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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Kneecap decision should cause some to reflect

    Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland

    Statement by TUV deputy leader Court Councillor Ron McDowell:

    “I welcome the decision by the Metropolitan Police to charge a member of the rap group Kneecap with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation.

    “For too long, the powers that be have turned a blind eye to this group’s open glorification of terrorism. This charge is long overdue.

    “Last year, TUV lodged a formal complaint with the BBC over its uncritical and irresponsible promotion of Kneecap. It is worth revisiting what we said at that time:

    “This morning on BBC Radio Ulster, both the news bulletins and the BBC Northern Ireland website provided entirely uncritical coverage of the ‘Kneecap’ film.

    “They even platformed a character calling himself DJ Provai — of all things — to tell us that Irish is not just a language for one side of the community.

    “There are many people in Northern Ireland who still carry the scars of being literally kneecapped by paramilitaries. Many more can testify to how ‘cross community’ the Provos truly were.

    “That innocent victims should now have to watch a rap group build a career off the back of the IRA campaign is bad enough. But for a public service broadcaster to present them as inclusive cultural advocates — and report on them without so much as a whisper of criticism — is utterly intolerable.

    “We wrote to the Director of BBC Northern Ireland to raise these concerns and requested a meeting where innocent victims of the Provos could express their outrage in person.”

    “The truth is simple: we cannot and must not permit the glorification of terror — whether the terrorism is rooted in Northern Ireland or the Middle East.

    “Kneecap crossed that line long ago.

    “Those who have enabled or excused this — including figures in the media — must seriously reflect on their actions. Some have even tried to gaslight Unionists and victims by presenting these glorifiers of terrorism as cross-community ambassadors for the Irish language.

    “It’s offensive. It’s dangerous. And it’s wrong.

    “And while it may be too much to expect the BBC, given their track record, to apologise — they owe one to the innocent victims whose pain has been trivialised and ignored for far too long.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Highland Council takes forward plans to explore heat networks in Inverness

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    The Highland Council is taking the next step in its journey to Net Zero by exploring the development of city-wide heat networks in Inverness, as part of the Council’s Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES). Members of the Council’s Climate Change Committee met today to review progress on the project.

    Chair of the Climate Change Committee, Councillor Sarah Fanet, said: “This strategic study is a key part of our Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy and a big step forward in helping Highland reach Net Zero. Heat networks are already common in countries like Denmark, and we’re now looking seriously at how they can work for Inverness too. Done well, they can offer more sustainable and affordable heating, especially for places like care homes, hospitals, social housing, and retirement complexes.”

    The LHEES is a legally required strategy for every local authority in Scotland, setting out a clear plan for how carbon emissions can be reduced from heating buildings and improve energy efficiency across the Highlands. Through this work, Highland Council has identified areas across Inverness that may be well suited for a future heat network—an energy system that could bring long-term benefits for our communities, economy, and environment.

    So far, four potential heat network zones have been identified in areas with higher energy demand. These zones include large public buildings and housing estates, where collective heating could make the biggest impact. The next phase will assess technical options, costs, and the best models for delivering heat networks in these areas.

    Cllr Fanet added: “This work is about reducing emissions and making energy more affordable. But it’s also about building long-term resilience into how we heat our homes and public buildings. We’ll be working closely with partners and communities to make sure this opportunity brings real social and economic benefits for the people of Highland.”

    Heat networks, also known as district heating, work by supplying low-carbon heat from a central source to a group of buildings such as homes, schools, care homes, hospitals or offices. Instead of a boiler or electric heater in each building, the heat is shared more efficiently, which can help cut energy bills and reduce our carbon footprint.

    The Highland Council secured funding through the Strategic Heat Network Support programme, provided by the Heat Network Support Unit—a partnership between the Scottish Government, Scottish Futures Trust, and Zero Waste Scotland. This allowed the Council to undertake a strategic city-wide feasibility study to assess opportunities for developing heat networks in Inverness.

    Ends

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Highland Council’s Progress Update on Net Zero Programme

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    At today’s meeting of the Highland Council’s Climate Change Committee, Members were given an update on the Council’s Net Zero Programme.

    Members welcomed the development of projects that will deliver carbon reductions, operational efficiencies and financial savings.

    Councillor Sarah Fanet, Chair of the Climate Change Committee said: “Delivery of the Council’s Route Map to Net Zero requires a cross-service collaborative approach. The Climate Change and Energy Team continues to work closely with services across the Council to develop and deliver projects that will accelerate the Council’s transition to Net Zero and becoming a climate-ready organisation.”

    Projects include piloting reusable lunch packaging in Kingussie High School to reduce the amount of single-use canteen containers. This is part of a wider project to benchmark waste and recycling rates in schools.

    A short-term working group has been formed to support High Life Highland in its ambitions to achieve gold standard in the Green Tourism Award for the Inverness Castle Experience scheduled to open in 2025. The award recognises sustainable practices in the tourism sector.

    Additionally, the Council will continue to implement a fleet replacement programme to transition diesel/petrol vehicles to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles. Data relating to staff business travel was presented to the Committee with detailed analysis of the data ongoing to identify opportunities for cost optimisation, improved efficiency, and reduced emissions.

    Councillor Sarah Fanet added: “The Climate Change Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Net Zero Programme including the scrutiny of progress and performance, and it is encouraging to see a number of projects coming to fruition following Member discussion.”

    For more information on the Highland Council’s Net Zero Programme and to view the full reports, please visit: https://www.highland.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/5161/climate_change_committee

    21 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Torres Proposes Key Amendments to Republican Budget Reconciliation to Protect Working Families and Strengthen Public Services

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Norma Torres (35th District of California)

    May 21, 2025

    Amendments Address Critical Issues facing Californians, including higher taxes, Cuts to Healthcare and food assistance, and dangerous Trump Administration changes to Air Safety Systems

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Norma Torres introduced targeted amendments to the Republican Budget Reconciliation aimed at protecting working families’ access to healthcare, food assistance, fairness in tax policy, and protecting essential public services. These amendments address critical areas, including healthcare, SNAP, transportation, and infrastructure, ensuring that policies serve the best interests of American workers and communities.

    “Republican budget proposals threaten essential programs that millions of Americans depend on,” said Congresswoman Torres. “These amendments are a necessary step to ensure that our tax policies, public services, and infrastructure investments are fair and effective in supporting the American people.”

    The proposed amendments aim to address the issues in the Republican Budget Reconciliation bill, which includes cutting healthcare coverage for nearly 14 million people, reducing SNAP benefits by $300 billion, and leaving 42 million Americans facing cuts to their benefits:

    • Protect Healthcare and Prevent Medicaid Cuts: Torres is pushing to strike provisions to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid. This amendment would protect the healthcare of millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid for essential health services, including the nearly 340,000 adults and children in the Inland Empire who rely on Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program). Cuts to Medicaid disproportionately harm children, seniors, and people with disabilities. A cut to Medicaid is also a cut to Medicare, as 30% of Medicaid dollars support Medicare enrollees. 

    • Prevent Harmful SNAP Cuts: Torres is proposing an amendment to prevent $300 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which would endanger the food security of millions of American families, including 112,000 Americans in the Inland Empire. By striking these harmful provisions, nearly 90% of households that participate in SNAP have either a child, a senior, or an individual with disability. Rep. Torres seeks to protect vulnerable working families from losing access to the resources they need to stay healthy and nourished.

    • Lift the SALT Deduction Cap: Torres is advocating for the removal of the $10,000 cap on State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions that Trump signed into law in 2017. By limiting the SALT deduction to $10,000, the Trump 2017 Tax bill effectively raised taxes on Californians by eliminating their ability to deduct their state and local tax payments (including state income taxes and local property taxes) from their income for federal taxes. As residents of a state with a high cost of living and high housing costs, hardworking Californians are hit particularly hard by Trump’s cap on the SALT deduction. Californians pay more than their fair share of taxes, contributing $83 billion more in federal taxes than they received in return. Lifting the cap is about fairness and provides Californians with deserved tax relief in Trump’s high-priced economy.

    • Protect Aviation Safety and Ensure Fair FAA Staffing Practices: Torres introduced an amendment to keep the flying public safe, protecting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees from unlawful firings. The FAA has fired at least 400 individuals responsible for maintaining air traffic control systems. This amendment will ensure that no funds made available by this Act may be used to terminate a probationary or non-probationary employee unless an individual performance assessment is conducted. This amendment aims to prevent unlawful terminations, ensuring that FAA staff are treated fairly and that safety standards are upheld for the traveling public. This amendment protects local jobs while maintaining air travel safety standards at Ontario International and regional airports.

    • Support California’s Critical Infrastructure Needs: Torres is fighting back against the indefensible corruption of this Administration, specifically the newly released U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to help only Republican leaning states, not all Americans equally. Torres is advocating for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to allocate resources for California’s water infrastructure, environmental restoration, and flood management projects. Given California’s challenges with drought, wildfires, and floods, this amendment is designed to strengthen the state’s infrastructure and ensure communities are better protected from environmental and flood-related disasters.

    • Remove harmful tax on remittances: Torres is fighting back against this bill’s unjust 5% federal tax on remittance transfers that targets immigrant communities. With Americans sending over $93 billion in 2023 to help families abroad with basic necessities, this tax would devastate economies in countries like Honduras, Haiti, and El Salvador, where remittances comprise up to 30% of GDP. This amendment would prevent harmful policies that destabilize regional allies, contradict migration management efforts, and punish those playing by the rules—ensuring our policies support rather than harm immigrant communities and diplomatic partnerships.

    “These amendments are designed to protect the well-being of American families, ensure the long-term viability of essential public programs, and support fair policies that address the unique needs of communities across the country,” Congresswoman Torres added. “We cannot afford to let partisan politics undermine the services and resources that our citizens rely on every day.”

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DelBene Introduces Legislation to Help Seniors Get Care They Need When They Need It

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)

    Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Mike Kelly (PA-16), Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), and John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), and Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (KS) and Mark Warner (VA) introduced an updated Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act. The bipartisan, zero-cost legislation would help get seniors the care they deserve and allow health care providers to spend more time with patients by streamlining and modernizing the prior authorization process under Medicare Advantage.

    Prior authorization is a tool used by health plans to reduce unnecessary care by requiring health care providers to get pre-approval for medical services. However, the current system often results in multiple faxes or phone calls by clinicians, which takes precious time away from delivering care. Prior authorization continues to be the number one administrative burden identified by health care providers, and nearly three out of four Medicare Advantage enrollees are subject to unnecessary delays due to the practice.

    “While we’ve made progress streamlining prior authorization, this practice still results in too many seniors facing harmful delays in their care and providers spending too much time justifying common procedures instead of treating patients,” said DelBene. “Our bipartisan bill builds on that progress by bringing the system into the 21st century and ensuring seniors can access the timely, high-quality care they deserve. When seniors are fighting deadly illnesses, they shouldn’t have to fight their insurance company.”

    In 2025, 34.5 million people are enrolled in Medicare, including nearly 760,000 in Washington.

    In 2024, the Congressional Budget Office determined that the legislation would result in a zero cost to American taxpayers. Patients would receive better access to necessary care, and providers would see a significant regulatory burden.  

    In recent years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed that Medicare Advantage plans ultimately approved 75% of requests that were originally denied. More recently, HHS released a report finding that MA plans incorrectly denied beneficiaries access to services even though they met Medicare coverage rules. The bill focuses on holding Medicare Advantage plans accountable and transparent to the American public.

    The bill would:

    • Establish an electronic prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage plans including a standardization for transactions and clinical attachments.
    • Increase transparency around Medicare Advantage prior authorization requirements and its use.
    • Clarify HHS’ authority to establish timeframes for e-prior authorization requests including expedited determinations, real-time decisions for routinely approved items and services, and other prior authorization requests.
    • Expand beneficiary protections to improve enrollee experiences and outcomes.
    • Require HHS and other agencies to report to Congress on program integrity efforts and other ways to further improve the e-prior authorization process.

    The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act unanimously passed the House in the 117th Congress and was cosponsored by a majority of members in the Senate and House of Representatives in the 118th Congress. The bill also received endorsements from over 500 national and state organizations representing patients, physicians, Medicare Advantage plans, hospitals, and other key stakeholders in the health care industry. 

    In January 2023, HHS finalized regulations that made many of the changes proposed in the legislation. The bill would codify these wins to ensure no future administration could undo them and make further improvements.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE New York City, partners arrest illegal alien wanted in home country for homicide

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    NEW YORK — On May 19, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement New York City arrested Marlon Josuel Cruz Fernandez, an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic wanted in his home country for homicide.  

    ICE officers and special agents assigned to ICE’s Newburgh office, along with special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations arrested Cruz without incident in New Rochelle pursuant to a warrant of arrest.

    “This foreign fugitive mistakenly thought he could exploit our immigration laws to evade arrest in his home country,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City acting Field Office Director Judith Almodovar. “Let his futile attempt highlight to other criminal aliens we will always collaborate with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to ensure these fugitives are returned to their home countries to face justice.”

    The U.S. Border Patrol encountered and arrested Cruz Dec. 11, 2015, in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas after he illegally entered the U.S. Border Patrol officials served him with a notice to appear for violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act and turned him over to ICE for detention placement. ICE Harlingen granted Cruz bond Feb. 1, 2016, which he posted three days later. Cruz failed to appear for his immigration proceedings Jan. 5, 2017, so the immigration judge ordered him removed in absentia from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic.

    On Feb. 2, 2018, authorities in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, issued a warrant for Cruz’s arrest for the offense of homicide, which went international six weeks later. ICE New York City received notification March 16 this year.

    The New Rochelle Police Department arrested Cruz for having improper plates and impounded his vehicle May 17. The New Rochelle Police Department released Cruz on his own recognizance prior to realizing that he was an international fugitive wanted for homicide. Upon receiving this information, the police department immediately notified ICE New York City, which — along with federal partners — arrested Cruz.

    Cruz is currently detained in ICE custody pending removal to the Dominican Republic.

    Learn more about ERO New York City’s mission to increase public safety in our New York City communities on X at @ERONewYork.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Joint Statement of Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) and Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) ahead of the AU – EU Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 21 May 2025

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    ACCRA, Ghana, May 21, 2025/APO Group/ —

    As shepherds of the Catholic Church in Africa and in Europe, we, the bishops of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) (www.SECAM.org) and of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), speak today with a voice formed by the lived realities of our people – farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, women and youth – whose lives are shaped by the land, and whose hope depends on justice, peace, and dignity. We welcome the convening of the joint African Union–European Union Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as an opportunity to examine not only shared ambitions but the very nature of our partnership. As SECAM and COMECE have already stated five years ago, “we are firmly convinced that Africa and Europe could become the engines for a reinvigoration of multilateral cooperation by reinforcing their longstanding ties marked by our common roots and geographical proximity […] towards an equitable and responsible partnership that puts the people at its centre”.

    We are, however, deeply concerned about certain developments in this partnership over recent years. We have witnessed a profound shift in European priorities – away from solidarity with the most fragile regions and communities, and from development cooperation aimed at eradicating poverty and hunger, towards a more narrowly defined set of geopolitical and economic interests. Notwithstanding the commendable intention behind some projects promoting human development at the grassroots, certain initiatives supported under the EU’s Global Gateway – while presented as mutually beneficial – too often seem to replicate extractive patterns of the past: privileging European corporate and strategic aims over the real needs and aspirations of African people.

    Land, water, seeds, and minerals – the very foundations of life – seem to be once again treated as commodities for foreign profit rather than as common goods to be stewarded with care. Africa is being asked to sacrifice its ecosystems and communities to help Europe meet its decarbonisation goals – whether through massive land deals for so-called “green” energy projects, the expansion of carbon offset plantations, or the outsourcing of industrial agriculture’s toxic inputs and waste. This is not partnership. This is not justice.

    “The earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor” (Laudato Si’, §2)

    The Catholic Church, inspired by late Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, shares the understanding that we must hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. These cries are loud and clear across Africa. Climate change is wreaking havoc on those who depend on the land, even as our continent has contributed least to the crisis. Soil degradation, poisoned water, and the loss of biodiversity are destroying the foundation of rural life. Hunger in Africa is growing, not because we lack food, but because we have allowed systems to dominate that put profit above people and that treat agriculture as an industrial process, not a way of life.

    We urge the ministers gathered in Brussels to place the dignity of African peoples at the heart of the AU-EU partnership. This means supporting a transformation of agriculture that breaks free from dependency on imported fertilisers, chemical inputs, and genetically modified seeds. It means protecting and promoting farmer-managed seed systems, which are the repositories of Africa’s agricultural biodiversity and the key to food sovereignty. These systems are not backward or inefficient – they are resilient, rooted in tradition, and adapted to local ecologies. Criminalising farmers for saving seeds or imposing rigid intellectual property regimes aligned with UPOV or corporate agendas violates both their rights and the planet’s needs.

    We call for an immediate ban on the export and use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Africa. It is a grave injustice that chemicals banned in Europe for their risks to health and ecosystems are still manufactured there and marketed to African farmers. This double standard must end. Instead, we must invest in agroecology – a science, a practice, and a social movement that nourishes the land, respects cultural traditions, and empowers women and youth. Agroecology offers a truly African path to climate adaptation and rural regeneration. It is rooted in the wisdom of our communities and validated by science. It is our future.

    Moreover, we remind our political leaders that land is sacred. For most Africans, land is not merely a factor of production or a tradable asset. It is a gift from God, entrusted to us by our ancestors and held in common for future generations. Large-scale land acquisitions by foreign investors or development finance institutions, carried out without free, prior, and informed consent, are an affront to this sacred trust. They displace communities, erode customary rights, and contribute to conflict and forced migration. Ministers must act decisively to end land grabbing and ensure legal protection for communal and customary tenure systems.

    We are particularly disturbed by growing use of African territory as a site for Europe’s resource needs and climate ambitions. Decarbonisation must not come at the cost of African ecosystems or the rights of African communities. It is ethically untenable to demand that Africa become the dumping ground for Europe’s “green transition” – whether through extractive mining for critical minerals or vast land projects that reduce our continent to a carbon sink.

    Let us be clear: Africa does not need charity, nor does it need to be a battleground for external interests. What it needs is justice. What it needs is a partnership grounded in mutual respect, environmental stewardship, and the centrality of human dignity. We believe such a partnership is possible – but only if the structures and priorities of AU-EU cooperation are fundamentally reoriented towards these objectives.

    We therefore urge ministers to listen more closely to African civil society, Indigenous peoples, and faith communities – not as token participants, but as equal co-creators of policy. Real dialogue means making space for the voices of those who live on and with the land.

    We conclude by echoing the spirit of Laudato Si’, which calls for an “integral ecology” – one that recognises the profound interconnection between people, planet, and purpose.

    We pray that this meeting may mark a turning point – not only in diplomatic relations but in the moral and spiritual compass guiding our shared future.

    Africa needs a transformation rooted in the Gospel values of care for creation, solidarity with the poor, and the pursuit of peace. As Laudato Si’ teaches us, “everything is interconnected” (§117) – and so our response must be holistic and courageous.

    We invite the AU and EU Foreign Ministers to rise to this moment. Let this be the partnership that listens to the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor. Let this be the moment when Africa’s future is shaped not by external interests, but by the aspirations of its people – especially those who till the land, feed the nation, and protect the environment.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: EB5 Capital Investor Obtains First Permanent Green Card Approval in Nashville Virgin Hotel (JF23) Project

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WASHINGTON, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EB5 Capital is pleased to announce the first I-829 petition approval for an investor in its Nashville Virgin Hotel (JF23) project. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues approval of the removal of conditions of residency for EB-5 investors who have completed their conditional residency period and have demonstrated that their investment has resulted in the creation of at least ten full-time jobs. I-829 approvals permit EB-5 investors to be lawful permanent residents of the United States. The approved petition was filed in April 2023 and was pending for 24.6 months.

    “Securing an I-829 approval is a major milestone in the EB-5 immigration process,” said Nhat Huynh, Vice President of Investor Relations at EB5 Capital. “We look forward to more investors getting approved soon.”

    Nashville Virgin Hotel (JF23) is a 260-room luxury hotel situated in Nashville, Tennessee’s famed Music Row District. The hotel is operated by Virgin Hotels, the lifestyle hotel brand by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson. The project was completed in 2020 and generated over 1,500 jobs for the local economy.

    To date, EB5 Capital has raised investor funds across over 45 EB-5 projects throughout the United States. JF23 is EB5 Capital’s 20th project which has reached the permanent green card stage for investors going through the EB-5 immigration process. Now that the first petition has been approved, additional I-829 petition adjudications for this project are expected in the coming months.

    About EB5 Capital

    EB5 Capital provides qualified foreign investors with opportunities to invest in job-creating commercial real estate projects under the United States Immigrant Investor Program (EB-5 Visa Program). Headquartered in Washington, D.C., EB5 Capital’s distinguished track record and leadership in the industry has attracted investors from over 75 countries. As one of the oldest and most active Regional Center operators in the country, the firm has raised over $1.4 billion of foreign capital across approximately 45 EB-5 projects. 100% of our investors’ funds are protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance prior to their deployment into our projects. Please visit www.eb5capital.com for more information.  

