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  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘That was rude’: why the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her was ripe for TikTok memes

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Gregory Camp, Senior Lecturer, School of Music, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    A few snippets of musicalised dialogue from the cast album of the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her – with music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, and a book by Marco Pennette – have recently become trending sonic memes on TikTok.

    In all sorts of situations, users are lip synching to audio clips of Broadway star Jennifer Simard, in the character of Helen Sharp (played by Goldie Hawn in the 1992 cult film on which the musical is based), saying things like “That was rude. That was pretty fuckin’ rude” and “She stole my life. She made me cuckoo. She’s why I spent four years locked in that health spa.”

    Musical theatre fans love a good meme (scholar Trevor Boffone has written a whole book about the phenomenon) and Death Becomes Her is primed to create a lot of them: a show featuring two divas (played by Simard and Megan Hilty as Madeleine Ashton, Meryl Streep’s role in the movie) based on a cult film about divas begs to be shaped and reshaped by fan culture.

    Helen and Madeleine are longtime rivals who both take a magic potion that makes them immortal. This leads them to find increasingly extravagant ways to try and do away with each other, with the help of Helen’s put-upon husband Ernest (Christopher Sieber), a plastic surgeon who reluctantly falls into the role of restoring their bodies after each “accident”.

    Some of Hilty’s clips have also been TikTok-ified (notably Tell Me, Earnest) but Simard is winning the numbers game. Her “That was rude” clip alone has 321,000 videos and counting.

    Finding the patter

    There seem to be two main reasons for the attraction of these clips. First is Simard’s delivery of the words. Simard is a longstanding Broadway star and an expert at musical comedy timing.

    Second is the rhythmic quality of the dialogue. Not fully sung, these bits are spoken in mostly strict rhythm over orchestral accompaniment. That they have become such earworms demonstrates it is not only melody that burrows into the brain, but also rhythmic contour.

    There is a long history of this style of speak-singing in musical theatre, notably popularised in the late 1950s by Robert Preston in The Music Man and Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady.

    Neither of those actors was a strong singer, but both had excellent timing and were able to deliver spoken lines above music with a strong sense of musicality.

    Simard is an excellent singer with a very wide range, but the comic role of Helen – ever the underdog to her rival famous actress Madeleine – lends itself to this style of heightened speech.

    Most effective rhythmically, and the most popular excerpt, is the “That was rude” meme, where Simard begins slowly without accompaniment; the bass comes in on “rude” and sets a groove for the rest of the short excerpt.

    This one has been used in every possible situation, from responses to nasty notes left on people’s cars to complaints about incorrect drink orders. Some of the TikTokers refer to Simard in on-screen text, but this one seems to have become popular outside any specific reference to the show, in a truly viral moment.

    Ripe for the lip-sync

    The lengthiest of the trending excerpts is the one that begins with “We talked about killing her before”, which sets off a monologue about Helen’s plan to do away with Madeline once and for all.

    This is a tour de force for Simard’s comic timing, as it begins in free rhythm and then gradually takes on a more consistent beat. TikTokers are tending to use this one primarily as a demonstration of their lip-syncing skills, as opposed to the other shorter clips that are applied in different ironic situations.

    This trend also shows the continuing importance of the cast album in musical theatre culture. The majority of TikTokers probably have not seen the show, currently only playing on Broadway with high ticket prices. Yet the cast album (easily available on all the main streaming sites) gives access.

    The fact these clips come from a cast album also more easily allows fans to create their own visuals around it. Unless they actually saw the show they only have production photographs and short publicity clips (and the occasional shaky bootleg or slime tutorial) to go on in terms of what it looks like.

    Audio from a source like the soundtrack of the Wicked movie has not led to so many lip-sync videos because the visual track is so readily accessible; as a film, Wicked’s visuals define its audio while a cast album can more easily work the other way round.

    Beyond Broadway

    I saw Death Becomes Her on Broadway in January and enjoyed it. It’s a fun show full of special effects and comic bits. The score is serviceable (it’s not Sondheim), but it is catchy – very important for its use in these TikTok trends – and well performed by Simard and the rest of the cast.

    This whole phenomenon demonstrates that the current cultural sphere of “Broadway” extends well beyond the street itself. This has been the case at least since the rise of the cast album in the 1950s (My Fair Lady’s was the best-selling LP of 1956), but now the reach is intensified by social media spaces like TikTok; you don’t have to have actually seen Death Becomes Her to experience it.

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

    – ref. ‘That was rude’: why the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her was ripe for TikTok memes – https://theconversation.com/that-was-rude-why-the-new-broadway-musical-death-becomes-her-was-ripe-for-tiktok-memes-257550

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In first-of-its-kind initiative, California deploys mobile air monitoring to protect underserved communities from pollution

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jun 3, 2025

    What you need to know: The state will use specially equipped vehicles to collect block-by-block air quality data in 64 communities heavily burdened by pollution. The results will help create local solutions to improve air quality and public health. 

    SACRAMENTO – While the Trump administration rolls back pollution protections across the country, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of California’s Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative (SMMI), a first-of-its-kind program delivering hyper-local air pollution data to guide air quality improvement efforts in California.

    “While the federal government threatens to take us back to the days of smoggy skies and clogged lungs, California continues to lead the way. We’re deploying first-of-their-kind vehicles to monitor pollution levels at a block-by-block level, delivering critical air quality information to communities across the state.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Starting in June, the pilot project will deploy mobile air monitoring equipment to 64 communities throughout the state, with a particular focus on communities that have long faced environmental disparities. The project spearheaded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will use sensor-equipped vehicles from Aclima and mobile laboratories operated by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Riverside, and Aerodyne to collect and analyze data on local pollution levels.

    The initiative is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide effort that puts billions of Cap-and-Invest dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

    More than 60% of the mobile monitoring will serve priority populations, including low-income communities and communities facing disproportionate pollution burdens. The 64 communities were consistently nominated for focused action under the Community Air Protection Program, underscoring the state’s commitment to protecting the health of Californians in areas most burdened by air pollution.

    “By meeting communities where they are and listening to their concerns, we’re building an air quality monitoring system that integrates the lived experiences of the people most impacted by air pollution,” said CARB Executive Director Dr. Steven Cliff. “The Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative represents an unprecedented opportunity to gather the detailed information we need to better protect public health in neighborhoods that have historically borne the brunt of environmental injustice.”

    Monitoring will take place in the 64 communities over the next year. The project is expected to end in June 2026, when the collected data will become publicly available.  Final results will be shared with the 64 communities, the general public, and the Board. CARB, local air districts, stakeholders, and community stakeholders will use the data to help guide efforts to address existing and emerging pollution concerns. The data is also expected to inform future regulatory programs, academic research, and applications for grants such as the Community Air Grants Program.

    The program is guided by a robust community engagement framework. More than 40 community-based organizations across California have partnered with CARB to identify local air quality concerns and ensure community voices shape monitoring efforts from the ground up. 

    California’s clean air leadership

    Over the last 50 years, the state’s clean air efforts have saved $250 billion in health costs through reduced illness and reduced diesel-related cancer risk by nearly 80 percent.

    The state continues to set clean energy records. Last year, California ran on 100% clean electricity for the equivalent of 51 days – with the grid running on 100% clean energy for some period two out of every three days. Since the beginning of the Newsom Administration, battery storage is up to over 15,000 megawatts – a 1,900%+ increase.

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    Jun 2, 2025

    News To the People of California,Recent years have seen a troubling spike in reported hate crimes and manifestations of bigotry. In response, California launched a robust anti-hate agenda that includes significant investments and actions to support and protect all the…

    Jun 1, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom and Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis issued the following statement regarding the death of Baldwin Park Police Department Officer Samuel Riveros:“We mourn the tragic loss of one of California’s brave law enforcement officers,…

    May 31, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring May 2025, as “Mental Health Awareness Month.”The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONDuring Mental Health Awareness Month, we recognize the…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: June 03, 2025 Lawmakers Call for an Increase in Federal Funding toFully Support Urban Search & Rescue Efforts Washington, D.C. – A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is calling for more robust federal support to help ensure that when a disaster strikes, members of the National Urban Search & Rescue Response System (US&R) can respond. These heroic task forces… Read More

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Kevin Mullin California (15th District)

    Washington, D.C. – A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is calling for more robust federal support to help ensure that when a disaster strikes, members of the National Urban Search & Rescue Response System (US&R) can respond. These heroic task forces deploy to communities across America that need additional help during dangerous crises like wildfires, hurricanes and building collapses, but their work has been underfunded for years.

    For the second year in a row, a coalition of lawmakers led by Representatives Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Young Kim (CA-40), and Jill Tokuda (HI-02) – and which has grown to over 40 members of Congress from across the country – are urging Congress to include a modest, but desperately-needed, $16 million increase for a total of $56 million in funding for US&R.

    America’s US&R Response System includes 28 task forces strategically located across 19 states, and are composed of highly-trained emergency personnel from local fire departments. They are expected to respond to devastating national disasters well beyond their border without commensurate funding from the Federal government to maintain their operations.

    US&R task force members respond to the 911 terrorist attacks in 2001.

    US&R has helped communities receive immediate, life-saving assistance during catastrophic events such as the Maui and Los Angeles wildfires, Hurricanes Milton and Katrina, the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Northridge Earthquake, and many other extreme crises. These task forces play a vital role in national disaster response efforts and the lawmakers are seeking full funding for the task forces in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget to properly support this heroic work. Last year, the House passed an Appropriations bill with the requested level of funding, but Congress ultimately did not pass full-year spending bills. They are repeating the effort this year.

    “Ensuring our US&R task forces are fully funded means ensuring communities across America can depend on them when disaster strikes,” said Rep. Kevin Mullin. “I’m proud that California Task Force 3 is based out of Menlo Park Fire in my congressional district. The time and effort that is put into hosting and maintaining a task force for deployment at a moment’s notice is no small task. These teams represent the gold standard in emergency response and provide lifesaving services to those who are experiencing an unfathomable emergency. Their readiness comes at a cost, and providing adequate federal funding will help us stay prepared and save lives.”

    “Urban Search and Rescue teams from across the country are often among the first to help communities and families during times of great loss. Nearly two years after the devastating Maui wildfires, I can still vividly recall US&R teams entering the burn zone while the ground was still hot enough to melt shoes,” said Rep. Jill Tokuda. “I will always be grateful for the comfort and closure they provided, which is why I’m so proud to have joined my colleagues Representatives Kevin Mullin and Young Kim in advocating for increased funding for the US&R system in this year’s appropriations bills. We never know when disaster will strike, but when it does, all Americans deserve to know that US&R will come to their aid.”

    “First responders need the proper resources to keep our communities safe during a major disaster, including deadly wildfires and flood events,” said Rep. Young Kim. “The National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Response System consists of 28 vital task forces made up of federal, state, and local emergency personnel who are on call for rapid deployment to provide emergency medical care and search collapsed buildings. I support our US&R task forces’ lifesaving work and appreciate Orange County Fire Authority Chief Fennessy’s leadership as Western Representative for 9 US&R task forces. I will do my part to protect this program that saves lives.”

    US&R task force members during Hurricane Katrina.

    US&R Leaders Speak Out for Federal Support

    “When disaster strikes, our US&R assets are the backbone of the response effort,” said Joseph R. Downey, Chief of Rescue Operations with Fire Department of the City of New York (NY-TF1), and US&R Task Force Representative-National. “With our extensive training and experience, we form a reliable and adaptable force that operates at the heart of every federal disaster response. New York City, with the largest Fire and Police Departments in the country, received much needed assistance from US&R task forces in response to the 9-11 attacks on the WTC and Hurricane Sandy. Our task forces have consistently gone above and beyond to support the mission, but the lack of funding is hindering our ability to respond effectively. With increased labor and equipment costs, along with the expansion of our mission scope and more frequent deployments, we need your help now more than ever.”

    “FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams, sponsored by local government fire agencies like Menlo Park Fire Protection, provide vital, highly trained surge resources to communities that have been struck by catastrophic disasters,” said Mark Lorenzen, Fire Chief, Menlo Park Fire Protection District (CA-TF3). “They are critical in both life saving measures as well as helping move jurisdictions forward to recovery. The teams are struggling financially to cover increasing costs while federal funding lags well behind inflation. I am thankful for the bipartisan efforts of our legislators, including Rep. Kevin Mullin who helped lead this effort to bridge the funding gap to ensure our sustainability.”

    “Over the past eight months alone, California Task Force 5 (CA-TF5) activated on a wide range of incidents — from Hurricanes Helene and Milton on the east coast to the Palisades and Eaton Fires in Los Angeles — and on each deployment, the investments made in the program were returned beyond measure in the form of lives saved, families rescued, and communities protected,” said Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority (CA-TF5). “As the home of one of only 28 such task forces in the nation, we are grateful for the elected officials, including our own Rep. Young Kim, who not only recognize the program’s importance, but also work to secure increased funding to expand its life-saving services.”

    “Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF1) has been deployed by FEMA nearly 40-times in the past 25 years,” said Evan W. Schumann, OFE, Program Manager (OH-TF1).  “Our canine handlers and dogs have been deployed to such events as the State of Washington landslide in 2014, the Kentucky Flooding in 2022, and the Hawaii Wildland Fire. To remain ready to respond to any disaster, OH-TF1 spent 11,696 hrs. of training in 2023 and over 2,647 hrs. of service time (doing work without compensation). The associated personnel costs of OH-TF1’s 2023 activities were almost all uncompensated by federal funding and born on the backs of OH-TF1’s Participating Agencies or team members.  I am grateful to Reps. Mullin, Kim and Tokuda for leading the charge to increase funding for the Urban Search & Rescue program that will provide us greater support.”

    Read the full letter here.

    This letter was signed by Reps. Gabe Amo (RI-01), Becca Balint (VT-At Large), Wesley Bell (MO-1), Ami Bera (CA-6), Brendan Boyle (PA-2), André Carson (In-7), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Gabe Evans (CO-8), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), Mike Flood (NE-1), Jared Golden (ME-2), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Maggie Goodlander (KY-3), Julie Johnson (TX-32), William Keating (MA-9), Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Jennifer Kiggans (VA-2), Young Kim (CA-40), John Larson (CT-1), Stephen Lynch (MA-8), Seth Magaziner (RI-2), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Doris Matsui (CA-7), Dave Min (CA-47), Seth Moulton (MA-6), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Chris Pappas (NH-1), Scott Peters (CA-50), Brittany Pettersen (C0-7), Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), Maria Salazar (FL-27), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), Greg Stanton (AZ-4), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Jill Tokuda (HI-2), Lori Trahan (MA-3), Derek Tran (CA-45), Frederica Wilson (FL-24).

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Possible imposition of increased tariffs by the US on European wines and other alcoholic drinks – E-001319/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The Commission regrets the decisions of the United States (US) to impose tariffs on exports of EU goods, notably steel and aluminium, cars and car parts, and other products subject to a universal tariff of 10%, which hurt businesses and consumers. The universal tariffs regrettably also target EU exports of wine and spirits.

    The priority remains to avoid disruptions to EU-US trade and to seek negotiated solutions with the US. The Commission stated its readiness to negotiate a zero for zero tariff agreement on industrial products with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade.

    In light of the decision by the US to delay by 90 days and partially suspend its universal tariffs, the EU has decided to put its countermeasures on hold for the same length of time.

    This gesture of goodwill will give time for negotiations to proceed. If, however, the talks are not satisfactory, the EU countermeasures will come into force on 14 July 2025. In addition, on 8 May 2025, the Commission launched a stakeholder consultation on further EU rebalancing measures[1] against the US, including possible rebalancing measures on imports of wine and spirits from the US.

    At the same time, the Commission continues to focus on diversifying its trade partnerships, engaging with other countries that share the commitment to a free and open exchange of goods, services, and ideas. The Commission is also stepping up its effort to lift barriers in the EU single market.

    • [1] https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/consultations/information-gathering-notice-under-regulation-eu-no-6542014-new-us-tariffs-imports-originating-or-eu_en.
    Last updated: 3 June 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements summarises visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of Mainland

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements summarises visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of Mainland 
         Mr Chan said, “Following the Labour Day Golden Week, we once again successfully promoted the integration of culture and tourism during this year’s Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, enabling both visitors and the general public to experience Hong Kong’s unique festive atmosphere. On the Dragon Boat Festival day, the Dragon Boat Food Lane and festive photo spots at the Avenue of Stars organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board attracted the public and visitors to taste local delicacies and take photos as mementos. In addition to dragon boat races held across various districts, Tai O held the unique Dragon Boat Water Parade, where sacred sampans carrying deity statues, towed by dragon boats along Tai O’s waterways, prayed for the well-being of the local community. The event attracted a large number of tourists and locals to experience Hong Kong’s authentic Dragon Boat Festival culture. During the long weekend, the opening ceremony and carnival of Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Month 2025 took place at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui. Many visitors took the opportunity to enjoy the performances and participate in booth activities, experiencing Hong Kong’s rich intangible cultural heritage up close. Furthermore, the popularity of the movie ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ attracted numerous tourists to visit the Kowloon Walled City Park, taking photos and exploring the newly opened ‘Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey’ Movie Set Exhibition, which exemplifies the successful integration of Hong Kong’s film culture and tourism.”
     
    Visitor flow, situation of control points, and traffic and public transport arrangements
     
         During the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, the Immigration Department recorded a total of around 460 000 inbound visitors to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points. Among them, Mainland visitors accounted for about 360 000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 10 per cent and around 80 per cent of the total arrivals; and the number of non-Mainland visitors was around 94 000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 14 per cent.
     
         The arrival of Mainland visitors peaked on May 31 with around 140 000 Mainland visitors arriving in Hong Kong. During the long weekend, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Control Point received the highest number of Mainland visitors, followed by the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point.
     
