with an advisor. The competition set participation records this year, engaging 425 students with 107 teams from across 30 counties. From the registered teams, 51 submitted completed projects, including a full app demonstration accompanied by a compelling video pitch. Projects were then judged by Lenovo professionals, educators, business leaders, and government officials to determine the nine finalists. Teams then pitched their apps on stage at the Lenovo headquarters in Morrisville for the chance to win brand new Lenovo tech. 

    “We are incredibly proud to recognize the outstanding talent and innovation showcased by all the participants in this year’s Ready, Set, App! competition,” said Libby Richards, community engagement manager at Lenovo. “These high school students have demonstrated not only technical skill, but also a forward-thinking problem solving using technology. We congratulate the winners on their impressive achievements and applaud every student who took part in this inspiring competition.”

    This year’s team was led by Kishan Rajeev Jagadeesh from Apex Friendship High and Wisdom Walker from Harper Middle College. New additions this year include Evan Kim from Weddington High School, Mariya Tinch from Nash-Rocky Mount Early College, Nachammai Annamalai from South Iredell High School, and Swayam Shah from Enloe Magnet High School.

    Ready, Set, App! is open to all North Carolina high school students and will be held again next school year with a kickoff planned for fall 2025. Intern applications will open in September and team registration will open shortly after. 

    Click here or more information about the Ready, Set, App! Competition. 

    May 30, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Urges DOJ to Investigate Chinese Automotive Company for National Security Breaches, Export Violations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)
    Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate TuSimple Holdings – a Chinese autonomous trucking company – for potential violations of U.S. export controls, unauthorized transfers of sensitive technology to the People’s Republic of China, and any associated breaches of national security.
    In the letter, Senator Hawley wrote, “According to recent investigative reports, TuSimple systematically shared proprietary data, source code, and autonomous driving technologies with Chinese state-linked entities, in blatant disregard of a 2022 national security agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). These reports also revealed communications from TuSimple personnel inside China requesting the shipment of sensitive Nvidia AI chips and detailed records showing ‘deep and longstanding ties’ with Chinese military-affiliated manufacturers. To date, TuSimple has not faced serious consequences for sharing American intellectual property with China.”
    He continued, “If the reports about TuSimple are accurate, they represent not just a violation of export law, but a breach of national trust and a direct threat to American technological leadership.  The American people deserve to know how and why a supposedly U.S.-based company was allowed to serve as a conduit for the transfer of sensitive innovations to the Chinese Communist Party.”
    Senator Hawley concluded, “I urge the Department to act swiftly and without hesitation. Any individual or entity found to have violated our laws must be held fully accountable.”
    Read the full letter here or below. 
    May 28, 2025
    The Honorable Pam BondiAttorney GeneralU.S. Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20530
    Dear Attorney General Bondi,
    I write to urge the Department of Justice to open a formal investigation into TuSimple Holdings Inc., a Chinese autonomous trucking company, for potential violations of U.S. export controls, unauthorized transfers of sensitive technology to the People’s Republic of China, and any associated breaches of national security.
    According to recent investigative reports, TuSimple systematically shared proprietary data, source code, and autonomous driving technologies with Chinese state-linked entities, in blatant disregard of a 2022 national security agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)[1]  These reports also revealed communications from TuSimple personnel inside China requesting the shipment of sensitive Nvidia AI chips and detailed records showing “deep and longstanding ties” with Chinese military-affiliated manufacturers. To date, TuSimple has not faced serious consequences for sharing American intellectual property with China.
    If the reports about TuSimple are accurate, they represent not just a violation of export law, but a breach of national trust and a direct threat to American technological leadership.  The American people deserve to know how and why a supposedly U.S.-based company was allowed to serve as a conduit for the transfer of sensitive innovations to the Chinese Communist Party.  I urge the Department to act swiftly and without hesitation. Any individual or entity found to have violated our laws must be held fully accountable.
    As you conduct your investigation, please consider the following questions:
    1. Did TuSimple provide protected information to Hydron, Foton, BAIC Group, or any other affiliated Chinese entity?2. What steps has the Department of Justice taken to ensure that Bot Auto—a new, Texas-based self-driving truck company staffed with former TuSimple employees and backed by Chinese capital—does not engage in similar behavior?3. What activities were covered by TuSimple’s national security agreement with CFIUS?4. What were the infractions of this agreement for which TuSimple paid a $6 million settlement?5. Are “national security agreements” an adequate mechanism for controlling high-risk companies with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party?
    Thank you for your attention to this matter.
    Sincerely,Josh HawleyU.S. Senator