    Contact:
    Katherine Willis
    Director, Marketing & Communications
    media@eb5capital.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Gabe Vasquez Urges Trump Administration to Preserve Affordable Access to Narcan

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

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the administration to protect and expand access to overdose reversal medications, like Naloxone, which are critical tools in combating the fentanyl and opioid crisis. 

    His letter follows meetings with first responders from across New Mexico and reports that the Department of Health and Human Services may cut funding for programs that distribute Naloxone kits and train first responders in their use. 

    “Naloxone saves lives—and any move to reduce access to it puts our communities and first responders at greater risk,” said Vasquez. “Instead of cutting these programs, we should be expanding them and making sure cost is never a barrier to saving a life.”

    Rep. Vasquez highlighted concerns from first responders across New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, who have witnessed the devastating impacts of fentanyl and are increasingly facing rising costs for the tools they need to respond effectively. Naloxone—commonly known by the brand name Narcan—can reverse opioid overdoses in minutes and is credited with saving thousands of lives each year.

    In his letter, Vasquez called on the Trump administration to:

    • Reverse course on any proposed funding cuts for Naloxone distribution and training programs;
    • Expand access to overdose reversal medications across the country;
    • Investigate and curb pharmaceutical price gouging of these lifesaving drugs; and 
    • Keep Naloxone affordable for first responders.
       

    The Congressman also pointed to a recent DEA-led operation in Albuquerque that resulted in the seizure of more than 400 kilograms of fentanyl pills. While praising law enforcement efforts, he emphasized that enforcement must be paired with strong public health investments.

    In the letter, Rep. Vasquez reiterated his willingness to work with the administration on bipartisan efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks, secure the border, and ensure that treatment and prevention remain central to the federal response to the fentanyl crisis.

    “After meeting with Congressman Vasquez in March and sharing our concerns about the rising cost and limited availability of Narcan, we appreciate him being proactive and stepping up to urge the administration to protect these lifesaving resources. Our crews are on the frontlines of the opioid crisis every day, and having access to affordable overdose reversal medications is critical to saving lives in our community,” said the Las Cruces Fire Department.

    This letter also comes as part of Rep. Vasquez’s efforts to support first responders during National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week. This week, he also cosponsored the bipartisan Comprehensive Alternative Response for Emergencies (CARE) Act to allow seniors on Medicare to receive at-home emergency medical services to treat minor medical incidents by creating a model that reimburses EMS providers delivering treatment in place and not just reimburses when Medicare patients are transported to the hospital. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed & Whitehouse Pay Tribute to the Late RI Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WATCH: RI’s U.S. Senators remember the life and legacy of Donny Ruggerio

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse took to the floor of the U.S. Senate last night to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late Dominick J. Ruggerio, the legendary former Rhode Island Senate President who passed away last month at the age of 76.

    A distinguished public servant and a champion for working people and the State of Rhode Island, Donny Ruggerio was the longest-serving legislator in the state when he passed away.  An influential community leader for decades, he served as a state legislator for nearly 44 years, representing District 4, which includes parts of North Providence and Providence.

    A transcript of the floor statements follows:

    Remembering Dominick J. Ruggerio

    Mr. REED: Thank you, Mr. President.  Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Rhode Island’s Senate President Dominick Ruggerio of North Providence, RI, who passed away on April 21, 2025, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. As the longest serving member of the Rhode Island State Senate, Donny was affectionately known as the “Dean” of the Senate.

    I first met Donny as a young man when we both attended La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. We played high school football together, and indeed he was a remarkable gentleman then, both on and off the field.

    One of the things we discovered is that–Donny was about 6 feet 2 inches. He was a wide receiver. He would be running down the field, looking at the goal line with nothing in front of him, catch the ball, and then he would trip over me. I was a defensive halfback. So we got to know each other pretty well.

    He was one of the nicest gentlemen you could ever meet. He was especially kind and reached out to the younger players on the team, you know, encouraging us and also acting as sort of a custodian in making sure we got a chance and we weren’t mistreated. Throughout his entire life, Donny carried that spirit to raise others up and provide opportunities for all.

    Then I later had the privilege of serving with him in the Rhode Island State Senate from 1985 to 1990. Once again, he paved the way for me with his advice and assistance. Indeed, his quiet commitment to the people of Rhode Island had always been an inspiration to me and, frankly, to anyone who ever met him.

    Donny was a strong advocate for organized labor and joined the Laborers’ International Union of North America as a field representative and organizer, eventually becoming administrator of the New England Laborers’ Labor-Management Cooperation Trust.

    Donny started his public service long before we linked up again in the State Senate. He began working for the late Lieutenant Governor Thomas DiLuglio and then the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. His career continued in public service in the 1980s, when he was elected as Representative of House District 5 in Providence, Rhode Island. Four years later, he succeeded his father-in-law, Majority Leader Rocco Quattrocchi, to Rhode Island Senate District No. 4, beginning his 40-year tenure in the Rhode Island State Senate.

    In that role in the Senate, Donny served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, Senate majority Whip, Deputy Majority Leader, and Majority Leader. In 2017, he was honored by his colleagues with his election to the Office of Senate President. The hallmark of Donny’s leadership style was to have an open-door policy which encouraged colleagues and constituents and elected officials to become engaged. He devoted his life to improving our community, to strengthening public health and public safety, and to creating new opportunities for all Rhode Islanders to thrive. He made significant strides toward improving the lives of working Rhode Islanders, and he is credited with spearheading efforts to preserve pensions and raise the minimum wage.

    In the face of recent, incredible, and ultimately insurmountable health challenges, Donny valiantly sought reelection last November in his beloved community and was returned by his Senate colleagues to his post of Senate President after he won reelection. He led the Senate with tenacity and unwavering dedication.

    Throughout his decades of public service to his constituents in North Providence and Providence and to the entire State of Rhode Island, he was strongly committed to fulfilling his responsibilities, obligations, and tasks with a sense of accountability, decency, and honor. He led his life with purpose and served the people of Rhode Island extremely well.

    Donny leaves behind a devoted family, and I express my heartfelt condolences to the Ruggerio family: his children Charles Ruggerio and his wife Jillian and Amanda Fallon and her husband William; his grandchildren Ava Ruggerio, Mia Ruggerio, Natalie Fallon, and Jameson Fallon; his sister Lisa Aceto and brother-in-law James Aceto; and his nieces and nephews.

    I will miss Donny’s friendship, his unwavering advocacy for our State and the people who make it a special place. Rhode Island is much better today because of Senate President Ruggerio’s leadership and dedication. He inspired us all and will continue to do so.

    I yield the floor to my colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Whitehouse.

    The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

    Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I join my senior Senator today to honor our friend Dominick Ruggerio, who was both president and the dean of the Rhode Island Senate.

    President Ruggerio, who passed away last month, was affectionately known as “Donny.” He leaves behind his children Amanda and Charles and four beloved grandchildren.

    Donny was a graduate of two great Rhode Island institutions–La Salle Academy and Providence College. At La Salle, Senator Reed was his schoolmate and teammate on the football team.

    After finishing college, Donny served as a policy aide for former Lieutenant Governor Tom DiLuglio, who was a Rhode Island classic in his own right. Donny went on to spend many years with Laborers’ Local Union 271, serving in multiple leadership roles.

    Donny’s career in public service continued when he was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, in 1981, where he stayed for a few years until making the jump to the Rhode Island Senate, in 1984, where then-State Senator Jack Reed was again his teammate in the State Senate.

    The Senate was Donny’s home. For over four decades, he was the champion for the residents of District 4, which includes parts of North Providence and Providence. After holding several leadership positions in the Senate, he was elected by his peers to serve as Rhode Island’s Senate President in 2017. His legacy at the statehouse will be defined by his decades of forceful advocacy for working people and his practical, highly effective style of legislating.

    He never forgot his background as a laborer and never stopped working to create opportunities for working men and women. To that end, he fought for a higher minimum wage and for specific projects that would create union, family-supporting jobs. He also led the charge to eliminate lead pipes, making our tap water safer to drink for Rhode Islanders.

    Among his many accomplishments was his work to address the State’s opioid crisis. He created a fund to support statewide opioid treatment, recovery, prevention, and education programs and shaped a law to ensure that filling a prescription for lifesaving anti-overdose medication would not create a barrier for Rhode Islanders getting life insurance.

    I am grateful, in particular, for Donny’s leadership on climate. He sponsored legislation that put Rhode Island on a path to 100 percent renewable energy by 2033. When that legislation was signed into law, it was the most aggressive statewide energy standard anywhere in the country.

    Donny was beloved by his lifelong North Providence community, and he was always a pleasure to work with. In a profession that is not always gentlemanly, he was always a gentleman. He took pride in the senate being a place where people had, as he would say, always been able to disagree without being disagreeable.

    So I thank Senate President Ruggerio for his dedicated and successful service to our State. I offer my condolences to his family. We will miss him.

    I yield the floor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero: A Commissioner’s Evaluation of Cases & Cooperation Credit

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    Throughout my career in federal law enforcement, I have been a proponent of the government providing incentives for self-reporting and cooperation.  There is public interest in a company finding its own violation of the law as fast as possible, stopping it, reporting it, and fixing it so that it never happens again.  The government also has an interest in conserving investigative and litigation resources while bringing accountability, and a company’s full cooperation assists in that interest. 
    To increase those incentives, I propose that the CFTC as an agency increase transparency in public documents about enforcement decisions in specific cases, rather than rely on public documents with limited information supplemented by individual Commissioner statements.  I am concerned that transparency and fair notice are often limited in public documents on how self-reporting, cooperation and remediation was weighed, which cuts against the government providing incentives. 
    I also provide this general explanation as to how one Commissioner evaluates cases and cooperation credit—an explanation that supplements the February 2025 CFTC Division of Enforcement Advisory on Self-Reporting, Cooperation and Remediation (“Advisory”), which is not binding on the Commission or any Commissioner. While this Advisory is focused on the monetary penalty part of a settlement, with a self-reporting and cooperation monetary credit derived from a formula based on a 10% to 55% reduction set by a matrix, my evaluation covers more than that, including monetary and non-monetary credit.
    While the incentive to self-report and cooperate includes a credit that may lower the penalty, there are non-monetary government determinations for each case that may also reflect credit that should be considered as incentives.  The government may decline to file charges.  Where charges are filed, the government may recognize a defendant’s self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation by limiting the charges, limiting other remedies, undertakings, or other outcomes, and through the language used in public documents. 
    The first step in my evaluation of a case is to determine whether the CFTC should settle a case or litigate.  This decision is less complex for new cases compared to pending litigation.  When filing new cases, the government should be prepared to litigate.  The decision to file a new case should not be whether a successful verdict is guaranteed, but instead whether there is merit to filing the case.  I have made decisions to support meritorious first-of-their-kind cases where success is not guaranteed, as evidenced by my law enforcement record. 
    The U.S. government’s decisions in pending litigation involve a more complex array of considerations.  With more than two decades of law enforcement experience representing the United States of America, I have always made decisions on pending litigation on the law, facts, and an analysis of litigation strategy and risk.  My experience has also shown me when it is best for the government to accept a plea or otherwise resolve a case.  This is particularly true in cases where litigation risk increased significantly over the course of the litigation, especially if it increased in a way that puts something larger at stake that should be protected.  An increased risk that a court may unnecessarily narrow the governing statute based on the facts before it is one example.          
    My evaluation of settlement terms is based on a number of factors that make up the total outcome of a case.  This includes whether the defendant is a recidivist or repeat defendant, the nature of the charges, who is charged, the nature of each remedy and undertaking, and the language used by the government in public documents. 
    The best way to provide incentives to cooperate is for the CFTC as an agency to increase transparency into how the CFTC evaluated each of those factors, rather than relying on limited discussion of those factors, supplemented by individual Commissioner statements.  For good reason, it is standard practice that the U.S. government speaks with one voice in pending litigation, rather than have federal leaders individually comment, which may risk prejudicing or undermining current and future legal positions and can be cited by current or future defendants. 
    It can be difficult to compare new cases to past precedent where it is not clear in the public documents what specific factors led to the evaluation of the past charges, penalty, other remedies, undertakings, and the language used.  This is not always because of government decisions.  Practitioners may say that they want more regulatory clarity, even while they advocate against “speaking orders,” limiting clarity. 
    Increasing transparency about the factors the CFTC weighed when evaluating the outcome of a case can strengthen the incentive for self-reporting and cooperation.  I appreciate that the Division of Enforcement intended to do so for the penalty outcome in the Advisory.  But I find that the evaluation is not so straightforward.  Rather than comment on individual cases, which I rarely do as I follow standard government practice that the government should speak with one voice, I seek to increase transparency by providing general insight into my own evaluation of a case, an evaluation shaped by over two decades of federal law enforcement experience.  
    I encourage all defendants seeking self-reporting and cooperation credit, as well as the CFTC Enforcement Division, to address all the potential factors and outcomes, rather than focusing on penalties alone.  As a Commissioner, the penalty is not where I start in my evaluation, and it is not always the most important factor to a defendant or the government.  Once I determine that settlement may be appropriate, the factors that I evaluate are:
    Factor 1: Recidivist, Repeat Defendant, Parallel Defendant
    As a Commissioner, my evaluation starts with whether the defendant is a recidivist or a repeat (or parallel) defendant of the CFTC or other government agencies.  While the notion of recidivism is briefly mentioned in the Advisory, it does not address whether or how a recidivist defendant would be treated.
    I would find it completely inconsistent with the history of CFTC enforcement and broader federal enforcement if the Enforcement Division recommended giving significant credit off a penalty to a recidivist even if they promptly self-reported the second or third violation, had the highest level of cooperation, and fully remediated.  That defendant should have fixed the problem after the first time, and I would question their credibility on remediation.   
    Moreover, the words “recidivist” or “recidivism” are too often narrowly defined, including in the Advisory, which refers on page 3 to “the same specific violation and facts and circumstances.”  A second or third violation rarely has the same specific facts and circumstances.  Moreover, limiting recidivism to the same specific violation leaves out similar activity that may have been raised by the CFTC, the SEC, DOJ, or other federal agency, or an exchange.  I will also look to see if the defendant is a repeat defendant before the CFTC, and I will review those cases, putting particular emphasis on similar conduct, particularly in recent history.  I expand that evaluation to other agency cases (SEC, DOJ, etc.) against the defendant, looking for similarities, recent conduct, or systemic or widespread failures. 
    It also matters whether the defendant is facing parallel federal cases.  It is appropriate for the CFTC to take into account penalties and other monetary remedies required by another agency, and where appropriate, provide credit.  Sometimes this credit is not clear from the public documents, as it is not actually listed as a credit, but instead taken into consideration in determining outcomes.
    Factor 2: The Harm Posed
    The government has a strong public interest in protecting individuals harmed by violations of CFTC laws and rules through accountability.  I evaluate cases by looking at the gravity of the violation, as well as any aggravating or mitigating factors. 
    Significant harm or risk of harm to individual victims should result in a strong resolution. This is especially true for harm to retail customers or vulnerable victims.  The rise in retail customers in CFTC-regulated markets may also mean that past precedent before the rise in retail may not be comparable.  A strong resolution is also appropriate for significant harm to end users, including for example farmers and agricultural producers. 
    Additionally, as a markets regulator, the CFTC has a strong public interest in bringing accountability and preventing significant harm or risk of harm to market integrity or financial stability.  Harm posed to markets or financial stability can ultimately impact individuals, as seen in the 2008 financial crisis or in artificially inflated prices due to market manipulation.   
    It is important to evaluate the purpose behind the laws and rules violated.[1]  There may also be a need to send a pronounced message about particular conduct or practices.   
    Factor 3: Scienter
    Scienter will play a substantial role in determining self-reporting and cooperation credit.  The higher the scienter, the stronger the need for accountability and deterrence in all the potential outcomes (charging decisions, language used in charging documents, penalties, other remedies and undertakings, etc.), which may limit cooperation credit. 
    I strongly disagree with the statement in the Advisory that “In extraordinary circumstances—for example where a person is the first to self-report pervasive fraud, manipulation, or abuse involving multiple parties, and also provides Exemplary Cooperation—the Division may recommend a declination.”  Such a statement is inconsistent with historical federal civil law enforcement where the first one in the door is often charged, albeit sometimes with a lesser charge or other outcome.  
    I would also find it challenging to assign significant self-reporting and cooperation credit in cases with a high level of scienter, particularly where there is significant harm.  Otherwise, a defendant could intentionally violate the law, benefit for some time and cause (or pose) significant harm, but then seek to limit culpability and accountability by promptly self-reporting, cooperating, and remediating. I would also find it challenging to assign significant self-reporting and cooperation credit in cases where the defendant engaged in obstruction, lying or concealment in an investigation or examination by the CFTC, SRO, exchange or other federal agency, on the same conduct, but later self-reported and cooperated.
    Scienter is not limited to intentional or willful conduct.  Federal laws establish different levels of scienter.  I will consider the levels of scienter as established by the law, in determining all outcomes of the case.  As one of the scienter considerations, it is important to evaluate the age of the rule.
    Recidivism is one factor that plays into the scienter determination, but there are others. Failure to put resources into systems and staff to ensure compliance is a choice even if the level of scienter for a specific violation does not rise to the level of intentional conduct. 
    Factor 4: The Nature of Charges and Who is Charged
    The nature of the charges and who is charged may reflect an unstated non-monetary credit for self-reporting, cooperation and remediation.  An important part of the evaluation of a case is whether the Enforcement Division could have recommended more charges, but pulled back, taking into consideration a defendant’s self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation.  Defendants should recognize the government’s decision to forego charges that it could have pursued as one of the most powerful incentives to self-report and cooperate, short of the government not bringing charges. 
    Charges against multiple companies and individuals are also part of the evaluation.  This is particularly true in cases with a high degree of scienter or in cases with widespread or longstanding illegal activity. The government’s decision not to pursue charges against multiple companies or individuals based on self-reporting and cooperation may also be recognized as a non-monetary credit.
    Factor 5: Acceptance of Responsibility
    The level of a defendant’s acceptance of responsibility is an important factor to consider in weighing self-reporting and cooperation credit.  This includes, as the Advisory discusses, the fullness of the self-reporting and cooperation. 
    Acceptance of responsibility also includes defendant admissions in appropriate cases, as discussed in the Advisory.  Practitioners in the CFTC space are aware of my statement on the public interest in increased accountability, transparency, and deterrence by the CFTC requiring defendants to admit wrongdoing in appropriate cases.  I created the Heightened Enforcement Accountability and Transparency test (the HEAT test) in September 2022.[2]  It has since become common practice for defendants to analyze the HEAT test in their materials to the Enforcement Division.  Since I announced the HEAT test, the Commission has required defendants to admit their wrongdoing in 57 cases.[3] 
    I evaluate all the above factors before I evaluate the appropriate penalty. 
    Factor 6: Accountability and Deterrence
    The goal of a penalty is accountability and deterrence.  Therefore, I look to determine the appropriate penalty necessary to achieve accountability and deterrence. 
    Accountability through a penalty reflects the seriousness of upholding the law, and the government’s interest in enforcing the law.  Deterrence includes specific deterrence—to deter that defendant from breaking the law again.  Therefore, the facts about that particular defendant matter.  It also includes general deterrence—deterring others who may be breaking the law now or in the future. 
    In determining the penalty necessary to achieve accountability and deterrence, past precedent is helpful if truly applicable.  Too often it is approached as a formulaic driver of the appropriate penalty. I find it unhelpful to see comparisons that count the number of violations and the number of years in each past case and compare those with the case before the Commission.[4]  Lost in that approach is the reasoning behind the penalty—accountability and deterrence—based on the facts and circumstances of the case before the Commission.   
    I would prefer to see a discussion and analysis on accountability in a section on the gravity of the specific violation by this defendant versus the gravity of other cases. The same law can be violated in different ways that carry different levels of gravity.  I would also prefer to see a discussion and analysis about the seriousness of upholding the specific law violated and a discussion and analysis of both specific and general deterrence.  In some cases, the CFTC may wish to send a pronounced deterrent message.  This may be the case when the CFTC starts seeing a pattern of violations or finds an egregious violation.   
    Additional transparency into the CFTC’s decision making in each case can help ensure that past precedent is understood and appropriately applied.[5]  As one example, in some cases, the Enforcement Division would have recommended a larger penalty, but for the financial condition or size of the company, inability to collect the penalty, or a parallel case.  In those instances, the CFTC and defendants should be cautious about using those cases as precedent and the CFTC should explain that.  If the explanation is sensitive, the CFTC could include a statement to the effect that due to extenuating circumstances, that case should not be viewed as precedential.
    The timing of a case also contributes to penalty calculation.  In some cases, the first enforcement cases soon after the implementation of a new rule had lower penalties, where the CFTC considered recent implementation of the rule as a mitigating factor, even if not publicly stated. That mitigation would decrease over time, resulting in higher penalties.  Swap data reporting cases are a good example.  For that reason, early cases are less comparable.  It’s less about the idea of ratcheting up the penalty over time. It’s more of an idea that in the beginning, the CFTC ratcheted down the penalty because of the mitigating factor that was later removed.   
    Factor 7: Other Remedies and Undertakings
    In evaluating all outcomes of the case, other remedies are often appropriate to achieve the goals of accountability and deterrence.  This includes statutory disqualifications, bans on future trading or other activity, a company holding individuals accountable, and other outcomes. Internally, I have often emphasized the importance of undertakings that are effectively designed to prevent future violations and requested additional undertakings.      
    The Enforcement Division may recognize self-reporting and cooperation by foregoing certain remedies or undertakings.  I have often seen the Enforcement Division not recommend undertakings where the defendant has either substantially remediated or offered a remediation plan.  I have also seen the Enforcement Division not recommend that the CFTC require a monitor where the Division trusts the defendant to follow through with its remediation plan.  These are examples of non-monetary cooperation credit that the CFTC should publicly recognize to increase transparency and incentives.
    Conclusion
    The bottom line is that it should be worthwhile for a defendant to self-report and cooperate with the U.S. government and the government should make that clear through the CFTC increasing transparency in public documents on specific cases.  I hope that this statement brings greater transparency to how one Commissioner evaluates cases and considers both monetary and non-monetary credits for self-reporting and cooperation in determining the total outcome in the case.  I propose that the CFTC as an agency increase transparency into the decision-making of outcomes (both monetary and non-monetary) in specific cases to increase the incentive for companies to self-report and cooperate. 