         The Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre of the Transport Department (TD) operated round the clock throughout the long weekend to holistically monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services of all districts, including boundary control points (BCPs), major stations and various tourist hotspots, across the territory. During the period, the TD directed local and cross-boundary public transport operators (PTOs) to enhance their carrying capacity, including increasing the frequency of bus and green minibus services connecting various land-based BCPs and strengthening cross-boundary coach services, to meet visitors’ demand. PTOs also deployed additional staff to maintain order and reserved sufficient vehicles and manpower to further enhance services when necessary.
     
         During the long weekend, the overall operation of the control points, traffic conditions and transport services were mostly smooth.
     
    Major tourist attractions
     
         Visitors went to different parts of Hong Kong during the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, with high visitor flow observed at major tourist attractions, including the West Kowloon Cultural District, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Peak Tram and Ngong Ping 360. Smooth and effective crowd management measures were implemented.
     
         Mr Chan expressed his gratitude to the relevant government departments, organisations and industries for their dedication and collaboration in making comprehensive preparations. By consolidating the experience gained from receiving visitors during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland in early May, they provided visitors and the public with a high-quality experience during the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland.
    Issued at HKT 19:48

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 50 Wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    Here are 50 reasons why President Donald J. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is the best chance in a generation to pass critical reforms for which Americans voted:
    It delivers the largest tax cut in American history. This means an extra $5,000 in Americans’ pockets with a DOUBLE-DIGIT percent DECREASE to their tax bills. Americans earning between $30,000 and $80,000 will pay around 15% less in taxes.
    It makes the Trump Tax Cuts permanent, preventing the largest tax increase ever. If the bill doesn’t pass, Americans will see the largest tax increase in history.
    It raises Americans’ take-home pay by as much as $13,300 and wages by as much as $11,600.
    It reverses the spending curse plaguing Washington, D.C. The bill delivers the largest deficit reduction in nearly 30 years, with $1.6 trillion in mandatory savings — the largest single reduction in mandatory spending in our country’s history.
    It delivers NO TAX ON TIPS and NO TAX ON OVERTIME. This makes good on two of President Trump’s cornerstone campaign promises and will benefit hardworking Americans where they need it the most — their paychecks.
    It provides historic tax cuts for seniors.
    It finishes President Trump’s border wall. As a result, 701 miles of primary wall, 900 miles of river barriers, 629 miles of secondary barriers, and 141 miles of vehicle and pedestrian barriers will be constructed.
    It boosts Border Patrol and ICE agents on the frontlines with the largest border security investment in history. This means funding to hire 10,000 new ICE personnel, 5,000 new customs officers, and 3,000 new Border Patrol agents to detain and deport at least one million illegal immigrants annually.
    It increases the child tax credit to $2,500 per family.
    It protects Medicaid for Americans who truly need it. This bill eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse by ending benefits for at least 1.4 million illegal immigrants who are gaming the system.
    It implements popular work requirements for able-bodied Americans receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. Through commonsense, Clinton-era work, volunteer, education, or training requirements, the One Big Beautiful Bill lifts Americans up to find a better quality of life through the dignity of work.
    It eliminates hundreds of billions of dollars in Green New Scam tax credits. The legislation immediately stops credits from flowing to China, saving taxpayers $500+ billion every year.
    It reverses electric vehicle mandates that let radical climate activists set the standards for American energy.
    It ends Biden’s war on American energy. The bill finally unleashes American energy dominance by opening federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal, and mineral leasing.
    It streamlines onerous permitting processes so America can get building again.
    It refills the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to safeguard America’s energy security.
    It repeals and rescinds every “green” corporate welfare subsidy in Democrats’ so-called “Inflation Reduction Act.”
    It stops illegal immigrants from receiving tax credits and taxes remittances sent to foreign countries.
    It supports small businesses by increasing the Section 199A deduction to 23% — promoting the growth and success of Main Street.
    It incentivizes MADE IN AMERICA. The bill rewards companies that build their products in America with lower taxes — and allows Americans who buy an American-made vehicle to fully deduct their auto loan interest.
    It creates new Trump Savings Accounts for newborns — allowing children across America to experience the miracle of compounded growth.
    It expands access to childcare for hardworking American families.
    It provides a historic increase in funding for the U.S. Coast Guard. This will help block illegal drugs and migrants from entering our country, protect our sovereignty in the Arctic, and promote our national security.
    It supports building new factories to grow domestic business operations. The bill renews 100% immediate expensing and interest deductions, increases the small business deduction, and establishes 100% immediate expensing for equipment and machinery.
    It helps American farmers, producers, and ranchers compete and sell products in foreign markets. The bill makes sure American farmers aren’t crowded out by foreign imports in liquid fuel production markets.
    It holds woke, elitist universities accountable by increasing the endowment tax on large universities.
    It protects hardworking taxpayers by canceling Biden’s illegal and unfair student loan bailouts.
    It ends taxpayer-funded sex changes. It reverses the Biden-era mandate that Medicaid cover so-called “gender transition” procedures — ending the taxpayer-funded chemical castration and mutilation of American children.
    It’s a once-in-a-generation chance to revolutionize our nation’s defense capabilities and protect the homeland against new threats by funding President Trump’s Golden Dome.
    It enhances the capacity of America’s naval fleet. The bill provides billions of dollars to revitalize America’s shipbuilding and maritime industrial base.
    It modernizes air traffic control — fulfilling President Trump’s plan to completely overhaul the systems that keep Americans flying safely and efficiently.
    It strengthens SNAP benefits. The legislation requires states to contribute a greater portion of the cost of administering benefits, thereby controlling costs, and closes the excessively broad loopholes for work requirements.
    It implements critical program integrity and cost containment provisions in Medicaid to strengthen it for future generations. These include removing deceased individuals from the program and limiting retroactive coverage from three months to one month prior to enrollment.
    It safeguards Second Amendment rights by removing tax and registration requirements for firearm silencers and eliminating silencers from the National Firearms Act.
    It provides critical disaster recovery funding to farmers, producers, and ranchers.
    It provides funding to rebuild America’s military — including $9+ billion to improve quality of life for our servicemembers, $20+ billion to bolster U.S. munitions production, and $12+ billion to modernize our nuclear arsenal.
    It expands health savings accounts to give Americans greater choice and flexibility in how they spend their money.
    It gives $10,000 bonuses annually over the next four years to Border Patrol and ICE agents on the frontlines.
    It incentivizes scholarships that empower American families and students to choose the education that best fits their needs.
    It repeals Democrats’ insane attack on the gig economy — ending the requirement that Venmo, PayPal, and other gig transactions over $600 be reported to the IRS.
    It reforms and streamlines the federal student loan program to drive down tuition costs and simplify repayment plans. This includes reasonable limits on amounts students can borrow.
    It strengthens accountability for students and taxpayers on federal student loans. The bill imposes “skin in the game” requirements to hold universities financially accountable to the government on defaulted federal student loans.
    It implements critical reforms to Pell Grants to make sure they prioritize students who truly need financial assistance while promoting completion. The legislation allows grants to be used for short-term, high-quality workforce training programs to support Americans who want to learn a trade instead of the traditional four-year colleges.
    It increases timber sales on federal lands. This means an increase in timber production and improvement to forest management — improving the resilience of timber and saving billions on future wildfire suppression costs.
    It authorizes the sale of expanded spectrum MHz to strengthen rural broadband and secure America’s technological dominance in AI and other emerging technologies.
    It creates permanent fees that illegal immigrants must pay for their applications so American taxpayers aren’t saddled with covering these costs. These fees will bring in over $77 billion to cover adjudication costs and fund immigration processes and enforcement actions.
    It protects family farmers. The bill prevents the greedy death tax from hitting two million family-owned farms who would otherwise see their exemptions cut in half and cuts taxes on farmers by over $10 billion.
    It ends abusive financing practices in Medicaid by freezing existing provider taxes and prohibiting new provider taxes. This ensures states cannot improperly increase the federal government’s cost-share of a state Medicaid program at the expense of taxpayers.
    It reins in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren has long functioned as another woke, weaponized arm of the bureaucracy — with minimal accountability or oversight — that leverages its power against certain industries and individuals disfavored by the so-called “elites.”
    It rolls back harmful Biden-era regulations that increase cost and administrative burdens with limited flexibility for states. These burdensome regulations, such as federal staffing mandates at nursing homes, lead to closures, reduced access to care, and increased costs, particularly in areas already overwhelmed by labor shortages.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Note to Correspondents:  on attack on a convoy in Sudan

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Five members of a UN humanitarian convoy were killed on Monday night and several more were injured during an attack near Al Koma in North Darfur. 

    We condemn in the strongest possible terms this horrendous act of violence against humanitarian personnel who literally put their lives at risk in an attempt to reach vulnerable children and families in the famine-impacted areas of Sudan. 

    This joint WFP-UNICEF convoy was made up of 15 trucks, and they had travelled over 1,800 km from Port Sudan and were carrying nutrition supplies and food. The Agencies were negotiating access to complete the journey to El Fasher when the convoy was attacked. The route that the convoy was going to take was shared in advance, and parties on the ground were notified and aware of the location of the trucks. 

    Many of our trucks were burned in the attack, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged. It is devastating that the supplies have not reached the civilians in need. This was the first UN humanitarian convoy that was going to make it to El Fasher in over one year.

    All attacks on humanitarian personnel, their facilities and vehicles must stop. These are violations under international humanitarian law. And we call for an urgent investigation and for the perpetrators to be held to account. 

    We call for safe, secure and the best possible operating conditions and for international humanitarian law to be respected by all parties, and not just in Sudan, but in all conflict-impacted countries. Under international humanitarian law, aid convoys must be protected, and parties have an obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.  

    For those who were killed in the line of duty in Sudan, we of course extend our condolences to their families and loved ones, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who were wounded in the attack.

    Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Press conference – Wangaratta, Victoria

    Source: Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority

    CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Well, it is fantastic to be here in Wangaratta today, celebrating the completion of the Wangaratta Rail Precinct, and of course Tranche 1 of Inland Rail Beveridge to Albury. This has been a huge construction process. Inland Rail is building this double-stacked freight route for the Australian Government, and I’m really pleased that as part of that, as part of the need to get double-stacked trains onto Inland Rail, we’ve also been able to upgrade this rail precinct here in Wangaratta at the same time.

    Inland Rail is an incredibly big and complex project, over 1,600 kilometres of rail track taking freight off our busy roads. Seventy per cent of our freight task, we are estimating, will come onto Inland Rail once complete. And of course, we’re concentrating on the construction of Inland Rail to Parkes and beyond, being able to unlock the possibilities of getting freight from Melbourne and all the way to Western Australia into the Port of Botany and also to Newcastle. Really delighted, as a part of this project, there have been so many local people from this outstanding district employed on this project, because not only is Inland Rail a freight project, it is also a great employment generator. So, the fact that we’ve seen local electricians, plumbers, construction workers building this precinct here for the people of Wangaratta, I think, is a great testament to the skills and contributing- as part of Inland Rail contributing to the skills growth here in this community.

    Inland Rail, as I said, is a multi-billion dollar project. It’s a really significant project that the Australian Government is very proud to be delivering for the Australian people and [indistinct] celebrating this significant milestone here today.

    Happy to take any questions.

    JOURNALIST: A multi-billion-dollar project for the Australian people – just why is double-stacked freight important to them?

    CATHERINE KING: Well, in order to make sure that Inland Rail is viable compared to road, you need to be able to deliver the volume that road can at the time that road can. So, really, Inland Rail is premised on double-stacked trains, 24-hour Melbourne to Brisbane delivery. And that premise is really important to make rail and make sure rail remains competitive against the alternate routes, which is both coastal shipping and of course road freight. What we do want to do is see- we’re seeing a growth in freight across this country. That’s a good thing. But what we’re also seeing, of course, is more and more heavy vehicles on our road, and we want rail to take on a greater share of that. That’s both good for productivity but also good for the economy, for road safety, and for our communities.

    JOURNALIST: I mean, more passenger freight through Wangaratta, do you reckon that might create some new opportunities for Wangaratta as well?

    CATHERINE KING: Well, obviously the opportunities of Inland Rail to be able to get goods to market in a more efficient way, hopefully in a cheaper way as well, is really significant for Australia’s freight task. We know that it is significantly growing. The demand for Australian goods is growing. The opening up again by the Albanese Labor Government of markets in China has been very important, being able to get goods out of our port but also being able to get goods in and into communities. So white goods from Melbourne up to Brisbane, being able to provide those opportunities for people to sell those in Melbourne, but also for farming communities as well.

    And again, with the development of this precinct, what that has also opened up is opportunities for perhaps new businesses to come into this precinct. I’ve heard talk about maybe a brewery behind us there. That would be a great opportunity, market stalls, to be able to use the precinct for other economic opportunities and social opportunities for the people of Wangaratta.

    JOURNALIST: You’ve been to a few project openings here at the Wangaratta [indistinct]?

    CATHERINE KING: She’s pretty nice, I’d have to say. It’s a really great station precinct. The thing that I’m really proud of as well is the disability access. A lot of our train stations for passengers in particular were built over 100 years ago, and they are not disability friendly. Making sure people can actually access the platforms, access trains safely, but also there’s access [indistinct] and being able to go to the toilet. So those sorts of things, this has really meant that Wangaratta is actually now compliant, as I understand it, with the disability standards, means that we can actually make sure that people with disability can access the train just like everybody else as they always should have been. So that’s something I think the Wangaratta community can be very proud of.

    JOURNALIST: How much did these works actually cost?

    CATHERINE KING: These works, overall, are well over $100 million. You heard there around about $270 million overall for the overall project, Albury to Beveridge. And the train station here I think was around about $70 million, but I’ll have to check the figures with Inland Rail.

    Any other questions? Thank you. Thanks – did you want Nick as well to ask some technical questions about the project?

    Nick, you’re up.

    NICK MILLER: Nick Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Inland Rail. Look, delighted to be here today to open this precinct. It’s been a long and tough journey for the teams, but the outcome, as you can see around here, is outstanding. Fantastic for the community. Great for their journey to get double-stacked trains from Melbourne to Brisbane. This is a really important milestone for that goal.

    JOURNALIST: Can you go through some of the impacts local businesses received as a result of this?

    NICK MILLER: Yeah, local business and work construction partner, McConnell Dowell, put an enormous effort into that. Over 1,600 people have worked on this project since its commencement, and around 1,500 of those people have been locals. We’ve spent over $160 million on this project with local businesses and around $10.5 million on this project with First Nations local businesses. We’re really proud of those statistics.

    JOURNALIST: Has this been a long time coming today?

    NICK MILLER: Well these projects are really challenging. It’s a brownfields environment so we’re operating on an existing track, and on this particular site we’ve really relocated the western track and the dive over another side of the station has been removed. So a lot of that work has to happen during what’s called possessions. So you do a lot of preparation work and we have two possessions notionally a year, and those possessions are for around 60 to 100 hours, and there’s a very intensive period of activity goes on in construction during those possessions. So brownfields projects do take longer than greenfields projects.

    JOURNALIST: And this would stack up quite significantly compared to other projects Australia has rolled out in the past?

    NICK MILLER: Oh absolutely. This is a significant project. As the Minister spoke of, this is a multi-billion dollar project, Inland Rail. It’s a critically important project for the Australian economy and for the regions of Australia. If we think about the trains that run on Inland Rail, 1.8 kilometres long, double stacked, each one of those trains will take 110 B-doubles off the road. That’s good for safety, it’s good for sustainability, and it’s good for the economy in terms of having an efficient connection between Brisbane and Melbourne and the inland ports along that route.

    JOURNALIST: What would be the consequence of taking those B-doubles off the road in terms of the economy?

    NICK MILLER: Well, it’s a good question because ultimately if you look at the freight tasks now in 2040, 2050, the freight tasks expect to grow over 26 per cent. So the reality is, the secret here is it’s not just about road and it’s not just about rail. It’s a combination. As our economy grows and the volume of our goods increases, the combination is going to be important for the Australian economy.

    JOURNALIST: Just to confirm, is it around $70 million invested here into this project?

    NICK MILLER: No, this project from Beveridge to Albury, Tranche 1 was around $300 million.

    JOURNALIST: So, the actual Wangaratta project though, how much did that cost? This and the Green Street bridge?

    NICK MILLER:        Sorry, I…

    All good. Thank you.

    UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Local member?

    HELEN HAINES [FEDERAL INDEPENDENT MEMBER FOR INDI]: Good morning everyone. It’s a big day in Wangaratta for the opening of this new railway precinct as a result of the Inland Rail Project. This is a nation building project for Australia but it has impacts on small towns all the way along the line. So for a regional centre like Wangaratta to transform our railway precinct, to make it more accessible for people, to connect our health services in our town with a modern facility such as this is indeed a good day for our town.

    I think what we’ve seen today with Inland Rail, with V-Line, with the federal government, with Minister King, I want to thank Minister King and her government and her department for the way they’ve engaged with me as the Member for Indi in making sure that the work that takes place along the Inland Rail works hand in glove with the community and with community expectations. So what we’ve seen today is a reflection of that. We just saw a community choir coming and having some fun but celebrating the impact of this project on our town.

    I’m really impressed with the amount of economic development that’s happened as a result of this project. We heard today from Inland Rail some astounding statistics about the numbers of local businesses and input into this project. That has a trickle-down effect right across our community. But what we’re left with actually is a legacy, and this legacy is one where we do see, from this day forward an improvement to our town. Better parking, better disability access, better and safer access to the trains and a beautiful new precinct that connects and helps us to the main part of our city. So very, very proud and happy to be here today to celebrate this.