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján Wraps Up Statewide Tour Highlighting Work to Protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján

    Luján Visits Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe; Holds Town Hall With Rep. Stansbury

    New Mexico – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) concluded a series of events across New Mexico this week, meeting with health care providers, seniors, families, and union members to highlight the impact of Republican efforts to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP.

    This week, Senator Luján traveled from Las Cruces to Albuquerque to Santa Fe to speak directly with New Mexicans about what’s at stake and to reaffirm his commitment to protecting the essential programs that thousands of New Mexico families, children, seniors, and communities rely on

    Candlelight Memorial Ceremony in Las Cruces

    Senator Luján began the week on Monday by honoring fallen service members at the 12th Annual Candlelight Ceremony in Doña Ana County.

    “On Memorial Day, we pause to remember the heroes who gave everything for our country. I was proud to stand with the community in Las Cruces to honor their service, their sacrifice, and their families,” said Senator Luján.

    Roundtable on Republican Benefit Cuts in Las Cruces

    At the Munson Senior Center on Tuesday, Senator Luján met with health care professionals, senior service providers, and AARP to discuss how Republican cuts would harm New Mexicans.

    “We heard firsthand how Republican cuts would shut down clinics, rip away food and care, and leave families with nowhere to turn,” continued Senator Luján. “For seniors living on fixed incomes, for parents working to make ends meet, and for rural communities already facing barriers to care – these programs are lifelines. I will keep fighting in the Senate to stop these cuts and protect the dignity and well-being of every New Mexican.”

    Town Hall with Representative Melanie Stansbury in Albuquerque

    Tuesday evening, Senator Luján joined Rep. Melanie Stansbury for a town hall focused on threats to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP.

    “This Republican-led bill is a total rip-off for New Mexicans – all to line the pockets of people like President Trump and Elon Musk,” said Senator Ben Ray Luján. “The Republicans’ priorities couldn’t be more clear: tax handouts for billionaires and massive corporations, paid for by cutting health care, food assistance, and benefits for New Mexicans. We are not backing down.”

    Health Care Roundtable at CHRISTUS St. Vincent in Santa Fe

    Senator Luján met with health careleaders and providers to discuss the impact of federal budget cuts on care delivery, staffing, and rural access.

    “Gutting Medicare and Medicaid would take health care away from those who need it most – especially in rural communities,” continued Senator Luján. “Providers are already stretched thin. These cuts would force closures, delay care, and put lives at risk. Our hospitals and health care workers need support, and I’ll keep fighting to make sure they get it.”

    AFSCME and SNAP Labor Event in Santa Fe

    Senator Luján concluded the tour with AFSCME union members, focusing on how GOP cuts to SNAP and public services would affect workers and families.

    “AFSCME members keep our state running, and SNAP keeps families fed. These cuts are a direct attack on both,” said Senator Luján. “That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to strengthen the SNAP workforce because supporting workers means better service for families. I’ll always stand with New Mexico’s workers and the communities they serve.”

    Throughout the statewide tour, Senator Luján underscored the devastating impact of the GOP budget proposal that slashes health and nutrition programs, raises costs for New Mexicans, and adds to the national debt – all to fund massive tax handouts for the wealthiest Americans and corporate interests.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Westville — Pictou County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit charges two people with multiple firearms offences

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The Pictou County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit (PCISCEU) has charged two people with multiple offences following a search warrant execution in Westville.