    [1] Recently I have heard practitioners discuss compliance-related rules effectively as non-serious foot faults, where there was no obvious harm. Many of these rules were put into place in the wake of the financial crisis, when the market and the government were in the dark.  I do not consider reporting failures or record keeping violations as foot faults. Without that reporting, the CFTC is limited in its core mission to oversee markets, including conducting surveillance to ensure market integrity and financial stability, and evaluating a defendant’s scienter.

    [3] I have also voted in favor of certain cases that did not include defendant admissions where the HEAT test weighed against requiring admissions.

    [4] I would expect the Enforcement Division to review the Enforcement Division memos to the Commission in relevant cases, not just the public order, to complete their analysis.  I would also encourage the Enforcement Division to address those factors in the public documents for cases going forward.

    [5] Additionally, I have often seen a defendant’s counsel not raise certain cases in their analysis of past precedent or cite to cases that are not directly on point.  As we are aware of and analyze past cases, I view that as a defendant giving up its opportunity to share their voice with the Commission.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jason P. Joseph, Assistant Professor of Urology, University of Florida

    Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative was started in honor of his son, Beau Biden, who died from brain cancer. AP Photo/Elise Amendola

    Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. But what does it mean for this type of cancer to be called aggressive?

    As a urologic surgeon who specializes in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer, I often explain to my patients that aggressiveness isn’t based on a single factor. Instead, it comes from understanding how abnormal the cancer cells look, known as the tumor’s grade; how far they’ve spread, known as the tumor’s stage; and their genetic fingerprint.

    Grade: Decoding cancer cell appearance

    One key piece of the puzzle is the cancer’s grade, which indicates the tumor’s potential to grow. After a prostate biopsy, a doctor specializing in examining tissues – a pathologist – grades the tumor by comparing the appearance of its cancer cells with that of normal prostate cells.

    Imagine healthy prostate cells as organized workers in a factory, each performing specific tasks. In contrast, high-grade cancer cells appear chaotic, growing and dividing rapidly.

    As prostate cancer grade increases, individual glands becomes less well formed and the cells more disordered.
    Salvi et al/Cancers, CC BY-SA

    For prostate cancer, doctors use what are called grade groups that range from 1 (least aggressive) to 5 (most aggressive). These groups are a simplification based on an older classification called a Gleason score. Biden’s Gleason 9 cancer falls into grade group 5, indicating the cells appear extremely abnormal with a strong potential for rapid growth and spread.

    While the cancer’s grade helps indicate how tumor cells might behave, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Some high-grade cancers can remain confined to the prostate for months or even years.

    To understand where the cancer is and how far it has advanced, doctors determine its stage.

    Stage: Mapping cancer location and spread

    A tumor’s stage describes if, and how far, cancer has spread beyond where it first formed. Doctors use physical exams, imaging scans and lab tests to stage prostate cancer.

    Medical professionals usually use a detailed system called TNM – short for tumor, nodes, metastasis – to classify a tumor’s stage. But prostate cancer stage can be broadly understood as:

    • Localized (stages 1-2): The cancer is only within the prostate. Think of a weed confined to a small garden bed. Many localized cancers, particularly if low-grade, may not be deemed aggressive and can often be safely monitored.

    • Locally advanced (Stage 3): The cancer has spread out from the prostate and is growing in very nearby tissues, like a weed sending roots into the surrounding lawn.

    • Metastatic (Stage 4): The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body. For prostate cancer, this often means lymph nodes, bones – as in Biden’s case – liver or lungs. This is like the weeds spreading seeds down the street and across town.

    A Stage 4 prostate cancer is considered advanced and aggressive because it has shown that it can travel and form new tumors.

    Doctors determine a cancer’s stage with careful testing.

    A tumor’s stage heavily influences treatment options and goals. For localized or some locally advanced cancers (Stage 1 to Stage 3), treatments such as surgery or radiation may aim for a cure. For metastatic cancer, a cure is usually not possible. Treatment focuses on controlling growth, managing symptoms and maintaining quality of life.

    Many prostate cancers rely on hormones called androgens as fuel for their growth. Therapies that block these hormones can be effective for some time – in most cases, years – especially for hormone-sensitive cancers like Biden’s.

    Fortunately, thanks to improved screening options and increased awareness, about 69% of prostate cancers are found when they are still confined to the prostate (Stage 1 to Stage 2). About 8% of new cases are metastatic at diagnosis.

    Genetics: Uncovering cancer’s DNA blueprint

    In addition to grade and stage, doctors are increasingly using a cancer’s genomic profile – its specific genetic makeup – both for deeper insights into its aggressiveness and potential treatment pathways.

    DNA acts like a detailed instruction manual for cells, dictating how they should grow and function as well as when they should stop dividing or die. In cancer, mutations act like typos in this genetic instruction manual, causing cells to ignore these normal controls, grow and spread.

    Genomic testing can identify these specific genetic alterations. This can be performed on the tumor tissue itself to identify changes called somatic mutations that occurred after you were born. Or it can be carried out through blood or saliva samples to detect changes you inherited called germline mutations.

    For men with early-stage prostate cancer, certain genomic tests on the tumor can help clarify the risk of the cancer progressing. This information is valuable in deciding whether active surveillance – closely monitoring the cancer without immediate treatment – is a safe approach, or whether more immediate treatment is warranted.

    In advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, identifying specific mutations is particularly critical. For instance, mutations in genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 – more commonly associated with breast and ovarian cancer risk – can also occur in prostate cancer. These mutations can make the cancer more aggressive but also potentially susceptible to a specific type of drug called a PARP inhibitor, especially if the cancer becomes resistant to hormone therapy.

    National guidelines now recommend genomic testing for all men with metastatic prostate cancer to look for these “actionable” mutations. This move toward personalized medicine means treatments can be increasingly tailored to the unique fingerprint of a patient’s cancer.

    Understanding cancer ‘aggressiveness’

    It’s essential to understand that “aggressive” isn’t just a simple label for cancer, but rather a multilayered evaluation. An aggressive-looking cancer caught early and confined to the prostate (Stage 1 and Stage 2) can have a nearly 100% five-year relative survival rate. However, if the same high-grade cancer has already spread widely (Stage 4), five-year relative survival drops significantly, to around 38%.

    This stark difference in survival rates highlights a critical point. To obtain the clearest picture of a cancer’s potential threat, a comprehensive assessment combines insights from multiple qualities of a tumor to help patients and their health care teams make informed decisions.

    Thankfully, advances in genomics, imaging and targeted therapies continue to improve how aggressiveness is defined, how its behavior is predicted and how treatment is personalized. This progress offers growing hope for better outcomes, even for patients with the most aggressive prostate cancers.

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

    – ref. What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains – https://theconversation.com/what-does-it-mean-for-bidens-prostate-cancer-to-be-aggressive-a-urologic-surgeon-explains-257100

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC May 21, 2025 1730 UTC Day 2 Convective Outlook

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    SPC AC 211727

    Day 2 Convective Outlook
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1227 PM CDT Wed May 21 2025

    Valid 221200Z – 231200Z

    …THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR PORTIONS OF
    THE SOUTHERN PLAINS…

    …SUMMARY…
    Severe storms are possible across parts of the southern Plains
    tomorrow/Thursday, with large hail the main threat. A few instances
    of 2+ inch diameter hail are possible.

    …Synopsis…
    Broad northwesterly flow will prevail across much of the eastern
    U.S. as a mid-level trough ejects into the Atlantic, an upper ridge
    builds over the central CONUS, and a pronounced mid-level impulse
    traverses the northern Rockies tomorrow (Thursday). A surface low
    will track along the Mid-Atlantic Coastline while surface high
    pressure overspreads much of the Midwest into the Southeast, and lee
    troughing prevails across the southern Plains. Thunderstorms are
    likely along the East Coast and the FL Peninsula, in association
    with the departing upper trough. Storms developing ahead of a
    southward-sagging cold front in FL have the best potential for
    becoming strong to locally severe over the East Coast. At least
    scattered thunderstorms are also likely across the Southern Plains,
    northwestward into the northern Rockies, given lee troughing and
    low-level upslope flow. Thunderstorms developing along a baroclinic
    zone along the Red River will benefit from strong instability and
    adequate wind shear, and will have the potential to become severe.

    …Southern Plains…
    Elevated thunderstorms are expected to develop in central OK within
    a warm-air advection regime, to the north of a west-to-east oriented
    baroclinic boundary, which is expected to be situated along the Red
    River during the morning/early afternoon hours. Through the day,
    storms are expected to propagate southward toward a surface-based
    airmass over northern TX, where upper 60s/low 70s F surface
    dewpoints beneath 8 C/km mid-level lapse rates will contribute to
    2500-4000 J/kg MLCAPE. Low-level southerly flow, quickly veering to
    northwesterly and strengthening with height, will result in
    elongated hodographs with some low-level curvature near the
    baroclinic boundary. As such, the overall CAPE/shear parameter space
    will support supercells with large to very large hail potential. If
    a supercell can anchor along the baroclinic boundary, a tornado will
    also be possible.

    …East Florida Peninsula…
    A southward-sagging cold front will begin to stall across the FL
    Peninsula during the afternoon hours, preceded by rich low-level
    moisture beneath 6.5-7.5 C/km mid-level lapse rates, which will
    boost MLCAPE over 2500 J/kg. Modest northwesterly mid-level flow
    impinging on the peninsula will encourage deep-layer speed shear
    over 40 kts, that in tandem with moderate to strong instability,
    will support multicells and transient supercells by afternoon. Large
    hail and strong, damaging wind gusts are the primary threats with
    the most intense storms.

    …Northern Rockies…
    Scattered thunderstorm development is expected across central and
    northern ID into southwestern MT as strong forcing for ascent with
    the passing mid-level trough overspreads a deep, mixed boundary
    layer during the afternoon. Forecast soundings show inverted-v
    profiles extending up to 500 mb. As such, some downward momentum
    transport via evaporative cooling should encourage stronger wind
    gusts with the deeper storm cores. However, confidence is not high
    enough for severe gusts to introduce Category 1/Marginal risk
    probabilities at this time.

    ..Squitieri.. 05/21/2025

    CLICK TO GET WUUS02 PTSDY2 PRODUCT

    NOTE: THE NEXT DAY 2 OUTLOOK IS SCHEDULED BY 0600Z

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bedner Growers, Inc. Recalls Cucumbers

    Source: US State of Rhode Island

    The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is advising consumers that Bedner Growers, Inc., voluntarily recalled cucumbers sold at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market between April 29, 2025, and May 14, 2025, and businesses should not sell or serve the recalled cucumbers. These products are associated with a multi-state salmonella outbreak. Currently, there are no Rhode Island cases associated with this recall.

    PRODUCT Cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers, Inc., and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., to retailers, distribution centers, wholesalers, and food service distributors from April 29, 2025, to May 19, 2025. Cucumbers distributed before this timeframe should be past shelf life and should no longer be available on the market.

    Cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller packages, with or without a label that may not bear the same brand, product name, or best by date. For distributors, restaurants, and retailers who have purchased these cucumbers, the products were labeled as either being “supers,” “selects,” or “plains”.

    On May 19, 2025, Bedner Growers, Inc., recalled cucumbers sold directly to consumers at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market and to its wholesale distributor. More information can be found in the recall notice.

    SYMPTOMS OF SALMONELLA INFECTION Illness usually occurs within 12 to 72 hours after eating food that is contaminated with Salmonella, and the symptoms usually last four to seven days. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Children younger than five, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections.

    STORES AFFECTED Some potentially contaminated cucumbers were available at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market in three Florida locations including Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach between April 29, 2025, and May 14, 2025. The recalled cucumbers were also sold to its wholesale distributor. FDA is aware that contaminated product is available at both restaurant and retail locations. FDA is working to determine where potentially contaminated product was distributed.

    RECOMMENDATIONS –Consumers: If you cannot tell if your cucumber was grown by Bedner Growers, throw it away. When eating out over the next week, ask if cucumbers were from Bedner Growers or Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc. –Consumers, restaurants, and retailers who purchased or received potentially contaminated products, including wholesale products, should carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers that it touched. Follow FDA’s safe handling and cleaning advice to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. –Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have symptoms of a Salmonella infection after eating potentially contaminated cucumbers. –Restaurants, retailers, and distributors that purchased potentially contaminated recalled cucumbers between April 29, 2025, and May 19, 2025, should notify their customers of the potential health concern. –Retailers that have or had potentially contaminated product should clean and sanitize any areas that could have come into contact with potentially contaminated products. If potentially contaminated cucumbers were sold in bulk bins or displays, retailers should discard the contents of the bins and use extra care to clean and sanitize the bins before refilling. –Retailers that are unsure if they received this product may need to contact their supplier. If you are unable to determine whether or not potentially contaminated product was received, you should discard the contents of the bins and use extra care to clean and sanitize the bins before refilling.

    More information regarding this outbreak can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-cucumbers-may-2025

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Eastern Passage — RCMP arrests two people involved in assault

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment has arrested two people for assaulting fishers in Eastern Passage.

    On May 4, at approximately 7 p.m., RCMP officers responded to a report of an assault in progress near Cow Bay Rd. in Eastern Passage. On arrival, officers found two people with serious injuries and arrested two other people – one youth and one man. Police also seized several items used as weapons in this assault, including fishing hooks and a metal pipe. The incident occurred while the victims were fishing for gaspereau.

    The victims were transported to hospital by EHS, one with life-threatening injuries.

    The youth had a first court appearance and remains in custody, facing four charges including aggravated assault.

    The 39-year-old man, from Cow Bay, was later released on conditions. He will appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court on June 10, 2025, to face a charge of assault.

    This incident is still under investigation. Police are aware of allegations that this was a hate-motivated crime or hate-motivated incident based on information provided by witnesses. The RCMP takes incidents of hate with utmost seriousness and condemns all hate-motivated incidents, and may follow up with further charges as is necessary based on the ongoing investigation.

    Anyone with information about this incident and who has not yet spoken to police is asked to contact RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment at 902-490-5020. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips app.

    File #: 25-62315

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Powering New York with Renewable Energy

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that contracts have been executed for 26 large-scale land-based renewable energy projects that, upon completion, will provide more than 2.5 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power more than 670,000 homes throughout New York State. These projects are expected to create more than 1,900 near-term, family-supporting jobs and generate more than $6 billion in private investment while reinforcing the State’s commitment to the development of locally-produced clean energy, grid resiliency and economic development.

    “New York is creating competitive opportunities for the clean energy industry, and we could not do this without the shared commitment of our private partners,” Governor Hochul said. “The advancement of renewable energy is part of the foundation of New York’s plan to transform to a zero-emission electricity system and continue our green economy’s momentum forward.”

    These contracted awards are the result of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) 2024 Tier 1 Renewable Energy Standard solicitation. Once constructed, the projects will produce approximately 5,000 gigawatt-hours annually–which is enough to power more than 670,000 homes–provide public health benefits resulting from reduced exposure to harmful air pollutants; and provide more than $300 million in commitments to disadvantaged communities, as defined by the Climate Justice Working Group, from long-term payments to community benefit funds.

    New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “As New York transitions to a clean energy economy, we celebrate these 26 projects and the significant energy they will provide. New York remains an innovator in accelerating clean energy projects, advancing clean energy jobs, and spurring economic development opportunities for businesses and our local communities all across our state.”

    Contracted projects include:

    Capital Region

    • Dolan Solar, Washington County
    • Hawthorn Solar, Rensselaer County
    • Somers Solar, Washington County
    • Shepherd’s Run Solar Project, Columbia County

    Central New York

    • Agricola Wind, Cayuga County
    • Homer Solar Energy Center, Cortland County

    Finger Lakes

    • Highbanks Solar, Livingston County
    • Horseshoe Solar Energy Center, Livingston and Monroe Counties
    • Valcour Bliss Windpark, Wyoming County

    Mohawk Valley

    • Dolgeville Hydro, Herkimer County
    • Flat Creek Solar, Montgomery County
    • Mill Point Solar I, Montgomery County
    • Skyline Solar, Oneida County

    North Country

    • ELP Ticonderoga Solar, Essex County
    • Fort Covington Solar Farm, Franklin County
    • Lyons Falls Mill Repower, Lewis County
    • Tracy Solar Energy Center, Jefferson County
    • Two Rivers Solar Farm, St. Lawrence County
    • Valcour Altona Windpark, Clinton County
    • Valcour Clinton Windpark, Clinton County

    Southern Tier

    • High Bridge Wind, Chenango County
    • Prattsburgh Wind Farm, Steuben County
    • Yellow Barn Solar, Tompkins County

    Western New York

    • Moraine Solar Energy Center, Allegany County
    • South Ripley Solar, Chautauqua County
    • York Run Solar, Chautauqua County

    The payments under the contracted projects will only begin once projects are constructed and begin delivering renewable energy to New York after obtaining all required permits and approvals. Several projects have already commenced construction activities. All projects are expected to be operational by 2029.

    Additionally, the State will continue to emphasize engagements with the projects’ host communities. NYSERDA offers resources and no-cost technical assistance to help local governments understand how to manage responsible clean energy development in their communities, including step-by-step instructions and tools to guide the coordination of new clean energy projects, permitting processes, property taxes, siting, zoning, and more.

    New York State Department of Public Service CEO Rory M. Christian said, “We applaud Governor Hochul’s commitment to move New York State toward a clean energy economy. The projects being announced today will spur the creation of clean energy jobs as well as encouraging economic development opportunities in New York State.”

    New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “These large-scale renewable energy projects demonstrate how clean energy and job creation go hand-in-hand to build healthier communities and stronger economies. More than two dozen projects under contracts through NYSERDA will generate renewable power and private investment that helps continue the significant progress underway to reduce polluting power sources.”

    New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, “I thank Governor Hochul for maintaining our state’s leadership in the clean energy sector and for continuing to create great career opportunities for New Yorkers statewide. These investments will continue to build a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly future for New York State.”

    State Senator Kevin Parker said, “As Chair of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, I am proud to work alongside NYSERDA, a critical partner in advancing New York’s clean energy future. Their continued leadership in delivering funding awards and innovative programs is essential to meeting the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Together, we are not only strengthening the state’s electric grid with renewable energy, but also ensuring that disadvantaged communities share in the economic and environmental benefits of this transition.”

    New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said, “Congratulations to Governor Hochul and NYSERDA on another major milestone toward achieving New York’s renewable energy goals while adhering to robust labor standards and protections and Buy American policies. This will create good union jobs while building up the State’s clean energy program.”

    New York State Building Trades President Gary LaBarbera said, “Renewable energy projects continue to represent major opportunities for New York to not only achieve the goals set out by CLCPA but also create thousands of family-sustaining union careers and economic stimulus that will reinvigorate our communities and the middle class. The execution of these contracts represents a significant milestone for reaping the benefits of these clean energy initiatives. We thank Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for their continued commitment to pushing forward the development of green infrastructure in New York.”

    Alliance for Clean Energy New York Executive Director Marguerite Wells said, “The benefits of locally-produced renewable energy are immense and wide-ranging. We thank Governor Hochul for continuing to guide the state through our clean energy transition, which will not only benefit the New Yorkers of today but also those of generations to come. Today’s announcement shows there is continued enthusiasm from private developers to invest in New York, and New York remains ready to greet them.”

    New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe said, “Climate change is happening now and the impacts will only get worse if we don’t transition off of fossil fuels and deliver on our clean energy future. Today’s announcement of new land-based renewable energy projects will mean fewer greenhouse gas emissions, better air quality, and good union jobs for New Yorkers. We thank Governor Hochul for her environmental leadership and congratulate NYSERDA on this progress toward meeting our clean energy goals.”

    Natural Resources Defense Council Power Sector Managing Director Kit Kennedy said, “New York State’s leadership on clean energy is more important now than ever, given the federal government’s efforts to turn back progress. The clean energy projects announced today by Governor Hochul mean more jobs, more economic development for communities, less health-harming air pollution, and lower electricity system costs. This is what leadership means. Let’s keep it coming!”

    Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito said, “We are thrilled that NY is taking another significant step forward in our state’s ongoing transition to a clean energy future. As national momentum around renewable energy and climate action stumbles, it’s more important than ever for states like New York to lead. Leadership matters and we need NY to continue on a course of establishing a 21st century energy infrastructure plan we can be proud of! These projects will deliver reliable, locally-produced clean energy to millions of New Yorkers helping to meet the state’s ambitious renewable energy goals while combating climate change, creating jobs, strengthening our economy, and enhancing long-term energy security. CCE commends Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for their commitment to advancing critical renewable energy projects that benefit both our environment and our communities.”

    Advanced Energy United New York Policy Lead Kristina Persaud said, “This is an exciting milestone for New York’s clean energy future. These large-scale renewable energy projects will bring real economic benefits to communities across the state. These projects will not only provide clean power, but also quality jobs for New Yorkers. At the same time, they strengthen New York’s leadership in the rapidly growing clean energy sector, positioning the state to compete in a global market and reap the long-term economic benefits of a modern energy economy.”

    These projects will add to New York’s robust portfolio of large-scale renewable energy projects, now comprised of nearly 100 solar, land-based wind, hydroelectric and offshore wind projects currently operating or under development that are expected to deliver approximately 10 gigawatts of clean power to the grid — enough to power more than 3.3 million New York homes. Of these nearly 100 projects, more than one gigawatt of capacity is under construction, which once completed will add to the 31 operational projects currently delivering 1.4 gigawatts of clean energy to the grid – now supplying power to nearly half a million New York homes.

    New York State’s Climate Agenda

    New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Clarenville — Clarenville RCMP conducted road safety check points over May long weekend, tickets issued

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Over the May long weekend, Clarenville RCMP implemented educational and enforcement efforts towards road safety. A number of check points and traffic stops were conducted in various areas. Forty-seven tickets were issued for various violations of the Highway Traffic Act.

    Officers remained focussed in the area of impaired driving. During one check stop, it is estimated that more than 150 vehicles and drivers were checked. Police were pleased to report that no incidents of impaired driving were detected over the weekend.

    A breakdown of the 47 tickets issued is provided here:

    • Speeding – 31
    • No registration – 6
    • No insurance – 2
    • Driving while suspended – 2
    • Other moving violations – 6

    Road safety is a priority for RCMP NL during Canada Road Safety Week and throughout the year. If you suspect a motorist is driving while impaired or in a dangerous manner, please contact your local police to make a report.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man charged with terrorism offence

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A man has been charged with a terrorism offence following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

    Liam O’Hanna, 27, (16.10.97) of Belfast has been charged, via postal requisition, with displaying a flag in support of Hizballah, a proscribed organisation, namely:

    • On 21 November 2024, in a public place, namely the O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London, displayed an article, namely a flag, in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation, namely Hizballah, contrary to section 13(1)(b) and (3) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

    Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on Tuesday, 22 April of an online video from the event. An investigation was carried out, which led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the above charge.

    O’Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 18 June.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Clownfish shrink during marine heatwaves – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Theresa Rueger, Senior Lecturer in Tropical Marine Biology, Newcastle University

    Clownfish that shrank during heatwaves were more likely to survive them. Morgan Bennett-Smith

    As the world contemplates dealing with more extreme temperatures, one coral reef fish has found a novel way to beat the heat: shrinking.

    Wanting to know how clownfish cope with changes to their environment, we repeatedly measured 134 wild fish in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, during a marine heatwave that started in March 2023 and is part of an ongoing global mass coral bleaching event. Clownfish have unique markings, which make it easy to identify and measure them underwater.

    To our complete surprise, we found that 100 of the fish we measured shrank during our study from February to August 2023. Those that shrank had a better chance of surviving the heatwave.

    The clownfish, Amphiprion percula, lives in small social groups within anemones on coral reefs. As the movie Finding Nemo indicated, clownfish rarely, if ever, leave their host anemone because the anemone offers them protection from predators.

    Sadly, this also means that clownfish cannot move to cooler areas as marine heatwaves become more common on coral reefs due to rising global temperatures. Clownfish need other strategies to survive the heat.

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

    This is the first time that coral reef fish have been shown to shrink in response to heat stress. And by shrink, we don’t mean getting skinnier – we mean getting shorter.

    This is surprising because growth in vertebrates (animals with backbones, like us) is generally considered to be a one-way street. You get larger over time and you might stop growing if stressed or as you reach your maximum length, but it is rare to find vertebrates shrinking, especially over periods as short as a month, and in response to environmental conditions.

    It may also seem counter-intuitive to shrink. After all, smaller individuals are more prone to being eaten and they breed less. Here, however, being smaller increased the chances of survival for clownfish, possibly because smaller fish need less food and are typically more efficient at foraging and using oxygen, which is scarcer in hot water.

    Orange clownfish in a bleached anemone during the 2023 heatwave in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.
    Morgan Bennett-Smith

    If you shrink, I shrink

    We found that there is a social component to shrinking and surviving a heatwave.

    A remarkable feature of clownfish social groups is that they maintain strict hierarchies based on size. This means growth – and shrinking – don’t just affect the individual in question, but also risks conflict within the group that could force a fish to be evicted, which usually leads to death. So, shrinking is a risky proposition.

    On each anemone the biggest clownfish is female, the second biggest is male, and together they form a breeding pair. To avoid fights in the pair, males control their growth to keep a fixed size ratio between the two.

    In our study, breeding pairs in which both fish shrank were more likely to survive the heatwave than if only one, or neither, fish shrank.

    We also found that those fish who shrank by a lot could catch up and grow rapidly when conditions improved. That means that it’s not just the shrinking that helps, but being able to shrink and grow flexibly to meet your needs.

    A breeding pair of clownfish. The large female is on the right and the smaller male on the left.
    Theresa Rueger

    While not all fish beat the heat and survived, none of the fish that shrank multiple times in our study died, and even shrinking once increased a clownfish’s survival probability during the heatwave by 78%.

    Our research didn’t investigate how clownfish do this, but studies on other vertebrates might give us clues. Marine iguanas on the Galápagos Islands for example shrink during El Niño years, when water temperatures in the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean warm. This reduces the amount of food and prompts the reptiles to shrink by absorbing part of their bones.

    The average size of many marine fish species around the globe is getting smaller according to long-term surveys. This could partly be a result of fishing removing larger fish from populations, as well as the warming climate altering the growth or maximum sizes of fish.

    If our finding of adult fish shrinking in response to environmental stress is more widespread, it could be another reason why fish in the world’s ocean are getting smaller.

    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 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Theresa Rueger receives funding from The Leverhulme Trust and the Natural Environment Research Council UK.

    Chancey MacDonald receives funding from the Natural Envirnoment Research Council of UKRI.

    Melissa Versteeg receives funding from Murray Foundation UK, the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, the International Coral Reef Society and the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University, UK.

    – ref. Clownfish shrink during marine heatwaves – new study – https://theconversation.com/clownfish-shrink-during-marine-heatwaves-new-study-257036

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 45 Senators Join Welch’s Senate Resolution Calling for End to Siege on Gaza – Republicans Block Passage  

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    Israel is still blocking aid as the UN warns 14,000 babies will die without urgent humanitarian assistance 
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and 45 colleagues were blocked by Republicans when Senator Welch requested unanimous consent to pass his resolution calling for the delivery of lifesaving food and humanitarian aid for starving children in Gaza.  
    After an 11-week blockade by the Israeli government, 93 trucks entered Gaza yesterday but according to the UN, no aid has been distributed. An estimated 600 trucks of food, baby food, and medical supplies are needed, and the UN warned yesterday that 14,000 babies will die in the next 48 hours without aid.  
    “It’s not right for aid to be withheld as an instrument of war. And, regrettably, that appears to have been a decision that has been made by the Israeli government. It’s not right, it’s not necessary, it’s not helpful, it’s extraordinarily harmful to innocent children, to innocent mothers. My hope is that this Senate would pass a resolution making it very clear about our concern about the well-being of innocent Palestinians in Gaza. That food that innocent hat those Palestinians in Gaza need is right on the other side of the border. It’s there. All it needs is to be transported from where it is into Gaza and then distributed,” said Senator Welch. “We’ve got to feed those people. The food is there. We all want those innocent people to survive and avoid famine. Let us do every single thing we can to persuade the Israeli Netanyahu government to get that food in to people who desperately need it.” 
    Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) objected, saying: “Look, this is this is despicable. This is horrible. This is criminal. It’s beyond human understanding how human beings could treat other human beings the same way, especially when you relate it to them as they are in Palestine. I agree that this needs to stop, but the first thing that needs to be said is that this is the fault of Hamas and it is not our fault.”  
    Watch the exchange here:  
    The resolution called on the Trump Administration to use all diplomatic tools at its disposal to bring an end to the blockade of food and lifesaving humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza. In the resolution, Senators expressed grave concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the imminent starvation of tens of thousands of children. 
    Read S.Res.224 here. 
    The resolution was led by Senator Welch and sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.); Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.); Michael Bennet (D-Colo.); Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.); Cory Booker (D-N.J.); Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.); Chris Coons (D-Del.); Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.); Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.); Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.); Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.); Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.); John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.); Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii); Tim Kaine (D-Va.); Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.); Andy Kim (D-N.J.); Angus King (I-Maine); Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.); Ed Markey (D-Mass.); Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.); Chris Murphy (D-Conn.); Patty Murray (D-Wash.); Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.); Alex Padilla (D-Calif.); Gary Peters (D-Mich.); Jack Reed (D-R.I.); Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.); Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii); Adam Schiff (D-Calif.); Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.); Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.); Tina Smith (D-Minn.); Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.); Mark Warner (D-Va.); Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.); Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.); and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Early-Career Spotlight: Michelle Herrera

    Source: US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

    Welcome to the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science (MCCS) Early-Career Spotlight, a monthly feature showcasing the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) early-career researchers’ interests, motivations, and achievements. This month, we are featuring Michelle Herrera, who has been a project manager at NREL since 2024.

    The Herrera family enjoys April snow showers. Photo from Michelle Herrera

    Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Michelle Herrera has long known what she wanted to do when she grew up.

    “I knew from a very early age that I wanted to work in renewable energy,” said Herrera, a project manager at NREL. “That motivation has driven the choices I have made in life. However, life has a funny way of taking you on its own path.”

    Even when the details were fuzzy, like what her specific role in the industry would be, the destination was clear. Little did she know that her perseverance would one day pay off.

    Eager for Engineering

    Herrera attended Baylor University, where she chose to pursue a degree that she could apply to her dream career.

    “I chose general engineering, which involved electrical and mechanical electives,” Herrera explained. “I thought that I would need both disciplines. I was able to work on an honors thesis researching the use of biogas in a fuel cell.”

    Engineering degree in hand, Herrera turned to the job market.

    “After graduation, I did not land a renewable energy job and ended up working for Sonoco Flexible Packaging as a process engineer,” Herrera shared.

    But she did not let the minor setback shake her resolve.

    “I started in the production laboratory and gained manufacturing experience,” Herrera said. “I knew I didn’t want to spend my entire career in flexible packaging, so I decided to apply to the Colorado School of Mines for a master’s degree.”

    Ready for Research

    Herrera was offered a position at Mines in a master’s program researching the direct reduction of iron—a cleaner alternative in the steel industry and one step closer to her dream career.

    “At the time, I knew nothing about metallurgy or the steel industry but jumped at the opportunity to go to my dream school. My time at Mines was incredible,” Herrera recalled. “I loved to learn and enjoyed researching carbon formation in direct reduced iron. My thesis involved plant trials changing process conditions to alter the carbon in the final material.”

    After obtaining her master’s, Herrera was offered a research engineering position at voestalpine Texas in Corpus Christi, Texas, a plant she worked with during her master’s program.

    “I spent half my time as a research engineer, building plant simulations and partnering with universities,” Herrera said. “The other half was spent as a process engineer, where I was the engineer on duty for the week and on call for plant shutdowns. I led maintenance turnaround projects and conducted investigations for plant trips. I was first introduced to project management during this job.”

    Doing the Dream

    Herrera spent a little over two years at voestalpine before turning to the job market once more.

    “At the time, I still thought I wanted to be a researcher,” Hererra said. “I landed a project engineering position at a green-ammonia startup. I was finally in renewable energy!”

    Working for the startup was an exciting experience for Herrera. The pace of project execution was much faster than her previous manufacturing role, and she obtained her project management professional certification.

    “It was here that I really fell in love with project management,” Herrera shared. “There is so much joy that comes from successfully finishing a build.”

    The startup began facing financial difficulties, so Herrera decided to explore other opportunities.

    Passionate About Projects

    Herrera applied to NREL and landed her current position as a project manager for the MCCS Research Operations Team.

    “My path has allowed me to see different industrial plants, giving me a solid foundation for engineering and problem-solving,” Herrera explained.

    Herrera currently manages equipment installations and modifications for various research groups within the MCCS directorate. The work involves overseeing projects from the initiation stage all the way to execution and handover. She is also part of the MCCS laboratory space management team and helps manage the Institutional General Purpose Equipment program.

    “I am a data-driven individual,” Herrera said, “so ensuring that project documentation is present and organized effectively is what I strive for. My goal is to make the project execution phase easier for all parties by ensuring that expectations are clearly communicated.”

    Herrera is even managing the modification of a muffle furnace for the direct reduction of iron—a topic closely related to her master’s studies. “Understanding the technology and research helps me better visualize the final outcome compared to the other projects I manage,” she said.

    “The people I work with are what excite me about my job,” Herrera said. “The research operations team consists of a great group of individuals who are excited about the work we do at NREL. Additionally, as a project manager, I get to interact with various teams inside and outside the directorate. Every project brings a unique group of people together, keeping things interesting.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DOJ Press releases at OCI (Prior Years)

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    05/21/2019
    December 10, 2018: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation, Former Senior Executive Plead Guilty to Distributing Endoscopes After Failing to File FDA-Required Adverse Event Reports of Serious Infections

    03/26/2019
    March 30, 2018: KC Paramedic Indicted for Stealing Fentanyl, Morphine from Ambulances

    03/26/2019
    March 30, 2018: Counterfeit Cigarette Smuggler Sentenced to Prison

    03/20/2019
    April 4, 2018: Canadian Pharmacist Sentenced for Distributing Counterfeit and Adulterated Botox to Local Doctors

    03/20/2019
    March 27, 2018: Compounding Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for $10.5 Million Health Care Fraud

    03/20/2019
    March 27, 2018: Federal Jury Finds Three Guilty in Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy

    03/20/2019
    April 4, 2018: Fences Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar, Multi-State Criminal Theft Operations

    03/19/2019
    March 30, 2018: Lynn Man Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Role in Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    03/05/2019
    October 1, 2018: AmerisourceBergen Corp. to Pay $625 Million to Settle Civil Fraud Allegations Resulting from Its Repackaging and Sale of Adulterated Drugs and Unapproved New Drugs, Double Billing and Providing Kickbacks

    03/05/2019
    October 18, 2018: Pharmacist Indicted for Taking Drugs, Carrying Firearm in Violation of Court Order

    03/05/2019
    October 15, 2018: Leader of Fraudulent Prescription Conspiracy Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

    03/05/2019
    November 29, 2018: Two Practitioners Sentenced for Drug Crimes in Connection with HOPE Clinic

    03/05/2019
    December 4, 2018: Medical Device Maker ev3 Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $17.9 Million for Distributing Adulterated Device

    03/05/2019
    November 20, 2018: Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Counterfeit Cialis and Viagra into the United States

    03/05/2019
    November 19, 2018: Georgia Man Charged with Social Security and Wire Fraud

    03/05/2019
    October 22, 2018: Medical Equipment Company Agrees to Pay $5.25 Million to Resolve Allegations of Fraudulent Claims for Compounded Medical Creams

    03/05/2019
    October 15, 2018: Four Men and Seven Companies Indicted for Billion-Dollar Telemedicine Fraud Conspiracy, Telemedicine Company and CEO Plead Guilty in Two Fraud Schemes

    03/05/2019
    November 5, 2018: Nurse Sentenced for Taking Fentanyl for Personal Use

    03/05/2019
    November 28, 2018: Former Vice President of Insys Pharmaceuticals Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Scheme

    03/05/2019
    October 18, 2018: Grand Jury Returns Superseding Indictment In Shamo Case; Adds Distribution Of Fentanyl Count Resulting In Death

    03/05/2019
    November 29, 2018: Dietary Supplement Ingredient Importers Arrested in Connection with Large-Scale Smuggling and Money Laundering Scheme

    03/05/2019
    December 4, 2018: Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Consumer Products

    03/05/2019
    October 22, 2018: Oklahoma Orthopedic Company to Pay $455,000 to Settle Claims of False Medical Billing

    02/25/2019
    December 13, 2018: Floridian Pleads Guilty in Complex Fraud Scheme Related to the Processing of Credit Card Payments

    02/25/2019
    December 13, 2018: Owner and Four Former Employees of New England Compounding Center Convicted Following Trial

    02/25/2019
    December 7, 2018: VA Nurse Admits to Fraudulently Obtaining and Tampering with Opioid Prescriptions

    02/25/2019
    December 4, 2018: Des Moines Residents Sentenced for Felony Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Offense

    02/13/2019
    October 11, 2018: Two Companies Ordered to Pay More Than $7 Million for Adulterated and Misbranded Pet Food Ingredients

    02/13/2019
    October 4, 2018: Troutdale Doctor Sentenced for Purchasing and Administering Foreign-Sourced Botox and Juvaderm

    09/25/2018
    September 24, 2018: Board Certified Ophthalmologist Agrees to Civil Fraud Settlement in Medicare Fraud Investigation

    09/19/2018
    September 19, 2018: Springfield Doctor Sentenced for Illegally Sharing Patient Medical Files

    09/17/2018
    September 11, 2018: Columbus Pharmacist Sentenced for Health Care Fraud Scheme

    09/17/2018
    September 8, 2017: Galena Biopharma Inc. to Pay More than $7.55 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Related to Opioid Drug

    09/10/2018
    September 6, 2018: Cattle Company and Veterinarian Indicted for False Health Certificates on Livestock

    09/06/2018
    August 31, 2018: Former Home Health Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Patients’ Drugs

    09/04/2018
    August 30, 2018: Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Misbranded Prescription Horse Drugs

    08/30/2018
    August 28, 2018: Providence Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Oxycodone

    08/23/2018
    August 22, 2018: Louisiana Pharmacist Convicted of Trafficking and Selling Stolen Medication

    08/20/2018
    August 17, 2018: Unlicensed Pharmacy Technician Pleads Guilty to Working at New England Compounding Center

    08/16/2018
    August 16, 2018: Genesee County Physician and Two Others Charged with Health Care Fraud

    08/16/2018
    August 15, 2018: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Market Dietary Supplements

    08/06/2018
    August 3, 2018: Northwest ENT Associates, P.C. to Pay Approximately $1.2 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

    08/01/2018
    July 31, 2018: Three Canadians and their Company Sentenced for Wholesale Distribution of Misbranded Prescription Drugs and Money Laundering

    07/31/2018
    July 30, 2018: Two People Guilty of Distributing Tramadol Pills

    07/30/2018
    July 26, 2018: Miami-Dade Resident Charged in Connection with Performance of Illicit Silicone Injections

    07/24/2018
    July 23, 2018: Springfield EMT/Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Stealing Fentanyl, Morphine

    07/19/2018
    July 18, 2018: Medical Device Maker AngioDynamics Agrees to Pay $12.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

    07/17/2018
    July 17, 2018: Former President of Cumberland Distribution, Inc. Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for $50 Million Drug Diversion Scheme

    07/12/2018
    July 10, 2018: Pawtucket Woman Sentenced for Participation in Opioid Prescription Conspiracy

    07/11/2018
    July 10, 2018: VA Medical Center Nurse Indicted, Arraigned for Allegedly Tampering with and Stealing Prescription Opioids

    07/11/2018
    July 10, 2018: Former Des Moines Pharmacy Technician Sentenced for Illegally Tampering with Fentanyl

    07/11/2018
    July 10: 2018: Former Pharmacy Technician Indicted for Stealing Fentanyl, Morphine

    07/09/2018
    July 6, 2018: Vero Beach Orthopedic Surgeon Sentenced to Life in Prison Following Conviction for Fentanyl Analog Drug Conspiracy Resulting in Death

    07/09/2018
    July 6, 2018: Internet Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Selling $2.3 Million Worth of Non-FDA Approved and Misbranded Botox and Juvederm-Related Products

    07/05/2018
    July 3, 2018: Canton Man Indicted on Fentanyl and Firearms Charges

    06/28/2018
    June 28, 2018: Southern District of Florida Charges 124 Individuals Responsible for $337 Million in False Billing as Part of National Healthcare Fraud Takedown

    06/22/2018
    June 20, 2018: Fitchburg Woman and Saugus Man Sentenced for Roles in Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    06/18/2018
    June 15, 2018: Theranos Founder and Former Chief Operating Officer Charged in Alleged Wire Fraud Schemes

    06/05/2018
    June 5, 2018: Opioid Prescription Conspiracy Leader Pleads Guilty

    05/31/2018
    May 31, 2018: Notification of Stolen Fertility Drugs: Gonal-f® RFF Redi-ject® and Gonal-f® Multi-Dose