    JOURNALIST: This seems like a significant improvement for Wangaratta moving into the future with the projected population growth. So I suppose this is bringing services and infrastructure up to standards to meet that growth.

    HELEN HAINES: Yes, indeed. This is a growing regional city. We’ve seen net migration out of the city’s inter-country areas such as ours since COVID and we need to make sure that the infrastructure matches the population growth. What I’d like to see now of course is improved engagement, improved services when it comes to the numbers of trains available on our timetable and additional carriages for example. We’ve seen the numbers of people using the train increase with the changes in fares and I think we’re only going to see more and more growth as people come and realise what a fantastic facility this is.

    So that’s the next part of the work of course is to make sure that the services can match the facilities here, but primarily this is a project for freight, not a project for passengers, but to get both improvements is a really significant thing and a great thing for Wangaratta I think, and of course we’ve got work happening further down the railway line in Benalla and in Euroa.

    JOURNALIST: Obviously not your issue but you touched on getting more services through here, and I think a lot of people would like that.

    HELEN HAINES: Look, absolutely they would. The numbers of people who are now using the services has grown exponentially, and that’s a result of good service and affordable fares. So, we need to put all of those things together. But what we’re here today to look at is the infrastructure, and we need infrastructure projects of this magnitude in rural and regional Australia and certainly across the electorate of Indi, so I’m very pleased with the result that we’ve had here today. It’s been years in the making. Lots of relationships along the way, but I think what we’ve seen today is how when people work collaboratively in good faith with clear intent, we can get a great outcome.

    JOURNALIST: We’ve heard some ideas about maybe a brewery going up around here. Have you got any ideas what you’d like to see?

    HELEN HAINES: I just heard that for the very first time, and well, who’s going to argue with a new brewery right? But I think what this has created is a reimagining of this space. I’ve lived in this town for nearly 40 years and this area of the railway precinct is one we’ve turned our back on for a long time. But now I think I’m certainly seeing it with new eyes and clearly other people are too. I can see community usage of this space in all sorts of imaginative ways, and who knows, maybe that may include a brewery. But you know, we have the North Eastern Hotel right across the road there, and I think we’ll see usage of this space in whole new ways.

    Okay, thank you.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview – ABC Radio Goulburn Murray

    Source: Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority

    SANDRA MOON [HOST]: It is 10.37, and you’ve no doubt seen all of the work that has been happening with the Inland Rail Project. There’s been bridge works, track duplication – even a makeover for Wangaratta’s train station is part of the Beveridge to Albury part of the project. And today, that new station is going to officially open. The Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Development, Catherine King, will be there for the formalities, and is with you now. Good morning.

    CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Good morning, Sandra. Lovely to be here in Wangaratta.

    SANDRA MOON: Yeah, it’s a big makeover for the Wangaratta train station.

    CATHERINE KING: I’m really looking forward to seeing it. I’ve heard lots about it. This, of course, marks the completion of the work of the first tranche of the Albury to Beveridge section of Inland Rail. Inland Rail is delivering that project on behalf of the Australian Government, and the Wangaratta precinct and the station upgrade, pedestrian underpass, disability standards for the station have been a really great part of the benefit coming to the community from Inland Rail. Not only are we delivering Inland Rail to get freight off our roads as much as we possibly can, but we’re also trying to improve the amenity as we go along the way as we build this project.

    SANDRA MOON: And so when we look at Inland Rail for residents in the northeast of the state here, what sort of difference will it make for them?

    CATHERINE KING: Well, it’s ostensibly a freight project. So, what we’re trying to do is get from Melbourne to Brisbane. First, we’re doing the section from Melbourne to Parkes to where- and then that allows us to get more freight onto rail. So that’s less trucks travelling on our roads and on our interstate routes in particular, where there’s a heavy load from our heavy vehicles, so trying to get more freight on. So really, Inland Rail delivers that, and productivity and freight.

    But as we’ve gone along the road, we’ve actually improved road access. We’ve been improving pedestrian access. In the case of Wangaratta, of course, improving the station and also bringing up its disability compliance as well, which some of these older stations have really struggled with.

    SANDRA MOON: And when it’s finished, the Government has promised that freight will get from Brisbane to Melbourne in less than 24 hours. How far off that are we?

    CATHERINE KING: Well, we did a major review when we came to government three years ago, the Schott review, to really look at what was happening with Inland Rail. It was a project that had, frankly, blown out in costs. There had been some significant problems in terms of the way in which it was being managed, so we had a lot of work to do to clean that up. We accepted all of the recommendations of the Schott review. What we’ve been concentrating on is getting the Inland Rail project built to Parkes – that opens us up to being able to get freight to the west and also into Port of Botany and into Newcastle. And we’re progressing with the work to get planning approval – we haven’t got planning approval yet – through the rest of New South Wales and then into Queensland, and then we’ll start construction once we’ve got those planning approvals in place. But we’ve had to do quite a bit of work in government to really clean this project up, and there’s some big investments that we’ll still need to make.

    SANDRA MOON: Well, it certainly is an absolutely huge project, and I’m sure that there’ll be many people in the local area that are happy to see the completion of some of these as they start to roll out.

    CATHERINE KING: It’s a really complex project. It’s over 1600 kilometres of track, which is basically the biggest infrastructure project in the country. And it is also- as I said, it’s interacting between freight and passenger route as well. And so that, again, adds to the complexities. You’ve got to keep passenger trains- you’ve got to be able to keep trains going at the same time as you’re building this really significant infrastructure project.

    SANDRA MOON: On ABC Goulburn Murray, you’re hearing from the Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Development, Catherine King, who is also the Minister for Local Government. So, while I do have you, we’ve heard a lot from state inquiries around councils really struggling to make ends meet. You referred the issue to a federal inquiry last year, and councils are expected to struggle even more when the Victorian Government’s new emergency services levy comes into force – which, of course, has been extremely controversial in this part of the world. What will the Federal Government be doing this term to help councils be even more sustainably funded?

    CATHERINE KING: Well, the first thing is, as you have quite rightly pointed out, local government is a level of government in and of its own right, and it interacts most closely with state governments, and state governments have responsibilities in relation to local government. At the federal level, we’ve had- we obviously provide millions of dollars in financial assistance grants, which recognises that there is some infrastructure and services that are beyond the capacity of councils to raise rates for in and of their own right. And the Federal Government has an interest, particularly in things like child care and aged care, in terms of those sorts of services, but also making sure that they’ve got untied money for roads.

    A while back, we also recognised that because of particularly the 2022 weather events that many councils were struggling, and post-COVID struggling with the costs of keeping up with some of those roads. So, we wanted to make a contribution to that. We’re not responsible 100 per cent for that, but what we did is we doubled the amount of Roads to Recovery, and that’ll steadily climb in our term up to $1 billion dollars. So that’s a billion dollars per year that will be distributed to councils. We received an interim report that was tabled at that House of Reps committee. They’ll, I assume, reconvene and continue with their work and provide the Parliament with a final report, and the Government will look at that and look at the recommendations of what we can implement.

    In particular, I think where the Federal Government really is looking for assistance from local government is in the delivery of the 1.2 million homes. Local government has a really significant role to play in assisting, particularly in improving the planning process to get those homes up and built as quickly as possible, and to add to the productivity of the construction sector. So, if we’re going to do things in relation to local government, it will be in relation to issues like that.

    SANDRA MOON: Well, we thank you for your time this morning, and I’m sure that you will understand if we’re not unhappy if it does rain just a little bit today, that would be great.

    CATHERINE KING: [Laughs] Absolutely. Out my way- my electorate’s Ballarat, and we’re as dry- have been as dry as anything. We’re pretty windy today, so I hear, but just the rain is so, so welcome. Despite the fact that it’s got cold, we really desperately need the rain.

    SANDRA MOON:  We do indeed.

    CATHERINE KING: It’s terrible to see, you know? What a country. We’ve got drought through South Australia and Vic and WA, and floods in New South Wales. Just horrendous at the moment.

    SANDRA MOON:  Yeah. Thank you again for your time.

    CATHERINE KING: Good to be with you, Sandra.

    SANDRA MOON:  Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Development, that’s Catherine King, who is in in town in Wangaratta for the official opening of the Wangaratta train station as part of the Inland Rail Network, with the sort of Beveridge to Albury part of the project.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Safety works complete at Eumundi-Noosa Road

    Source:

    Motorists and bike riders will now benefit from safety improvements along the Eumundi-Noosa Road, between Lenehans Lane, and the Doonan and Beckmans Road roundabout in Noosaville.

    Both the Australian and Queensland Governments made significant contributions of $12.5 million for a joint investment of $25 million to deliver these critical safety works under the Road Safety Program. 

    Eumundi-Noosa Road has a significant crash history. The completed works will improve safety by separating through traffic, reducing the potential for head-on crashes, and improving conditions for all road users. 

    Key improvements delivered as part of the safety project include:

    • increasing separation between lanes of opposing traffic by a wide centre lane treatment
    • road widening and resurfacing 
    • installing audio tactile line marking to alert drivers if they drift from their lane
    • the removal of roadside hazards
    • providing safety improvements for bike riders, including sealed shoulders and left-turn lanes at key intersections
    • installing targeted roadside safety barriers, including motorcycle protection
    • the relocation and modification of existing street lighting to suit the wider road formation

    As one of two primary routes linking the Bruce Highway with Noosa, the safety improvements along the Eumundi-Noosa Road will benefit a broad mix of road users and vehicle types, including a significant portion of commuter and tourist traffic. 

    More information about the project’s safety feature can be accessed here.  

    Quotes attributable to Federal Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Senator for Queensland, Anthony Chisholm:

    “We’re proud to have partnered with the Queensland Government to deliver these important safety upgrades, which will help to reduce crashes and serious injuries on this section of the Eumundi-Noosa Road.

    “As the key connection between the Bruce Highway and Noosa, these improvements are set to benefit both locals and those travelling from out of town to visit the popular region. 

    “The Road Safety Program is one of many initiatives in our government’s strategy to reduce the nation’s road toll.” 

    Quotes attributable to the Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Brent Mickelberg:

    “It is important we take every step possible to help reduce road trauma across Queensland, which includes delivering lasting infrastructure that ensures safer journeys for all road users.

    “Road safety is a top priority for the Crisafulli Government and I’d like to thank the local community and motorists for their patience whilst these important safety improvements were underway.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Radio 5AA Adelaide, Afternoons with Stacey Lee

    Source:

    STACEY LEE [HOST]: Well, the main construction works are now underway on the Torrens to Darlington, the last little bit of the puzzle to fix up South Road. And here in town today to make the announcement is the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Honourable Catherine King, and she joins me in the studio. Good afternoon, Minister

    CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Good afternoon. It is great to be here in Adelaide again. 

    STACEY LEE: And thank you for your time and coming into the studio. It seems like just last week you were being sworn in as the infrastructure Minister once again. 

    CATHERINE KING: Well, it was last week or last Tuesday, and so absolutely fantastic. First big project I get to come to is the Torrens to Darlington, which is absolutely going great guns. You cannot miss that construction work has well and truly started. 

    STACEY LEE: Yeah, absolutely. Why was this the first one you wanted to visit as the new slash old minister? 

    CATHERINE KING: Well, it’s pretty much the biggest project, the biggest road project in the country. I think North East Link in Victoria would sort of have some equivalence to it. It’s a big project. You’re going to have three tunnel boring machines. So, the work that you’re starting to see at the moment is all of the work getting ready for the tunnel boring machines to come in. And so basically they build them on a big platform, they drop that down about 25 meters, and then they get assembled and go, and they’re huge. They’re absolutely massive. You’ll see lots of activity around all of that. And so being able to just go and have a look at that work that started some of the side roads to make sure we can keep traffic flying. They’ve been completed as well. So, you’re going to see construction started. It’s a big project that’s going to be going for the next three to four years, really. So great to be able to get on site. And as I said, biggest, biggest, really road project in the country. And it’s at a stage where we could go and have a look at it.

    STACEY LEE:  And certainly the biggest one that our state’s seen. We’ve got the the Heysen Tunnels on the on the freeway, but these tunnels will be…

    CATHERINE KING: they will be amazing. There are a few things I love about this project. I love it. I love a good infrastructure project, but what I particularly like about this is that you’ve got three tunnel boring machines. That’s unusual. Normally, there’s two at most. So that’s really quite different. But the other is that a number of people employed on it, about 5500 are going to be employed. A lot of them locals. And I met a couple of Victorians who’ve moved off over to Adelaide from the Big Builds that they’ve been doing in Victoria, and are just loving living in Adelaide. So, we’re trying to entice them back over the border, but I think they’re probably staying here for a long, well, certainly for a while, yet. But also, the green space that you’re going to gain from this project as well, like it’s often when you see these really massive road projects, you see them really dividing suburbs, and they can cut across suburbs, and it’s impossible to, you know, really live around them, whereas, because you’re going underground here, you get all of this space back that the community can use. So, this is a really amazing project, and I think you’re going to see lots of lots of great art, great parks, that’s also part of it, which give the community back their space

    STACEY LEE: up above ground. I was thinking, are we building parks underground? Now that’s something new.

    CATHERINE KING: Green space on top, the green space on top. So, a lot of people employed. But then, of course, there’s the savings. You’re getting rid of those 21 sets of traffic lights. And you think every time you’re stopping at a traffic light, that’s minutes and minutes you’re in the car just waiting, and 21 of those going out, 40 minutes will be saved in that drive if you’re driving that route regularly. And that’s 40 minutes you get back with your kids, or get to stay and have a little sleep in in the morning if you’re trying to get to work. 

    STACEY LEE: I thought you were going to say, or stay at work a bit longer.

    CATHERINE KING: (laughs) no I want people home to do the things that they love doing as well, as well as being able to get to work more efficiently as well. 

    STACEY LEE: Yeah, absolutely. Now, you mentioned the timeline. Is it on track? When is it expected to be finished? Because this is the last piece of the puzzle; we’ve been waiting for years.

    CATHERINE KING: Yeah, it’s a real so, so with infrastructure projects, everyone wants them done tomorrow, but they’re big and they’re complex engineering projects. So, 2031 is meant to be the completion of this project. Of course, if you have, you know, we’re not looking likely at the moment, but really heavy rains that cause problems or things that delay, you know, but I think they’ve done all of that preliminary work, so all the geo tech work, so they know that it’s not, you know, mostly clay underground, if you hit really heavy rock that slows the tunnel boring machines down. But all of that, all of that on time to date, and we hope the project proceeds that way. 

    STACEY LEE:  2031, did you say?

    CATHERINE KING: Yeah, well, that’s the, that’s the finish, and it feels like, but also, it’ll go really quick. You’ll, you’ll see the amount of work that’s being done on it. But you’ve got to start. You don’t start these projects. You don’t finish them.

    STACEY LEE: And does South Road, as it currently stands, remain open while the tunnel…?

    CATHERINE KING: So, yeah that’s right. So that, again, that adds to complexity of projects. You still got to be able to move people around the city. So that’s, that’s what happens in the meantime. So, this is really, you’ll see, you’ll start to see all that happening underground. Well, you won’t send underground, but you’ll see all the work starting at the entrance. 

    STACEY LEE: And in terms of funding, I believe this was a 50/50, funding, yeah?

    CATHERINE KING: That’s right. So, $7.7 billion from each level of government. And what you’re seeing is the Commonwealth is increasingly stepping into that space now, into sort of some of the suburbs and cities that we traditionally wouldn’t have been in. So that’s been happening over a long period of time. The Commonwealth sort of traditionally only funded those big, you know, big roads outside of cities, the connecting parts. And then over time, we’ve increasingly been stepping into the space of funding more in terms of the suburbs and suburban roads and connectivity. So that’s sort of why our infrastructure pipeline has grown. But also you’re seeing us involved in projects like the Torrens to Darlington. 

    STACEY LEE: And potentially other projects as well, like the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass, which was a big one during the election campaign. 

    CATHERINE KING: yeah, well, we announced just over half a billion dollars for that. That’s been a really important project for us as well, so that, and also the Curtis Road Level Crossing Removal, again, a really big project and we’ve been involved, obviously, in a lot of the level crossing removals. I think there’s three to four of them happening at the moment, and they really do change again the amount of time people are stuck waiting in cars to actually get to where they need to go.

    STACEY LEE: Yeah. In terms of the freight bypass, that was a big one in a in a very marginal seat during the election and Labor won that seat. I think the agreement prior to the election, or the commitment from your party, was 50% funding split. Did you have a chance to pull the Premier aside today and say, hey, I know your budget’s coming up in a few months. Are you willing to commit to the other 50?

    CATHERINE KING: Well that would be a matter for their budget. You know the thing that I would say about the relationship I have with Tom Koutsantonis and also Premier Malinauskas. But of course, my boss, the Prime Minister, with the Premier in particular, is a really collaborative one. We work together. We work through issues, and we will, you know, we think the bypass is important. We put that half a billion dollars plus on the table. And we look forward to working with the South Australian Government to deliver that project. 

    STACEY LEE: How confident are you that it’ll get off the ground? 

    CATHERINE KING: Well, I think it’s important. I think we do need to bear in mind that there are always capacity constraints in terms of infrastructure as well. So, we’ll have to talk to them about the timing of the project. You know, we might need to do some planning and geo tech work and all of that stuff first. But you know, they know it’s important. They’ve committed to the you know, they’re committed to the project. You know, they’ve brought the project to us so that 50% that we’ve put on the table, we’re really keen to work with the South Australian Government on that, and we’ll work through whatever issues there are going forward.

    STACEY LEE: And it is still a priority for your government given now that’s no longer a marginal seat, and the other one Boothby is no longer marginal either? 