    On May 28, as part of an ongoing firearms investigation, the PCISCEU attended a residence on Picken St. Two people were safely arrested at the property after a man pointed a loaded rifle at officers and tried to flee the area on an all-terrain vehicle. A woman, who was also at the residence, attempted to flee on foot.

    During the search of the home, three firearms, several replica firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, knives, and swords were seized.

    Darren Brent Snell, 41, and Sherri Lynn Hallam, 39, both of Westville, have been charged with:

    • Possession of Weapon for Dangerous Purpose (nine counts)
    • Careless Use of Firearm (four counts)
    • Unauthorized Possession of Firearm (three counts)
    • Unauthorized Possession of Prohibited Weapon
    • Resist Arrest

    Snell has also been charged with:

    • Pointing a Firearm
    • Possession Contrary to Order (12 counts)

    Snell has been remanded into custody pending future court appearances. Hallam was released on conditions and is due to appear in Pictou Provincial Court on July 21.

    Several teams assisted with the search warrant execution, including the Nova Scotia RCMP Emergency Response Team and Critical Incident Command, Pictou County District RCMP, Westville Police Service and Stellarton Police Service.

    Note: The PCISCEU is made up of police officers from Pictou County District RCMP, Westville Police Service, and Stellarton Police Service.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: 413 New Immigration Cases This Week in the Western District of Texas

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN ANTONIO – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 413 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 23 through May 29.

    Among the new cases, Salvadoran national Jaqueline Del Carmen Aleman-Aguilar was charged with one count of illegal re-entry in San Antonio. According to a criminal complaint, Aleman-Aguilar was convicted for transportation of aliens in June 2015 and sentenced to six months in federal prison. She was then removed from the United States to Mexico in July 2015.

    Christian Ruben Corea-Benavides, a Nicaraguan national, was charged in El Paso with attempting to transport illegal aliens. U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly observed Corea-Benavides pick up five illegal aliens just over four miles west of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that during a traffic stop, the investigating USBP agent observed a female passenger in the front seat of the vehicle, and four additional passengers lying on top of one another in the backseat—all appearing to be wet and muddy.

    Mexican national Sabino Renteria-Alvarado was arrested May 28 at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry after he attempted to enter through the pedestrian entrance and allegedly presented the Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) with a false claim that he had been a Legal Permanent Resident, but that police in Nevada possessed his LPR card. The CBPO referred Renteria-Alvarado to Passport Control Secondary, where records revealed he had been previously removed in January 2024 through Nogales, Arizona. His criminal record includes a 15-year prison sentence for a sexual assault of a minor conviction in 2017. Renteria-Alvarado is currently charged with one count of illegal re-entry.

    Two U.S. citizens were arrested in the Del Rio area as the result of separate human smuggling attempts, as alleged in criminal complaints. Nancy Anna Gwyn, of Houston, was encountered during a May 22 traffic stop near Carrizo Springs. USBP agents allegedly uncovered three passengers in her vehicle who were identified to be citizens of foreign countries and illegally present in the U.S. On May 24, an immigration checkpoint inspection near Eagle Pass allegedly revealed that Anastasia Lee Daneill Godfrey, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was attempting to transport two illegal aliens to San Antonio in the trunk of a sedan.

    Honduran national Walter Alonso Martinez-Chandias is charged with illegal re-entry. He has one prior removal—in June 2013 through Alexandria, Louisiana—and a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions in Birmingham, Alabama for drug trafficking and homicide, for which he was sentenced in 2018 to five years and 20 years in prison, respectively. In 2017, he was convicted in Birmingham for unlawful transport of firearms and sentenced to 81 months in prison. A criminal complain alleges that when he was arrested on May 25, Martinez-Chandias refused to comply with Border Patrol agents’ commands and resisted attempts to be placed in custody and handcuffs by running and kicking.