    05/21/2018
    May 21, 2018: Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme Involving the Reselling of Food Products That Were to Be Destroyed

    05/08/2018
    May 8, 2018: Notification of Stolen Octagam

    04/19/2018
    April 13, 2018: Canadian Drug Firm Admits Selling Counterfeit and Misbranded Prescription Drugs Throughout the United States

    04/19/2018
    April 12, 2018: Chinese Citizen Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud Related to Dietary Supplement Scheme

    04/19/2018
    April 6, 2018: New Hampshire Residents Sentenced for Participating in Scheme to Distribute Misbranded Drugs

    03/15/2018
    March 14, 2018: Meridian Nurse Practitioner Pleads Guilty to Obtaining Controlled Substances by Fraud

    03/14/2018
    March 12, 2018: Champaign, Illinois, Resident Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Producing and Selling Over 80,000 Homemade Tramadol Capsules to Customers without Verifying Prescriptions

    03/13/2018
    March 12, 2018: Pharmacist and Pharmacy Employee Sentenced for Involvement in Over $30 Million Health Care Fraud

    03/08/2018
    March 6, 2018: Monterey Park Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Injecting Foreign Substance into Woman for Buttocks Enhancement

    03/08/2018
    March 8, 2018: Four Individuals Indicted for Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods

    03/05/2018
    March 2, 2018: Woman Sentenced for Injecting Adulterated Liquid Silicone

    03/05/2018
    February 23, 2018: Lake Charles Veterinarian, Pharmacy Sentenced for In-Race Horse Doping Conspiracy

    03/01/2018
    February 28, 2018: Two Doctors Arrested Pursuant to Federal Indictment That Alleges Bogus Sleep Studies Helped 1-800-Get-Thin Fraudulently Bill Insurance Programs Over $250 Million Related to Lap-Band Surgeries

    02/27/2018
    February 27, 2018: Former President of Houston-Based Drug Company Convicted in $50 Million Drug Diversion Scheme

    02/22/2018
    February 21, 2018: Pharmacy Tech Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Tampering with Opioids for IV Fluid

    02/21/2018
    February 20, 2018: U.S. Attorney Announces 69-count Indictment Charging Owners, Managers and Physicians Associated with Hope Clinic

    02/21/2018
    February 14, 2018: Palmer Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs from Pakistan

    02/20/2018
    August 19, 2016: Pharmacy Owner and Medical Doctor Charged in an Internet Scheme to Dispense Medications to Customers without Valid Prescriptions

    02/14/2018
    February 14, 2018: Two Indian Citizens and India-based Corporation Sentenced for Conspiring to Smuggle Counterfeit Cigarettes

    02/12/2018
    February 8, 2018: Queensbury Oncologist and Spouse to Pay $500,000 for Submitting False Claims to Medicare for the Administration of Unapproved Cancer Drugs

    02/12/2018
    February 9, 2018: Tampa Resident Convicted for Involvement with Tricare Health Care Fraud Scheme

    02/05/2018
    February 5, 2018: Pennsylvania Firearms Dealer Sentenced To 100 Months Imprisonment

    02/05/2018
    November 25, 2018: Nevada Man Indicted for Distribution of Anabolic Steroids and Drug Misbranding

    02/05/2018
    February 5, 2018: Three Florida Residents Sentenced for Operating an Illegal Steroid and Counterfeit Prescription Drug Lab

    01/31/2018
    January 31, 2018: New England Compounding Center Pharmacist Sentenced for Role in Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/24/2018
    September 25, 2017: U.S. Attorney Charges Pharmacy Tech for Tampering with Opioids

    01/24/2018
    January 13, 2017: Two Louisiana Men Sentenced for Roles in On-line Pharmacy Scheme

    01/24/2018
    May 17, 2017: Gardner Man Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/24/2018
    December 6, 2016: Two Sentenced for Trafficking in Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/24/2018
    September 11, 2017: Knoxville Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud the FDA

    01/24/2018
    December 9, 2016: Carroll County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Conspiracy Charge

    01/24/2018
    July 18, 2016: Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Illegally Importing Drugs into U.S.

    01/24/2018
    July 7, 2016: Johnston Resident Charged with Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering

    01/24/2018
    January 7, 2016: Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to Stealing Narcotics from Hospital

    01/24/2018
    February 15, 2017: Hampton-Based Spice Dealer Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

    01/24/2018
    July 13, 2017: Four Charged in Counterfeit Body Building Steroid Conspiracy

    01/24/2018
    December 8, 2016: Pharmaceutical Executives Charged in Racketeering Scheme

    01/24/2018
    December 2, 2016: Woman Arrested For Injecting Adulterated Liquid Silicone

    01/24/2018
    September 20, 2017: Registered Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    June 28, 2017: Registered Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    June 27, 2016: Hampton-Based Spice Retailer and Wholesaler Pleads Guilty

    01/24/2018
    May 31, 2016: Worcester Nurse Indicted on Federal Drug Tampering Charges

    01/24/2018
    August 7, 2017: Notification of Stolen Sterile Prescription Injectable Products

    01/23/2018
    January 23, 2018: Two Indian Citizens and India-based Corporation Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Smuggle Counterfeit Cigarettes

    01/17/2018
    January 12, 2018: Owner of Seafood Company Charged in Atlantic Blue Crab Scam

    01/17/2018
    September 22, 2017: Drug Maker Aegerion Agrees to Plead Guilty; Will Pay More Than $35 Million to Resolve Criminal Charges and Civil False Claims Allegations

    01/16/2018
    June 30, 2017: Bath County Man Sentenced For Misbranding Drugs and Obstructing Justice

    01/16/2018
    June 21, 2017: Gardner Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/16/2018
    August 28, 2017: Costa Rican Defendant Appears in Federal Court to Face Fraud Charges

    01/16/2018
    July 17, 2017: Leader of $17 Million Health Insurance Fraud Scheme Ordered to Prison

    01/16/2018
    October 11, 2016: Foreign National Pleads Guilty To International Wire Fraud Scheme

    01/16/2018
    August 30, 2017: Two Charged in Federal Court with Smuggling Counterfeit Cigarettes

    01/16/2018
    May 31, 2017: Men Sentenced to Combined 60 Years for Selling Spice in Hampton Roads

    01/12/2018
    December 20, 2016: New England Compounding Center’s National Sales Director Pleads Guilty

    01/12/2018
    July 19, 2017: Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    March 13, 2017: Vice-President of SK Labs Found Guilty of Conspiracy, Mail Fraud Charges

    01/12/2018
    December 27, 2016: Providence Nurse Charged in Connection with Tampering with Oxycodone

    01/12/2018
    January 20, 2016: Businessman Sentenced for Marketing and Selling Unapproved Remedies for Cancer

    01/12/2018
    March 2, 2017: Bath County Man Convicted of Obstructing Justice and Selling Misbranded Products

    01/12/2018
    February 6, 2017: Arizona Man Sentenced for Trafficking in Pet Products with Counterfeit Labels

    01/12/2018
    January 17, 2017: Tampa-Area Medical Device Salesman Guilty of Selling Expired Lap-Band Devices

    01/12/2018
    August 1, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    June 2, 2016: Additional Criminal Charges Brought Against Indicted Penn National Horse Trainer

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Gloucester Woman Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Steroids and Launder Money

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Vitamin Shop Owner Guilty of Selling Misbranded Drugs and Controlled Substance

    01/12/2018
    August 15, 2016: Second Trafficker Convicted of Distributing Dangerous Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/12/2018
    July 17, 2017: Gloucester Woman Pleads Guilty to Her Role in Counterfeit Steroid Trafficking Scheme

    01/12/2018
    October 12, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims Bodies

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Westerly Resident to Plead Guilty to Trafficking Steroids, Money Laundering Charges

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2016: Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    September, 22, 2016 Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    August 2, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims’ Bodies

    01/12/2018
    December 13, 2016: Tampa Resident Indicted for Involvement with Tricare Health Care Fraud Scheme

    01/12/2018
    September 5, 2017: New Hampshire Residents Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Involving Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    April 3, 2017: Printing and Packaging CEO Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Counterfeit Labels and Packaging

    01/12/2018
    March 14, 2017: Woman Admits to Causing the Death of Another Person by Injecting Her with Liquid Silicone

    01/12/2018
    April 12, 2017: Former Medical Product Distributor Charged with False Statements about Hormone Shipments

    01/12/2018
    September 29, 2016: New York Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Illegally Manufacture Designer Steroids

    01/12/2018
    July 1, 2016: New Hampshire Couple Indicted On Two Counts Of Illegal Distribution Of Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2017:Woman Admits to Illegally Selling Prescription Drugs Not Approved for Use in the US

    01/12/2018
    June 22, 2016: Former Nurse Sentenced to 82 Months for Stealing and Tampering with Patient Medications

    01/12/2018
    June 13, 2017: Cherry Hill Doctor and Son Admit Defrauding Medicare, Agree To $1.78 Million Settlement

    01/12/2018
    December 19, 2016: New York Man Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Term for Selling Unsafe Dietary Supplements Online

    01/12/2018
    September 25, 2017: Pharmacy Manager Pleads Guilty to Illegal Prescription Drug Diversion and Money Laundering

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Tampa Woman Sentenced to Prison For Misbranded Drugs Used in Connection with Buttocks Injection

    01/12/2018
    March 28, 2017: Former Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Charged with Smuggling and Dispensing Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    September 12, 2017: Former Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Stealing Pain-killing Drugs, Replacing Vials with Water

    01/12/2018
    July 29, 2016: Majority Owner of NECC and Husband Plead Guilty to Illegal Cash Withdrawals Following Outbreak

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Printing and Packaging Business Owner Convicted of Trafficking in Counterfeit Veterinary Labels

    01/12/2018
    July 14, 2017: Senior Executives of Medical Drug Re-Packager Plead Guilty to Defrauding Healthcare Providers

    01/12/2018
    July 20, 2016: Former Acclarent, Inc. Executives Convicted of Crimes Related to the Sale of Medical Devices

    01/12/2018
    June 6, 2016: Pharmaceutical Companies To Pay $67 Million To Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating To Tarceva

    01/12/2018
    February 16, 2017: Atlanta Man Convicted of Illegally Importing and Distributing Male Enhancement Products from China

    01/11/2018
    January 11, 2018: Former New Hampshire Pharmacist Pleads Guilty for Tampering with Narcotics at Bedford Pharmacy

    01/11/2018
    July 22, 2016: Medical Device Manufacturer Acclarent Inc. to Pay $18 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

    01/11/2018
    November 15, 2016: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to Fifteen Months in Prison for Distributing Contaminated Cheese

    01/11/2018
    September 25, 2017: Millions of Medicines Seized in Largest INTERPOL Operation Against Illicit Online Pharmacies

    01/11/2018
    January 3, 2017: Notification of Stolen Reckitt Benckiser Retail, Non-Prescription, Consumer Healthcare Products

    01/09/2018
    August 1, 2017: Radford Nurse Who Tampered with Liquid Morphine Intended for Nursing Home Patients Sentenced in Federal Court

    01/09/2018
    November 4, 2016: Two Pakistani Nationals Sentenced for Conspiring to Illegally Ship Pharmaceuticals into the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 29, 2016: Eight Defendants Convicted For Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Counterfeit 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Three Florida Residents Arrested After Law Enforcement Discover Steroid and Fake Prescription Drug Lab

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2017: Counterfeiters Sentenced for Convictions in Nationwide Conspiracy to Distribute Fake 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    May 31, 2017: Drug Trafficking Organization Faces Indictment For Involvment In Manufacturing Fake Prescriptions Drugs With Fentanyl

    01/09/2018
    July 6, 2016: New Jersey Medical Device Manufacturer Admits Selling Contaminated Ultrasound Gel; Court Orders Permanent Injunction

    01/09/2018
    June 26, 2017: Owner of New England Compounding Center Sentenced for Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2016: Two Pharmacists Sentenced to Prison for Adulteration of Drugs in Connection with Alabama-Based Compounding Pharmacy

    01/09/2018
    February 14, 2017: Two Miami-Dade Women Charged in Connection with Their Operation of a Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    June 22, 2017: Pharmacy Owner and Director of Compliance Charged with Defrauding United States and Distributing Adulterated Drugs

    01/09/2018
    April 12, 2017: Owners of Two Los Angeles-Area Drug Wholesale Companies Arrested in $20 Million Federal ‘Structuring’ Conspiracy

    01/09/2018
    December 2, 2016: Former Police Officer Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to 8 Years in Prison for Selling Date Rape Drug

    01/09/2018
    February 7, 2017: Randallstown Woman Pleads Guilty to Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone into the Bodies of Victim Customers

    01/09/2018
    August 30, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Prison for Operating a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    March 28, 2017: 3 Canadians and their Vancouver Company Charged with Conspiring to Sell Foreign-Made Drugs to Western Pennsylvania Pharmacists

    01/09/2018
    March 9, 2017: Internet Business Owner Indicted for Selling Non-FDA Approved and Misbranded Versions of Botox and Juvederm Related Products

    01/09/2018
    June 8, 2017: Houston, Texas Man convicted of Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    February 16, 2017: Oncology Practice, Doctor and Practice Manager Pay $1.7 Million to Resolve Allegations They Billed Medicare for Illegally Imported Drugs

    01/09/2018
    June 27, 2017: Physician and Wife to Pay $1.2 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That They Billed Medicare and Medicaid for Unapproved Drugs

    01/09/2018
    December 13, 2016: O.C. Man Charged with Selling Pet Meds Without a Prescription, Some of Which Were Not Approved for Distribution in the United States

    01/09/2018
    September 6, 2017: Bronx Pharmacist Pleads Guilty To Illegally Selling Millions Of Prescription Pills On The Internet And Agrees To Forfeit $9 Million

    01/09/2018
    November 10, 2016: Nurse Who Operated Spa in Laguna Niguel Agrees to Plead Guilty to Illegally Dispensing Botox Not Approved for Use in United States

    01/09/2018
    March 30, 2017: Lincoln Mother and Son Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Misbranded Substances, Drug Paraphernalia, and Related Financial Crimes

    01/09/2018
    January 12, 2017: Baxter Healthcare Corporation to Pay More than $18 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Liability Relating to Sterile Products

    01/09/2018
    September 20, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison for Managing a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    May 23, 2017: Citizen of Pakistan and United Kingdom Sentenced For International Wire Fraud Scheme That Sold False Cures For Multiple Illnesses

    01/09/2018
    April 18, 2017: SCM True Air Technologies, of Ohio and Kentucky, and Its Former Company President – Guilty of Delivering Misbranded Medical Devices from Unregistered Facilities to a Georgia V.A. Medical Center and Obstructing an FDA Investigation into their Conduct

    01/09/2018
    November 28, 2016: Iowa Cancer Clinic and Oncologist to Pay More Than $176,000 To Settle False Claims Act Allegations They Recklessly Billed for Cancer Drugs That Were Unapproved, Misbranded, or Counterfeit and Improperly Upcoded Office Visit Claims

    01/09/2018
    September 9, 2016: Owner of Major Online Colored Contact Lens Business Pleads Guilty in Largest-Ever Investigation of Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lenses in the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 7, 2016: Medical Device Maker Biocompatibles Pleads Guilty to Misbranding and Agrees to Pay $36 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability and False Claims Act Allegations

    01/09/2018
    September 26, 2017: Houston, Texas Man Sentenced to 40 Months and a $95,000 Fine for Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    December 7, 2016: GNC Enters Into Agreement with Department of Justice to Improve Its Practices and Keep Potentially Illegal Dietary Supplements Out of the Marketplace

    01/09/2018
    September 27, 2017: Amerisourcebergen Specialty Group Pleads Guilty to Distributing Misbranded Drugs and is Sentenced to Pay $260 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability

    01/09/2018
    December 5, 2016: Medical Device Saleswoman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Charges Relating to the Transport of Stolen Medical Devices and Money Laundering

    01/09/2018
    May 26, 2017: Florida Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Causing the Death of One Victim and Hospitalization of Others by Injecting them With Liquid Silicone

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Owner of O.C. Pet Products Company Pleads Guilty to Selling Pet Meds without Prescriptions, Some of Which Were Not Approved for U.S. Sale

    09/17/2018
    September 8, 2017: Galena Biopharma Inc. to Pay More than $7.55 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Related to Opioid Drug

    01/24/2018
    September 25, 2017: U.S. Attorney Charges Pharmacy Tech for Tampering with Opioids

    01/24/2018
    January 13, 2017: Two Louisiana Men Sentenced for Roles in On-line Pharmacy Scheme

    01/24/2018
    May 17, 2017: Gardner Man Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/24/2018
    September 11, 2017: Knoxville Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud the FDA

    01/24/2018
    February 15, 2017: Hampton-Based Spice Dealer Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

    01/24/2018
    July 13, 2017: Four Charged in Counterfeit Body Building Steroid Conspiracy

    01/24/2018
    September 20, 2017: Registered Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    June 28, 2017: Registered Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Fentanyl

    01/24/2018
    August 7, 2017: Notification of Stolen Sterile Prescription Injectable Products

    01/17/2018
    September 22, 2017: Drug Maker Aegerion Agrees to Plead Guilty; Will Pay More Than $35 Million to Resolve Criminal Charges and Civil False Claims Allegations

    01/16/2018
    June 30, 2017: Bath County Man Sentenced For Misbranding Drugs and Obstructing Justice

    01/16/2018
    June 21, 2017: Gardner Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids

    01/16/2018
    August 28, 2017: Costa Rican Defendant Appears in Federal Court to Face Fraud Charges

    01/16/2018
    July 17, 2017: Leader of $17 Million Health Insurance Fraud Scheme Ordered to Prison

    01/16/2018
    August 30, 2017: Two Charged in Federal Court with Smuggling Counterfeit Cigarettes

    01/16/2018
    May 31, 2017: Men Sentenced to Combined 60 Years for Selling Spice in Hampton Roads

    01/12/2018
    July 19, 2017: Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    March 13, 2017: Vice-President of SK Labs Found Guilty of Conspiracy, Mail Fraud Charges

    01/12/2018
    March 2, 2017: Bath County Man Convicted of Obstructing Justice and Selling Misbranded Products

    01/12/2018
    February 6, 2017: Arizona Man Sentenced for Trafficking in Pet Products with Counterfeit Labels

    01/12/2018
    January 17, 2017: Tampa-Area Medical Device Salesman Guilty of Selling Expired Lap-Band Devices

    01/12/2018
    August 1, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Gloucester Woman Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Steroids and Launder Money

    01/12/2018
    June 15, 2017: Two Kansans Sentenced for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Designer Drug Business

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Vitamin Shop Owner Guilty of Selling Misbranded Drugs and Controlled Substance

    01/12/2018
    July 17, 2017: Gloucester Woman Pleads Guilty to Her Role in Counterfeit Steroid Trafficking Scheme

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Westerly Resident to Plead Guilty to Trafficking Steroids, Money Laundering Charges

    01/12/2018
    September 5, 2017: New Hampshire Residents Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Involving Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    April 3, 2017: Printing and Packaging CEO Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Counterfeit Labels and Packaging

    01/12/2018
    March 14, 2017: Woman Admits to Causing the Death of Another Person by Injecting Her with Liquid Silicone

    01/12/2018
    April 12, 2017: Former Medical Product Distributor Charged with False Statements about Hormone Shipments

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2017:Woman Admits to Illegally Selling Prescription Drugs Not Approved for Use in the US

    01/12/2018
    June 13, 2017: Cherry Hill Doctor and Son Admit Defrauding Medicare, Agree To $1.78 Million Settlement

    01/12/2018
    September 25, 2017: Pharmacy Manager Pleads Guilty to Illegal Prescription Drug Diversion and Money Laundering

    01/12/2018
    July 28, 2017: Tampa Woman Sentenced to Prison For Misbranded Drugs Used in Connection with Buttocks Injection

    01/12/2018
    March 28, 2017: Former Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Charged with Smuggling and Dispensing Misbranded Drugs

    01/12/2018
    September 12, 2017: Former Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Stealing Pain-killing Drugs, Replacing Vials with Water

    01/12/2018
    May 15, 2017: Printing and Packaging Business Owner Convicted of Trafficking in Counterfeit Veterinary Labels

    01/12/2018
    July 14, 2017: Senior Executives of Medical Drug Re-Packager Plead Guilty to Defrauding Healthcare Providers

    01/12/2018
    February 16, 2017: Atlanta Man Convicted of Illegally Importing and Distributing Male Enhancement Products from China

    01/11/2018
    September 25, 2017: Millions of Medicines Seized in Largest INTERPOL Operation Against Illicit Online Pharmacies

    01/11/2018
    January 3, 2017: Notification of Stolen Reckitt Benckiser Retail, Non-Prescription, Consumer Healthcare Products

    01/09/2018
    August 1, 2017: Radford Nurse Who Tampered with Liquid Morphine Intended for Nursing Home Patients Sentenced in Federal Court

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Three Florida Residents Arrested After Law Enforcement Discover Steroid and Fake Prescription Drug Lab

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2017: Counterfeiters Sentenced for Convictions in Nationwide Conspiracy to Distribute Fake 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    May 31, 2017: Drug Trafficking Organization Faces Indictment For Involvment In Manufacturing Fake Prescriptions Drugs With Fentanyl