    CATHERINE KING: Yeah, I guess what I’d say with infrastructure, what I’ve been really at pains to do is to try and stop some of this sort of – it’s a marginal seat or it’s not a marginal seat. Like what we’ve tried to do, we’ve asked states to deliver now, under the reforms, we put in place 10-year infrastructure plans, and really, what we’re doing is looking at projects that are part of that 10-year long-term horizon of infrastructure projects. So it became obviously a political issue in the election campaign – that happens, we have elections, that always occurs. But really, this has been really important, you know, it was in our last budget, the state government had brought it to us as a project. So we just work our way, pretty much systematically, through those and start delivering and that’s really been my experience, is get the planning work done, make sure that we know how much it’s going to cost, and then you start doing the work on it. Part of the problem of what I inherited is that we often had lots of press releases that were very politicised. It was often about marginal seats or what was happening there, and not enough money allocated to it. In fact, we didn’t even know as a Commonwealth how much something was going to cost, because the previous government had said, oh, we’ll put, you know, $200 million into this, or $400 million. And you suddenly look at it, and we did a big review, and you go, actually, it’s going to cost a lot more than that. How are we going to find the money? So really, what we’re trying to do is planning work, planning money, planning work, first get an idea about that and then work with the State governments to actually deliver them. And that’s proving to be a really good model. 

    STACEY LEE: Yeah, well, I guess that happens with every project at the moment. You know, costs have blown out over the last few years a lot. So hopefully, I know there’s a lot of people I’m in, I’m in the seat of Sturt, and so it was a big issue for me in the lead up to the election, for a lot of people. So hopefully in the state budget next month, I think, we get some sort of a resolution on whether that early work can occur in those investigations, and we’ll go from there. 

    CATHERINE KING: Yeah, no, that would be great. 

    STACEY LEE: Up to anything else while you’re in town, Minister? 

    CATHERINE KING: No, this was a big thing today. And as I said, it was great to see the amount of workers that are on site, they’re really excited. Like, the thing about construction workers too, is they love these projects and being able to show off what they’re doing. And this is a big build, so I hope lots of people get the opportunity. There’s a great visitor center that’s got the example of the tunnel boring machines in there is go and have a bit of a look. There’ll be a bit of disruption while this build is occurring. That’s inevitable, but it’ll really make a huge difference to the city, and to people’s lives. 

    STACEY LEE: Alright, well, I’ll leave you to get back to it. Maybe you can stop off at the central market for lunch before you head. 

    CATHERINE KING: Generally, I always stop off at the Haigh’s. We’ll see about that. I’m trying to lose a bit of weight, but that always happens in in Adelaide, we hit the Haigh’s. It is always amazing. And everyone tells me it tastes better when you buy it in Adelaide, absolutely, that’s what I’m told. 

    STACEY LEE: Well it’s in walking distance from the studio so I’ll let you get to it. Thank you for coming in. 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Media conference – Adelaide

    Source:

    NADIA CLANCY [STATE MEMBER FOR ELDER]: I’m Nadia Clancy. I am the Member for Elder I’m here today with the Premier Peter Malinauskas as well as Federal Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King. We also have State Minister who you are all well accustomed to, Minister Koutsantonis, and my electorate boundary mate, Jayne Stinson. So we’re right in the electorate of Elder at the moment and I am so excited to see so much activity on site at the moment. It sort of has felt like a slow burn and now we are here. I really want to thank my constituents for their patience and understanding as we’ve dealt with these changes and these sort of minor inconveniences, and really, really excited that now the Norrie Avenue link road has now been completed which is making things a lot easier for locals. Now I will hand over to the Premier.

    PETER MALINAUSKAS [SA PREMIER]: Thanks so much Nadia, it’s great to be here with you and Jayne. Your consistent advocacy on behalf of your constituents is making the relative inconvenience of this project far easier to deal with so we can make sure we can get it done. It’s great to be here with Tom as always but I particularly want to thank Catherine King, the Federal Infrastructure Minister, and take this opportunity to in this forum congratulate you, Catherine, on the re-election of the Albanese Government and your retention of one the most important portfolios that we see in any government in the country.

    The partnership between my state government and the Albanese federal government really is on show here. I am very pleased that we are getting this project done. The non-stop South Road project has been talked about for decades and the hardest part is now finally underway because we are making it happen. We have not spared any expense to get it done properly the first time. A $15.4 billion infrastructure project that will literally change the way that traffic moves through our city for the next 100 years. The legacy of this project will be not just an infinite amount of convenience for tens of thousands of motorists, but it’ll actually be changing the economic dynamic of the way our city operates, which is exactly why this is worth it in the long run. I cannot possibly overstate the size and the complexity of this $15.4 billion project, but when it is completed, which is actually, in the scheme of things, not that far away, it’ll mean that up to 40 minutes in commute time is saved as a result of the removal of 21 sets of traffic lights for people during peak hour. Any time you remove 21 sets of traffic lights from any journey on our roads in a metropolitan environment, it saves a lot of time, but 40 minutes for a community to peak hour, that’s a big number. And when you add that up for every single working family, every single day of the week, it means hours and hours of people’s lives that are returned to a better standard of living or to a better economic outcome, which is exactly why this project requires urgency. And finally, we’ve got two governments getting together to get it done and get it done properly.

    There has been a lot of work, a lot of work that has led to us being able to be here today where major construction is now underway for where the tunnel boring machines on the southern end of the project will be lowered. Just behind where I’m standing right now, two 90 metre- long tunnel boring machines will be lowered 25 metres below the surface to start tunnelling out throughout the second half of 2026 right through to the project’s completion. This is one of the biggest engineering undertakings that’s not just occurred in the history of our state but indeed the nation. This is the biggest infrastructure project in Australia right now. There is none bigger than this, and it’s going to change the way our city operates forever in a way that will be a lot more convenient for everyone from working families to small businesses to big businesses who want to get things moving in and around metropolitan Adelaide.

    The non-stop South Road project has been talked about a lot and we’ve seen a lot been achieved over the course of the last 20 years. But this is the big part, this is the hard part and my government is getting it done. But we’re only able to do that because of the partnership, a 50/50 funding partnership between the state and federal government, $7.7 billion from the Commonwealth, $7.7 billion coming from the state government. Every step of the way, the relationship between the government, particularly between Minister Koutsantonis and Minister King has just been outstanding.

    I want to take this opportunity to really thank Minister King, not just for her stewardship but also for her advocacy on occasions. She appreciates just how dynamic and important this project is and has done a lot to help make it happen. So I’ll hand over to the Minister to say a few words and then Minister Koutsantonis, Minister King and myself will be able to answer your questions.

    CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Thanks Premier. Well, it’s great to be back here in the great state of South Australia, and you can see behind us here, this is a state that is delivering important infrastructure for communities here in Adelaide. Can I thank Nadia and Jayne for being here, they’ve been great advocates of this project, but can I particularly acknowledge both the premier and also Minister Koutsantonis. It is such a delight to work with the pair of them on these projects. I know both them coming to government and us coming to government, this project really was in a bit of a state and we had to make hard decisions about investing more money to get this project done. This $15 billion plus project is very much a 50/50 partnership between the Albanese Labor Government and the Malinauskas Labor Government, because Labor Government’s build peace.

    Infrastructure is absolutely my passion. I’m so delighted to have been returned as Infrastructure Minister because infrastructure changes lives. And what a great way of doing so. Twenty-one sets of traffic lights removed, 40 minutes off commute time. And that means for people, that’s 40 minutes more you can spend with your families. Actually spending time being able to do the things that matter most to all of us. Being able to spend that time with your kids, being able to spend that time with your families. It also is a great employment generator. Over 5,500 people will be employed on this site over the course of its life, and 600 of those are going to be trainees and apprentices, new workers coming into the construction industry. And I particularly want to give a shout out to the many women in construction that we’re seeing, heaps of them on site here today. It is a great career, and I’m so delighted that we see so many women entering this field. We have to have more women in construction, and this project with 600 new trainees and new apprentices working on site will deliver that.

    Delighted to partner with the Malinauskas Government on this project. We’re investing over $9 billion in infrastructure here in South Australia, but this is by far the biggest build of any of them. You can see behind us where the tunnel boring machines will be assembled and then dropped to actually start their work, and there’s going to be lots of opportunities for the media to see this construction project. It is the biggest road project in the state. There are lots of other projects that would claim to rival it, but I would have to say it’s the biggest project in state and the biggest project in the country in terms of the longest and three tunnel boring machines, the largest in the country, when they’re assembled on site.

    So, terrific to be here today. I want to thank and wish all the very best to the construction company. You can see this has started because it’s only Labor governments that actually deliver infrastructure, and only Labor governments that deliver the sort of infrastructure that South Australia needs.

    I’ll hand over to the Premier for questions and then we’ll work from there.

    JOURNALIST: [inaudible]

    PETER MALINAUSKAS: Yeah, I can talk about that, and maybe Tom can [indistinct]… as well. Look, you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs, and we’re a government that’s very conscious of the fact that during a project of this size and complexity, of course there’s going be a degree of disruption. But we want to get things done, and we’re not going to back away from making tough decisions that are required to set the state up for the long term. There’s a lot of economic opportunity before South Australia at the moment, and if we want people to be able to participate in it, they’ve got to be able to get to their places of work in a way that is efficient and productive, which means this project just has to be delivered. It just has to get done.

    Now, there has been a lot of engagement with local communities, and local MPs have certainly been powerful advocates – not just through the compulsory acquisition process, which is largely complete, but also with all the various movements and traffic that we’ll see over the coming years ahead. But at the end of it is the end game, which is a 40 minute saving for people in their commute during peak hour. Twenty-one sets of traffic lights removed. That’ll be worth it, right? It’s not just this project that we’ve got going on that causes a bit of inconvenience too. As a government, we’ve made tough decisions on this project. We’ve made tough decisions on the womens’ and kids’ project. But we do it because what we’re interested in is the long-term outcome. We’re not thinking about short-term politics. We’re thinking about long-term outcomes for the state, and none is more important than the $15.4 billion project that we deliver here.

    It’s true to say that if I was only thinking about the next election, we probably wouldn’t necessarily make the same decisions. But because we’re thinking about the long term, and we do want to get to that end point of having a 40 minute saving, we’re powering ahead and making the tough choices so we can get this project done, and done as quickly as we can.

    JOURNALIST: How confident are you that this is going to be delivered on time and on budget? [Indistinct] …

    PETER MALINAUSKAS: [Talks over] Well, so far, things have gone alright. So far, things are going well. Now, we’re not naive to the fact that there’s going to be challenges along the way, but so far, I mean, I’ve been honest about the womens’ and kids’, and I’ll be honest about this project. So far, things are going well. But we’re still at the front nine, we’re not on the back nine yet, and then it’s going to happen.

    JOURNALIST: There’s a lot of money that’s being spent on this, obviously federally and state. Is there a lot of wiggle room in the budget for other projects that are going to be coming up?

    PETER MALINAUSKAS: Well, you’ll have to wait and see in the budget. We’re not that far away. Look, we’ve been really pleated as a government in delivering budget surpluses. We haven’t just forecast them, we’ve delivered them. We haven’t delivered a deficit yet. We’re working hard to keep it that way, and that gives us the room to be able to invest in things that set the state up for the long term. But there’s always competing priorities. The biggest one for us remains health and education. That’s core business as far as we’re concerned, and it makes a difference to people’s lives, and we’re always looking for opportunities to invest in those things.

    But as far as major transport infrastructure, we focus on the non-stop South Road element, but there’s also a lot of east-west connectivity that we’re investing in as well. That’s already starting to move traffic a lot better to and from other parts of Adelaide. So the $15.4 billion project number is predominantly the non-stop South Road element, but a lot of east-west activity and connectivity has been invested in too, which will also help traffic flow more broadly.

    JOURNALIST: There’s a lot of construction going on around Adelaide [indistinct]. Do we have the local [indistinct]…?

    PETER MALINAUSKAS: That’s a good question. By and large, yes. I mean, look, If you’re in civil construction or other construction type jobs, South Australia is the place you want to be. There’s no doubt about it. We are grateful though that we are seeing some expertise come from other parts of the country. In fact, I was just chatting to someone calling Adelaide home, and hopefully, it stays that way because we are going to need the workforce in the future. Because understand this, we’ve got this project, we’ve got the womens’ and kids’, but then beyond that, all the work that is required down at Osborne, which is many billions of dollars worth of construction, there’ll be work there in the future as well. Our ambitions for what we hopefully want to see happen at Olympic Dam, what we want to see at Wyalla, it’s not just a pipeline of work over the course of the next four years. What we’re setting ourselves up for is a pipeline of work over the course of the decade ahead, because that’s what prudent planning demands.

    So, in terms of workforce, yes, of course, there’s a lot of demand for labour in the state at the moment. We’ve got the lowest unemployment rate levels we’d ever seen. I think we’ve got the seventh lowest unemployment rate in the nation. It’s below 4 per cent. That’s a good problem to have, in some respects. But we’ve also got to be investing into skills in the future, which is what our technical college is all about.

    JOURNALIST: [inaudible]

    PETER MALINAUSKAS: Yeah, in parts, yes. And if they end up calling Adelaide their home, that’s a good thing. It’s why we’ve got more houses being built in South Australia on an apples-for-apples basis than any other part of the country. The stats out just in the last fortnight show that housing dwelling starts, and also approvals are growing at the fastest rate in South Australia, anywhere in the country. In fact, the national average is going backwards but South Australia is growing. 

    JOURNALIST: Had another fatal crash, and you’re saying [indistinct] on our roads. What will need to be done to keep the roads safe now?

    PETER MALINAUSKUS: Well, I might invite Tom to have a few words about this. I mean, apart from just acknowledging the awful loss of life, it’s heartbreaking for a family. You know, we see the road toll and that’s a number but what sits behind that, of course, are real people and family will be devastated badly by those deaths and my thoughts are with them. But in terms of the truck traffic I might just leave it to Tom to say a few words. Is there any other questions for me before I [indistinct] to Tom? 

    JOURNALIST: Yeah. I was just wondering, in terms of the upper house, Sarah Game has obviously left One Nation. What does that look like for you guys now in terms of passing legislation? Do you have any concerns or confidence in that change with Tammy as well of course? 

    PETER MALINAUSKUS: Yeah. I haven’t had chance to speak about Tammy publicly yet, either, so maybe I’ll deal with both of those. Yeah look, in our rich, vibrant liberal democracy change happens, and we’ve got a quite a diverse mix of people in the upper house. And what I try to do is work with them, regardless of their political hue. Of course, there are things that we’ll disagree on ideologically and philosophically, that’s clear. But I also want to work with people from other political parties, because that’s the way you achieve results. 

    So, whether Tammy Franks is in the Greens or Sarah Nation[sic] is in One Nation, I’m going to sit down and I’m going to work with them, because I think that’s what leadership requires. I will, however, make this point, you know, out of all of the cross section of political hues in the parliament at the moment, of which there are a number, there’s only one political party that hasn’t lost any members or had anyone quit or leave, and what is the party? It’s us. So, despite us having more members than anybody else, we’re the most disciplined and united team. So- but in terms of Tammy and Sarah, they’ve made their own decisions, that’s for them and their political parties to resolve. But as the Premier of the state I want to work with them no matter what.

    JOURNALIST: Do you think it’s very fair for the voters who have helped vote in these people in to have party members. For example, Sarah wasn’t particularly known in her own right beforehand to have these people then going to sit as independent? Do you think that’s fair to them?

    PETER MALINAUSKUS:  This has been a feature of the Westminster system since it’s dawn. And what we do, though, in the Labor Party is- you know, in South Australia, we’ve got a particularly disciplined and united- you know, where we have points of difference we sit down and work with one another, rather than just storm out and quit. And that’s what allows us, as a government, to focus on what’s in the best interest of the state. The business of other political parties, I’ll leave that to them to [indistinct].

    JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] around the issues [indistinct] parties or anything which will change that way. 

    PETER MALINAUSKUS: I understand the argument, but I think it’s difficult. And it’s not a feature of many Westminster parliaments we see around- in the world. So, it’s not something I envisage having here anytime soon. 

    JOURNALIST: Back to the question?

    PETER MALINAUSKUS: Yeah, I’ll know that Tom’s got that.

    JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] There have been some talk about our industry, trucking industry and the rules surrounding the drivers and training that’s sort of sparked up that debate, and why we don’t know the circumstances surrounding this one we need to have another look at how we’re training truck drivers.

    TOM KOUTSANTONIS [SA MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT]: Yeah. So, we have here in South Australia. So, we’re the first state in the federation to change the way we’re training drivers, especially ones who are coming from abroad. We are no longer recognising accreditation in other jurisdictions internationally. We wanted them to be trained here in Australia, to understand Australian conditions. 

    Look, heavy vehicles are getting larger in Australia, they’re not getting smaller. We’re a big country and we are looking at growing our road trains even larger, and training is becoming even more important. What occurred on the weekend is a tragedy. It probably could have been avoided. No one needs to die on our roads with a heavy vehicle if everyone is trained appropriately and equipment is appropriately maintained. 

    We’ll let this go through the court process to understand exactly what occurred. I understand police have charged a person this morning so I’m not going to go into the details other than to say, if you come to this and you want to drive a heavy vehicle in South Australia, we expect you to be trained here in South Australia. I call on other jurisdictions to do the same thing because it’s important that Australian conditions are top of mind for when we train our drivers. 

    Now, I don’t know the circumstances here. I don’t know what occurred here, I’m getting a briefing later on today. But it’s important to note that heavy vehicles are dangerous. We have very, very strict heavy vehicle national regulations that govern the way people drive heavy vehicles, the way that they’re trained, and the way that these vehicles are assessed. There’s trainer responsibility here, right back to the owners of the company and directors of that company who could be personally liable for even criminal charges if something is going wrong. So, we want to get to the bottom of this, but it is way too early to form any judgment.