    Luis Alberto Olivarez-Hernandez, of Mexico, was arrested May 27 near Eagle Pass for illegal re-entry. He has two prior removals, the last one being Feb. 25 through Laredo, five days after a felony conviction for unlawfully carrying a weapon in prohibited places. Additionally, Olivarez-Hernandez was convicted in 2010 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

    Armando Vazquez-Ruiz, also a Mexican national, is charged with illegal re-entry after being found near Eagle Pass less than two weeks after his most recent removal. Vazquez-Ruiz had been convicted in Georgetown May 7 for assault causing bodily injury and was deported May 8 through Laredo.

    In Austin, Mexican national Basilio Luna-Luna was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Travis County Jail May 24, where he was detained for what would be his seventh DWI, if convicted. Luna-Luna was previously removed from the U.S. in November 2014 and voluntarily returned to Mexico twice—once in 1998 and once in 2009.

    Juan Alberto Zarate-Salgado, also of Mexico, was encountered at the Travis County Jail as well and is charged with illegal re-entry. Zarate-Salgado has two prior removals and multiple convictions for assault of a family/household member and assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

    These cases are 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).

    Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: DHS Releases Statement on Major SCOTUS Victory for Trump Administration and the American People on Ending the CHNV Parole Program

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    CHNV was an unlawful scheme to unleash over 530,000 poorly vetted aliens into America

    WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secured a legal victory in its effort to terminate parole for more than 530,000 illegal aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) who were released into the country by the Biden Administration. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 order, staying a District Court’s order pending appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

    With this decision, DHS can once again start removing illegal aliens under the disastrous CHNV parole programs as the case progresses. This order comes after an activist judge ruled that DHS could not outright end the CHNV program.

    DHS released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump Administration to keep Americans safe: 

    Statement Attributable to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin 

    “Today’s decision is a victory for the American people. The Biden Administration lied to America. They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed,”  

    “Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First.” 

    Read the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling here. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton Announces Selection Of White Plains Division Chiefs

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the selection of Jeff C. Coffman and Benjamin Klein as Chiefs of the Office’s White Plains Division, as well as the retirement of Perry Carbone, Chief of the Office’s Criminal Division, who previously served with distinction as Chief of the White Plains Division. 

    Mr. Coffman joined the Office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division in 2018, following five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of New York and one year as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia.  Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Mr. Coffman worked at the law firm of Trout Cacheris, PLLC and co-founded and managed a small law firm in Washington, D.C.  Mr. Coffman received Bachelor of Science degrees from Virginia Tech and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.  After graduating from law school, he clerked for the Hon. James C. Cacheris of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

    Mr. Klein joined the Office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division in 2021.  Before becoming a prosecutor, Mr. Klein worked at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.  Mr. Klein received a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, and a J.D. from the Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of The Yale Law Journal.  After graduating, Mr. Klein clerked for the Honorable Thomas M. Hardiman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

     “I am pleased to announce the selection of Jeff Coffman and Ben Klein as co-chiefs of the Office’s White Plains division,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.  “Jeff and Ben will bring a wealth of prosecutorial talent and experience to lead the critically impactful work of the division.  Together with our agency partners, they will drive our commitment to safety and fairness for millions of New Yorkers.  On behalf of the hundreds of women and men of the Southern District who have benefited from working with Perry Carbone, I say thank you, Perry, for your commitment to justice and your devotion to the Office and your colleagues. Perry has been a consummate prosecutor for decades and has admirably spent his career as a selfless advocate for public safety.  We all thank Perry for doing so much good for so many.  I am also especially grateful to Margery Feinzig, Deputy Chief of our Criminal Division, who stepped in as Acting Chief of the White Plains Division during this transition.  Her steady leadership, professionalism, and tireless commitment ensured that the White Plains Division continued to function at the highest level.  We are fortunate to have had her at the helm.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Denver Man Sentenced to 110 Months in Federal Prison for Fentanyl, Gun Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Derris Mayberry, 37, of Denver, was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison after being convicted by federal juries in two trials of one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