    01/09/2018
    June 26, 2017: Owner of New England Compounding Center Sentenced for Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/09/2018
    February 14, 2017: Two Miami-Dade Women Charged in Connection with Their Operation of a Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    June 22, 2017: Pharmacy Owner and Director of Compliance Charged with Defrauding United States and Distributing Adulterated Drugs

    01/09/2018
    April 12, 2017: Owners of Two Los Angeles-Area Drug Wholesale Companies Arrested in $20 Million Federal ‘Structuring’ Conspiracy

    01/09/2018
    February 7, 2017: Randallstown Woman Pleads Guilty to Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone into the Bodies of Victim Customers

    01/09/2018
    August 30, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Prison for Operating a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    March 28, 2017: 3 Canadians and their Vancouver Company Charged with Conspiring to Sell Foreign-Made Drugs to Western Pennsylvania Pharmacists

    01/09/2018
    March 9, 2017: Internet Business Owner Indicted for Selling Non-FDA Approved and Misbranded Versions of Botox and Juvederm Related Products

    01/09/2018
    June 8, 2017: Houston, Texas Man convicted of Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    February 16, 2017: Oncology Practice, Doctor and Practice Manager Pay $1.7 Million to Resolve Allegations They Billed Medicare for Illegally Imported Drugs

    01/09/2018
    June 27, 2017: Physician and Wife to Pay $1.2 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That They Billed Medicare and Medicaid for Unapproved Drugs

    01/09/2018
    September 6, 2017: Bronx Pharmacist Pleads Guilty To Illegally Selling Millions Of Prescription Pills On The Internet And Agrees To Forfeit $9 Million

    01/09/2018
    March 30, 2017: Lincoln Mother and Son Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Misbranded Substances, Drug Paraphernalia, and Related Financial Crimes

    01/09/2018
    January 12, 2017: Baxter Healthcare Corporation to Pay More than $18 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Liability Relating to Sterile Products

    01/09/2018
    September 20, 2017: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison for Managing a Miami Spa Performing Illicit Silicone Injections

    01/09/2018
    May 23, 2017: Citizen of Pakistan and United Kingdom Sentenced For International Wire Fraud Scheme That Sold False Cures For Multiple Illnesses

    01/09/2018
    April 18, 2017: SCM True Air Technologies, of Ohio and Kentucky, and Its Former Company President – Guilty of Delivering Misbranded Medical Devices from Unregistered Facilities to a Georgia V.A. Medical Center and Obstructing an FDA Investigation into their Conduct

    01/09/2018
    September 26, 2017: Houston, Texas Man Sentenced to 40 Months and a $95,000 Fine for Smuggling Korean Human Growth Hormone Drugs to Local Patients and Professional Wrestlers

    01/09/2018
    September 27, 2017: Amerisourcebergen Specialty Group Pleads Guilty to Distributing Misbranded Drugs and is Sentenced to Pay $260 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability

    01/09/2018
    May 26, 2017: Florida Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Causing the Death of One Victim and Hospitalization of Others by Injecting them With Liquid Silicone

    01/09/2018
    September 11, 2017: Owner of O.C. Pet Products Company Pleads Guilty to Selling Pet Meds without Prescriptions, Some of Which Were Not Approved for U.S. Sale

    12/21/2017
    December 19, 2017: Senior Executives of Medical Drug Repackager Sentenced for Defrauding Healthcare Providers

    12/21/2017
    December 20, 2017: Fitchburg Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    12/18/2017
    December 18, 2017: Cherry Hill Doctor and Son Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Medicare

    12/14/2017
    December 12, 2017: Iserve Technologies, Inc. Pled Guilty in Connection with Guilty Pleas of Former Exec and Manager of Med-Fast Pharmacy Inc.

    12/04/2017
    November 30, 2017: Lynn Man Pleads Guilty to Counterfeit Steroid Conspiracy

    12/04/2017
    November 30, 2017: Paramedic Sentenced for Stealing Fentanyl from Ambulance Company

    12/04/2017
    November 28, 2017: Champaign, Illinois, Resident Guilty of Producing and Selling Over 80,000 Homemade Tramadol Capsules to Customers Without Verifying Prescriptions

    12/04/2017
    November 29, 2017: Knoxville Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud the FDA

    11/27/2017
    November 21, 2017: Williamsville Couple Pleads Guilty

    11/27/2017
    November 22, 2017: Former Pharmacy Compliance Director Pleads Guilty to Introducing Adulterated Drugs into Interstate Commerce and Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

    11/27/2017
    November 20, 2017: Vitamin Shop Owner Sentenced for Misbranded Drugs and Controlled Substance Conviction

    11/21/2017
    November 20, 2017:Queensbury Oncologist and Office Manager Plead Guilty in Connection with Administering Unapproved Drugs

    11/21/2017
    November 16, 2017: Palmer Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Import Prescription Drugs from Pakistan

    11/20/2017
    November 7, 2017: Federal Jury Convicts Lake Charles Veterinarian, Pharmacy in Race Horse Doping Conspiracy

    11/06/2017
    November 3, 2017: Vero Beach Orthopedic Surgeon Charged in Drug Conspiracy Resulting in Death

    11/06/2017
    November 3, 2017: Five Charged in Alleged Opioid Prescription, Healthcare Fraud Scheme

    11/06/2017
    November 1, 2017: New York Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Misbranded Animal Drugs Containing Steroids

    11/01/2017
    November 1, 2017: FDA Supervisor and Local Businessman Charged in Bribery Scheme

    11/01/2017
    November 1, 2017: Pair Sentenced on Federal Conspiracy

    10/31/2017
    October 31, 2017: South Korean Maker of Contact Lenses, Company CEO Charged with Smuggling Products into U.S. by Failing to Declare Full Value

    10/31/2017
    March 28, 2017: Oakland Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Conspiracy to Manufacture Counterfeit Drugs

    10/30/2017
    October 27, 2017: Central Kentucky Pharmacist Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone and Money Laundering

    10/26/2017
    October 26, 2017: Founder and Owner of Pharmaceutical Company Insys Arrested and Charged with Racketeering

    10/26/2017
    October 25, 2017: Five Chinese Citizens and Four Chinese Companies Indicted in Scheme to Sell Mislabeled Dietary Supplements

    10/26/2017
    October 25, 2017: Supervisory Pharmacist of New England Compounding Center Convicted of Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    10/17/2017
    October 16, 2017: Omak, Washington Nurse Sentenced to Federal Prison for Adulterating and Misbranding Pain Medications

    10/10/2017
    October 4, 2017: Med-Fast Pharmacy Inc. and Former Exec Agree to Resolve Criminal and Civil Charges

    10/03/2017
    October 2, 2017: Compounding Pharmacy Owner Charged with $10 Million Health Care Fraud

    10/02/2017
    September 29, 2017: Randallstown Woman Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone Into The Bodies Of Victim Customers

    09/28/2017
    September 20, 2017: Pair Plead Guilty to Federal Conspiracy Charge

    08/29/2017
    August 28, 2017: Shrewsbury Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Counterfeit Steroid Scheme

    08/18/2017
    August 18, 2017: Former Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Steroids, Money Laundering

    07/18/2017
    July 6, 2017: North Olmsted Man Charged with Selling Misbranded Drugs

    07/03/2017
    June 28, 2017: Former VA Nurse Re-Sentenced for Stealing and Tampering with Patient Medications

    07/03/2017
    June 28, 2017: Distributor of Counterfeit Medications Arrested

    06/28/2017
    June 23, 2017: Monterey Park Woman Arrested on Federal Charges after Allegedly Injecting Foreign Substances into Woman for Buttocks Enhancement

    06/26/2017
    June 22, 2017: Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Removing Liquid Fentanyl from Ambulance

    06/19/2017
    June 16, 2017: Leawood Woman Charged With Importing Misbranded Drugs

    06/09/2017
    June 9, 2017: Providence Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Oxycodone

    04/24/2017
    April 19, 2017: Radford Nurse, Who Tampered with Liquid Morphine Intended for Nursing Home Patients, Pleads Guilty

    04/13/2017
    April 12, 2017: Six Charged with Trafficking Counterfeit Steroids

    04/06/2017
    April 5, 2017: Worcester Nurse Sentenced for Drug Tampering

    03/30/2017
    March 22, 2017: Diamond Bar Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling ED Drugs that Were Sold as ‘Herbal Enhancement’ Products without Prescriptions

    03/27/2017
    March 22, 2017: Owner of New England Compounding Center Convicted of Racketeering Leading to Nationwide Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    01/19/2017
    January 18, 2017: Owner of Major Online Colored Contact Lens Business Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison in Largest-Ever Scheme to Import and Sell Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lenses Prosecuted in the United States

    01/19/2017
    January 13, 2017: Paramedic Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Drugs

    01/17/2017
    January 11, 2017: Worcester Nurse Pleads Guilty to Drug Tampering

    02/20/2018
    August 19, 2016: Pharmacy Owner and Medical Doctor Charged in an Internet Scheme to Dispense Medications to Customers without Valid Prescriptions

    01/24/2018
    December 6, 2016: Two Sentenced for Trafficking in Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/24/2018
    December 9, 2016: Carroll County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Conspiracy Charge

    01/24/2018
    July 18, 2016: Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Illegally Importing Drugs into U.S.

    01/24/2018
    July 7, 2016: Johnston Resident Charged with Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering

    01/24/2018
    January 7, 2016: Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to Stealing Narcotics from Hospital

    01/24/2018
    December 8, 2016: Pharmaceutical Executives Charged in Racketeering Scheme

    01/24/2018
    December 2, 2016: Woman Arrested For Injecting Adulterated Liquid Silicone

    01/24/2018
    June 27, 2016: Hampton-Based Spice Retailer and Wholesaler Pleads Guilty

    01/24/2018
    May 31, 2016: Worcester Nurse Indicted on Federal Drug Tampering Charges

    01/16/2018
    October 11, 2016: Foreign National Pleads Guilty To International Wire Fraud Scheme

    01/12/2018
    December 20, 2016: New England Compounding Center’s National Sales Director Pleads Guilty

    01/12/2018
    December 27, 2016: Providence Nurse Charged in Connection with Tampering with Oxycodone

    01/12/2018
    January 20, 2016: Businessman Sentenced for Marketing and Selling Unapproved Remedies for Cancer

    01/12/2018
    June 2, 2016: Additional Criminal Charges Brought Against Indicted Penn National Horse Trainer

    01/12/2018
    August 15, 2016: Second Trafficker Convicted of Distributing Dangerous Counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

    01/12/2018
    October 12, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims Bodies

    01/12/2018
    September 22, 2016: Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    September, 22, 2016 Hoover Man Charged for Marketing Misbranded Male Enhancement Drugs from China

    01/12/2018
    August 2, 2016: Colombian National Charged for Unlawfully Injecting Silicone into Victims’ Bodies

    01/12/2018
    December 13, 2016: Tampa Resident Indicted for Involvement with Tricare Health Care Fraud Scheme

    01/12/2018
    September 29, 2016: New York Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Illegally Manufacture Designer Steroids

    01/12/2018
    July 1, 2016: New Hampshire Couple Indicted On Two Counts Of Illegal Distribution Of Prescription Drugs

    01/12/2018
    June 22, 2016: Former Nurse Sentenced to 82 Months for Stealing and Tampering with Patient Medications

    01/12/2018
    December 19, 2016: New York Man Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Term for Selling Unsafe Dietary Supplements Online

    01/12/2018
    July 29, 2016: Majority Owner of NECC and Husband Plead Guilty to Illegal Cash Withdrawals Following Outbreak

    01/12/2018
    July 20, 2016: Former Acclarent, Inc. Executives Convicted of Crimes Related to the Sale of Medical Devices

    01/12/2018
    June 6, 2016: Pharmaceutical Companies To Pay $67 Million To Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating To Tarceva

    01/11/2018
    July 22, 2016: Medical Device Manufacturer Acclarent Inc. to Pay $18 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

    01/11/2018
    November 15, 2016: Miami-Dade Resident Sentenced to Fifteen Months in Prison for Distributing Contaminated Cheese

    01/09/2018
    November 4, 2016: Two Pakistani Nationals Sentenced for Conspiring to Illegally Ship Pharmaceuticals into the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 29, 2016: Eight Defendants Convicted For Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Counterfeit 5-Hour Energy Drink

    01/09/2018
    July 6, 2016: New Jersey Medical Device Manufacturer Admits Selling Contaminated Ultrasound Gel; Court Orders Permanent Injunction

    01/09/2018
    June 21, 2016: Two Pharmacists Sentenced to Prison for Adulteration of Drugs in Connection with Alabama-Based Compounding Pharmacy

    01/09/2018
    December 2, 2016: Former Police Officer Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to 8 Years in Prison for Selling Date Rape Drug

    01/09/2018
    December 13, 2016: O.C. Man Charged with Selling Pet Meds Without a Prescription, Some of Which Were Not Approved for Distribution in the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 10, 2016: Nurse Who Operated Spa in Laguna Niguel Agrees to Plead Guilty to Illegally Dispensing Botox Not Approved for Use in United States

    01/09/2018
    November 28, 2016: Iowa Cancer Clinic and Oncologist to Pay More Than $176,000 To Settle False Claims Act Allegations They Recklessly Billed for Cancer Drugs That Were Unapproved, Misbranded, or Counterfeit and Improperly Upcoded Office Visit Claims

    01/09/2018
    September 9, 2016: Owner of Major Online Colored Contact Lens Business Pleads Guilty in Largest-Ever Investigation of Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lenses in the United States

    01/09/2018
    November 7, 2016: Medical Device Maker Biocompatibles Pleads Guilty to Misbranding and Agrees to Pay $36 Million to Resolve Criminal Liability and False Claims Act Allegations

    01/09/2018
    December 7, 2016: GNC Enters Into Agreement with Department of Justice to Improve Its Practices and Keep Potentially Illegal Dietary Supplements Out of the Marketplace

    01/09/2018
    December 5, 2016: Medical Device Saleswoman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Charges Relating to the Transport of Stolen Medical Devices and Money Laundering

    12/15/2016
    December 13, 2016: Conagra Subsidiary Sentenced in Connection with Outbreak of Salmonella Poisoning Related to Peanut Butter

    12/13/2016
    December 9, 2016: Two South Florida Residents Charged with Conspiring to Misbrand and Sell Expired Gastric Banding Systems

    11/21/2016
    November 18, 2016: Palm Harbor Oncologist Convicted Of Buying Unapproved Cancer Medications From Foreign Sources And Defrauding Medicare

    11/08/2016
    November 4, 2016: University Hospital Nurse Arrested Following Grand Jury Indictment for Illegally Obtaining and Tampering with Fentanyl and Hydomorphone

    10/17/2016
    October 11, 2016: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing, Distributing Performance Enhancing Drugs

    09/26/2016
    September 9, 2016: Medical Device Saleswoman Convicted on Charges of Conspiring to Transport Stolen Medical Devices in Interstate Commerce, Money Laundering and Other Charges

    08/19/2016
    August 19,2016: North Carolina Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Providing Silicone Buttocks Injections Resulting in the Death of a Client

    07/26/2016
    July 25, 2016: Three Charged with Manufacturing, Distributing Performance Enhancing Drugs

    06/20/2016
    June 20, 2016: R.I. Businessman Pleads Guilty to Running International Scheme to Label and Sell Misbranded Drugs

    06/08/2016
    June 2, 2016: President of Pharmaceutical Companies Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Long-Running Scheme to Sell Misbranded and Unapproved Chemotherapy and Other Prescription Drugs

    05/27/2016
    May 26, 2016: Owner of “The Wholesale Source” Convicted for Selling Unsafe Dietary Supplements Online

    05/27/2016
    May 27, 2016: North Carolina Man Admits Receiving and Selling Misbranded Silicone for Buttocks Injections Resulting in the Death of a Client

    05/23/2016
    May 9, 2016: California Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Unapproved Drug in Rhode Island

    05/19/2016
    May 18, 2016: Woman Charged with Illegally Administering Silicone Injections

    05/16/2016
    May 13, 2016: Two Key Players in Illegal Online Pharmacy Scheme Sentenced to Prison

    05/16/2016
    May 12, 2016: Windsor Mill Woman Indicted for Allegedly Injecting Non-Medical Grade Silicone into the Bodies of Victim Customers

    05/09/2016
    May 9, 2016: Owner of Bodybuilding Drug Companies Sentenced for Selling Misbranded Drugs

    05/09/2016
    May 9, 2016: Lodi Oncologist and Office Administrator Pay $300,000 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

    05/06/2016
    May 5, 2016: Florida Man Sentenced To Prison For Illegal Diet Pill Scheme

    05/05/2016
    May 4, 2016: Former Buffalo Nurse Sentenced For Stealing Pain Medications Intended For Patients From Local Hospital

    05/04/2016
    April 28, 2016: Jury Convicts Former Police Officer For Selling Date Rape Drug

    05/04/2016
    May 3, 2016: Gainesville Physician Convicted of 162 Counts of Health Care Fraud

    05/02/2016
    April 29, 2016: Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Arrest Of Black Market Distributor Of Diverted HIV Medications Worth Approximately $4 Million

    04/20/2016
    April 20, 2016: Norfolk Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Distributing Insulin

    04/14/2016
    April 7, 2016: Former Nurse Sentenced for Stealing Narcotics from Hospital

    04/06/2016
    April 4, 2016: Former Carlsbad Resident Jailed for Sale of Unapproved “Energy Wave” Medical Devices

    03/24/2016
    March 23, 2016: Federal Jury Convicts Destrehan Woman in Scheme to Sell Illegal and Mislabelled Diet Pills

    03/24/2016
    March 23, 2016: Detroit-Area Physician Sentenced to 45 Months in Prison for Role in $5.7 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

    03/21/2016
    March 18, 2016: Bookkeeper for Online Pharmacy Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Money Laundering

    03/11/2016
    March 8, 2016: Cincinnati Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Importing Drugs into U.S.

    03/08/2016
    March 7, 2016: Tehachapi Doctor Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison for Defrauding Patients and Insurers by Implanting Unapproved IUDs

    03/08/2016
    March 4, 2016: First of Seven Defendants Who Operated Illegal Online Pharmacy Sentenced to Prison

    03/04/2016
    March 4, 2016: Mumbai, India, Man Sentenced on Misbranding Charge

    03/03/2016
    March 1, 2016: Principal of Dietary Ingredient Companies Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Fraud and Meth Precursor Scheme

    02/29/2016
    February 26, 2016: Florence Man Sentenced for Smuggling and Distributing Prescription Drugs

    02/25/2016
    February 17, 2016: Danville Man Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing and Distributing Illegal Dietary Supplements

    02/24/2016
    February 24, 2016: Former VA Nurse Pleads Guilty To Stealing Controlled Substance From Hospital Syringes

    02/24/2016
    February 17, 2016: Two Men Sentenced For Involvement in Scheme to Distribute Misbranded Drugs

    02/23/2016
    February 10, 2016: Las Vegas Resident Indicted For Running Counterfeit and Misbranded Contact Lens Operation

    02/19/2016
    February 17, 2016: United States And Vermont Doctor Resolve Matter Involving Non-FDA Approved Drugs And False Claims

    02/19/2016
    February 16, 2016: Swedish Medical Center Surgical Tech/Technologist Indicted by Federal Grand Jury in Denver on Charges of Tampering with a Consumer Product and Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Deceit

    02/19/2016
    February 10, 2016: Owner of Cancer Treatment Clinic Convicted of Providing Fraudulent Medical Treatments to Patients

    02/04/2016
    January 28, 2016: Federal Criminal Charges Filed Against Two Pharmacists for Adulteration of Drugs in Connection with Alabama-Based Compounding Pharmacy

    02/02/2016
    February 1, 2016: Pakistani Man Makes Appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver Following Indictment and Arrest for Sale and Distribution of New, Misbranded and Counterfeit Prescription Drugs

    02/02/2016
    February 1, 2016: Worcester Nurse Sentenced for Stealing Oxycodone from Patients

    02/02/2016
    January 22, 2016: Counterfeit Cigarette Smuggler Receives Jail Sentence

    02/02/2016
    January 5, 2016: Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison in Conspiracy to Distribute Over $6.6 Million in Contraband Cigarettes

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE Boston arrests Dominican fugitive charged with firearms, drug crimes in Massachusetts

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    May 21, 2025Boston, MA, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

    BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, arrested a 44-year-old Dominican national charged in Boston with fentanyl trafficking and possession of a firearm. Officers with ICE Boston and CBP Boston arrested Julio Soto-Heredia in Boston May 18.

    Additionally, Soto-Heredia has been charged by Dominican authorities for firearms trafficking crimes in the Dominican Republic.

    “Julio Soto-Heredia attempted to flee justice in the Dominican Republic by hiding out in Boston,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “If that weren’t bad enough, Soto-Heredia apparently illegally armed himself and attempted to peddle poison in our Massachusetts neighborhoods. ICE Boston will not stand idly by while illegal alien offenders victimize the residents of our New England communities. We will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders.”

    Soto-Heredia remains in ICE custody.