    PETER MALINAUSKUS: Thanks so much everyone. Cheers.

    JOURNALIST: Sorry. Just one more. 

    PETER MALINAUSKUS: So, we’ll take this last one [indistinct]…

    JOURNALIST: Sorry. In terms of the speed that [indistinct] today, you’re going to increase it to around [indistinct] saying another 25 kilometres per hour on our roads. Do you know much about that? Does council [indistinct]…

    TOM KOUTSANTONIS: I do. Yes, there are reforms. Yes, yes. So, what we’ve done is we’ve listened to the RAA, we’ve listened to tow truck drivers. When amber lights turn on because they’re working on a vehicle on the side of the road that’s either broken down or needs to be towed, there have been too many crashes and near misses that make it dangerous to bring aid to people who are stranded on the side of the road. So, when you see these amber lights it’s important that you slow down to 25 kilometres per hour, as safely and as quickly as possible for you to do so. If you do breach it, depending on the speed that you’re going over – the same penalties apply for emergency service vehicles, if you drive past a police car and ambulance with red lights flashing. 

    It’s very, very important to maintain the safety and security of these people providing assistance on the side of the road, and we make no apologies for that. I heard this morning tow truck drivers who are turning up to cars that have been broken down on the side of the road, while they’re connecting these vehicles seeing either individuals being clipped or vehicles being rammed into. It’s important now people, when they see flashing lights, to slow down. 

    PETER MALINAUSKUS: All right, thanks very much, everyone.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘That was rude’: why the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her was ripe for TikTok memes

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Camp, Senior Lecturer, School of Music, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    A few snippets of musicalised dialogue from the cast album of the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her – with music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, and a book by Marco Pennette – have recently become trending sonic memes on TikTok.

    In all sorts of situations, users are lip synching to audio clips of Broadway star Jennifer Simard, in the character of Helen Sharp (played by Goldie Hawn in the 1992 cult film on which the musical is based), saying things like “That was rude. That was pretty fuckin’ rude” and “She stole my life. She made me cuckoo. She’s why I spent four years locked in that health spa.”

    Musical theatre fans love a good meme (scholar Trevor Boffone has written a whole book about the phenomenon) and Death Becomes Her is primed to create a lot of them: a show featuring two divas (played by Simard and Megan Hilty as Madeleine Ashton, Meryl Streep’s role in the movie) based on a cult film about divas begs to be shaped and reshaped by fan culture.

    Helen and Madeleine are longtime rivals who both take a magic potion that makes them immortal. This leads them to find increasingly extravagant ways to try and do away with each other, with the help of Helen’s put-upon husband Ernest (Christopher Sieber), a plastic surgeon who reluctantly falls into the role of restoring their bodies after each “accident”.

    Some of Hilty’s clips have also been TikTok-ified (notably Tell Me, Earnest) but Simard is winning the numbers game. Her “That was rude” clip alone has 321,000 videos and counting.

    Finding the patter

    There seem to be two main reasons for the attraction of these clips. First is Simard’s delivery of the words. Simard is a longstanding Broadway star and an expert at musical comedy timing.

    Second is the rhythmic quality of the dialogue. Not fully sung, these bits are spoken in mostly strict rhythm over orchestral accompaniment. That they have become such earworms demonstrates it is not only melody that burrows into the brain, but also rhythmic contour.

    There is a long history of this style of speak-singing in musical theatre, notably popularised in the late 1950s by Robert Preston in The Music Man and Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady.

    Neither of those actors was a strong singer, but both had excellent timing and were able to deliver spoken lines above music with a strong sense of musicality.

    Simard is an excellent singer with a very wide range, but the comic role of Helen – ever the underdog to her rival famous actress Madeleine – lends itself to this style of heightened speech.

    Most effective rhythmically, and the most popular excerpt, is the “That was rude” meme, where Simard begins slowly without accompaniment; the bass comes in on “rude” and sets a groove for the rest of the short excerpt.

    This one has been used in every possible situation, from responses to nasty notes left on people’s cars to complaints about incorrect drink orders. Some of the TikTokers refer to Simard in on-screen text, but this one seems to have become popular outside any specific reference to the show, in a truly viral moment.

    Ripe for the lip-sync

    The lengthiest of the trending excerpts is the one that begins with “We talked about killing her before”, which sets off a monologue about Helen’s plan to do away with Madeline once and for all.

    This is a tour de force for Simard’s comic timing, as it begins in free rhythm and then gradually takes on a more consistent beat. TikTokers are tending to use this one primarily as a demonstration of their lip-syncing skills, as opposed to the other shorter clips that are applied in different ironic situations.

    This trend also shows the continuing importance of the cast album in musical theatre culture. The majority of TikTokers probably have not seen the show, currently only playing on Broadway with high ticket prices. Yet the cast album (easily available on all the main streaming sites) gives access.

    The fact these clips come from a cast album also more easily allows fans to create their own visuals around it. Unless they actually saw the show they only have production photographs and short publicity clips (and the occasional shaky bootleg or slime tutorial) to go on in terms of what it looks like.

    Audio from a source like the soundtrack of the Wicked movie has not led to so many lip-sync videos because the visual track is so readily accessible; as a film, Wicked’s visuals define its audio while a cast album can more easily work the other way round.

    Beyond Broadway

    I saw Death Becomes Her on Broadway in January and enjoyed it. It’s a fun show full of special effects and comic bits. The score is serviceable (it’s not Sondheim), but it is catchy – very important for its use in these TikTok trends – and well performed by Simard and the rest of the cast.

    This whole phenomenon demonstrates that the current cultural sphere of “Broadway” extends well beyond the street itself. This has been the case at least since the rise of the cast album in the 1950s (My Fair Lady’s was the best-selling LP of 1956), but now the reach is intensified by social media spaces like TikTok; you don’t have to have actually seen Death Becomes Her to experience it.

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

    – ref. ‘That was rude’: why the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her was ripe for TikTok memes – https://theconversation.com/that-was-rude-why-the-new-broadway-musical-death-becomes-her-was-ripe-for-tiktok-memes-257550

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Beneath the Surface: Why Bri Friedman Embraces Failure

    Source: US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

    An Engineer Looks Back on High School Science Fairs, African Drone Flights, and Marine Energy Innovations That Shape the Future

    Bri Friedman is looking forward to learning from failure.

    This National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) engineer is working with the laboratory’s marine energy team to develop a device called the small underwater research flap wave energy converter—or SURF-WEC, for short.

    SURF-WEC takes the form of a submerged flap that swings back and forth to capture energy from ocean waves to power an electric generator. In the coming months, SURF-WEC will undergo a design review, in which a team of experts and stakeholders will evaluate the device to determine whether it is ready for deployment. If the design review goes well, Friedman and her team, in partnership with the University of Hawaii, will send SURF-WEC on an experimental deployment off the Hawaiian coast for up to one year.

    “‘Up to’ are the key words—we expect the system to fail within the year,” Friedman quipped, “but we are eager to learn from those failures and share our lessons with our colleagues in marine energy.”

    Of course, Friedman and her team also want to understand what works well during the SURF-WEC deployment. However, as Friedman went on to explain, the success of the SURF-WEC deployment is not tied to the amount of energy the device can capture or the length of time the system can operate without issue. Instead, the goal is to collect data and learn which decisions contributed to setbacks and which led to success—and to share those lessons with the marine energy community to help reduce the risks and costs of future deployments. To that end, the team will make the deployment data, along with data collected during SURF-WEC’s laboratory testing and simulation stages, publicly available on the Marine and Hydrokinetic Data Repository.

    As any marine energy researcher or technology developer knows, harnessing energy from ocean waves is a big challenge. Many WECs fail in the harsh ocean environment due to the corrosive effects of briny seawater, constant wear and tear from crashing waves, impacts from floating debris, or even the accumulation of barnacles, algae, and other marine life. Designing WECs to withstand these challenges requires strong materials, backup systems for important parts, and regular maintenance. For Friedman, tackling these challenges feels surmountable—thanks to the NREL marine energy research team’s collaborative spirit.

    “I feel like we each have a pickax, or maybe a ladle, since we’re talking about the ocean,” Friedman said. “We’re each ladling out a little bit, doing our part to make marine energy a viable, usable resource.”  

    From Science Fairs to Drone Flights

    Friedman can trace her career path back to middle school, when she first decided she wanted to be an engineer when she grew up. The youngest of four children—two of whom went on to become mechanical engineers—Friedman grew up immersed in science, with a strong desire for discovery.

    “It wasn’t always a popular sentiment when I was young, but I genuinely enjoyed participating in science fairs,” Friedman said. “They gave me a chance to experiment, make predictions, and learn by doing, which would further spark my curiosity.”

    Friedman, center, poses with her sister and two brothers in front of the Boulder Flatirons in Colorado. Photo from Bri Friedman, NREL

    That love for hands-on learning led Friedman to get involved in robotics in high school, which became her main after-school activity and solidified her desire to pursue a career in engineering. At the same time, she felt a strong pull toward next-generation technologies and types of work that could protect people’s health and well-being.

    “I wanted to find a job that both scratched my scientist itch and aligned with my values,” Friedman said.

    Friedman followed her passion for scientific experimentation to Virginia Tech, where she pursued mechanical engineering for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. As an undergrad, she interned at NREL through the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program, working with a research team to create a photoluminescence system for testing silicon solar cell processing methods. This was not only a valuable learning experience; it also supported Friedman’s commitment to making a positive impact on the world.

    “It was so exciting to learn how to harness energy from nearly boundless sources like the sun, wind, and water,” Friedman recalled. “Plus, everyone I encountered during my internship seemed happy to be at NREL, which made me even more excited about the work. The SULI program showed me a career path that I was really excited about.”

    As an undergrad, Friedman participated in the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program at NREL, which gave her the chance to work on a photoluminescence system for testing silicon solar cell processing methods. Photo from Joanne Wu, BAE Systems

    During her master’s program, Friedman worked as a graduate research assistant with the African Drone and Data Academy, a program that trains recent college graduates to design, build, and pilot drones for agriculture, medical equipment delivery, and other humanitarian efforts in Africa. Friedman taught the program’s first cohort, delivering lectures, supervising lab work, and providing one-on-one drone flight instruction. Near the end of the academy’s first course, Friedman visited a refugee camp and had an experience that would become the foundation for her master’s thesis.

    “My graduate research focused on using drone imagery to develop a flood model for a low-resource area,” Friedman recalled. “In developed countries, flood models are built using years of historical data, but in low-resource areas, that kind of data is rarely available. Our challenge was to generate a useful flood model without waiting for years of data collection.”

    To fill this data gap, Friedman’s team used drones to capture high-resolution aerial images of the camp. Friedman then used this imagery to create a flood model, validating its accuracy by comparing the model’s prediction to locations where homes had collapsed due to flooding.

    “The refugee camp was overpopulated, and many of the homes were built from clay wherever there was available space, so they collapsed easily due to heavy rains and few drainage paths,” Friedman explained. “The collapsed structures showed where flooding had actually occurred, which helped us confirm that the model had accurately predicted those high-risk areas.”

    From Drone Flights to Wave Power

    Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic cut short Friedman’s time in Malawi. She returned home in March 2020 after the first group of students graduated but continued to support her students through online instruction. In addition, her experience with drones set her up for her next move: After finishing her master’s program in 2021, Friedman landed a position as a postgraduate researcher with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL’s) water power engineering team, which was exploring ways to integrate drones into their projects.  

    Shortly after joining PNNL, Friedman began working on a project to support the development of a triboelectric nanogenerator—a small device that converted the motion of ocean waves into electricity using static charge buildup. Intended for deployment in the Arctic Ocean, the device would provide a low-maintenance power source for ocean monitoring equipment. Friedman also studied ways to use the temperature differences between surface water and deep water to generate energy for an underwater glider, a type of autonomous underwater vehicle that navigates the ocean by changing its buoyancy to move up and down through the water.

    After two years in Richland, Washington, where PNNL is located, Bri was ready for a change of scenery. She kept an eye out for opportunities at NREL and, in 2023, moved to Colorado to work as a full-time researcher on NREL’s marine energy team. The move brought Friedman full circle—in more ways than one.

    Back in 2017, when Friedman was working on the application for her internship at NREL, she read up on NREL’s work and learned about different types of WECs, including those that flap back and forth, similar to SURF-WEC.

    “Reading about these types of WECs, I thought, ‘Wow, it would be amazing to work in that field,’” Friedman recalled. “Eight years later, I do work in that field—on a project very similar to the ones I read about.”

    In addition to SURF-WEC, Friedman contributes to several other marine energy projects at NREL. Her work involves testing, characterization, and outreach, helping researchers and industry partners better understand and utilize emerging wave energy technologies. She has worked with the large-amplitude motion platform, or LAMP, a simulation tool that replicates a WEC’s response to different ocean wave conditions in a controlled environment. She also supports the Power at Sea Prize, which encourages innovative marine energy concepts by lowering barriers to entry for new developers.

    “We have a mix of participants—some from universities and some independent teams,” Friedman said. “It’s been great to see such a broad range of people engaging with marine energy innovation.”

    Time To Root Down

    Friedman lives in Boulder, Colorado, a short drive from her work at NREL’s Flatirons Campus. She misses her family, who still live on the East Coast, but relishes the time she gets to spend with her four young nieces.

    “I definitely aspire to be the fun aunt,” Friedman said.

    With a population of about 105,000, Boulder is the biggest city Friedman has lived in during her adult life, but it feels like the right fit.

    “Boulder is a bigger city than what I’m used to, but there’s plenty to do, which I appreciate,” Friedman said. “I especially enjoy the rock climbing and general outdoor adventuring shenanigans.”

    When she is not testing wave energy conversion devices, Friedman enjoys climbing rock walls like this granite multipitch in Colorado’s Platte Canyon. Photo from Kathryn Howe, Antech Diagnostics

    The move to Colorado has also given Friedman a chance to create a more long-term community for herself.

    “Before moving to Colorado, I spent over two months living in my car, climbing and exploring the outdoors,” Friedman recalled. “It was an amazing experience, but the communities I encountered during that time always felt temporary. Since moving here, I’ve been working on putting down stronger roots.”

    Friedman’s work at NREL feeds her desire for community as well. She appreciates the collaborative spirit on her team, in which everyone is working toward a common goal, even if they are focused on different projects. In addition, being on campus every day has helped Friedman build connections through casual conversations, strengthening her sense of belonging.

    “We share successes and failures, and I really value that sense of teamwork and collective learning,” Friedman said. “It’s a great feeling to know we’re all working together toward a shared purpose.”

    Learn more about how NREL’s experts are helping advance marine energy. And subscribe to the NREL water power newsletter, The Current, for the latest news on NREL’s water power research.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Felon Caught Twice with Guns and Drugs Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Tuesday sentenced a convicted felon who was caught twice with guns and drugs to 14 years in prison.

    Evidence and testimony during the February trial of Antonio Dixson, 37, of St. Louis, showed that Dixson was caught with two guns and drugs on Dec. 1, 2020, in Wentzville, Missouri. Dixson was in the rear seat of a Honda SUV that had fled from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers two weeks earlier. When Dixson stepped out of the vehicle, a Glock pistol fell from his waist to the ground. A Taurus Judge revolver, loaded with two.45 caliber rounds and three .410 shotgun shells, was visibly protruding from his pocket. Police then found ammunition and drugs in his pockets. He had 31 tablets of clonazepam laced with PCP, 100 capsules containing a mixture of para-fluorofentanyl, fentanyl, and morphine, eight tablets containing fentanyl, 0.5 grams of cocaine and 5.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine, a sentencing memorandum says. He also had six cellular phones and over $700 cash. Due to COVID-era restrictions, Dixson was booked and released from custody, the memo says.

    Dixson was undeterred by the arrest, and was arrested again on Feb. 25, 2021, by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers who spotted a Mercury Villager driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Officers found a .45 caliber Colt model 1911, a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol, and drugs in Dixson’s pants pockets. Those drugs included tablets containing meth, 6.76 grams of crystal meth and 0.63 grams of cocaine base.

    Both the drugs and weapons Dixson possessed presented a great danger to the public, the memo says. Dixson has also repeatedly been convicted of various crimes and “remains unrepentant even now,” the memo says, adding that in the last 19 years, Dixson has spent more than 16 years either behind bars or under court supervision.

    In February, jurors found Dixson guilty of two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a defaced firearm.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Wentzville Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Dunkel and Hal Goldsmith prosecuted the case.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Charleston Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Weapon Violation

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Claude Michael Barrs, 45, of Charleston, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

    Evidence presented in court showed that on September 29, 2023, Berkeley County sheriff’s deputies stopped Barrs after observing him driving erratically. During the stop, Barrs appeared extremely nervous and admitted that his license was suspended. When asked to exit the vehicle, he attempted to discreetly discard a bag on the ground. Deputies recovered the bag and found 6 grams of methamphetamine inside.

    A search of the vehicle uncovered an additional 0.85 grams of methamphetamine under the driver’s seat and a 9mm pistol in the trunk. Barrs admitted the drugs and firearm belonged to him. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. He was also eligible for a sentencing enhancement based on prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses.

    At the time of this arrest, Barrs was out on bond for state charges of armed robbery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and possession of a weapon by a violent offender.

    United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks sentenced Barrs to 180 imprisonment as part of a negotiated agreement between the parties to be followed by fives years of court ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive and Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Lietzow is prosecuting the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Supreme Court changes the game on federal environmental reviews

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By J.B. Ruhl, Professor of Law, Director, Program on Law and Innovation, and Co-director, Energy, Environment and Land Use Program, Vanderbilt University

    A pumpjack in eastern Utah extracts oil from underground. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

    Getting federal approval for permits to build bridges, wind farms, highways and other major infrastructure projects has long been a complicated and time-consuming process. Despite growing calls from both parties for Congress and federal agencies to reform that process, there had been few significant revisions – until now.