    According to the facts established at the trials, on the evening of March 22, 2024, a woman approached an officer conducting surveillance for an undercover operation and offered the officer “dope.”  She then told the officer that she knew someone who could get “blues,” meaning fentanyl pills.  The woman ultimately led undercover police officers to an alley near the Colorado State Capitol where Mayberry was waiting.  An audio recording captured the undercover officer negotiating the price and amount of fentanyl pills.  The officers then observed the woman make a hand-to-hand exchange with Mayberry, immediately after which the woman handed four fentanyl pills to the undercover officer in exchange for $20.  Law enforcement contacted Mayberry shortly thereafter at a bus stop only feet away from where the deal had taken place.  During a pat down, law enforcement found a loaded .22 caliber revolver in his shorts pocket.  Mayberry had previously been convicted of multiple felonies and, therefore, was prohibited from possessing the loaded revolver.  During a search incident to his arrest, law enforcement found additional fentanyl pills and the $20 used by the undercover officer to purchase the drugs.

    “Illicit fentanyl destroys lives,” said Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell. “Our office will continue to prioritize putting fentanyl traffickers behind bars.”

    “Felons illegally possessing firearms and distributing deadly drugs like fentanyl pose a serious and immediate threat to public safety,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Ashbridge. “We are grateful for our local and federal partners who are unified in our commitment to pursue these violent criminals and hold them accountable for their actions.”

    “What began as great, proactive police work ended with an armed dealer of dangerous narcotics being sentenced to prison to a lengthy term,” said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas. “The Denver Police Department, in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and U.S. Attorney’s Office, remain committed to stopping the availability of dangerous drugs in Denver.”

    United States District Judge Daniel D. Domenico presided over the sentencing. The Denver Police Department VICE unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives handled the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorneys Theodore O’Brien and Celeste Rangel handled the prosecution.

    Case Number:  24-cr-00110-DDD

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Louisville Couple Sentenced to Federal Prison for Fraud Conspiracy and Ordered to Pay Restitution

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Louisville, KY – A Louisville couple was sentenced this week to federal prison for engaging in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and disaster fraud.

    U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Licari of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Midwestern Region, Special Agent in Charge Kelly J. Blackmon of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Lesley Allison of the Pittsburgh Division made the announcement.

    According to court documents, Yeniseis Saavedra, 35, was sentenced on May 28, 2025, to 3 years and 6 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of making a false statement, two counts of disaster fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

    Alien Saavedra, 36, was sentenced on May 20, 2025, to 1 day in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of disaster fraud.

    Between 2019 and 2020, Yeniseis Saavedra and Alien Saavedra engaged in a conspiracy to defraud factoring (trucking loan) companies by submitting false bills of lading. Yeniseis Saavedra and Alien Saavedra also aided and abetted each other in committing disaster fraud by filing for lost wage assistance payments authorized by a Presidential Memorandum resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic with the Kentucky Office of Unemployment. The filing for lost wage assistance payments was on behalf of Alien Saavedra and failed to report that Alien Saavedra was receiving wages from the motor carrier industry.

    In 2020, Yeniseis Saavedra made a false statement to the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration when she falsely filed an application on behalf of another, C.S., claiming that C.S. was going to operate a trucking company. However, C.S. was not aware of the application filing, and Yeniseis Saavedra was operating the company.

    Yeniseis Saavedra also filed for lost wage assistance payments authorized by a Presidential Memorandum resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic with the Kentucky Office of Unemployment on behalf of C.S. Again, C.S. was unaware of the filing, this time for lost wage assistance payments, and C.S. did not receive any of the lost wage payments. Instead, the lost wage payments were sent to a bank account controlled by Yeniseis Saavedra.

    Lastly, Yeniseis Saavedra was sentenced for aggravated identity theft for using the identity and Social Security number of C.S. without C.S.’s authorization to obtain the lost wage assistance payments.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    Alien Saavedra was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $111,143.78.