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

    Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X at @EROBoston.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Microsoft leads global action that’s disrupting a favored cybercrime tool

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Microsoft leads global action that’s disrupting a favored cybercrime tool

    Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) and international partners are disrupting the leading tool used to indiscriminately steal sensitive personal and organizational information to facilitate cybercrime. On Tuesday, May 13, Microsoft’s DCU filed a legal action against Lumma Stealer (“Lumma”), which is the favored info-stealing malware used by hundreds of cyber threat actors. Lumma steals passwords, credit cards, bank accounts, and cryptocurrency wallets and has enabled criminals to hold schools for ransom, empty bank accounts, and disrupt critical services.

    Via a court order granted in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Microsoft’s DCU seized and facilitated the takedown, suspension, and blocking of approximately 2,300 malicious domains that formed the backbone of Lumma’s infrastructure. The Department of Justice (DOJ) simultaneously seized the central command structure for Lumma and disrupted the marketplaces where the tool was sold to other cybercriminals. Europol’s European Cybercrime Center (EC3) and Japan’s Cybercrime Control Center (JC3) facilitated the suspension of locally based Lumma infrastructure.

    Between March 16, 2025, and May 16, 2025, Microsoft identified over 394,000 Windows computers globally infected by the Luma malware. Working with law enforcement and industry partners, we have severed communications between the malicious tool and victims. Moreover, more than 1,300 domains seized by or transferred to Microsoft, including 300 domains actioned by law enforcement with the support of Europol, will be redirected to Microsoft sinkholes. This will allow Microsoft’s DCU to provide actionable intelligence to continue to harden the security of the company’s services and help protect online users. These insights will also assist public- and private-sector partners as they continue to track, investigate, and remediate this threat. This joint action is designed to slow the speed at which these actors can launch their attacks, minimize the effectiveness of their campaigns, and hinder their illicit profits by cutting a major revenue stream.

    Heat map detailing global spread of Lumma Stealer malware infections and encounters across Windows devices.
    Splash page displayed on 900+ domains seized by Microsoft. 

    What is Lumma?

    Lumma is a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS), marketed and sold through underground forums since at least 2022. Over the years, the developers released multiple versions to continually improve its capabilities. Microsoft Threat Intelligence shares more details around the delivery techniques and capabilities of Lumma in a recent blog.

    Typically, the goal of Lumma operators is to monetize stolen information or conduct further exploitation for various purposes. Lumma is easy to distribute, difficult to detect, and can be programmed to bypass certain security defenses, making it a go-to tool for cybercriminals and online threat actors, including prolific ransomware actors such as Octo Tempest (Scattered Spider). The malware impersonates trusted brands, including Microsoft, and is deployed via spear-phishing emails and malvertising, among other vectors.

    For example, in March 2025, Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a phishing campaign impersonating online travel agency Booking.com. The campaign used multiple credential-stealing malware, including Lumma, to conduct financial fraud and theft. Lumma has also been used to target gaming communities and education systems and poses an ongoing risk to global security, with reports from multiple cybersecurity companies outlining its use in attacks against critical infrastructure, such as the manufacturing, telecommunications, logistics, finance, and healthcare sectors.

    Example of phishing email impersonating Booking.com and fake CAPTCHA verification prompt. (Source:Microsoft – Phishing campaign impersonates Booking .com, delivers a suite of credential-stealing malware)

    The primary developer of Lumma is based in Russia and goes by the internet alias “Shamel.” Shamel markets different tiers of service for Lumma via Telegram and other Russian-language chat forums. Depending on what service a cybercriminal purchases, they can create their own versions of the malware, add tools to conceal and distribute it, and track stolen information through an online portal.

    Different tiers of service for Lumma, as well as Lumma’s logo used on marketing material. (Source: Darktrace – The Rise of MaaS & Lumma Info Stealer)

    In an interview with cybersecurity researcher “g0njxa” in November 2023, Shamel shared that he had “about 400 active clients.” Demonstrating the evolution of cybercrime to incorporate established business practices, he effectively created a Lumma brand, using a distinctive logo of a bird to market his product, calling it a symbol of “peace, lightness, and tranquility,” and adding the slogan “making money with us is just as easy.”

    Shamel’s ability to operate openly underscores the importance for countries worldwide to address the issue of safe havens and to advocate for the rigorous enforcement of due diligence obligations under international law.

    Continuing to work together to disrupt prolific cybercrime tools

    Disrupting the tools cybercriminals frequently use can create a significant and lasting impact on cybercrime, as rebuilding malicious infrastructure and sourcing new exploit tools takes time and costs money. By severing access to mechanisms cybercriminals use, such as Lumma, we can significantly disrupt the operations of countless malicious actors through a single action.

    Continued collaboration across industry and government remains imperative. We are grateful for the partnership with others across government and industry, including cybersecurity companies ESET, Bitsight, Lumen, Cloudflare, CleanDNS, and GMO Registry. Each company provided valuable assistance by quickly taking down online infrastructure.

    Finally, we know cybercriminals are persistent and creative. We, too, must evolve to identify new ways to disrupt malicious activities. Microsoft’s DCU will continue to adapt and innovate to counteract cybercrime and help ensure the safety of critical infrastructure, customers, and online users.

    Organizations and individuals can protect themselves from malware like Lumma by using multi-factor authentication, running the latest anti-malware software, and being cautious with attachments and email links. More information for security professionals can be found here.

    Tags: cyberattacks, cybersecurity

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Small Business Democrats Call Out Trump Admin for Turning Back on Small Businesses, Blocking Funding to Help Entrepreneurs Grow

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
    SBA is currently blocking funding that supports small businesses, plans to cut $167 million from future programs
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, along with his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, called on Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler to stop hurting small businesses and release entrepreneurial development program funding. 
    “Gutting counseling and training services for women, veterans, and underserved small businesses is not how we can grow our economy,” wrote the senators. “We strongly condemn the President’s budget and call on SBA to immediately release entrepreneurial development program funding owed to counseling and training providers.”
    SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs provide free or low-cost counseling and training to support the small business owners, specifically targeting veterans, women, and other underserved entrepreneurs. Last year alone, SBA counseled and trained more than 744,000 small businesses, supported the creation of 33,240 new businesses, and supported over one million jobs.
    The Trump administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 cuts $167 million dollars from SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs and $111 million from the agency’s budget for the cost of staff and other administrative expenses. The proposed budget would eliminate 15 entrepreneurial development programs, which would mean the closure of more than 150 WBCs, 250 SCORE chapters, and 31 VBOCs.
    To better understand SBA’s budget plans and the extent to which entrepreneurial development program funding has been delayed or mismanaged, the lawmakers request written responses to the following questions no later than May 30:
    With the elimination of all but one of its entrepreneurial development programs under President Trump’s proposed budget, what is SBA’s plan to provide quality counseling and training to America’s 34 million small businesses?
    Why does the Administration believe that women and veteran entrepreneurs do not merit specialized assistance given the unique challenges they face?
    Why has SBA failed to distribute appropriated funding to its entrepreneurial development programs, specifically the SBDC, WBC, VBOC, and SCORE programs
    Please identify every payment, by program, to SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs that are currently past due.
    Please provide a detailed timeline for disbursement, by program, of the delayed payments identified in response to the previous question.
    Full text of the letter HERE and below.
    Dear Administrator Loeffler:
    Gutting counseling and training services for women, veterans, and underserved small businesses is not how we can grow our economy. As if the Trump Administration’s disastrous and destructive tariff policy had not caused enough harm to the nation’s entrepreneurs, the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget for the Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to eliminate the vast majority of SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs. Additionally, SBA is currently blocking funding Congress has already appropriated for these programs. We strongly condemn the President’s budget and call on SBA to immediately release entrepreneurial development program funding owed to counseling and training providers.
    SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs provide free or low-cost counseling and training to America’s 34 million small businesses, with specific assistance targeting veterans, women, and other underserved entrepreneurs. In FY 2024 alone, SBA counseled and trained more than 744,000 small businesses, supported the creation of 33,240 new businesses, and supported over one million jobs. SBA’s resource partners, which include Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), have long had bipartisan support and provide critical, costeffective assistance that catalyzes local economic growth. These programs work together to provide holistic aid to entrepreneurs in all states, creating an ecosystem of support for small businesses at every stage of development.
    On May 2, 2025, President Trump released a summary of his proposed budget for FY 2026 that cut $167 million dollars from SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs and $111 million from the agency’s budget for the cost of staff and other administrative expenses.
    Specifically, the proposed budget does away with 15 entrepreneurial development programs, which would mean the closure of more than 150 WBCs, 250 SCORE chapters, and 31 VBOCs. Only the SBDC program would survive. The President’s decision to eliminate dedicated veterans counseling services is particularly shocking. Although President Trump proposed $10 million in additional funding for SBDCs to serve veteran small businesses, that amount is still 46 percent less than SBA’s current level of funding for veteran services.
    Equally troubling are reports that the SBA is blocking previously appropriated funding from reaching its entrepreneurial development programs. The Senate Committee on Appropriations released a report exposing the wide variety of federal funding that President Trump, Elon Musk, and Russ Vought have illegally withheld. The report revealed that, under President Trump, SBA has failed to expend at least $30 million that Congress approved to carry out small business counseling and training programs. Additionally, the Administration has attempted to renege on contracts to grantees in the Regional Innovation Clusters (RIC) program, which provides direct support, accelerators, and other services to support small innovators. Of the 25 RIC awardees across the country, it appears that the Administration unjustifiably terminated at least 20 of their contracts.
    We are now five months into the second Trump presidency and it is unacceptable that the Trump SBA is incapable of properly managing its congressionally mandated responsibilities. Congress holds the power of the purse, and the executive branch must comply with the law, including duly enacted appropriations acts. SBA’s continued delays and cancellation of congressionally mandated spending not only goes against congressional intent but jeopardizes the viability of small businesses across the country.
    Federal funding is subject to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, meaning that the funds Congress appropriates to federal agencies cannot be temporarily withheld from obligation or expenditure without a presidential special message and cannot be cancelled without congressional approval. The Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is required to report when a president has failed to disclose an impoundment to Congress. For this reason, GAO is currently investigating 39 federal agencies that are not expending appropriated funds. If SBA is unwilling or unable to release the funds appropriated for its entrepreneurial development programs, we will be requesting that GAO perform a formal review and pursue potential enforcement actions.
    We strongly reject President Trump’s budget proposal and demand that SBA release delayed payments to its entrepreneurial development programs. To better understand SBA’s budget plans and the extent to which entrepreneurial development program funding has been delayed or mismanaged, we request written responses to the following questions no later than May 30:
    With the elimination of all but one of its entrepreneurial development programs under President Trump’s proposed budget, what is SBA’s plan to provide quality counseling and training to America’s 34 million small businesses?
    Why does the Administration believe that women and veteran entrepreneurs do not merit specialized assistance given the unique challenges they face?
    Why has SBA failed to distribute appropriated funding to its entrepreneurial development programs, specifically the SBDC, WBC, VBOC, and SCORE programs
    Please identify every payment, by program, to SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs that are currently past due.
    Please provide a detailed timeline for disbursement, by program, of the delayed payments identified in response to the previous question.
    Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson on Her Departure from the CFTC

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    It has been an honor and privilege to serve as a Commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Having completed my full term, I have notified the President of my intent to step down as a CFTC Commissioner later this year. Although this is a difficult decision, I am proud of the work that I have accomplished and am deeply grateful for the chance to develop meaningful relationships with staff and current and former Commissioners during my tenure at the CFTC.
    I am exceptionally fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve our great nation and am honored that President Joseph R. Biden nominated me to serve in two critical roles as a financial market regulator. In addition to nominating me to serve a three-year term as a CFTC Commissioner in the fall of 2021, last summer, President Biden nominated me to serve as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the United States Department of the Treasury. 
    As a graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, the invitation to return to Washington, D.C. as a CFTC Commissioner resonated with my life-long commitment to be “in service of others.” When I accepted the nomination to serve as a CFTC Commissioner, I requested a three-year leave of absence from Emory University School of Law where I serve as Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law. On March 28, 2022, I was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. On March 30, 2022, not long after teaching my last class for the semester at Emory Law School, I was sworn in to serve as a CFTC Commissioner.
    This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the CFTC, a small-but-mighty agency that works daily to advance effective supervision and oversight in derivatives markets. In 1974, Congress passed and Former President Gerald Ford[1] signed into law the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act creating the CFTC. A few months later, on April 15, 1975, four of the first five Commissioners, including the first Chairman of the Commission, were sworn in to service.
    As the Commission celebrates this important milestone, I celebrated my third anniversary at the Commission. A few days after my third anniversary, my term expired.
    Our derivatives markets operate as a critical resource for price discovery, risk management, and hedging functions for many sectors in our economy but, most notably, the agriculture, energy, and financial services sectors. One of the greatest strengths of our federal government and, more specifically, the federal agencies that supervise many of the largest global financial market participants in the world, is the intellectual leadership of our regulators.[2] Over the last several decades significant events have tested the resilience of our markets. In each instance, the Commission and its regulations developed through robust engagement among the Commissioners—with the support of the Commission staff—have served to address liquidity and default risk management concerns and to enhance the integrity and stability of our derivatives markets.
    I have endeavored to support the Commission’s work through constructive, substantive engagement with my fellow Commissioners, Commission staff, and the diverse businesses that we supervise. I am deeply committed to encouraging the Commission to develop well-informed, research-based, data-driven regulatory solutions that are well-tailored and fit-for-purpose. Thoughtful, effective regulation ensures that our markets are resilient even during periods of significant or persistent challenges.
    It has been a privilege to serve alongside my fellow Commissioners and to have had the opportunity to work with the exceptional and indefatigable staff at the Commission. The Commission staff works tirelessly to support the Commission in tackling complex and consequential issues through careful and thoughtful deliberative processes. I am confident that the Commission will continue to do important work protecting investors and customers, combatting fraud and market manipulation, and ensuring market integrity and stability.
    A Survey of Service
    Serving in leadership at the Commission, I have enjoyed driving intellectual and policy developments on several critical issues facing our markets. I led the Commission by advancing proposed and final rules that enhance risk management for derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs), cyber-resilience, and effective recovery, resilience, and wind-down regulations.
    I have strongly advocated for careful reflection regarding the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial markets and advocated for a number of policies and strategies to enhance the Commission’s ability to better understand industry integration of AI, including information gathering; the creation of an inter-agency task force encouraging domestic and international harmonization and collaboration on guidance or policies addressing the adoption of AI; the creation of a CFTC AI Fraud and Market Manipulation Task Force; and efforts to ensure sufficient human capital and financial resources to enable the Commission staff to keep pace with rapidly-evolving AI technologies.
    In the wake of a crypto-crisis in the fall of 2022, I delivered a keynote address at the inaugural Digital Assets @Duke conference, where I called for the Commission to organize roundtables and convene discussions to better understand the type of regulatory interventions that may lead to effective supervision of rapidly developing and evolving decentralized finance markets.[3] I encouraged the Commission to begin a multi-stakeholder dialogue on digital asset markets that would help to prepare the Commission staff to create regulation to carry out a Congressional mandate and, at the same time, offer educational workshops on foundational issues such as corporate governance, resolution planning, and customer protection features of CFTC regulation.[4] These regulatory pillars are hardwired in our supervision and should be part of the regulatory architecture for any novel assets or markets that come under Commission supervision. Same risks, same rules. Moreover, these governance and operational guardrails have historically served to ensure that firms are able to withstand anticipated shocks (for example, by promoting enterprise risk management) and that markets remain resilient—even in times of significant distress. 
    I am proud to have served as Sponsor of the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC). I am grateful for the hard work of Alicia Crighton (Chair of the MRAC), the members of the MRAC, and the members of the MRAC Subcommittees—the Market Structure, Central Counterparty Risk & Governance, Interest Rate Benchmark Reform, Climate-Related Market Risk, and Future of Finance Subcommittees.
    As Sponsor of the MRAC, I led the Commission in taking on, in real-time, emerging cyber defense and cyber resilience concerns. In March of 2023, the MRAC hosted a first-of-its-kind hearing to examine cyber threats and potential solutions in derivatives markets. Over the last three years, the MRAC has submitted three sets of recommendations and a cutting-edge report to the Commission. The recommendations and report address system safeguards, critical third-party service providers and cyber resilience for institutions at the center of our market infrastructure; the efficacy of recovery, resilience, and wind-down policies for intermediaries in our markets; risk management related to the cash-futures basis trade; and a report on the state of the futures commission merchant market.
    The central tenants of the Commodity Exchange Act inform the CFTC’s mandate—to prevent fraud and market manipulation, protect investors and customers, and ensure the stability and integrity of our markets. In order to deter escalating or future misconduct, I have strongly supported efforts to ensure that the Commission upholds this mandate, enhances customer protection, and holds bad actors accountable.
    Artificial Intelligence in Financial Markets 
    While derivatives transactions in financial markets date back to ancient Greece, none of the Greek philosophers who lived two thousand years ago had the ability to generate a philosophical tome or literary masterpiece by simply typing a few questions into ChatGPT.[5]  Simply stated, today’s financial markets are evolving at an unprecedented and accelerated pace. I arrived at the Commission deeply committed to advancing the Commission’s understanding of AI and AI use cases relevant to our markets. During my tenure at the Commission, I partnered with leadership across the industry, government regulators, public interest advocates, academics, and Commission staff to initiate a dialogue on the increasing adoption of AI by our market participants as well as the incorporation of AI in regulatory oversight and supervision.
    Information-Gathering
    In January 2024, I rolled up my sleeves during a winter storm and worked in collaboration with talented CFTC senior staff to develop the Commission’s first request for comment on AI in CFTC-regulated markets.[6] Later in the year, I represented the Commission in the development of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s request for information on AI.[7] I also represented the Commission by serving in an association of federal regulators across government agencies engaged in understanding the implications of integrating AI in government supervision and regulation.
    In June of 2023, I joined a group of market regulators reflecting on the integration of AI in supervisory technology (SupTech) at the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) Annual Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. Days after IOSCO’s Annual Meeting in June 2023, I launched an annual international roundtable to explore AI and other novel technologies and the impact of these technologies on market structures with the former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón.[8] I have served as a keynote speaker at dozens of industry and trade association conferences as well as academic institutions including Yale, Stanford, Duke, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, the University of Chicago, and Cornell Law Schools, as well as Rice University’s Baker Institute, among other institutions where I have been fortunate to engage in thoughtful conversations with leading experts representing diverse viewpoints.
    My engagement with market participants, U.S. market and prudential regulators, and global market regulators around the world has left me with the impression that we are still in a learning phase and are continuing to develop more precise understandings of the power, potential, and limits of developed and developing applications of AI, including generative and agentic AI.    I have, however, advocated for a few accessible policy initiatives that the Commission should begin to take steps to introduce.
    An Inter-Agency Task Force – Collaboration and Coordination
    Over the last three years, I have advocated for AI policy priorities that must be at the center of the CFTC and other regulators’ policy agenda.[9] I have called for coordination among regulators to ensure that regulators are informed and have the depth of expertise to respond effectively to emerging technologies. I have asked the Commission and other financial market regulators to create an Inter-Agency AI Task Force to establish a pathway for open dialogue through deep dive, public and closed-door roundtables among the Commission, market participants, other market and prudential regulators, and public interest advocates.[10] Shortly after the announcement of my proposal, the Commission named its first Chief AI Officer.
    CFTC AI Fraud and Market Manipulation Task Force
    Our markets are faced with increasingly sophisticated forms of AI driven fraud. Evidence suggests that hackers are repurposing AI-based tools previously used in cyber defense tactics to identify weaknesses in networks and cybersecurity applications. These weaknesses open back doors for cyber-attacks. Generative AI may enable sophisticated actors to execute more convincing phishing campaigns. Deep fakes and similar campaigns may be more difficult to detect, especially for less sophisticated consumers and retail participants.
    I have encouraged the Commission to create an internal AI task force within the Division of Enforcement and introduce heightened civil monetary penalties in instances where bad actors use AI to engage in fraud or market manipulation. In conversations with regulators in jurisdictions around the world, I have advocated for regulators to better understand AI as a SupTech resource that may enhance our ability to more precisely target AI fueled cyber and fraud attacks that threaten to upend the integrity and stability of domestic and global financial markets causing severe market disruption.
    Human Capital and Financial Resources
    The CFTC continues to punch above its weight. The agency, however, must have both financial and human resources to keep pace as industry participants integrate increasingly complex iterations of AI. As our markets become more complex and reflect the incorporation of and reliance on novel technologies, the Commission must have the resources to effectively supervise more sophisticated markets. I believe that the Commission would benefit from increased resources dedicated to enabling several of the Divisions within the Commission to prepare for and meet the challenges of regulating innovative trading, clearing, and settlement technologies.[11]
    The Market Risk Advisory Committee
    In my role as Sponsor of the MRAC, I have convened stakeholders with diverse perspectives to address critical, complex issues facing our markets. Under my leadership and working in collaboration with industry executives representing exchanges, clearinghouses, futures commission merchants, as well as public interest advocates, academics, and many others, the MRAC examined many of the most pressing risks across our financial markets, including systemic issues that could threaten the stability of derivatives markets.
    During my time as Sponsor, the MRAC has focused on increasing concerns presented by cyber threats; the significance of critical third-party service providers such as cloud-based service providers; the introduction of artificial intelligence in market infrastructure and commercial and retail transactions; and novel and nascent issues that arise with the introduction of decentralized financial products such as digital assets or cryptocurrency and other emerging markets.
    In March of 2023, the MRAC hosted a first-of-its-kind post-mortem on the implications for markets following the cyberattack on back-office service provider ION. The hearing included presentations by Matthew Cronin of the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director; Tom Sexton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Futures Association; Walt Lukken, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Futures Industry Association; Julie Holzrichter of CME Group; Amanda Olear, Former Director of the Market Participants Division of the CFTC; Greg Ruppert, Executive Vice President of FINRA; Ashwini Panse of Intercontinental Exchange; Suyash Paliwal, Former Director of the CFTC Office of International Affairs (OIA); and Senior Special Counsel Kirsten Robbins of the CFTC OIA, among others.[12]
    At the MRAC’s most recent meeting, the Committee voted to submit recommendations on many issues—a report and recommendation on the need to evaluate our regulations governing critical third party service providers (particularly in areas marked by concentration risks due to a limited number of competitive service providers); cyber resilience for derivatives clearing organizations; and best practices for managing market, liquidity, counterparty credit, and other risks related to the cash futures basis trade.[13] In addition to these significant contributions, the MRAC advanced important recovery and resolution proposals and published a cutting-edge report on concentration risk engendered by a decline in the market for futures commission merchant services over the last two decades.[14]
    The MRAC’s work on each of these critical questions will help the Commission to address emerging issues and enhance the Commission’s ability to promote the stability and integrity of derivatives markets.
    The Importance of Public Service
    I began my legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. I am thankful that the Judge was willing to take a chance on me; the Judge hired me as a second-year law student to serve as his law clerk upon my graduation from law school. Having spent the better part of his career as a federal prosecutor and later a federal judge, Judge Greenaway taught me to value public service and the importance of building relationships in the communities in which we serve. 
    I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to serve the CFTC community. Every well-developed proposed or final rule review, open or closed meeting briefing and engagement, advisory committee meeting agenda, and policy initiative advanced by my office benefited tremendously from the tireless work and commitment of my current and former staff. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who served my office in any counsel, policy advisor or law student intern role. I am also grateful to the incomparable executive assistants who supported the administrative functions of the office.
    About Commissioner Johnson
    Immediately prior to joining the Commission, Commissioner Johnson served as a tenured professor with an endowed professorship (Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law) and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Emory University School of Law. Commissioner Johnson also held a named professorship and served as Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Tulane University School of Law. Prior to law teaching, Commissioner Johnson served as a lawyer in private practice at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLC’s New York and London offices supporting the mergers and acquisitions, private credit and public and private capital markets practices. Upon leaving private practice, Commissioner Johnson joined J.P. Morgan Chase as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in the Treasury Services Division supporting private funds. Before attending law school, Commissioner Johnson served as an analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Asset Management Division.
    Commissioner Johnson is the co-author of two forthcoming books—The Cambridge University Press Handbook on Artificial Intelligence & The Law and Artificial Intelligence & The Law: Cases and Materials.  Her recent work examines the implications of emerging innovative technologies including distributed digital ledger technologies that enable the creation of digital assets or cryptocurrency as well as networked, centralized and decentralized transaction-enabling infrastructure. Her early scholarship focuses on financial market disruptions that may create systemic risk concerns, with particular emphasis on the origination of derivatives and other complex financial products as well as secondary market trading, clearing, and settlement. She has testified before Congress on the benefits and risks of integrating emerging technologies such as blockchain or distributed digital ledger technologies and AI in financial markets.[15]

    [3] Keynote Address of Commissioner Kristin Johnson at Digital Assets @ Duke Conference, Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and Duke Financial Economics Center, Mitigating Crypto-Crises: Applying Lessons Learned in Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (January 26, 2023), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opajohnson2.

    [4] See Kristin N. Johnson, Commissioner, CFTC, Federal Reserve of Chicago Financial Markets Group Fall Conference, Investing in Investor Protection (Nov. 16, 2022), available on file with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; see also Nahiomy Alvarez, Nomaan Chandiwalla, Alessandro Cocco, 2022 Financial Markets Group Fall Conference–Recap, https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/blogs/ chicago-fed-insights/2023/2022-fmg-fall-conference-recap (Feb. 6, 2023).

    [5] Kristin N. Johnson, Regulating Cryptocurrency Secondary Market Trading Platforms, 1/8/2020 U. Chi. L. Rev. Online 1 (2020).

    [7] See U.S. Department of the Treasury, Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services (Dec. 2024), https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Financial-Services.pdf (Treasury December Report).

    [15] In April of 2021, Commissioner Johnson testified before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. In July of 2019, she testified before the House Financial Services Committee Artificial Intelligence Task Force on the implications of integrating artificial intelligence in financial technology (fintech) platforms. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEW: Republicans’ Bill Will Rip Away Health Insurance from Over 228,000 Wisconsinites

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) slammed President Trump and Republicans’ bill that will cut Medicaid and attack the Affordable Care Act after a new report revealed their plan will terminate health insurance for 228,000 Wisconsinites. Overnight, House Republicans started the process to advance the GOP bill that will kick roughly 13.7 million Americans, including over 228,000 Wisconsinites, off of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to pay for Republicans’ tax breaks for the top one percent.

    “Donald Trump came into office promising to lower costs for families. Instead, Republicans are about to jack up the cost of health care for hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites, all so the wealthiest Americans can get richer,” said Senator Baldwin. “Gutting Medicaid would be devastating for countless families in Wisconsin, and I won’t stand idly by while Republicans try to take away health care from Wisconsinites.”

    According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO)’s analysis of House Republicans’ legislation, cuts to Medicaid and the ACA would result in roughly 13.7 million people losing their health insurance by 2034. Using CBO’s analysis, a new report shows that in Wisconsin, 228,659 people would lose their coverage, including 81,308 Wisconsinites who rely on Affordable Care Act tax breaks to afford their insurance and 147,351 Wisconsinites on Medicaid.

    The Republican plan would roll out new work reporting requirements designed to kick Wisconsinites off their health insurance, which, combined with other provisions, would jeopardize care for nearly 150,000 Wisconsinites. The Republican plan would also allow the ACA Premium Tax Credits, which save Americans on average $700 each year on their coverage, to expire, jacking up the cost of coverage and putting insurance out of reach for over 80,000 Wisconsin families. Senator Baldwin leads legislation to make these enhanced tax credits for working families permanent. 

    In Wisconsin, over 1.2 million are enrolled in Medicaid. About 1 in 3 children in both Wisconsin’s rural and metro communities have Medicaid coverage. Severe cuts to Medicaid will also jeopardize rural hospitals and clinics’ ability to keep their doors open. Over 12 million rural Americans rely on Medicaid for health care.

    Senator Baldwin has been leading the charge to fight back against cuts to Medicaid. In March, Senator Baldwin kicked off her “Hands Off Medicaid Tour” where she held roundtable discussions statewide calling out Republicans’ plan to slash Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. During each stop, Senator Baldwin heard directly from Wisconsinites who depend on Medicaid and highlighted the dire consequences cuts to the lifesaving program would mean for them and their loved ones.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden Reveals Which Phone Companies Protect Privacy by Telling Customers About Government Surveillance

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    May 21, 2025
    Wyden Inquiry Also Finds Wireless Carriers Did Not Follow Through on Requirement to Notify Senate of Surveillance Demands
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today revealed which wireless carriers protect the privacy of their customers by notifying them about government surveillance requests for their information, in a letter he sent to his colleagues today. He urged senators to choose a phone company that will notify them about government surveillance requests. 
    “If law enforcement officials, whether at the federal, state, or even local level, can secretly obtain Senators’ location data or call histories, our ability to perform our constitutional duties is severely threatened,” Wyden wrote. “This kind of unchecked surveillance can chill critical oversight activities, undermine confidential communications essential for legislative deliberations, and ultimately erode the legislative branch’s co-equal status.”
    Wyden referenced a 2024 report by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General, which revealed that during the first Trump Administration, the DOJ secretly obtained the phone records of several members of Congress and dozens of congressional staff, both Republican and Democrats, as part of a leak investigation.
    Wyden learned that the largest phone companies — Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile — failed to establish systems to notify senators about government surveillance requests in violation of their contracts with the Senate. He urged senators and staff to consider switching mobile carriers for their campaign and personal phones to carriers that will notify them about government surveillance demands.
    “While AT&T and Verizon only provide notice of surveillance of phone lines paid for by the Senate, T-Mobile has informed my staff that it will provide notice for Senators’ campaign or personal lines flagged as such by the [Senate Sergeant at Arms],” Wyden wrote. “Three other carriers — Google Fi Wireless, U.S. Mobile, and Cape — have policies of notifying all customers about government demands whenever they are allowed to do so. The latter two companies adopted these policies after outreach from my office.”
    Beyond members of Congress, journalists, political activists, people seeking reproductive health care and other law-abiding Americans who could be targeted by the government all have reason to be concerned about secret surveillance of their communications and location data.  Wyden’s office also surveyed phone carriers to learn which companies notify their customers about surveillance. His findings are summarized in the chart below. While it is the norm among tech companies to notify customers about government demands, absent a gag order issued by a judge, most phone companies choose to not notify their customers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Rediscovering lost Gaelic words

    Source: Scottish Government

    Funding for Gaelic cultural projects.

    An online dictionary which has rediscovered lost Gaelic phrases and word meanings is one of 12 projects set to benefit from Scottish Government funding. 

    Faclair na Gàidhlig (the Historical Dictionary of Scottish Gaelic) seeks to provide a better understanding of Gaelic’s history and culture. It is the first dictionary of the language which aims to detail the origins and meanings of every known Gaelic word. Compilers expect that it will contain more than 100,000 entries. 

    As part of the initiative, researchers have investigated historical manuscripts dating back to the 12th Century.

    Rediscovered phrases and word meanings include: 

    • the phrase “Ciod fo na rionnagan” (“what under the stars”), which was used in the early 1900s to emphasise a point similar to “what on earth” 
    • the Gaelic word for prickly pear fruit, “peur stobach”, was first used in a letter documenting a visit to Saint Helena in 1900
    • “uircean”, which is the Gaelic word for “piglet”, also used to mean “whale calf” in the 1800s

    The investment will build on 20 years of work by helping Faclair na Gàidhlig to reach new audiences including learners, researchers, writers and speakers of Gaelic.

    Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes announced the funding as part of a wider £500,000 package to support the language’s growth across Scotland. The investment will also support the publication of Gaelic language books, local mòd events throughout Scotland and Gaelic cultural activities including a summer school and musical events.

    Ms Forbes said:

    “The dictionary initiative is providing researchers, writers, speakers and learners of Gaelic with new insight into the language and it will be a valuable resource for future generations. 

    “Gaelic is a core part of Scotland’s culture, heritage and history. To support the language’s growth across Scotland, I am announcing funding for a range of Gaelic publishing, education, arts and community projects today.

    “This will build on measures set out in the Scottish Languages Bill to strengthen Gaelic education provision and our investment of £35.7 million in initiatives to promote the language in 2025-26.”

    Ola Szczesnowicz, Senior Editor of Faclair na Gàidhlig, said: 

    “Faclair na Gàidhlig will be the most comprehensive dictionary of Scottish Gaelic compiled on historical principles, similar to the Oxford English Dictionary. This is a big undertaking, and we welcome the Scottish Government’s funding to help continue our work. Our dictionary entries are already going online, freely available to Gaelic speakers and everyone interested in the language.”

    Background

    Audio clips to assist with the pronunciation of Gaelic words are available from LearnGaelic’s website online.

    Faclair na Gàidhlig is available to read online. 

    The initiative is based at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture. It involves the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde. Scottish Government funding for Faclair na Gàidhlig is delivered through the Scottish Funding Council and Bòrd na Gàidhlig. 

    Organisations which will benefit from funding include:

    • Comunn na Gàidhlig, which has been allocated £134,190 to promote Scottish Gaelic language and culture
    • An Comunn Gàidhealach (organisers of the Royal National Mòd) will benefit from £74,000 to support the organisation of local mòd events
    • Fèisean nan Gàidheal (National Association of Scottish Gaelic Arts Youth Tuition Festivals) will be provided £37,000 to support Gaelic music
    • Tobar an Dualchais is to receive £35,000 to support the ongoing collection of online materials in Gaelic and Scots including songs, stories and rhythms
    • Ceòlas is to receive £30,000 to support Gaelic cultural activities including its summer school and musical events
    • Comhairle nan Leabhraichean (Gaelic Book Council), which will receive £49,000, and Acair Publishing, which will be provided £30,000, to support the publication of Gaelic books
    • Ainmean Àite na h-Alba (Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland) has been allocated £20,000 to continue its work as the national advisory partnership for Gaelic place-names in Scotland
    • Faclair na Gàidhlig will receive £17,500 to reach new audiences in collaboration with other Gaelic organisations
    • Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle (Islay Gaelic Centre) has been allocated £17,500 to host Gaelic classes, exhibitions and early years groups
    • Theatre gu Leòr will benefit from £10,000 to deliver Gaelic theatrical performances across Scotland

    Faclan Gàidhlig caillte air an lorg às ùr

    Maoineachadh airson pròiseactan cultarail Gàidhlig

    ’S e faclair air-loidhne a tha air abairtean is brìghean Gàidhlig caillte a lorg às ùr aon de 12 pròiseactan a tha gus buannachd fhaighinn à maoineachadh le Riaghaltas na h-Alba.

    Tha Faclair na Gàidhlig airson a bhith a’ toirt seachad tuigse nas fheàrr de dh’eachdraidh is cultar na Gàidhlig. ’S e a’ chiad fhaclair den chànan a bhios ag amas mìneachadh a thoirt seachad air tùs agus brìgh a h-uile facal Gàidhlig air a bheil eòlas againn. Tha an fheadhainn a tha an sàs san fhaclair an dùil gum bi còrr air 100,000 facal is abairt ann.

    Mar phàirt den iomairt, rinn luchd-rannsachaidh sgrùdadh air làmh-sgrìobhainnean a’ dol cho fada air ais ris an 12mh Linn.

    Am measg nan abairtean is brìghean a chaidh a lorg às ùr tha:

    • an abairt “Ciod fo na rionnagan”, a chaidh a chleachdadh tràth san 12mh Linn ann an seagh coltach ri “dè fon ghrèin” san latha an-diugh
    • chaidh “peur stobach” a chleachdadh son a’ chiad uair mar ainm Gàidhlig airson “prickly pear fruit” ann an litir ag aithris air turas gu St Helena ann an 1900
    • bha “uircean”, a tha mar as trice a’ ciallachadh muc òg, air a chleachdadh sna 1800an mar fhacal airson cuilean na muice-mara

    Bidh an tasgadh-airgid a’ togail air 20 bliadhna de dh’obair le bhith a’ cuideachadh Faclair na Gàidhlig ann a bhith a’ ruighinn luchd-leughaidh ùr – nam measg luchd-ionnsachaidh, luchd-rannsachaidh, sgrìobhadairean agus luchd-labhairt na Gàidhlig.

    Chaidh maoineachadh a’ phròiseict fhoillseachadh leis an Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear agus Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson na h-Eaconamaidh agus na Gàidhlig, Ceit Fhoirbeis, mar phàirt de phacaid nas motha luach £500,000 gus taic a chur ri fàs na Gàidhlig air feadh Alba.

    Cuiridh an tasgadh-airgid taic cuideachd ri bhith a’ foillseachadh leabhraichean Gàidhlig, a’ cumail thachartasan airson nam Mòd ionadail air feadh Alba is cuideachd cur-seachadan cultarail Gàidhlig – nam measg sgoil samhraidh agus tachartasan ciùil.

    Thuirt a’ Bh-uas. Fhoirbeis:

    “Tha iomairt an fhaclair a’ toirt sheallaidhean ùra air a’ chànan do luchd-rannsachaidh, luchd-labhairt agus luchd-ionnsachaidh is bidh e na stòras luachmhor do ghinealaichean ri thighinn.

    “Tha a’ Ghàidhlig na prìomh phàirt de chultar, dualchas agus eachdraidh na h-Alba. Gus taic a chur ri fàs a’ chànain, tha mi an-diugh a’ cur an cèill maoineachadh airson measgachadh de phròiseactan Gàidhlig ann am foillseachadh, foghlam, na h-ealainean agus aig ìre na coimhearsnachd.

    “Bidh seo a’ togail air na ceumannan a tha an lùib Bile nan Cànan Albannach gus foghlam Gàidhlig a neartachadh, agus cuideachd air an tasgadh-airgid as fhiach £35.7 millean a tha sinn a’ cur ri iomairtean gus an cànan a bhrosnachadh ann an 2025-26.”

    Thuirt Ola Szczesnowicz, Àrd-dheasaiche Fhaclair na Gàidhlig:

    “Bheir Faclair na Gàidhlig seachad am faclair as mionaidiche a chaidh a chruthachadh don Ghàidhlig a rèir phrionnsapalan eachdraidheil, coltach ri Faclair Eachdraidheil Oxford anns a’ Bheurla. ’S e obair mhòr a tha seo agus tha sinn a’ cur fàilte air maoineachadh Riaghaltas na h-Alba is e gar cuideachadh ann a bhith a’ leantainn na h-obrach. Tha faclan is abairtean an Fhaclair mu thràth a’ dol air-loidhne is iad ri fhaighinn gu saor an-asgaidh do luchd-labhairt na Gàidhlig agus duine sam bith aig a bheil ùidh sa chànan.”

    Cùl-fhiosrachadh

    Gheibhear criomagan-fuaime air-loidhne aig LearnGaelic gus cuideachadh le bhith a’ fuaimneachadh nam facal Gàidhlig.

    ’S urrainnear Faclair na Gàidhlig a leughadh air-loidhne.

    ’S ann aig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Ionad Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig, a tha an iomairt stèidhichte. Tha oilthighean Obar Dheathain, Dhùn Èideann, Ghlaschu agus Shrath Chluaidh an sàs sa phròiseact. Tha am maoineachadh a tha Riaghaltas na h-Alba a’ toirt dha Faclair na Gàidhlig air a thoirt seachad tro Chomhairle Mhaoineachaidh na h-Alba agus Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

    Am measg nam buidhnean a gheibh buannachd às a’ mhaoineachadh seo tha:

    • Chaidh £134,190 a chomharrachadh do Chomunn na Gàidhlig, gus cànan agus cultar na Gàidhlig a chur air adhart
    • Thèid £74,000 a thoirt don Chomunn Ghàidhealach (leis a bheil Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail) gus taic a chur ri bhith ag ullachadh tachartasan nam Mòd ionadail
    • Gheibh Fèisean nan Gàidheal £37,000 airson taic a chur ri ceòl Gàidhlig
    • Tha Tobar an Dualchais gus £35,000 fhaighinn gus taic a chur ris an obair leantainnich aca a’ cruinneachadh stuthan air-loidhne sa Ghàidhlig agus Albais. Am measg seo tha òrain, sgeulachdan agus ruitheaman
    • Tha Ceòlas gus £30,000 fhaighinn a chuireas taic ri cur-seachadan cultarail Gàidhlig mar an sgoil samhraidh aca
    • Acair, a gheibh £30,000, agus Comhairle nan Leabhraichean, a gheibh £49,000, gus cuideachadh le bhith a’ foillseachadh leabhraichean Gàidhlig
    • Chaidh £20,000 a chomharrachadh airson Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba, gus an cùm iad orra leis an obair aca mar a’ bhuidhinn-chomhairleachaidh nàiseanta airson ainmean-àite Gàidhlig ann an Alba
    • Gheibh Faclair na Gàidhlig £17,500 gus luchd-leughaidh ùr a ruighinn ann an com-pàirt le buidhnean Gàidhlig eile
    • Chaidh £17,500 a chomharrachadh airson Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle gus an urrainn dhaibh clasaichean, taisbeanaidhean agus buidhnean tràth-bhliadhnaichean
    • Thèid £10,000 a thoirt do Theatre gu Leòr airson dealbhan-cluiche a lìbhrigeadh air feadh Alba

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEW: 267,788 Bay Staters Slated to Lose Health Coverage Under GOP Reconciliation Bill

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

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, highlighted a new report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee that found 267,788 Massachusetts residents would lose health coverage if the health provisions of the Republican reconciliation package are passed into law.
    “Republicans claim they’re targeting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid, but 267,788 Massachusetts residents aren’t line items to be slashed. They’re children with complex medical needs, seniors in nursing homes, and working families doing their best to stay healthy and make ends meet,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “These are our neighbors, not numbers on a spreadsheet in Washington that can be used to pay for tax cuts for billionaire campaign donors. Donald Trump’s so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ is nothing more than a cruel attack on the care they rely on to survive.”
    According to the Joint Economic Committee, Republican cuts to the Affordable Care Act will result in 100,800 Massachusetts residents losing coverage. Additionally, their decision to cut $715 billion from Medicaid will result in 166,978 Massachusetts residents losing health coverage through MassHealth. The full analysis, including congressional district-level data, can be accessed HERE.
    Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up House Republicans’ reconciliation package that will cut $715 billion from Medicaid and eliminate health coverage for at least 13.7 million Americans. Democrats on the Committee offered multiple amendments to prevent these cuts from moving forward, but all of them were rejected by Republicans along party line votes.
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    MIL OSI USA News –