    In one fell swoop, the U.S. Supreme Court has changed a big part of the game.

    Whether the effects are good or bad depends on the viewer’s perspective. Either way, there is a new interpretation in place for the law that is the centerpiece of the debate about permitting – the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, known as NEPA.

    Taking a big-picture look

    NEPA requires federal agencies to document and describe the environmental effects of any proposed action, including construction of oil pipelines, renewable energy and other infrastructure projects.

    Only after completing that work can the agency make a final decision to approve or deny the project. These reports must evaluate direct effects, such as the destruction of habitat to make way for a new highway, and indirect effects, such as the air pollution from cars using the highway after it is built.

    Decades of litigation about the scope of indirect effects have widened the required evaluation. As I explain it to my students, that logical and legal progression is reminiscent of the popular children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” in which granting a request for a cookie triggers a seemingly endless series of further requests – for a glass of milk, a napkin and so on. For the highway example, the arguments went, even if the agency properly assessed the pollution from the cars, it also had to consider the new subdivisions, malls and jobs the new highway foreseeably could induce.

    The challenge for federal agencies was knowing how much of that potentially limitless series of indirect effects courts would require them to evaluate. In recent litigation, the question in particular has been how broad a range of effects on and from climate change could be linked to any one specific project and therefore require evaluation.

    With the court’s ruling, federal agencies’ days of uncertainty are over.

    The cover image of the 637-page environmental impact assessment shows a view of the region where a railway is proposed to be built.
    U.S. Surface Transportation Board

    Biggest NEPA case in decades

    On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court – minus Justice Neil Gorsuch, who had recused himself – decided the case of Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, the first major NEPA dispute before the court in 20 years.

    At issue was an 85-mile rail line a group of developers proposed to build in Utah to connect oil wells to the interstate rail network and from there transport waxy crude oil to refineries in Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere. The federal Surface Transportation Board reviewed the environmental effects and approved the required license in 2021.

    The report was 637 pages long, with more than 3,000 pages of appendices containing additional information. It acknowledged but did not give a detailed assessment of the indirect “upstream” effects of constructing the rail line – such as spurring new oil drilling – and the indirect “downstream” effects of the ultimate use of the waxy oil in places as far flung as Louisiana.

    In February 2022, Eagle County, Colorado, through which trains coming from the new railway would pass, along with the Center for Biological Diversity appealed that decision in federal court, arguing that the board had failed to properly explain why it did not assess those effects. Therefore, the county argued, the report was incomplete and the board license should be vacated.

    In August 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed and held that the agency had failed to adequately explain why it could not employ “some degree of forecasting” to identify those impacts and that the board could prevent those effects by exercising its authority to deny the license.

    The railway developers appealed to the Supreme Court, asking whether NEPA requires a federal agency to look beyond the action being proposed to evalutate indirect effects outside its own jurisdiction.

    Petroleum-drilling equipment stands in the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah.
    AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

    A resounding declaration

    Writing for a five-justice majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh delivered a ringing, table-pounding lecture about courts run amok.

    Kavanaugh did not stop to provide specific support for each admonition, describing NEPA as a “legislative acorn” that has “grown over the years into a judicial oak that has hindered infrastructure development.” He bemoaned the “delay upon delay” NEPA imposes on projects as so complicated that it bordered “on the Kafkaesque.”

    In his view, “NEPA has transformed from a modest procedural requirement into a blunt and haphazard tool employed by project opponents.” He called for “a course correction … to bring judicial review under NEPA back in line with the statutory text and common sense.” His opinion reset the course in three ways.

    First, despite the Supreme Court having recently reduced the deference courts must give to federal agency decisions in other contexts, Kavanaugh wrote that courts should give agencies strong deference when reviewing an agency’s NEPA effects analyses. Because these assessments are “fact-dependent, context-specific, and policy-laden choices about the depth and breadth of its inquiry … (c)ourts should afford substantial deference and should not micromanage those agency choices so long as they fall within a broad zone of reasonableness.”

    Second, Kavanaugh crafted a new rule saying that the review of one project did not need to consider the potential indirect effects of other related projects it could foreseeably induce, such as the rail line encouraging more drilling for oil. This limitation is especially relevant, Kavanaugh emphasized, when the effects are from projects over which the reviewing agency does not have jurisdiction. That applied in this case, because the board does not regulate oil wells or oil drilling.

    And third, Kavanaugh created something like a “no harm – no foul” rule, under which “even if an (environmental impact statement) falls short in some respects, that deficiency may not necessarily require a court to vacate the agency’s ultimate approval of a project.” The strong implication is that courts should not overturn an agency decision unless its NEPA assessment has a serious flaw.

    The upshot for the project at hand was that the Supreme Court deferred to the board’s decision that it could not reliably predict the rail line’s effects on oil drilling or use of the oil transported. And the fact that the agency had no regulatory power over those separate issues reinforced the idea that those concerns were outside the scope of the board’s required review.

    A train rolls along a stretch of track in Utah that could be connected with a proposed railway to carry oil to market.
    AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

    A split court

    Although Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote that she would have reached the same end result and upheld the agency permit, her proposed test is far narrower.

    By her reading, the federal law creating the Surface Transportation Board restricted it from considering the broader indirect effects of the rail line. But her finding would be relevant only for any federal agencies whose governing statutes were similarly restrictive. By contrast, Kavanaugh’s “course correction” applies to judicial review of NEPA findings for all federal agencies.

    Though the full effects remain to be seen, this decision significantly changes the legal landscape of environmental reviews of major projects. Agencies will have more latitude to shorten the causal chain of indirect effects they consider – and to exclude them entirely if they flow from separate projects beyond the agency’s regulatory control.

    Now, for example, if a federal agency is considering an application to build a new natural gas power plant, the review must still include its direct greenhouse gas emissions and their effects on the climate. But emissions that could result from additional gas extraction and transportation projects to fuel the power plant, and any climate effects from whatever the produced electricity is used for, are now clearly outside the agency’s required review. And if the agency voluntarily decided to consider any of those effects, courts would have to defer to its analysis, and any minor deficiencies would be inconsequential.

    That is a far cry from how the legal structure around the National Environmental Policy Act has worked for decades. For lawyers, industry, advocacy groups and the courts, environmental review after the Eagle County decision is not just a new ballgame; it is a new sport.

    J.B. Ruhl 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. Supreme Court changes the game on federal environmental reviews – https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-changes-the-game-on-federal-environmental-reviews-257881

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine ‘spiderweb’ drone strike fails to register at peace talks as both sides dig in for the long haul

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

    News of the spectacular “spiderweb” mass drone attack on Russian air bases on June 1 will have been uppermost in the minds of delegates who assembled the following day for another round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. The attack appears to have been a triumph of Ukrainian intelligence and planning that destroyed or damaged billions of pounds’ worth of Russian aircraft stationed at bases across the country, including at locations as far away as Siberia.

    Ukraine’s drone strikes, much like Russia’s intensifying air campaign, hardly signal either side’s sincere commitment to negotiations. As it turned out, little of any consequence was agreed at the brief meeting between negotiators, beyond a prisoner swap, confirming yet again that neither a ceasefire nor a peace agreement are likely anytime soon.

    But the broader context of developments on the battlefield and beyond can offer important clues about the trajectory of the war in the coming months.

    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.

    At an earlier meeting in Istanbul in May, Moscow and Kyiv agreed to draft and exchange detailed proposals for a settlement. The Ukrainian proposal restated the longstanding position of Kyiv and its western allies that concessions on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country are unacceptable.

    In other words, a Russian-imposed neutrality ruling out Nato membership and limiting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces is a non-starter for Kyiv. So is any international recognition of Moscow’s illegal land-grabs since 2014, including the annexation of Crimea.

    The Ukrainian proposal is for an immediate ceasefire along the frontline as “the starting point for negotiations”. Any territorial issues would be discussed “after a full and unconditional ceasefire”.

    In substance, this is very similar to the peace plan presented by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky in late 2022. This was received warmly by Ukraine’s main western allies, but failed to get traction with the broader international community.

    Russia’s proposals, meanwhile, are also mostly old news. Russia maintains its demands for full recognition of Russian territorial claims since 2014, Ukrainian neutrality.

    These stringent Russian demands in return for even a temporary ceasefire are hardly any more serious negotiation positions from Ukraine’s perspective than Kyiv’s proposals are likely to be to Moscow. In fact, what the Kremlin put on the table in Istanbul is more akin to surrender terms.

    Ukraine is in no mood to surrender. The spiderweb drone attack against Russia’s strategic bomber fleet is a significant boost for Ukrainian morale. But, like previous drone strikes against Moscow in June 2023, it means little in terms of signalling a sustainable Ukrainian capability that could even out Russia’s advantages in terms of manpower and equipment.

    The state of the conflict in Ukraine as at June 3 2025.
    Institute for the Study of War

    Closer to the frontlines inside Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces also struck the power grid inside Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. This may delay any Russian plans to expand its control over the two regions. But, like the latest drone strikes inside Russia, it is at best an operation that entrenches, rather than breaks the current stalemate.

    There is no doubt that Ukraine remains under severe military pressure from Russia along most of the more than 1,000 mile frontline. The country is also still very vulnerable to Russian air attacks.

    But while Russia might continue to make incremental gains on the battlefield, a game-changing Russian offensive or a collapse of Ukrainian defences does not appear to be on the cards.

    International support

    Kyiv’s position will potentially also be strengthened by a new bill in the US senate that threatens the imposition of 500% tariffs on any countries that buy Russian resources. This would primarily affect India and China.

    These are the largest consumers of Russian oil and gas, and if New Delhi and Beijing decide that trade with the US is more important to them cheap imports from Russia, the move could cut Russia off from critical revenues and imports.

    But, given how indecisive Donald Trump has been to date when it comes to putting any real, rather than just rhetorical, pressure on Vladimir Putin, it is not clear whether the proposed senate bill will have the desired effect. The bill has support of over 80 co-sponsors from both the Republican and Democratic caucuses, meaning the senate could overturn a presidential veto. But any delay in imposing tougher sanctions will ultimately play into Putin’s hands.

    By contrast, European support for Ukraine has, if anything, increased in recent months. For example, EU leaders adopted their 17th sanctions package against Russia on May 20. A week later, Germany and Ukraine announced a new military cooperation agreement worth €5 billion (£4.2 billion).

    It still falls short of what Kyiv would require for a major shift in the balance of power on the battlefield. But for now it is enough to prevent Russia from becoming militarily so dominant that Moscow’s current settlement proposals would present the only option for at least some part of Ukraine to survive as an independent state.

    The war remains in a stalemate. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv appear to have the capacity to escalate their military efforts to the degree necessary that would force the other side to make substantial concessions.

    Both sides are playing for time in the hope that their fortunes may change. For Ukraine, this would mean more US military support coupled with more sanctions pressure on Russia, while Europe follows through on building up its own and Ukraine’s defence capabilities.

    Russia’s calculations will be different. Putin will need to keep his few remaining allies – China, Iran and North Korea – on side while trying to make a deal with Trump. This may be impossible to achieve.

    In this case, the Russian dictator’s best hope might be that Trump does not impose any serious sanctions on Russia or its trade partners, let alone lean into increasing military support for Ukraine.

    For both sides, a lot still hinges on Washington. The unpredictability of the Trump White House, much like the self-imposed restraint under Biden, not only makes it unlikely that the war in Ukraine moves beyond the current stalemate, it has become a major, and perhaps the decisive road block that enables both Moscow and Kyiv to dream of victory in a war that has become unwinnable.

    Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

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

    – ref. Ukraine ‘spiderweb’ drone strike fails to register at peace talks as both sides dig in for the long haul – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-spiderweb-drone-strike-fails-to-register-at-peace-talks-as-both-sides-dig-in-for-the-long-haul-257927

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: UN Green Climate Fund to Allocate $280 Million to Kazakhstan for Eco-Projects

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    ALMATY, June 3 (Xinhua) — The United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF) will finance environmental projects in Kazakhstan worth $280 million, the Kazinform news agency reported on Tuesday.

    The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Nysanbayev, announced the new financing program during parliamentary hearings on the implementation of the best available technologies.

    According to the minister, the funds received will be used to develop renewable energy sources, stimulate the introduction of low-carbon technologies in the industrial sector, and support the development of electric vehicles.

    E. Nysanbaev said that in 2024, in order to promote green projects for the UN GCF, a country program was prepared, including 7 projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector, increasing the sustainability of centralized water supply systems in rural areas, modernizing livestock farms, and supporting private sector initiatives in the field of green financing.

    The total budget for these projects is more than $1 billion, of which the fund is expected to provide $630 million in funding. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Sentenced to Seven and One Half Years in Federal Prison for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of Victim in Marin Headlands

    Source: US FBI

    SAN FRANCISCO – Esbin Ramirez-Garcia was sentenced today to 90 months in federal prison for committing aggravated sexual abuse while on federal land.  Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup handed down the sentence.

    Ramirez-Garcia, 28, a national of Mexico, pleaded guilty on Feb. 25, 2025, to one count of aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241(a).  According to the plea agreement, Ramirez-Garcia admitted that late in the evening on Aug. 2, 2024, while giving the victim, with whom he had a prior relationship, a ride from her workplace in his truck, he asked her to get back together with him.  The victim refused to resume their relationship and asked to be let out of the vehicle, but Ramirez-Garcia grabbed her with his hand and continued driving, forcing her to accompany him.

    Ramirez-Garcia deviated from the route to the victim’s home and drove his truck to a parking lot in the Marin Headlands, which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  Ramirez-Garcia forcibly placed his body on top of the victim’s body while she sat in the passenger seat and sexually assaulted her.

    United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani, and National Park Service Investigative Services Branch Acting Special Agent in Charge Betsy Smith made the announcement.  

    In addition to the prison term, Judge Alsup also sentenced the defendant to a 10-year period of supervised release and ordered that he participate in a sex offense-specific treatment program, among other conditions.  The defendant was immediately remanded into custody.

    Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Chen and Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Wistar Wilson prosecuted the case with the assistance of Sara Slattery, Maureen French, and Fernanda Gonzalez.  This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch. 
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Police Officers Plead Guilty to Federal Charges in Connection With Insurance Fraud Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Greenbelt, Maryland – Two Prince George’s County men have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with an auto-insurance fraud scheme. Michael Anthony Owen, Jr., 36, of Accokeek, Maryland pled guilty to falsification of records, and Jaron Earl Taylor, 31, of Ft. Washington, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

    Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty pleas with Acting Special Agent in Charge Amanda M. Koldjeski, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Malik Aziz, Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).

    According to the guilty pleas, between August 2018 and February 2020, Owen and Taylor, who were PGPD and Anne Arundel County Policy Department officers, respectively, at the time, conspired with fellow police officers to engage in mail and wire fraud. Owen and Taylor, along with officers Candace Tyler, Conrad D’Haiti, and Davion Percy, and others, devised a scheme for insurance companies to pay out the remaining financing costs of unwanted vehicles. 

    Members of the conspiracy reported fictitious losses to insurers to obtain money or avoid paying off vehicles that were now worth less than the amount owed on them. The co-conspirators used their statuses as police officers to assist each other’s claims by writing false police reports. Then co-conspirators submitted fictitious police reports to insurers to validate the claim. The false police reports were intended to impede, obstruct, or influence subsequent investigations of the false insurance claims.

    In August 2018, Owen and Taylor staged the theft of Taylor’s Chevrolet Tahoe. After Taylor filed a fraudulent police report, Owen and Taylor stripped the vehicle and drove it deep into the woods of a Maryland State Highway property near Largo, Maryland. Taylor then made a false claim to the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) for the loss, for which USAA paid out a total of $38,670.

    Then in January 2020, Owen assisted D’Haiti in avoiding payment on the loan balance of a Jaguar XKR. In cooperation with D’Haiti and Percy, Owen devised a scheme to fake the vehicle’s theft. On January 4, D’Haiti parked his Jaguar behind Marlow Heights Shopping Center where Percy worked as police chief.

    D’Haiti then paid Percy $350 to arrange for another co-conspirator to tow the vehicle and extensively vandalize it for the purpose of creating a total insurance loss. Tyler subsequently filed the fictitious police report which D’Haiti used to substantiate his claim against Liberty Mutual Insurance. In February 2020, Liberty Mutual paid the Jaguar’s lienholder, Navy Federal Credit Union, $17,585, on the false claim.

    Additionally, in January 2020, Owen and Taylor assisted with disposing of an Infiniti sedan to help a co-conspirator avoid making further payments on the vehicle while on extended overseas duty.  The co-conspirator gave Taylor $1,000 via CashApp to stage the theft. Taylor then forwarded the money to Owen who filed a false police report with PGPD, stating the vehicle was stolen.

    In reality, Owen, Taylor, and others moved the car to the top floor of a Camp Springs, Maryland apartment-complex parking garage.  The co-conspirators attempted to conceal the car’s identity by removing the vehicle’s license plates and replacing them with different ones registered to another vehicle. Then the owner and co-conspirator filed a claim with GEICO that was eventually denied on grounds of fraud.

    Owen faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.  Taylor faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison if the court fully accepts the plea deal. Both sentencings are scheduled for Tuesday, September 23. Taylor’s sentencing is at 10:30 a.m., and Owen’s sentencing is at 2:30 p.m.

    U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and PGPD for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Baldwin and LaShanta Harris who are prosecuting the case.

    For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md  and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Motorists advised of road closures as Summer Jamm comes to town

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Motorists advised of road closures as Summer Jamm comes to town

    3 June 2025

    The highly anticipated Summer Jamm Festival is set to return to Strabane town centre this Saturday, June 7th from 12-late, promising a day filled with entertainment, family activities, and community celebration that will transform the heart of Strabane into a vibrant hub of creativity and excitement.

    The event attracts hundreds of visitors every year, and anyone planning on going along this weekend is encouraged to plan their trip, with some road closures and diversions in place to facilitate the event. From 7am-7pm the following roads will be closed to traffic, Railway Street, Main Street, Castle Street and Castle Place. Traffic diversions will be in place with alternative routes signposted.

    Visitors are advised that streets will be busy with lots of activities taking place in and around the town centre, so motorists should use the town centre car parks, or if possible travel to the event using public transport. Please note that Canal Street car park will be closed to facilitate Cullen’s Fun Fair. Disabled parking will be available in the car parks at Canal Basin North, Railway Street, Butcher Street and in Upper and Lower Main Street.

    Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Ruairí McHugh said: “I am absolutely delighted that one of my first major engagements as Mayor will be celebrating Summer Jamm with the people of Strabane. This fantastic festival has become a cornerstone of our community calendar, bringing together residents and visitors alike to celebrate the best of what our town has to offer. There is so much happening in the town on Saturday and there will be a real festival buzz about the place. I just want to remind people that there will be some minor disruption to traffic flow in some areas, so anyone driving to the event should follow directions and plan ahead for parking.

    “This is a great day for families to come out and enjoy a wonderful summer event together, and of course the additional visitors to the town bring a welcome boost to local business owners. As your new Mayor, I can’t wait to meet people throughout the day and see everyone enjoying this fantastic celebration of our community spirit.”

    Visitors to the town during Summer Jamm are also urged to be aware of the ‘Love Strabane’ campaign spearheaded by Strabane Business Improvement District (BID).

    Chair of Strabane BID Kieran Kennedy explained: “We want to showcase the fantastic offering we have here in the town and encourage locals and visitors to call in and support local businesses. Strabane is renowned for being a hotspot for independent businesses which offers unique one-off pieces that you can’t find anywhere else so we’d encourage everyone to love local and support local on the day and we can’t wait to see the town transformed into a hub of activity and vibrancy.

    “We have an incredibly strong hospitality sector in Strabane and this year we are particularly looking forward to the evening Music Trail. This will showcase the town’s fantastic venues as visitors can enjoy live music performances in our local bars throughout the evening.”

    There’s a packed programme of entertainment planned throughout Saturday for all the family from 12noon – late, with street performances, street drumming, and circus school skills aplenty. New to this year’s event will be the Street Art Festival which features interactive selfie murals and live street art demonstrations throughout the town. Artists will showcase their talents, offering visitors a chance to engage with the art and even try their hand at creating their own masterpieces.

    The popular Bear Run ’74 Supercar is making its first appearance at this year’s Summer Jamm. Featuring an impressive display of supercars, the Bear Run will also raise funds for the Mayor’s chosen charities – PIPS Suicide Prevention Derry and The Castlederg Patient and Comfort Terminally Ill Fund.

    Families will find plenty to enjoy with the Kidz Farm petting zoo, dinosaur encounters, urban sports activities, an interactive drumming circle, and face painting. Street performers, including magicians, dancers, and musicians, will entertain crowds throughout the town centre. Scheduled performances will take place at various locations, ensuring entertainment is always just around the corner.

    The Arts and Crafts and Food Quarter will have a variety of crafts stalls to explore along with a diverse range of culinary cuisine and delicious treats to satisfy everyone’s appetite.

    The Alley Theatre will host additional family-friendly entertainment, including the FizzWizzPop Magic Show at 12noon (tickets £2), this is an interactive magical experience designed to delight children and parents alike. The Alley will also offer face painting, Barry McGowan Art exhibition, and Arts and Crafts Workshops from 12noon.

    Cullen’s Funfair will be taking up residence in the Canal Carpark from June 5th – 8th for anyone who wants to start the celebrations early.

    Keep an eye on the Summer Jamm website: www.derrystrabane.com/summerjamm and Whats On Derry Strabane and The Alley Theatre Facebook pages for further updates.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Panama Extradites Austin Fugitive to the United States to Face Aggravated Robbery Charges

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Austin, TX – The U.S. Marshals, working with the U.S. Department of State and Panamanian officials, have returned to Travis County a man who had been sought by the Austin Police Department on an aggravated robbery warrant issued April 2, 2024. 

    Brayan Estiven Rios, 29, was wanted by the Austin police for a robbery that occurred July 19, 2022, in the 2500 block of Francisco Street.  According to the affidavit, a victim reported to have been forced into a vehicle at gunpoint and instructed to withdraw a large sum of money from her bank account. 

    In April, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office worked together to facilitate the extradition of Rios, who was intercepted by officials in Panama.

    On May 22, Panamanian officials transferred Rios to the USMS for extradition back to the United States.  After arriving at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Rios was transported and booked into the Travis County Jail, where he will await further judicial proceedings. 

    The Department of Homeland Security filed an immigration detainer on Rios, who is a Colombian national and has no legal status in the United States. 

    The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Panamanian authorities to secure the extradition of Rios.

    Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Austin – 

    Austin Police Department-Tactical Intelligence Unit
    Round Rock, and San Marcos Police Department
    Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson County Sheriff’s Office
    Texas Attorney General’s Office
    Texas Department of Criminal Justice OIG
    Texas Department of Public Safety
    U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
    U.S. DHS/Homeland Security Investigations

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cornwall — Police have a busy winter at the Cornwall border

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Between January 1, 2025 and April 1, 2025, the Ontario RCMP Border Integrity team and its partners in the Cornwall region, laid multiple charges and seized a total of $561,568 worth of contraband tobacco products. The RCMP allege that several individuals have attempted to smuggle unstamped tobacco, cigarettes, cigars and nicotine pouches which are being unlawfully imported for unregulated resale in convenience stores and other retail outlets into Ontario.

    The Cornwall Regional Task Force (CRTF) is a joint task force made up of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and the Ontario Ministry of Finance. We work closely with our trusted Canadian and US partners to combat crime on both sides of the border.

    On January 7th, a CBSA led initiative partnering with the Cornwall Regional Task Force (CRTF) stopped a vehicle under Section 99(1)(f) of the Customs Act and a search of the vehicle found 28 boxes of unstamped tobacco with a total of 280,000 cigarettes. Driver James Johnson (34 yrs.), from Saint Regis, QC was charged with Possession of Unstamped Tobacco under Section 32(1) of the Excise Act, 2001 and Operation while Prohibited under Section 320.18 of the Criminal Code. Passenger Dylan David (35 yrs.), from Hogansburg, NY was charged with Possession of Unstamped Tobacco under Section 32(1) of the Excise Act, 2001 and Section 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for Possession of a Schedule 1 Drug – Fentanyl.

    On January 12th, a vehicle was examined by the CBSA under Section 99(1)(f) of the Customs Act and found to contain 9,360 unstamped cigars. Nadir Khedidem (23 yrs.), from Mirabel, QC was charged by the RCMP pursuant to Section 32(1) of the Excise Act, 2001 and was convicted.

    On January 16th, two vehicles that had crossed the Cornwall border were stopped and searched under Section 99(1)(f) of the Customs Act and a total of 18 cases of nicotine pouches, for a total of 36,000 pouches were seized. Reese Hitterman-Carr (24 yrs.) from Lancaster, ON and Adam Bomberry (31 yrs.) from Akwesasne, NY were arrested and charged under Sections 155 and 159 (1) of the Customs Act.

    On January 27th, Lawrence Oakes (22 yrs) from Cornwall was arrested by Cornwall RCMP after fleeing from a secondary examination by CBSA officers at the border and striking a marked Police vehicle. Oakes is charged with Assaulting a Police Officer with a weapon, Dangerous Driving, Flight from Police and Fail to Comply to Release Order.

    In late February, a CBSA led initiative partnering with the CRTF collaborated to arrest, Robert Green (32 yrs.), from Ohsweken, ON under Sections 155 and 159(1) of the Customs Act and Section 32(1) of the Excise Act, 2001 for possession of 37,000 nicotine pouches, 7200 cigars and 1440 ounces of chewing tobacco for a total of $294,560. Green was released on an undertaking and appeared in court on May 20th.

    On February 26th a CBSA led initiative partnering with the CRTF spotted three individuals behind a restaurant in Cornwall where they were allegedly exchanging nicotine pouches from the trunks of their vehicles. RCMP arrested all three males on Customs Act charges and seized over $ 160 Thousand dollars’ worth of nicotine pouches. Nasim El Bendago (22 yrs.) from Gatineau, QC, Zahir Taskie (20 yrs.) from Orleans, ON, and Mark Wesley (24 yrs.) from Scarborough, ON were arrested under Sections 155 and 159(1) of the Customs Act for possession of these nicotine pouches. Wesley also faces charges for possession for the purpose of trafficking under Section 5 (2) of the CDSA. All three were released on undertakings and will appear in court on June 3rd.

    On February 24th, Megan Morin (22 yrs.) from Longueuil, QC was found with a total of 255 cartons of illegal cigars which was seized from the trunk of the vehicle she was driving. Morin was charged with Possession of Unstamped Tobacco, contrary to Section 32(1) of the Excise Act, 2001, released on an undertaking and was convicted on May 7th.

    In March, law enforcement seized 3,122 tins of flavoured nicotine pouches from a driver allegedly attempting to illegally import them across the Cornwall border. The male driver was arrested initially under Sections 155 and 159(1) of the Customs Act, however, has subsequently been released without charges.

    On March 8th, a traffic stop led the OPP and RCMP to an observation of a total of 2,532 tins of Unstamped Tobacco valued at over $56,000 which was seized immediately. The driver, Asiful Haque (27 yrs.) from Scarborough, ON was arrested under Section 32(1) of the Excise Act, 2001 for Unlawful Possession of Unstamped Tobacco. Haque was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on May 29th.

    “Thanks to the CBSA, OPP, OPP-BEST, Ontario Ministry of Finance, and Cornwall RCMP for their dedicated collaboration which continues to produce successful results, taking contraband, including nicotine pouches, off our streets.”
    —Inspector Etienne Thauvette, Officer in Charge RCMP Cornwall Detachment

    “Canada Border Services Agency officers are committed to disrupting organized crime. By intercepting contraband, we stop proceeds from being reinvested into other criminal activity. We will continue to work closely with the RCMP and other law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe.”
    —Jag Johnston, Regional Director General, CBSA Northern Ontario Region

    “The OPP is committed to working with our provincial and national partners to stem the flow of contraband tobacco, as well as illegal drugs and firearms, contributing to safer communities.”
    – OPP Acting Detective Inspector Tyler Stewart, Border Enforcement Security Task Force

    Products seized

    • Unstamped tobacco: 633 KG
    • Cigarettes: 280 000
    • Nicotine pouches: 180 380
    • Cigars: 17 400
    • Chewing tobacco: 1440 oz

    Vehicles seized

    • 2003 Chevy Silverado
    • 2015 Mazda 3
    • 2010 Black Kia Forte
    • 2020 Grey Honda Civic
    • 2014 White KIA Sedan
    • 2010 White Honda Civic
    • 2005 GMC Savana
    • 2009 White Dodge Ram Crew Cab

    Fast facts:

    • Ontario RCMP Border Integrity protect over 2,700km of the Canada-US border from Cornwall through the Great Lakes to the Manitoba border. The Canada-US border is the longest, safest border in the world.
    • Oral nicotine pouches over the 4mg limit as per the Food and Drugs Act are classified as prescription drugs as per Health Canada’s prescription drug list.
    • No person other than one of following shall import a prescription drug: a practitioner, a drug manufacturer, a wholesale druggist, a pharmacist or a resident of a foreign country while a visitor to Canada (policy of a 90-day supply).
    • Its effects are widespread, impacting public health, public safety, government revenue, and the broader economy.
    • Revenues from contraband tobacco often support organized crime activities, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and firearms smuggling.
    • Smuggling networks engage in violent activities and corruption, increasing risks to the public and law enforcement agencies.
    • The Canada Border Services Agency screens goods coming into Canada and examines more closely those that may pose a threat to the safety of Canadians.
    • For the latest enforcement statistics, visit Canada Border Services Agency seizures.

    If you have any information related to smuggling, drug importation, trafficking, or possession, or wish to report other criminality, you can contact the Ontario RCMP at 1-800-387-0020, the confidential CBSA Border Watch toll-free line at 1-888-502-9060 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), at any time.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a Machinegun and a Firearm

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A convicted felon has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing two firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.

    Kelvontae Rashad Wallace, 26, of Pell City, Alabama, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a machinegun.

    According to the plea agreement, between December 2023 and January 2024, Wallace illegally possessed a firearm and a machinegun on two separate occasions:

    On December 15, 2023, Talladega police officers responded to a call of a person shot at the Orange #1 gas station. Officers responded to the scene and found a victim lying on the ground that had been shot in the stomach, back, and both legs. Officers collected five .45 caliber spent shell casings from the scene and there were at least three bullet holes in the glass on the store windows and door. Surveillance video from the store showed Wallace drive up to the store, exit his vehicle, and shoot the victim with a Glock pistol that had been converted to a machinegun using machinegun conversion device, commonly referred to as a “Glock switch.”

    On January 2, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force and the Pell City Police Department went to Wallace’s apartment to arrest him for warrants for Assault, Fist Degree and Shooting into an Occupied Building arising from the December incident in Talladega. When the officers arrived, Wallace attempted to flee out the back door of the apartment, but the officers were able to apprehend and arrest him. Officers recovered a Century Arms Micro VSKA 7.62x39mm pistol with a round chambered and a loaded magazine from Wallace’s apartment.    

    ATF investigated the case along with the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force, Pell City Police Department, Talladega Police Department, and Anniston Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy M. Peoples prosecuted the case.  

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: ATF Warns Against Dangerous Illegal Explosive Devices

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Philadelphia – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Philadelphia Field Division warns Pennsylvanians about the dangers of illegal explosive devices before the July 4th holiday and encourages the public to report their manufacture and sales to protect their community.

    “They are dangerous explosives, not playthings for amusement,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division. “Just handling these devices puts you and anyone else around at risk of serious injury or death.”

    “Their manufacture, storage and handling can lead to deadly explosions and fire,” DeGree added. “When you buy them, you’re supporting dangerous criminal activity.”

    These dangerous devices are a particular concern in Pennsylvania, which accounted for almost 20% of all ATF illegal explosive device investigations nation-wide since 2020. To tackle the problem ATF Philadelphia works with state and local fire and police agencies as well as federal law enforcement agencies like the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to prevent manufacture and sales of illegal explosive devices, and to hold perpetrators accountable.

    “They’ll blow your hand or face off,” said Tim Brooks, a Certified Explosive Specialist Bomb Technician from the Philadelphia Police Department Bomb Disposal Unit assigned to the ATF Philadelphia Arson and Explosives Task Force. He is all too familiar with the danger posed by these devices, whose misuse can be deadly. “These devices are manufactured without safety oversight or quality control. The fillers inside occasionally contain small rocks that when bumped together can cause the slightest spark and set these off!”

    As part of its core mission, ATF actively regulates and investigates the illegal use of explosives. Under federal explosives law, it is illegal to manufacture, store, distribute, receive or transport explosive materials without a federal explosives license or permit. Violations are punishable with up to 10 years in federal prison.

    It is important to distinguish illegal explosives from regular consumer fireworks. Here are some signs that a device may be an illegal explosive device:

    • They are sold in a non-commercial location, such as out of a vehicle or residence.
    • The person with the device has no evidence of a receipt or commercial packaging, or they cannot tell you where they originally purchased it.
    • The device is often 1-6 inches long and up to an inch or more in diameter.
    • The casing resembles a roll of coins with a fuse. Some outer shells are made of cardboard tubes.
    • The outer covering is red, silver or brown in color.
    • The device looks oddly shaped and wrapped in brown paper that may be filled with an explosive material.

    These devices should not be handled if you have or find one. Anyone with such explosives (or items they think may be explosives) should act with extreme care and contact their police or fire departments for guidance. Either call the ATF tip line below or 911 to turn it over. The authorities will coordinate for proper safe handling and disposal.

    To protect yourself and your community ATF urges the public to report manufacturing or sales to your local police or ATF tip line at 888-ATF-BOMB (283-2662), 888-ATF-TIPS (283-8477), ATFTips@atf.gov, http://atf.gov/atf-tips, or via the ReportIt® app.

    “Have a happy and safe Independence Day holiday and summer,” said DeGree. “Don’t let dangerous illegal explosives wreck your life.”

    For further information on illegal explosives, visit the ATF’s website at https://www.atf.gov/explosives/illegal-explosives.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: One green sea turtle can contain the equivalent of 10 ping pong balls in plastic

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Xia (Alice) Zhu, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland

    Sea turtles can ingest dangerous amounts of plastic. (Shutterstock)

    Thousands to millions of tonnes of plastic enter the ocean annually, but where they end up is poorly understood.

    Scientists have been working to assemble the pieces of the puzzle for years, including estimating the size of the reservoir of plastic on the ocean surface, in the water column and in the deep ocean. However, marine animals are often overlooked.

    All animals can be reservoirs of plastic pollution, but to understand just how much ocean plastic pollution is stored in ocean life, we used sea turtles as a case study.

    Sea turtles ingest plastic debris of a variety of shapes and sizes, which can include pre-production pellets, foam, plastic bags, sheets, fishing gear and food wrappers. Their ingestion of plastic can come with a slew of negative impacts, some of which include starvation, emaciation and damage to the gut lining. Sea turtles can also become entangled in plastic nets and rope.

    Scripps News reports on the impacts of plastic pollution on sea turtles.

    Vulnerable species

    We focused on sea turtles because we know they’re impacted by plastics and are vulnerable to a changing ocean. Six out of the seven species of sea turtles are categorized as either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

    To estimate how much plastic resides within sea turtles, we built a model using data on plastic ingestion in sea turtles and factors we suspected may predict how much plastic a turtle eats. That includes geographical, socio-economic and ecological factors.

    We estimated the size of the global reservoir for female green turtles because we had the most data for that group.

    We estimate that approximately 60 tonnes of plastic debris reside within female green turtles at any given time. This is roughly the equivalent of a garbage truck’s worth of plastic pollution.

    Based on our findings, we also predicted that an individual green turtle can contain up to 26.4 grams of plastic on average, the equivalent mass of 10 ping pong balls.

    Predicting ingestion

    Where a turtle lives matters. We found that sea turtles who forage closer to the equator are more likely to accumulate plastic debris. Furthermore, turtles that forage nearby countries with a lower socio-economic status are likely to eat more plastic, as socio-economic status is related to waste management.

    We also found that species-specific characteristics, including body size and foraging strategy — where and how a turtle identifies and retrieves food — play a role.

    Loggerhead turtles forage in the open ocean for the first seven to 15 years of their lives.
    (Shutterstock)

    For instance, loggerhead turtles are carnivores and forage in the open ocean for the first seven to 15 years of their lives before migrating to nearshore coastal areas.

    In contrast, leatherback turtles spend most of their lives in the open ocean and feed on a diet of soft-bodied prey, including jellyfish and salps. This makes it easy for them to mistake balloons as food.

    Green turtles, on the other hand, primarily feed on algae and sea grasses, spending only three to five years in the open ocean before relocating to shallow coastal areas where they remain for the rest of their lives.

    These different behaviours of sea turtles, along with their body size, influence where and how turtles are exposed to plastic debris and how much plastic can fit inside a turtle’s stomach at any given time.

    Understanding what factors predict plastic ingestion is important for pinpointing which species are most at risk: we found that leatherback turtles have the greatest propensity for ingesting plastic debris.

    Future work

    Sea turtles are impacted by a changing ocean, and our plastic waste is part of that change. The relatively consistent load of plastic in sea turtles raises questions about risk.

    Thousands to millions of tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean annually.
    (Shutterstock)

    Relevant to our study, the next step is to try to understand how the plastic reservoir varies among other species. What is the total amount stored in global marine animals at any one time?

    In addition, could sea turtles and marine animals in general be transporting plastic debris around as they move, essentially acting as conveyor belts of plastic throughout the ocean?

    Call to action

    In order to answer these questions, we need more data for sea turtles and other species. We call for further monitoring of sea turtles to improve future modelling efforts and to inform risk. We also call for further monitoring of other species, and recommend standardized reporting practices and greater data transparency.

    We hope our findings demonstrate the value of monitoring to address knowledge gaps pertaining to the cycling of plastic in the environment. This knowledge, in turn, could help inform a Global Plastics Treaty.

    We also hope our work can inform direct actions to protect sea turtles from the effects of plastics, and reduce the amount of plastic entering the ocean.

    Xia (Alice) Zhu receives funding from the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

    Chelsea Rochman receives funding from NSERC, ECCC, DFO.

    Matthew Mazloff receives funding from NASA, NOAA, NSF, UCSD.

    – ref. One green sea turtle can contain the equivalent of 10 ping pong balls in plastic – https://theconversation.com/one-green-sea-turtle-can-contain-the-equivalent-of-10-ping-pong-balls-in-plastic-256630

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Deputy Secretary-General’s remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the 8th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction [as delivered]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    H.E. Mr. Ignazio Cassis, Foreign Minister of Switzerland and Member of the Swiss Federal Council; Excellencies; Distinguished Delegates; Ladies and Gentlemen,

    This 2025 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction comes at a critical point in time.

    Let me express my sincere appreciation to the Government and people of Switzerland for welcoming us at this crucial juncture on the road to 2030, and to co-chairs Patricia Danzi and Kamal Kishore and their dedicated teams for their leadership in steering the 8th Global Platform forward.

    We gather here with a profound sense of urgency, but also among geopolitical tensions, and an unwavering responsibility.

    Just last week, I stood among global leaders at the first High-Level International Conference for Glaciers’ Preservation in Dushanbe, witnessing first-hand the impact of climate change on Tajikistan’s Glacier’s in the Pamir mountain range. As a global community, the Conference issued an urgent call for action to safeguard these fragile ecosystems, reduce the impact of climate change on water-related ecosystems and invest in disaster prevention.

    Days later, one of the biggest Alpine disasters struck just 130 kilometres from here in Blatten. A glacier collapse could have cost countless lives, but thanks to the early warning systems, people and their livestock were evacuated in time.

    Still, the devastation is profound. I extend my deepest sympathies to the people of Blatten, who now face a difficult task of recovering what was lost.

    This disaster is a stark reminder: early warnings save lives, but they alone cannot save glaciers from disappearing. Communities and ecosystems depend on these ice reserves, and the consequences of their loss are irreversible. 

    If global warming exceeds 1.5°C, the impacts will cascade across the planet. The UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All Initiative is helping countries prepare for climate-related shocks while strengthening climate resilience. But we must scale up this rapidly, ensuring that no one is left behind.

    Excellencies,

    When we came together in 2015 to adopt the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we did more than set ambitious goals, we made a solemn promise to build a world that is safer, more equitable, and more resilient.

    Yet, that promise stands at a crossroads.

    Although we have made progress since Paris in bringing down projected temperature increases, we are now dangerously close to the 1.5 degrees limit, and every new scientific report tells us that another climate indicator is flashing red.

    Just last week, WMO projected that we will likely see temperatures rise above 1.5 degrees not just for a single year but over the next five years.

    Disasters are not just increasing in scale and cost—they are striking with growing intensity and unpredictability, leaving no country or region untouched.

    Every delay in action carries a devastating human and economic toll.

    The 2025 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction highlights direct losses from disasters at $202 billion annually, but when cascading and ecosystem costs are considered, total losses exceed 2.3 trillion US dollars annually.

    Disasters have devastating effects on the world’s most vulnerable countries – LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS –derailing economies, deepening inequity, and pushing them further off the path of sustainable development.

    Middle Income Countries also face mounting setbacks, as disasters divert critical resources away from long-term growth.

    Even developed countries are not immune. Record-breaking disasters are making entire regions uninsurable, exposing new vulnerabilities.

    Meanwhile, the Sustainable Development Goals are dangerously off track, with an annual financing gap of over 4 trillion dollars.

    Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

    Protecting development gains from disaster impacts is more urgent than ever.

    Progress is possible and we have seen it.

    Over the past decade, disaster mortality rates have declined, early warning systems have expanded, and two-thirds of countries that are part of the Sendai Framework now have disaster risk strategies in place.

    But this is not enough. We must go further and faster to deliver on Early Warning Systems for All by 2027.

    We must continue to build momentum powered by innovation, determination, and multi-networked leadership.

    Your actions demonstrate that “resilience does pay” when governments, local actors, the private sector, youth and all of society come together to take action.

    From Artificial Intelligence, predictive analytics and machine learning models, new tools together with traditional knowledge and on the ground practitioners are transforming how we predict, prevent, and mitigate disasters.

    They must be expanded for proactive, data-driven prevention – saving lives while protecting livelihoods and assets.

    Immediate, real-time monitoring, advanced satellite imagery and geographic information systems can complement preparedness strategies, coordination, and our 2030 Agenda’s promise of leaving no one behind.

    These transformative actions must be scaled to ensure resilience is not an after-thought, but the foundation for our long-term prosperity.

    Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

    I see three key actions to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework in the remaining five years.

    First, we must prioritize risk-informed development across all sectors and levels. This means putting prevention and resilience at the centre of every decision, investment, and policy that we make.

    Every dollar invested in infrastructure, energy, cities, agriculture… must strengthen resilience, not exacerbate future risk.

    At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, we have a chance to reform global development finance and address the debt crisis, enabling us to have more fiscal space to avert these crises.

    Second, we must urgently scale up public and private investments in resilience.  All nations must dedicate a larger portion of public budgets to disaster risk reduction and establish national financing frameworks that align economic development plans with risk reduction and climate adaptation needs.

    We must acknowledge resilience as a long-term economic necessity – and the best return on investment.

    Instruments like catastrophe bonds, risk pools, and climate-resilient insurance can ensure faster recovery while reducing economic strain on vulnerable communities.

    I encourage you to work with the private sector to mobilize new ways of funding resilience and integrating it into long-term business practices.

    Third, we must strengthen our solidarity and cooperation. The risks we face are interconnected — across geographies, political boundaries and development sectors.

    By September, nations will submit new climate plans – or nationally determined contributions. Strong, ambitious strategies to cut emissions and fortify resilience will shape our future and drastically reduce the risk of climate-related disasters.

    Our responses must also be based on behavioural science and predictive forecasting. We must focus particularly on those who are most vulnerable and those already living on the frontlines of crisis.

    The UN Secretariat is committed to supporting you seizing every global opportunity to drive change towards resilience, breaking the vicious cycle of debt, uninsurability and crises.

    This Platform, I believe must elevate disaster risk reduction across the UN system –  from the UN Ocean Conference, to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, to COP30, to the World Summit on Social Development, and beyond.

    Excellencies, Friends,

    This is not business as usual.

    The cost of inaction is already unbearable for many – and the choices we make now will shape the lives of generations to come.

    Disaster risk reduction is not an option – it must be at the heart of our efforts to secure a safer, more sustainable, and more just world.

    So let us rise to that moment — with resolve, with investment, and with the partnerships we need to deliver real results in the lives of people while protecting our planet.

    Thank you.

    ***
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Joint Statement on Sudan convoy attack

    Source: World Food Programme

    ROME/NEW YORK, 3 June 2025 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF condemn an attack on a joint humanitarian convoy near Al Koma, North Darfur last night. Five members of the convoy were killed and several more people were injured. Multiple trucks were burned, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged.

    The convoy, made up of 15 trucks, was attempting to reach children and families in famine-affected El Fasher with life-saving food and nutrition supplies. Following months of escalating violence, hundreds of thousands of people in El Fasher – many of them children – are at high risk of malnutrition and starvation if supplies do not urgently reach them.

    As is standard with our humanitarian convoys, the route was shared in advance, and parties on the ground were notified and aware of the location of the trucks. Under international humanitarian law, aid convoys must be protected, and parties have the obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. 

    Both agencies demand an immediate end to attacks on humanitarian personnel, their facilities and vehicles – a violation under international humanitarian law.  

    We call for an urgent investigation and for the perpetrators to be held to account.

    We extend our condolences to the families of those killed and our heartfelt sympathy and support to all those injured. It is devastating the supplies have not reached the vulnerable children and families they were intended to. The convoy had travelled over 1,800km from Port Sudan and we were negotiating access to complete the journey to El Fasher when it was attacked.

    This latest incident follows a series of attacks on humanitarian operations over the past two years, including last week’s bombardment of WFP’s premises in El Fasher which damaged a workshop, office building and clinic. 

    Attacks on humanitarian staff, aid, operations, as well as civilians and civilian infrastructure in Sudan have continued for far too long with impunity. WFP and UNICEF colleagues remain on the ground despite the insecurity, but call for safe, secure operating conditions, and for international humanitarian law to be respected by all parties. The lives of millions in Sudan, including in locations like El Fasher in Darfur, depend on it.

    # # #

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.

    Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Completion of Affordable Senior Development in Buffalo

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced the completion of Mt. Olive Senior Manor, an affordable housing development for seniors that builds on the State’s historic $50 million investment in Buffalo’s East Side. Developed in partnership between Mt. Olive Development Corporation and People Inc., the new building creates 65 apartments for adults aged 55 and older, including 20 apartments with supportive services for individuals struggling with homelessness, on an underutilized parcel adjacent to the Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State Homes and Community Renewal has financed more than 11,000 affordable homes in Erie County. Mt. Olive Senior Manor continues this effort and complements Governor Hochul’s $25 billion five-year housing plan, which is on track to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide.

    “Through strong partnerships with faith-based organizations like Mt. Olive Baptist Church, we are transforming underutilized spaces into vibrant, affordable homes for New York’s seniors,” Governor Hochul said. “Mt. Olive Senior Manor reflects our commitment to delivering safe, supportive housing that meets the unique needs of the East Side’s residents, advancing our bold vision to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes across New York.”

    The three-story development is constructed on land next door to the Mt. Olive Baptist Church that has undergone brownfield remediation. All apartments are affordable to households earning up to 50 percent of the Area Median Income.

    Twenty apartments are set aside for seniors in need of supportive services to live independently. Services and rental subsidies are funded by the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative and administered by the New York State Department of Health. The service provider is People Inc.

    Residential amenities include a community room with kitchen, laundry facilities, bicycle storage area, management office, support service offices, multipurpose room, a lounge area, and an enclosed courtyard with walkable space and a patio. To support residents as they age, the building’s design includes features such as grab bars, low-reach shelving and cabinets, lever-style door handles, under cabinet lighting, and zero transition showers.

    The development was designed to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Multifamily New Construction – Energy Rating Index compliance path. The highly energy efficient, all-electric development features include electric vehicle charging stations, Energy Star appliances and lighting, low flow plumbing fixtures, and high efficiency mechanical equipment.

    State financing for Mt. Olive Senior Manor includes support from HCR’s Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program that generated more than $13 million in equity, as well as $3.6 million in subsidy. The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is providing $4 million through the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program. Additionally, the site participated in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s successful Brownfield Cleanup Program and became eligible for $3.6 million in tax credits administered by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency awarded $2 million in HOME funds. NYSERDA’s New Construction – Housing Program contributed $260,000 in incentives.

    New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “Mt. Olive Senior Manor exemplifies New York State’s commitment to creating affordable, supportive housing, including in partnership with faith-based organizations, that uplifts residents and strengthens communities like East Buffalo. This $27 million investment not only provides safe, modern homes and vital services that seniors deserve, but allows 65 households to stay and thrive in the community they love. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, we will continue to create more housing opportunities for New Yorkers of every age and income level.”

    New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Barbara C. Guinn said, “The 20 supportive housing units created as part of this development will help older adults in Erie County who have experienced homelessness by providing a safe, stable home and access to support services that will enable them to age in place. Congratulations to Mt. Olive Baptist Church, People Inc., and all of our state and local partners on the successful completion of Mt. Olive Senior Manor.”

    New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “Everyone should have access to environmentally safe and affordable housing. For more than two decades, the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program has played a critical role in cleaning up formerly contaminated sites, returning them to productive use, and supporting local revitalization efforts. DEC is proud to oversee this critical program and its contribution to achieving Governor Hochul’s affordable housing goals in communities like Buffalo, including the Mt. Olive Senior Housing Development, while supporting DEC’s mission to protect public health and the environment for all.”

    NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Projects like Mt. Olive Senior Manor are helping shape a cleaner, more modern future for every New Yorker. Integrating the latest clean energy technology into affordable housing not only provides access to healthier, more comfortable living spaces for Western New York’s older adults, but helps improve the quality of life for many living in a historically underserved community.”

    State Senator April N. M. Baskin said, “This type of collaboration is meaningful on many levels: it’s a successful partnership between Mt. Olive and the leading human services agency in our region, People Inc.. This project also reimagines an underutilized parcel, turning it into a beautiful space benefiting our older East Side residents. Mt. Olive Baptist Manor is a safe and affordable place to call home, enabling our elders to live their best life in a way they surely deserve.”

    Erie County Legislator St. Jean Tard said, “It is an honor to celebrate the opening of Mt. Olive Senior Manor, a development that brings both hope and stability to our community. This project represents more than new construction—it’s a commitment to the well-being of our seniors, especially those who have faced the hardships of homelessness. Transforming a long-vacant site into a place of safety, care, and opportunity is a powerful reflection of what can be achieved through meaningful collaboration. I extend my sincere thanks to Mt. Olive Development Corp., People Inc., and all the partners who brought this vision to life.”

    Buffalo Common Council Member Zeneta Everhart said, “The newly constructed Mt. Olive Senior Manor located in the Masten District is an essential facility to meet the needs of our seniors and people struggling with homelessness. Thanks to major investments from the state and the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, what was once a vacant brownfield is now a great and affordable home for dozens of our older neighbors. I am grateful to Governor Hochul and the New York State Homes and Community Renewal for investing in our community and prioritizing the needs of vulnerable residents.”

    People Inc. President and CEO Anne McCaffrey said, “We are extremely proud to join Mt. Olive Development Corp., federal, state and local government officials in unveiling this impactful housing complex,” said Anne McCaffrey, People Inc. president and CEO. “We are providing more than just new housing. We are creating life-changing opportunities for living that are invigorating communities and meeting a critical regional need. Mt. Olive Senor Manor will help people live their best lives, which is central to People Inc.’s mission and vision for the communities we serve.”

    Governor Hochul’s Housing Agenda

    Governor Hochul is dedicated to addressing New York’s housing crisis and making the State more affordable and more livable for all New Yorkers. As part of the FY25 Enacted Budget, the Governor secured a landmark agreement to increase New York’s housing supply through new tax incentives, capital funding, and new protections for renters and homeowners. Building on this commitment, the FY26 Enacted Budget includes more than $1.5 billion in new State funding for housing, a Housing Access Voucher pilot program, and new policies to improve affordability for tenants and homebuyers. These measures complement the Governor’s five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan, included in the FY23 Enacted Budget, to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. More than 60,000 homes have been created or preserved to date.

    The FY25 and FY26 Enacted Budgets also strengthened the Governor’s Pro-Housing Community Program — which allows certified localities exclusive access to up to $750 million in discretionary State funding. Currently, more than 300 communities have received Pro Housing certification, including Buffalo.

    MIL OSI USA News –