    Yeniseis Saavedra was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $156,147.78

    This case was investigated by the DOT-OIG, HHS-OIG, and USPIS.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Ansari prosecuted the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • IndiaAI mission gets boost as compute capacity tops 34,000 GPUs

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced a major expansion in the country’s national AI infrastructure and talent development ecosystem. Speaking at the ‘IndiaAI – Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India’ event in New Delhi, the Minister said India’s national compute capacity has now crossed 34,000 GPUs, bolstered by the addition of 15,916 new units to the existing 18,417.

    The announcement was accompanied by the selection of three more startups to develop indigenous foundation models under the IndiaAI Mission, following a rigorous multi-stage expert evaluation process.

    Calling the expansion of GPU infrastructure a critical enabler for India’s AI ambitions, Vaishnaw reiterated the government’s commitment to democratizing access to technology. “Technology should not be left in the hands of a few. It is important that a larger section of society can access it, develop new solutions, and get better opportunities. That’s the philosophy behind the IndiaAI Mission,” he said.

    The Minister urged the newly selected startups to aim for a top-five global position in their respective domains and highlighted the Mission’s progress across its key pillars: compute infrastructure, foundational models, safety standards, open datasets, and talent development.

    As part of this effort, 367 datasets have already been uploaded to AI Kosh, India’s AI-specific open data repository.

    The IndiaAI Foundation Model pillar, which focuses on building large-scale AI models trained on India-specific data, received over 500 proposals since the call was launched. On April 26, Sarvam AI was selected to build India’s sovereign LLM ecosystem, including a 120-billion parameter open-source model for public service use cases like Citizen Connect 2047 and AI4Pragati.

    Now, three more proposals have been greenlit. Soket AI will build an open-source 120-billion parameter model optimized for India’s linguistic diversity, targeting applications in defense, education, and healthcare. Gnani AI will develop a 14-billion parameter multilingual Voice AI foundation model for real-time speech processing and reasoning. Gan AI will focus on building a 70-billion parameter multilingual model aimed at achieving superhuman text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities.

    The compute expansion has been supported by seven industry partners who offered competitive commercials across different GPU categories. These include Cyfuture India Pvt. Ltd., Ishan Infotech Ltd., Locuz Enterprise Solutions Ltd., Netmagic IT Services Pvt. Ltd., Sify Digital Services Ltd., Vensysco Technologies Ltd., and Yotta Data Services Pvt. Ltd. This shared GPU pool will provide a common AI training and inference platform for startups, researchers, and government agencies.

    As part of the IndiaAI Applications Development Initiative, the winners of the IndiaAI I4C CyberGuard AI Hackathon were also announced. Jointly organized with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, the hackathon led to the development of AI-based solutions capable of interpreting handwritten FIRs, screenshots, and audio files to better classify cybercrime complaints and detect evolving crime patterns.

    IndiaAI, an independent business division under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), serves as the implementing agency for the IndiaAI Mission. It aims to democratize the benefits of AI, strengthen India’s position as a global AI leader, and promote ethical and responsible AI use across sectors.

  • MIL-OSI Global: How seaweed is a powerful, yet surprising, climate solution

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mike Allen, Associate Professor of Single Cell Genomics, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter

    Picture a place at the centre of a global seaweed revolution. I’ll bet the small English seaside town of Paignton in south Devon is not what comes to mind. A decade ago, I moved from the edge of Dartmoor to the coast. It was about a simple change in work-life balance, but what followed was more surprising.

    The kids were four and seven. I’d always tried to inspire them with my scientific research. Moving to Paignton and walking along Broadsands beach one day, I started noticing piles of seaweed.

    I’d spent my entire professional career researching microalgae (microscopic marine plants) but knew next-to-nothing about their bigger macroalgal cousins, the seaweeds. This felt like an opportunity to have some fun and for all of us to learn together.

    So I bought us a seaweed guidebook, some stickers and set the Allen family the task of finding ten different seaweeds on our local beach. We’d mark a page with a sticker when we found it – the ultimate scientific reward chart. A few weeks later, we’d found 30 and exhausted our sticker sheet.

    I was amazed at the diversity that I had never previously noticed. The colours, the textures, the structures – it was like I’d never really seen seaweed properly before. The professional scientist in me kicked in.

    My kids and I started taking samples home. I built the kids a lab in a lean-to on the back of the house. We dried them out and put them in little jam jars, akin to a seaweed spice rack. It got me thinking of useful or sustainable things I could do with them.

    One day, I posted a picture of these jars on Twitter, with the hashtag #SeaweedApothecary. It started something I could never have predicted.

    Seaweed has an astonishing number of uses. It can be used to produce biofuels and fertilisers, foods such as laverbread, nori sheets for sushi and crisps, cosmetics and toothpaste, pharmaceuticals and food supplements like omega-3. I’d also been incorporating seaweed in my day-to-day research at the University of Exeter, trying to convert it into a biofuel.

    Then, my colleagues in the broader academic and industrial science community started asking for samples. Like me, they’d been ignoring seaweed too – until they saw my social media posts and realised the potential.

    The kids (now both teenagers) are acknowledged on at least a dozen scientific research articles and have continued to help me unlock the potential of seaweed. We’ve done degradation experiments in the raised beds in our garden, tested different seaweeds as feeds for a friend’s chickens, trialled them as fertilisers for our tomatoes – even mixed dried seaweed powder in with cement, to see if it can be used as a structural material filler. All fun, simple science that anyone can do at home.


    Local science, global stories.

    This article is part of a series, Secrets of the Sea, exploring how marine scientists are developing climate solutions.

    In collaboration with the BBC, Anna Turns travels around the West Country coastline to meet ocean experts making exciting discoveries beneath the waves.

    Swamped by sargassum

    Then came a call from a Mexican friend, asking me to take a look at a seaweed problem. Every year, Caribbean islands and Mexican coasts are inundated with 30-40 million tonnes of floating sargassum seaweed washing ashore.

    Rotting sargassum causes ecological and economical devastation, destroying livelihoods and the environment. I started converting it into fuels and fertilisers, trying to turn a massive problem into a positive opportunity. Ten years on, I’d become a seaweed expert.

    Paddy Estridge and Mike Allen in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, surveying potential sites to monitor seaweed blooms.
    Mike Allen, CC BY-NC-ND

    I was asked to do a podcast on the subject. The presenter, Paddy Estridge, and I chatted about seaweed’s problems, opportunities and potential – and by the end of it, we were both pretty inspired. Together, we founded a company called SeaGen to harness the power of seaweed using autonomous robotics that can seed, cultivate, monitor and harvest it.

    Seaweed holds huge potential to create a more sustainable future. But at the moment, this industry lacks the ability to safely seed, grow, monitor, harvest and process seaweed at scale. Solving these challenges is what SeaGen is all about. We’re designing a suite of automated robotic solutions to make abundant, sustainable supply an economic reality.

    Our mission is a long way from those initial experiments with the kids, but the joy and pursuit of knowledge remains the same. The sticker chart perhaps holds less appeal to teenagers, but we’ve nearly hit 70 different species and I’m always on the look out for the next.

    Those initial seaweed samples paved the way for a whole new aspect to my research portfolio, led to millions of pounds in grant funding, and the creation of a company employing a dozen people. Now, I’m part of a global seaweed and robotics revolution.

    Not a bad outcome from a walk along the beach.

    Listen to episode two of Secrets of the Sea here on BBC Sounds, presented by Anna Turns for The Conversation.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Mike Allen works for Exeter University and is Cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer for Seaweed Generation Ltd (SeaGen). He currently receives funding from Innovate UK, Natural Environment Research Council, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, The Leverhulme Trust, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

    – ref. How seaweed is a powerful, yet surprising, climate solution – https://theconversation.com/how-seaweed-is-a-powerful-yet-surprising-climate-solution-251195

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –