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  • MIL-OSI Security: Bridgeport Gang Member Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Federal Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    JAHAZ LANGSTON, also known as “Haz,” 25, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 188 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a violent Bridgeport street gang.

    Today’s announcement was made by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Joseph T. Corradino, State’s Attorney for the Fairfield Judicial District; Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter; Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Acting U.S. Marshal Lawrence Bobnick.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police and Bridgeport Police have been investigating multiple Bridgeport-based gangs whose members are involved in narcotics trafficking, murder, and other acts of violence.  Langston was a member of the Original North End (“O.N.E.”), a gang based in the Trumbull Gardens area of Bridgeport that committed acts of violence against rival gangs, including the East End gang, the East Side gang, and the PT Barnum gang.  O.N.E. members also robbed drug dealers, customers, and others, sold narcotics, and stole cars from inside and outside Connecticut, often using the cars to commit crimes.  They frequently used social media to promote and coordinate their criminal activities.

    Text messages and social media posts reviewed during the investigation confirmed that Langston possessed and sold narcotics and firearms, stole vehicles, and was involved in related violent criminal activity alongside other O.N.E. members and associates.

    The investigation also determined that Langston and fellow O.N.E. member Amire Newsome conspired to murder rival gang members and, on March 7, 2021, shot and severely injured the mother of two rival gang members as she drove her vehicle on I-95.

    O.N.E. members committed other violent crimes, including murder.

    Langston has been detained since his arrest on July 20, 2021.  On September 13, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.

    Approximately 47 members and associates of multiple Bridgeport-based gangs have been convicted of federal offenses stemming from this investigation, which has solved eight murders and approximately 20 attempted murders.

    Newsome pleaded guilty on August 16, 2023, and awaits sentencing.

    This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Bridgeport Police Department, Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, Waterbury Police Department, and Naugatuck Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, Stephanie T. Levick, and Rahul Kale.

    This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

    PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. 

    Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities.  Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it.  If a group member elects to engage in gun violence, the focused attention of federal, state and local law enforcement will be directed at that entire group.

    OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Experts of the Committee against Torture Praise France’s Engagement with the Review Process, Ask about Prison Overcrowding and Excessive Use of Force by the Police

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Committee against Torture today concluded its consideration of the eighth periodic report of France under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, with Committee Experts praising the State’s engagement with the review process, and raising questions about prison overcrowding and excessive use of force by the police.

    Abderrazak Rouwane, Country Co-Rapporteur and Committee Expert, commended France’s strong engagement with the review process, with the participation of a large, high-level delegation, the national human rights institution and civil society.

    Mr. Rouwane said conditions in French prisons were very concerning, with serious overcrowding. There were over 79,000 prisoners, although there were only 61,000 prison places, and there were reports of rodent, cockroach and bedbug infestations, poor sanitation facilities, and a lack of penitentiary staff.  What measures were in place to prevent prison occupancy from exceeding 100 per cent?

    Jorge Contesse, Country Co-Rapporteur and Committee Expert, said excessive use of force by French police officers at road checks and during protests had in certain cases led to serious injury and death.  A 2017 law allowed police officers to fire on civilians if they believed that they posed a significant threat, which reportedly influenced the rise in deaths caused by police officers since 2017.  What measures were in place to prevent excessive use of force by the police?

    Introducing the report, Isabelle Rome, Ambassador for Human Rights, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France and head of the delegation, said France was working to fight against prison overcrowding and improve prison conditions.  The Ministry of Justice was developing alternatives to incarceration, strengthening early release mechanisms and constructing prison buildings to create 15,000 additional places.  Some 6,500 new places had been created and 17 new detention facilitates had been established thus far.

    The delegation added that a 2019 law scrapped prison terms of less than one month, while a 2021 law strengthened mechanisms for early release such as bail and a 2023 law promoted alternatives to detention, such as house arrests with electronic tags and community service

    On excessive use of force by police officers, Ms. Rome said various training activities had been conducted for State officials on human rights and the prevention of violence. The police code of ethics stated that force was to be used only when necessary and proportionate to the seriousness of the threat.  France had also reformed its doctrine of policing demonstrations, guaranteeing the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly.

    The delegation added that the judiciary imposed proper sanctions for cases of excessive use of force, including imprisonment.  There were 350 cases of excessive use of force in 2021.  In 96 per cent of convictions, perpetrators were imprisoned; the average prison term was 15 months.

    In closing remarks, Erdogan Iscan, Committee Vice-Chair and acting Chair for the dialogue, expressed appreciation for the delegation’s active engagement in the constructive dialogue.  The Committee’s recommendations would aim to improve the implementation of the Convention in the State party and eliminate obstacles.

    In her concluding remarks, Ms. Rome said that the Committee’s painstaking work would inspire the State party in its future endeavours.  Its recommendations would be closely scrutinised by the State party.  France would continue to promote the Convention and combat torture around the world.

    The delegation of France consisted of representatives from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Overseas Territories; Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of the Armed Forces; Ministry of Health and Prevention; French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons; and the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

    The Committee will issue concluding observations on the report of France at the end of its eighty-second session on 2 May.  Those, and other documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, will be available on the website of the session.  Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, and webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.

    The Committee will next meet in public on Wednesday, 23 April at 10 a.m. to consider the third periodic report of Turkmenistan (CAT/C/TKM/3).

     

    Report

    The Committee has before it the eighth periodic report of France (CAT/C/FRA/8).

    Presentation of Report

    ISABELLE ROME, Ambassador for Human Rights, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France and head of the delegation, said respect for human rights and the prohibition of any act of torture or inhuman and degrading treatment were priorities in France’s foreign policy.  On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the President made concrete commitments, such as the organisation of the ninth World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris in 2026.  On the fortieth anniversary of the Convention in 2024, France issued a statement reaffirming its support for the universalisation and implementation of the Convention and its Optional Protocol. Together with its partners, France organised the first World Congress on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva at the end of January 2025. 

    As a member of the Global Alliance for Torture-Free Trade, France would continue to support the development of an international and binding legal instrument on trade in goods which could be used for capital punishment or torture.  While France already applied European provisions on such trade, regulating trade in such goods at the international level would be a crucial step towards eradicating torture and ill-treatment globally.

    France had strengthened its public policies regarding torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment since its last report in 2020.  Various training activities for State officials on human rights and the prevention of violence had been increased.  The Code of Ethics of the National Police and the National Gendarmerie stated that force was to be used only within the framework set by law, only when necessary, and proportionate to the seriousness of the threat.  Judicial authorities investigated the most serious cases of alleged crimes and misdemeanours by police officers.  The State had also reformed its doctrine of policing demonstrations, guaranteeing the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

    The legal framework guaranteed the right of persons in police custody to notify any person of their choice, the right to a doctor, the right to silence, and the right to be immediately assisted by a lawyer.  France was also working to fight against prison overcrowding and improve prison conditions.  It adopted a preventive remedy mechanism in April 2021 to guarantee the right to respect for dignity in detention and a decree in June 2023 on legal aid.  In addition, the Ministry of Justice was developing alternatives to incarceration, strengthening early release mechanisms and constructing prison buildings to create 15,000 places.  Measures had been put in place to increase access to psychiatric care in prisons and to control the use of solitary confinement.  The policy to combat suicide in prisons was bearing fruit, and measures to prevent and punish gender-based violence against intersex and transgender people had been implemented.  Further, at psychiatric establishments, structural reforms and significant financial measures had been taken to strengthen care and the training of caregivers.

    The immigration law of January 2024 introduced several significant advances: the creation of “France asylum” spaces and territorial chambers of the National Court of Asylum, simplification of immigration litigation, more effective protection of the most vulnerable asylum seekers, the cessation of detention of families with minors, and the creation of a fine for employers who used the work of foreigners without a residence permit in France.

    France was under no obligation under the Convention to remove the statute of limitations on the offence of torture.  However, the offence of torture as a predicate offence of the crime against humanity remained imprescriptible.

    In December 2023, France presented its third national plan to combat the exploitation and trafficking of human beings, for the years 2024 to 2027, consisting of 60 measures, the follow-up of which would be coordinated by an interministerial committee.  The Central Office for the Repression of Trafficking in Human Beings had also developed a strategy to combat the prostitution system and sexual exploitation.

    France was more committed than ever to the fight against discrimination, hate crimes and hate speech, in particular acts committed online.  A national unit for the fight against online hate was created within the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2020.  The National Plan for Equality developed for the period 2023-2026 included concrete and ambitious actions to eradicate the scourge of hatred and violence.  In May 2024, the President announced the creation of a new non-governmental organization, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.  A May 2024 law was also introduced to regulate the digital space to strengthen the repression of hate speech.

    In New Caledonia, the Government had been particularly active to guarantee the safety of people during the recent riots.  Emergency measures, for the benefit of the economic world and local authorities, had been deployed.  The working mission set up by the Head of State was engaging in dialogue with the local political forces, in the spirit of the Nouméa Accords.  In Mayotte, France had carried out operations aimed at restoring public order and combatting illegal immigration, and had accelerated the processing of asylum applications.  It was also heavily mobilised in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido. France remained committed to supporting the people of Mayotte in this ordeal by mobilising all the resources necessary for reconstruction and the restoration of daily life.

    Nine years after France’s last examination before this Committee and five years after the publication of its national report, France was staying the course to ensure that progress was made in the fight against torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in France and internationally.

    Questions by Committee Experts

    JORGE CONTESSE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said France’s Criminal Code criminalised torture but did not specifically define the crime. The State needed to integrate a definition that was in line with article one of the Convention.  Why was the State party reluctant to have a stand-alone definition of torture, unlike other common law countries?  What court rulings had included specific definitions of torture? Why had France refused to remove the statute of limitations on torture crimes unless the crime was a crime against humanity?

    Reportedly, there were excessive delays in police informing detainees of their rights, particularly for arrests after demonstrations.  There were reports of excessive arrests to dissuade protesters.  Police custody lasted up to 48 hours, but this could be extended to 96 hours for serious offences.  The Committee was concerned by reported plans to increase the length of police custody, and reports of excessive handcuffing and poor training of police on custody regulations.  Was training on police ethics provided only on recruitment or continuously?  Was training provided on the Istanbul Protocol? Were there plans to introduce tools to monitor torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in police custody?

    Excessive use of force by French police officers at road checks and during protests had in certain cases led to serious injury and death.  What measures were in place to prevent excessive use of force?  One man of African descent had died in 2016 following arrest, and no one had been held accountable.  There were grounds to believe that there was a lack of proper training on excessive use of force.  A law of 2017 allowed police officers to fire on civilians if they believed that they posed a significant threat.  This law had reportedly influenced the rise in deaths caused by police officers since 2017.  Had the State party implemented measures to address racism in the police force?  What were the findings of the 2024 thinktank established to assess the increase in incidents of excessive use of force? What measures were in place to prevent excessive use of force by the police and what penalties were issued to perpetrators?

    In New Caledonia, eight Kanak protesters were killed by French officials under the state of emergency.  A large number of protesters were arrested and many claimed to have been beaten by police officers.  Why were detained persons taken to mainland France?  Why did the State party refuse to recognise the rights of indigenous peoples on French territory?

    Restrictions on immigration had reportedly increased due to a recent law on immigration control.  The fast-tracked procedure introduced by this law gave asylum seekers less time to prepare their cases.  What was the State party’s view of these legal changes?  How were lawyers who represented asylum seekers chosen and how was their performance assessed?  There were concerns about unlawful deportations and failure to respect the rights of asylum seekers.  France had forcibly expelled over 3,500 asylum seekers without sufficiently assessing the risks that they faced in their home countries.  What measures were in place to prevent forced expulsions? Would the State party respect the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in this regard?  How many appeals had been made against forced removals and what were their outcomes?

    State law was clear that French courts could prosecute people pursuant to the Convention for torture crimes committed outside of France; why did the same provisions not apply on crimes committed domestically?  France had called for the arrest of the President of the Russian Federation under the Rome Statute in 2024 but had stated that the President of Israel was immune to the International Court of Justice’s arrest warrant.  Why did its position differ for these two leaders?

    ABDERRAZAK ROUWANE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, welcomed that the State party had provided detailed responses to the list of issues.  He also commended France’s strong engagement with the review process, with the participation of a large, high-level delegation, the national human rights institution and civil society.

    Nothing justified the violence that had been seen since Sunday in prisons against penitentiary staff in France, but conditions in prisons were very concerning, with serious prison overcrowding.  There were over 79,000 prisoners in France, although there were only 61,000 prison places. The overcrowding rate was 150 per cent on average, and one prison had a rate of over 300 per cent.  There had been a 5.6 per cent increase in pre-trial detainees in 2024 compared to 2023.  There were reports of rodent, cockroach and bedbug infestations in prisons, poor sanitation facilities, a lack of access to natural light, and a lack of penitentiary staff. 

    What measures were in place to develop a law to prevent prison occupancy from exceeding 100 per cent?  Detainees were not informed about the complex complaints’ mechanisms available.  What measures would the State party take to bolster non-custodial alternatives and reduce the use of pre-trial detention? How did the State party ensure that full body searches were only conducted when necessary and prevent excessive night surveillance activities?  What was the legal framework related to body searches, night searches, and the complaints mechanism for prisoners?

    Prison overcrowding inhibited prisoners’ access to medical services.  Detainees needed to send written advanced requests for medical check-ups and there was a high rate of cancellation of medical transfers due to logistical difficulties.  Detainees with psychosocial disabilities were disproportionately represented in prisons. What steps had been taken to improve access to medical services in prisons and to prevent the incarceration of persons with psychosocial disabilities?  The number of suicides in places of deprivation of liberty in 2024 had increased compared to 2023, despite measures implemented to prevent them. How many investigations had been opened into suicides, and how many staff had been convicted related to prison deaths?

    Disciplinary seclusion measures were reportedly excessively used in places of deprivation of liberty.  How was the State party addressing this issue?  The law provided a maximum duration of solitary confinement for up to 30 days. What measures would the State party take to ban solitary confinement for minors aged between 16 and 18 and persons with psychosocial disabilities? 

    Maximum security wings had been established for persons accused of terrorism that were tantamount to solitary confinement.  Detainees were systematically handcuffed when guards carried out random checks and there were frequent full body searches.  What measures were in place to increase human contact for persons in these wings and to protect their rights?  How would the State party prevent the unnecessary detention of persons with disabilities and ensure that such people had access to the necessary support and facilities that they needed?

    Police custody facilities were small and inappropriate, with overcrowding, poor sanitation facilities, unwashed blankets and lack of access to drinking water.  In one case, a detainee had spent the night handcuffed to a waiting bench rather than being placed in a cell.  How would the State party ensure that handcuffs were used only as provided for in law, improve detainment facilities, and strengthen training for police officers on detainees’ rights?

    The Committee welcomed the 2024 ban on administrative detention for children.  However, administrative detention centres increasingly resembled prisons, with poor facilities, insufficient provision of food, and wire cages for detainees.  How would the State party improve conditions in administrative detention and prevent the detention of unaccompanied minors in Mayotte?

    There were 112 holding areas at ports on French territory.  Some 8,600 persons were held in these areas in 2023, where conditions were reportedly worsening.  There was no separation of men, women and children, and it was hard for detainees to access health care and psychological care, leading to suicides.  There were also reports of detained persons being subjected to violence.  How would the State party encourage civil society organizations and oversight bodies to visit these areas?  How would it improve conditions and access to support services and prevent the detainment of children in these areas?

    There were around 500 incidents reported to the Ombudsman in 2023 related to the excessive use of force by police officers.  Administrative penalties had been issued to police officers in around 40 cases.  The rate of prosecutions for such cases had fallen between 2016 and 2021.  Why was this?  The Committee was concerned by the increase in the use of tasers.  Three people were seriously injured in 2023 by tasers.  A 30-year-old man’s heart had stopped twice after police used a taser on him.  How did the State party ensure that the use of tasers followed principles of proportionality?

    Another Committee Expert cited reports that police identity checks disproportionately targeted persons belonging to racial and ethnic minorities, particularly Black and Arab persons.  Would the Government take measures to ensure that police used stop-and-search measures in strict compliance with international law?  What oversight was there of these practices?

    One Committee Expert asked about measures to properly investigate cases of sexual violence and to strengthen support services for victims of sexual violence and incest. There were reports of mothers being criminalised for child abduction in cases where they sought to protect their children from abusive fathers.  How would the State prevent the prosecution of mothers in such cases?  Could the State party provide information on investigations into cases of sexual violence committed by French troops in the Central African Republic?  What safeguards were in place to ensure consent for medical procedures on intersex persons?

    A Committee Expert asked about pre-deployment training provided to French peacekeepers on international humanitarian law.  What training did police receive on the use of tasers and other equipment?  The United Nations General Assembly had called on States to prevent and prohibit trade in equipment for the purposes of torture. What legal and policy measures were in place in this regard?

    One Committee Expert said that in recent years, the Government had initiated fewer investigations into trafficking and prosecuted fewer traffickers.  Enforcement authorities reportedly continued to arrest child victims of forced begging and deport undocumented minors from Mayotte without investigating whether they were victims of trafficking.  How was this being prevented?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said France believed that the Criminal Code covered the provisions of the Convention; there was thus no need to revise it.  There was a 2022 court of cassation ruling that included a definition of torture that was in line with that of the European Convention on Human Rights.  The crime of torture was not time-barred when it was part of a crime against humanity or genocide.  The statute of limitations lasted for 20 years from the commission of the crime; the State party believed that this was long enough.

    There had been major reforms to police custody legislation that allowed for immediate access to lawyers from the moment of detention.  Persons in detention could inform third parties of the detention and needed to be immediately informed of their rights.  Police custody was rendered void if it did not respect legal regulations.  It could not exceed 24 hours, but could be extended by courts in certain situations, such as in cases of drug trafficking and terrorism due to the complex nature of investigations.  Preventative arrest was illegal in France.

    Respect for human dignity and hygiene in places of deprivation of liberty was a priority for the State party.  It was modernising police detention facilities, installing floor heating, and expanding cell sizes.  The Police Commissioner and the Head of the Gendarme Brigade were responsible for ensuring appropriate detention conditions and regular cleaning.  There were regular inspections of the gendarmerie and police stations.  The percentage of blankets that had been washed had increased between 2016 and 2021, and single-use blankets were also being used.  Water was not available in cells for security reasons, but police were required to provide water to detainees when they asked for it. Persons were not to be placed in cells with blocked toilets.  Around 90 per cent of facilities had hygiene kits.

    There was initial training for police and gendarmerie officers on regulations related to arrests, ethics and appropriate use of force, and additional training was provided to officers upon promotion.  Officers who handled weapons needed to go through training each year on rules related to the use of weapons.  Work psychology programmes had been set up that promoted de-escalation and delaying the use of weapons.  Victims’ associations provided testimony during training courses. 

    The national training college for prison guards provided theoretical training on European legislation on human rights and the use of force, and virtual reality helmets were used in practical training for guards on preventing violence.  Prison guards were trained to build positive relationships with inmates and to use non-violent means of resolving conflicts. Persons who conducted hearings of asylum seekers were trained on the Istanbul Protocol and on identifying victims of torture.  A Government body had been established that focused on issues of torture and trauma in asylum assessments.

    Police and the gendarme were guided by the Criminal Code, which gave them the right to decide whether to handcuff an individual based on the threat that they posed and the flight risk.  Training taught officers how to observe and read situations and to follow technical guidelines.  Handcuffing to a fixed point could only be done when necessary to prevent persons in custody from becoming a danger to themselves or police.  Handcuffing persons lying on their stomach was prohibited in 2021.

    Tear gas was not recommended to be used in closed areas such as football stadiums.  There was rigorous training on tear gas, flash-ball launchers and tasers, which could not be used on moving vehicles.  Police were bound to provide immediate assistance to persons struck by these weapons.  Sonar grenades were used to disperse crowds rather than explosive devices. There was post-facto judicial oversight on the use of these devices.

    Police could only carry out identity checks if there was a suspicion of illegal or threatening behaviour or an arrest warrant.  Body searches sometimes needed to be carried out during identity checks to check for weapons.  Only officers of the same sex could carry out such searches and there was post-facto judicial oversight.

    State agents received ongoing training on the appropriate use of force.  The 2017 law spelled out the rules on the appropriate use of force, respecting the principles of necessity and proportionality. There were 5,300 assaults on police in 2023.  In 2015 and 2016, many police officers had been killed; this number had reduced each year since.

    Law enforcement officials’ activity was monitored by plaintiffs, external oversight bodies and superiors.  Members of the public could report illegal behaviour via various channels; some 6,000 complaints had been received in 2024.  Investigations were carried out into all complaints, and prosecutions or administrative actions were taken to respond to failings.  Close to 600 police officers had been sanctioned in 2024. The judiciary imposed proper sanctions for cases of excessive use of force, including imprisonment.  There were 350 cases of excessive use of force in 2021.  In 96 per cent of convictions, perpetrators were imprisoned; the average prison term was 15 months.

    Racial and facial profiling were prohibited.  Complaints related to racial profiling and discriminatory identity checks represented only a small percentage of complaints against police.  Officers were required to explain why identity checks were carried out and to wear body cameras when carrying out checks.

    Training was provided to prison staff at juvenile detention centres on responding to violent situations.  Prison guards were not allowed to use any form of violence against detainees. Force could only be used when necessary and needed to be proportionate.  Excessive use of force was reported to the judiciary for investigation.  Accused guards could be suspended and their salary withheld.

    The rights of irregular migrants were systematically respected in administrative detention centres. People placed in these centres were deemed to be a threat to public order; half of the people in these centres had served prison sentences.  All cases of excessive use of force by officials were subject to judicial oversight.

    New Caledonia had been trying to develop its institutional framework.  Some stakeholders had been expressing their discontent with this process, giving rise to protests in spring 2024, in which hundreds of people were injured.  There were 14 deaths, including deaths of two gendarmes.  Hundreds of firearms were fired at police officers, and hundreds of people who participated in the protests were subsequently subjected to prison sentences.  A minister for the overseas territories had since been appointed and would promote a peaceful emancipation process.

    All persons’ rights were protected in France, regardless of their cultural and racial heritage.  French authorities paid special attention to the needs and desires of persons living in its overseas territories, including related to health, education and land rights. The legal framework was reconciled with customary laws in Guyana and New Caledonia by customary councils of indigenous peoples.  Authorities supported these bodies and sought to increase their resources.

    Deaths of migrants could be attributed to traffickers and businesses that exploited migrants’ suffering.  Some 73 migrants had died in the English Channel.  Law enforcement officials sought to prevent deaths of migrants at sea. When foreign citizens posed threats to the country, they could be extradited.  Appeals to extraditions could be lodged within 24 hours of the decision.  Qualified legal experts represented foreigners that lodged appeals.  The principle of non-refoulement was respected by France in extradition procedures.  Risks of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment were taken into consideration by officials at all stages of proceedings. France sought guarantees from receiving countries that extradited persons would not be subjected to torture.

    The overall prison occupation rate was 131 per cent as of 2025.  The Ministry of Justice had rolled out a voluntary prison regulation policy.  A 2019 law scrapped prison terms of less than one month, while a 2021 law strengthened mechanisms for early release such as bail.  A 2023 law promoted alternatives to detention, such as house arrests with electronic tags and community service.  There was a programme in place to add 15,000 prison places.  Some 6,500 new places had been created and 17 new detention facilitates had been established thus far.  In 2024, 18 million euros were allocated to renovation and maintenance of overseas prisons.  In Mayotte, Cyclone Chido had caused damage to detention facilities; funds had been allocated to ensure repairs and to reduce overcrowding in these facilities.

    French law established strict conditions for the detention of minors.  Minors aged 16 to 18 could only be held in solitary confinement for three to six days, or in single person blocks from five to seven days. Seclusion did not restrict their access to family visits or medical and education services.  The number of suicides in prisons had increased in recent years; it was around 140 in 2024.  The increase was proportionate to the increase in the prison population. An action plan for preventing suicides had been drafted in 2023.  The State had provided over 1,800 prison staff with training on preventing suicide and a hotline had been established to report detainees’ suicide risks.

    All detainees were provided with healthcare that was of the same quality of that of the general population free of charge.  Each place of deprivation of liberty had a healthcare clinic.  The State party was encouraging student doctors to carry out internships at prisons, and to try job sharing between hospitals and prison clinics.

    All sexual relationships with children aged 14 or younger were considered to be rape.  When persons reported sexual violence by partners, anti-family violence units carried out investigations and judicial action was taken against perpetrators.

    There was currently a legal debate raging in France related to the obligation to cooperate with the rulings of the International Criminal Court.  French courts would rule on this issue, reviewing arrest warrant requests and the immunities that applied to officials. 

    France trained military staff who were to be deployed overseas on international humanitarian and human rights law, including the prohibition of torture.  Allegations of abuse citing members of the French armed forces were handed over to judicial authorities for investigation.  Constant assessments of human rights protections by French armed forces were conducted in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross.  France applied internationally determined sanctions and embargos on goods that could be used for capital punishment and torture.

    A bioethics law was adopted in 2021 and six centres specialised in caring for intersex children had been set up.  Experts made proposals regarding treatment and therapy for intersex children.  The aim was to avoid abusive therapy. Assessments were well received by surgeons and families.

    Questions by Committee Experts

    JORGE CONTESSE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, asked if France planned to take measures to incorporate the complete prohibition of torture in domestic law and prevent superior orders from being used as a defence for the act. Were superiors held accountable for subordinates’ actions if they were aware of them?  It was striking that France refused to define torture in its legislation or to remove the statute of limitations on it.  Why was this?  Had there been cases in which individuals had sought to lodge torture cases after the statute of limitations had elapsed?

    In one case of a killing by police, it seemed that there was there was no immediate threat to officers when they fired on a person.  Had the concept of “imminent threat” intentionally been removed from the 2017 law?  Why had killings by police reportedly increased five-fold since the introduction of the law?  There was a large discrepancy between the number of cases of racial profiling recorded by the State and the number reported by civil society.  Why was this?

    Leaders of indigenous independence movements had reportedly been held in seclusion in New Caledonia for more than 300 days.  Was this information credible?  Why had persons who were detained in New Caledonia transferred to the mainland? Did transferred persons consent to such transfers?  Dialogue was needed to advance toward emancipation in New Caledonia.  How did the State party ensure that the best legal experts provided counsel to persons who came before asylum authorities?

    The International Criminal Court specified that Heads of State did not enjoy immunity from arrest warrants.  How did France understand its obligations to the Court?

    ABDERRAZAK ROUWANE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said that the dialogue had been fruitful.  The Committee welcomed the recent survey undertaken on hate crimes conducted in 2023, which found that more than three-fifths of these crimes concerned racial discrimination.  The Committee welcomed measures adopted in the national anti-racism plan to eliminate racism; what results had been achieved by the plan?  What follow-up had the State party carried out on the Ombudsperson’s recommendations concerning medical procedures on intersex persons? The Ombudsperson had called for the prohibition of flash-ball launchers; had this been enacted?

    Other Committee Experts asked questions on reports of excessive use of physical restraints in psychiatric institutions, monitoring of such institutions, and strategies to increase the number of qualified medical personnel and prevent violence against children in them; measures to ensure that the definition of rape in the Criminal Code was in line with international standards; and steps taken to ensure the safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in detention.

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the Criminal Code stated that persons were held criminally responsible for carrying out orders that were clearly unlawful.

    There was complete withdrawal of parental authority when a parent posed a risk to children. Various judicial bodies collaborated to assess cases of parental abduction and domestic violence.

    The 2017 law on internal security specified that weapons could only be used when strictly necessary and after verbal orders were given.  Police considered the imminence of danger when acting.  State figures suggested that there had been a 44 per cent increase in deaths caused by police since the adoption of the 2017 law, not a five-fold increase.

    Professional lawyers were appointed to defend asylum seekers.  It was not up to the French Government to give instructions regarding how cases of transfer from New Caledonia to the mainland were handled. The Government had been working to improve detention conditions in New Caledonia.

    Full body searches could only be used as a last resort measure.  Searches into cavities were banned.  Training on body searches was provided for prison staff.  Some 48 cases had been brought against prison staff for repeated searches.  There was an awareness raising campaign in place on promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in prison.  Transgender persons were placed in vulnerable wings only as a last resort.  Reports of discrimination or sexual violence against these persons were investigated.

    There was administrative, medical and judicial oversight of psychiatric institutions. Reforms that were undertaken in 2021 ensured that authorised institutions had the necessary equipment and resources.  Doctors needed to obtain authorisation to carry out non-consensual medical procedures and there was judicial oversight of such procedures and of hospitalisations.

    The law on rape covered non-consensual contact with genitals.  In 2021, the act of ordering rape was considered a crime.

    Concluding Remarks

    ERDOGAN ISCAN, Committee Vice-Chair and acting Chair for the dialogue, expressed appreciation for the delegation’s active engagement in the constructive dialogue. The multilateral system was facing a political and financial crisis and it was important to reacknowledge the value of the United Nations Charter.  The dialogue was an essential tool for this process.  The Committee’s recommendations would aim to improve the implementation of the Convention in the State party and eliminate obstacles in this regard. It would identify three recommendations for immediate follow-up within a year.

    ISABELLE ROME, Ambassador for Human Rights, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France and head of the delegation, thanked the Committee for the high-quality dialogue.  The Committee’s painstaking work would inspire the State party in its future endeavours.  France was a living democracy and could only move forward.  The Committee’s recommendations would be closely scrutinised by the State party, including regarding the statute of limitations. The legal reforms implemented by the State party aimed to strengthen the rights of all persons in France, including those in detention.  There was no tolerance for discrimination.  France would continue to promote the Convention and combat torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment around the world.

    ___________

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media; 
    not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

     

     

    CAT25.006E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: PRESS RELEASE: Rep. Barragán Meets with Mexican Officials in Mexico City amid Trump Tariff and Trade Chaos

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    April 3, 2025

    Contact: Jin.Choi@mail.house.gov

    Washington, DC – Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) recently traveled to Mexico in the middle of Donald Trump’s trade and tariff chaos to meet with members of the Mexican Congress, Mexico’s Speaker of the House, and Mexican business leaders. Her trip came in between Trump’s initial round of tariffs against Mexico and Canada and yesterday’s announcement of expansive, multi-country tariffs. While in Mexico City, Barragán took part in a binational dialogue at the Congress of Mexico, where she warned that tariffs would severely harm a long-term global friendship and trading partnership, and would force American families to pay significantly more for groceries, cars, and electronics. She made clear that the U.S. should continue to negotiate on fair trade deals and work to strengthen U.S.-Mexico relations – rather than try to bully our neighbor and friends to the South because a trade war would only harm both countries.

    “Tariffs should be a precision tool, not a sledgehammer,” said Rep. Barragán. “Instead of targeted policies that hold bad actors accountable, Trump is launching an all-out trade war that will jack-up prices on everyday items, hurt working Americans, and isolate even more from our closest allies. He started with an assault on Mexico and Canada and just announced an almost indiscriminate tariff program against countries around the world. Other countries will retaliate, and hardworking Americans stand to lose in all of this – with higher prices for groceries, cars, clothes, and other essential items.”

    “Mexico is our neighbor, largest trading partner, and an essential ally,” Rep. Barragán added. “ That’s why it was important for me to meet and talk with Mexican officials, members of Congress, and business leaders to let them know many in Congress and in the U.S. business community still support smart, strategic trade policies, not Trump’s reckless economic warfare that punishes American families at the checkout aisle.”

    The Congresswoman was joined by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) and U.S. state and local elected officials and business leaders on her trip to Mexico. 

    Watch her remarks here: HERE

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Meet the Space Ops Team: Becky Brocato

    Source: NASA

    As an adventurous individual, Becky Brocato, Ph.D.,  has a deep curiosity for understanding the conditions of the human body, especially as it pertains to spaceflight. This passion directly translates to her role at NASA, where Brocato serves as the Element Scientist in the Human Health Countermeasures division and oversees research that seeks to reduce medical risks that astronauts face from spaceflight, ensuring the continual health and safety of current and future NASA astronauts.
    As part of the Human Research Program, the group strives to understand the physiological effects of spaceflight and develop strategies to mitigate any detrimental effects on human health and performance. For Brocato, her role presents the exciting opportunity to tangibly improve the lives of astronauts and actively contribute to the success of their missions.

    “The thrill of my job comes from the sheer audacity of what we are undertaking—enabling humans to conquer the challenges of deep space,” said Brocato. “I’m invested in ensuring our astronauts are not just prepared—but confident—as they tackle immense physical and mental demands.”
    Brocato attributes her early interest in flight and space research to her father and grandfather, who built a plane together when Brocato was younger. She recalls sitting in the plane’s fuselage, pretending she was traveling the world.
    “My dad was my childhood hero for opening my eyes to the skies,” said Brocato. Fueled by this passion, she began her career as an aerospace engineer at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, where she tested parachutes for aerial delivery, including the parachute designed for NASA’s X-38 crew return vehicle.
    Now, having worked at NASA for four years, Brocato is excited to pass down her insight to younger generations, teaching them how her work ensures the sustainability of future space missions. Recently, after delivering a seminar on the methods to counter the risks humans face from spaceflight, Brocato spoke with college students eager to learn more about the complexities of the human body.

    “I felt like I wasn’t just sharing knowledge; I was helping to inspire a new generation of potential researchers to tackle the challenges of space exploration that was a real bright spot,” said Brocato. “Seeing their enthusiasm reaffirmed exactly why I came to NASA.”
    This enthusiasm manifests in Brocato’s personal life: as a mother, she loves witnessing her child’s reaction to launches. “It was awesome to see the pure, unadulterated awe in my 7-year-old’s eyes when NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 lifted off,” said Brocato. “Moments like that are a reminder that spaceflight can touch all generations, which fuels my passion both at work and at home.”
    For Brocato, prioritizing her personal time is crucial, and she enjoys spending it pursuing physical activities. She is an avid runner, whether she is jogging to work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center or competing in local adventure races. She has even been skydiving, which is where she met her husband.
    Brocato is excited to witness NASA continue to push boundaries in human exploration, returning to the Moon and onto Mars. As a dedicated worker known for her curiosity and enthusiasm, Brocato’s work is crucial to advancing NASA’s mission.
    NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate maintains a continuous human presence in space for the benefit of people on Earth. The programs within the directorate are the hub of NASA’s space exploration efforts, enabling Artemis, commercial space, science, and other agency missions through communication, launch services, research capabilities, and crew support.
    To learn more about NASA’s Space Operation Mission Directorate, visit:  
    https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/space-operations

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California Department of Justice Releases Report on Officer-Involved Shooting of Samuel Arredondo

    Source: US State of California

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1506 (AB 1506), today released a report on the death of Samuel Arredondo, who was involved in an officer-involved shooting in Joshua Tree, California on January 11, 2023. The incident involved deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (SBCSD). The report is part of the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) ongoing efforts to provide transparency and accountability in law enforcement practices. The report provides a detailed analysis of the incident and outlines DOJ’s findings. After a thorough investigation, DOJ concluded that criminal charges were not appropriate in this case. 

    “This was a tragic situation with a tragic outcome,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I sincerely hope this report provides the community and Mr. Arredondo’s family with the answers they’ve been waiting for. The California Department of Justice aims to partner with law enforcement to build a just and equitable legal environment, ensuring that the rule of law is upheld, and justice is accessible to everyone.”

    On January 11, 2023, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a call regarding Mr. Arredondo harassing a woman and attempting to break into her house. When the first deputy arrived, Mr. Arredondo had just broken a window and refused to comply with the deputy’s orders. Mr. Arredondo turned towards the deputy, raised his hands while holding a black object, and yelled, “Die.” The Deputy shot at Mr. Arredondo.  A second deputy arrived, and Mr. Arredondo turned and went into the house through the broken window. When Mr. Arredondo subsequently reappeared in the corner of the window and was in a shooting stance, the second deputy fired at him and hit him. Mr. Arredondo then succumbed to his injuries. 

    Under AB 1506, which requires DOJ to investigate all incidents of officer-involved shootings resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state, DOJ conducted a thorough investigation into this incident and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the deputies involved acted without the intent to defend themselves and others from what each of them reasonably believed to be the imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution of the officers. As such, no further action will be taken in this case. 
    As part of its investigation, DOJ has identified five policy recommendations related to this incident. The first recommendation is that SBCSD update their dispatcher communications policy. Dispatch radio communication with the deputies regarding the location of the reporting party, while dispatch had the reporting party on the line, would have provided the deputies with information about their field of fire regarding the suspect when having to make crucial split-second decisions. Therefore, it is recommended that SBCSD expand the Communications Policy Manual to include the way circumstances and information must be relayed by dispatch during emergency traffic. The second recommendation is that SBCSD require deputies who have participated in officer-involved shootings to be placed in separate patrol vehicles when waiting for transportation to the station and when being transported to the station. This revision will prevent deputies from discussing the incident with each other prior to their attorney consultation and interview with Homicide Detail investigators.

    The third recommendation is that SBCSD revise their policy to ensure that witnesses are to refrain from speaking or communicating with one another about the incident until after they have provided their statements to law enforcement. This addition to the policy will help preserve each witness’ recollection of the incident and will ensure that their statements are based on their own personal knowledge, free of hearsay and influence.

    The fourth recommendation is that SBCSD install digital in-car video systems. The fifth recommendation is that SBCSD update their body worn camera policy. 

    A copy of the report can be found here. 
     
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: “HK SciFest 2025” opens with over 100 science programmes to spark public’s curiosity about scientific world (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         “HK SciFest 2025”, organised by the Science Promotion Unit of the Hong Kong Science Museum (HKScM), will be held from tomorrow (April 18) to April 27. The HKScM is collaborating with over 50 partners, including government departments, universities and science organisations, launching over 100 science programmes, including science workshops, lectures, seminars, film screenings, and site visits. Most activities are free, and members of the public are welcome to join.
     
         “HK SciFest” is one of the largest popular science events in Hong Kong. Addressing the opening ceremony today (April 17), the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Manda Chan, said although Hong Kong is geographically small, the city has generated numerous scientific research initiatives and innovations that benefit the global community. Notable examples include optical fibre networks which are capable of receiving and transmitting vast amount of information in a wink, and non-invasive prenatal diagnosis that provides safer and more accurate assessments to detect the risk of genetic disease in fetuses. With the theme of “Local Contributions in Science”, this year’s “HK SciFest” aims to showcase the vibrant ecosystem of scientific research in Hong Kong, and the collective efforts of local science institutions and organisations in popularising scientific knowledge and driving the development of science and technology through a wide range of programmes.
          
    Other officiating guests today included the Chairperson of the Science Sub-committee of the Museum Advisory Committee, Professor Alexander Wai Ping-kong, and the Museum Director of the HKScM, Mr Lawrence Lee.
     
    Part of the Ground Floor Exhibition Hall of the HKScM will be converted into a “Science Bazaar” with more than 10 activity booths, where members of the public can enjoy a fun and educational science experience. Activities include a virtual autonomous vehicle driving game, a drone display, a virtual reality game to tour Geoparks in Hong Kong, local animal specimens, and learning how to identify the authenticity of gems using scientific methods. There will also be hands-on science demonstrations, mini-exhibitions and mini-workshops.
     
    Other highlighted activities of the festival include Croucher Science Week, which will invite science communicators from around the world to host onsite science performances and workshops to explore techniques for coral propagation and reef rehabilitation and to assemble a model electric tricycle. In addition, lectures about saving sea turtles in Hong Kong and the application of artificial intelligence in daily life, film screenings of sci-fi films “Interstellar” (2014) and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001), guided tours at the Volcano Discovery Centre, and much more. For details of the activities and registration, please visit www.hk.science.museum/scifest2025/?lang=en. 

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: DH gives full support to blood donation activity and calls on public to donate blood to save lives during upcoming long holidays (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    DH gives full support to blood donation activity and calls on public to donate blood to save lives during upcoming long holidays
    “With an ageing population in Hong Kong and increasing demand for medical services, the demand for blood is also rising. Blood collection efforts are often affected by unforeseen factors, such as inclement weather, influenza season and the public’s travel habits during long holidays, which may lead to a drop in the public’s willingness to donate blood and in the number of blood donations. In view of this, the DH has decided to support the BTS before the Easter holidays, hoping that the public will take advantage of the holidays to participate in blood donation activities and demonstrate selfless love, thus providing local hospitals with a stable and safe blood supply for clinical transfusion and treatment purposes,” Dr Lam said.
     
    During the visit of the BTS mobile blood donation team to the DH headquarters today, a total of 24 DH staff members participated in the blood donation drive and donated 24 units of blood.
     
    “Whole blood collected can be processed into components to help three to four patients. At the same time, blood donation is good for both physical and mental health. Apart from aiding metabolism, overseas studies have shown that people who donate blood regularly tend to feel happier and healthier. As the saying goes, it is a blessing to donate. Don’t hesitate to donate blood and save more lives together,” Dr Lam added.
     
    The BTS has set up a number of blood donor centres throughout Hong Kong, and mobile blood donation teams and mobile blood donation vehicles visit different districts regularly to facilitate blood donation by the public. During the Easter holidays, most blood donor centres will be open as usual. To minimise waiting time, members of the public are advised to call the blood donor centres or make an appointment for blood donation through the mobile application “HK Blood”. For more information about the addresses and opening hours of the blood donor centres, the public may visit the BTS’s websiteIssued at HKT 18:45

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: $4.4 million stolen goods recovered, 383 arrests made in three months

    Source: US State of California 2

    Apr 17, 2025

    What you need to know: California’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force recovers nearly 41,000 stolen items valued at $4.4 million, leading to 383 arrests. 

    SACRAMENTO – Citing ongoing progress to takedown organized retail crime statewide, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that since January, the state’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force conducted 211 investigations which led to 383 arrests and the recovery of nearly 41,000 stolen goods valued at $4.4 million.

    Spearheaded by the California Highway Patrol, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force in March alone made 174 arrests and recovered $2,134,742 in stolen assets. 

    “The state remains committed to supporting businesses through continued retail theft enforcement, which month after month yields strong results. I thank the California Highway Patrol and others in our Organized Retail Crime Task Force for instilling a sense of safety and support at California’s storefronts.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    The CHP coordinates with local law enforcement statewide to take down organized retail theft operations. During a notable incident in February, CHP officers busted an organized retail theft ring in the Bay Area, recovering stolen merchandise valued at more than $779,000. In March, thanks to quick coordination and real-time tracking, the CHP apprehended a suspect involved in the theft of 137 beauty items in Lincoln, which resulted in an over $19,000 in stolen goods seized and $10,000 in store damage. Every seizure is cataloged and photographed, and if the retailer it was taken from can be identified, it is returned as soon as possible. 

    New data suggests violent and property crime went down in 2024. According to an analysis of Real Time Crime Index data by the Public Policy Institute of California, property crime dropped by 8.5% and violent crime dropped by 4.6% in 2024, compared to 2023. Burglary and larceny also went down by 13.6% and 18.6%, respectively, compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

    “The CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force teams have demonstrated exceptional dedication and coordination, leading to significant disruptions of criminal networks targeting California’s businesses,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “Their proactive investigations, strategic partnerships, and relentless pursuit of offenders have resulted in numerous arrests and recoveries, restoring a sense of safety and accountability in our communities.”

    Since the inception of this task force in 2019, the CHP has been involved in over 3,700 investigations, leading to the arrest of approximately 4,200 suspects and the recovery of over 1.3 million stolen goods valued at more than $56 million.

     

    Cracking down on retail theft

    Last August, Governor Newsom signed into law the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. Building on the state’s robust laws and record public safety funding, these bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries. While California’s crime rate remains near historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.

    California law provides existing robust tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to arrest and charge suspects involved in organized retail crime — including up to three years of jail time for organized retail theft. The state has the 10th toughest threshold nationally for prosecutors to charge suspects with a felony, $950. 40 other states — including Texas ($2,500), Alabama ($1,500), and Mississippi ($1,000) — require higher dollar amounts for suspects to be charged with a felony.

    Saturating key areas 

    Working collaboratively to heighten public safety, the Governor tasked the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to work with local law enforcement areas in key areas to saturate high-crime areas, aiming to reduce roadway violence and criminal activity in the area, specifically vehicle theft and organized retail crime. Since the inception of this regional initiative, there have been nearly 6,000 arrests, about 4,500 stolen vehicles recovered and nearly 300 firearms confiscated across Bakersfield, San Bernardino and Oakland.

    Stronger enforcement. Serious penalties. Real consequences.

    California has invested $1.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.

    As part of the state’s largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime, Governor Newsom announced last year the state distributed $267 million to 55 communities to help local communities combat organized retail crime. These funds have enabled cities and counties to hire more police, make more arrests, and secure more felony charges against suspects. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Whitbourne — Update: More than 7 million contraband cigarettes seized from overturned tractor trailer

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    More than 7 million contraband cigarettes were seized by Whitbourne RCMP in response to an overturned tractor trailer that occurred earlier this week on Route 202.

    Following extensive efforts to retrieve the contraband tobacco that was located after RCMP executed a search warrant on the truck and trailer, officers were able to determine the quantity of contraband tobacco to contain more than 7,423,000 cigarettes. Additionally, a case of pre-rolled illicit cannabis was located and seized.

    This quantity of contraband tobacco represents a loss of more than $2.4 million that could have been used to help support many provincial government services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

    The investigation is continuing. A 53-year-old Ontario man faces charges under the Excise Act 2001, and is under investigation for charges under the Revenue and Administration Act and Cannabis Act.

    Background:

    https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2025/whitbourne-rcmp-responds-tractor-trailer-crash-route-202-trailer-full-contraband

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican Nationals Charged with Unlawful Possession of Ammunition

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

    DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that defendants Caesar Ramon Martinez Solis, 41, and Humberto Ivan Amador Gavira, 24, both of Mexico, were charged with Unlawful Possession of Ammunition by Alien Admitted Under a Nonimmigrant Visa.

    According to the criminal complaint, on March 26, 2025, Detectives with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office (FSCO) conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle occupied by defendants in Canon City.  Defendant Martinez Solis consented to a search of the vehicle. During the search, the Detectives found what they estimated to be approximately 150 boxes of .308 ammunition, and approximately 30 boxes of 7.62 ammunition.  Each box was labeled as containing 1,000 rounds. 

    The investigation is being handled by the Denver Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Denver Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  The prosecution is being handled by the Violent Crime and Immigration Enforcement Section of the United States Attorney’s Office.

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

    The charges in the complaint are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Case Number:  25-mj-00074-CYC

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Easter road safety: Transport operators warned to comply with regulations

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    As the Easter peak travel period fast approaches, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and traffic authorities have reminded public transport operators to ensure that their vehicles and drivers are fit to be on the road and comply with all regulations.

    “Public transport operators are advised to ensure that they have appropriate permits that allow them to transport passengers on particular routes. They are also urged to use trailers to load goods and avoid mixing them with passengers,” the RTMC said on Tuesday.

    Illegal operators are also cautioned to desist from taking advantage of the increased demand for transportation as law enforcement authorities will be out in full force to ensure compliance with all road regulations.

    “Authorities will not hesitate to impound vehicles operating contrary to the provisions of the National Transport Act. A total of 1 155 vehicles have been impounded since the start of the Easter campaign on 20 March 2025. This has compelled owners to pay thousands of rands to release the vehicles from the pounds and passengers were greatly inconvenienced.

    “The highest number of vehicles were impounded in Mpumalanga where a total of 792 vehicles were taken off the road. This was followed by Limpopo with 88 vehicles impounded, Western Cape 87, Gauteng 78, North West 39, KwaZulu Natal 37, Free State 31 and Eastern Cape 3. No vehicle has yet been impounded in the Northern Cape,” the RTMC said.

    Meanwhile, traffic volumes are expected to increase substantially on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning as travellers head to various places of worship and holiday destinations. 

    Monday is also expected to be busy on the roads.

    The following routes are expected to be busier than usual during this period, and motorists are advised to plan their trips carefully to avoid delays: the N1 Gauteng to Limpopo, N1 Gauteng to Free State, N2 in KwaZulu Natal to Eastern Cape, the N3 Gauteng to KwaZulu, N4 Gauteng to Mpumalanga, the N4 Gauteng to North West, R61 Western Cape to Eastern Cape as well as the N2 Western Cape to Eastern Cape.

    Rest stops will be operating at Sasol filling stations along the routes to allow drivers to take a break from long distance driving to avoid fatigue.

    “Motorists are advised to check the weather forecast and avoid driving through storms and heavy rains when visibility is not clear. Vehicles must be fitted with properly functioning wipers to assist with visibility. Safety critical components such as brakes, tyres and lights must also be in a good working order before trips are undertaken,” the RTMC said.

    Pedestrians are called to play their part and avoid crossing busy roads. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: President wishes the nation a happy, safe Easter

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Thursday, April 17, 2025

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has wished South Africans a happy and safe Easter.

    He said, however, that a safe Easter period depends on citizens conducting themselves with tolerance, patience and respect for everyone with whom they come into contact.

    In a statement on Thursday, President Ramaphosa offered his best wishes for the Easter break to South Africa’s diverse Christian denominations as well as compatriots for whom this will purely be a period of rest and social connection.

    “Easter is a special period for devoted Christians to celebrate their faith and the triumph of life over death, and it is an opportunity for South Africans of all backgrounds enjoy rest and reconnection with family and friends.”

    President Ramaphosa urges citizens to take care of themselves and others on the roads and in social situations.

    “As we move around our beautiful country, let us reduce speed, buckle up, rest up and leave our phones alone while we’re driving. Let’s make sure vehicles are well maintained and that we avoid the need to rush by leaving home or our workplaces early enough.

    “This will allow us be patient with other road users and to enjoy the beauty of our landscapes. This should also be a period of care and peace in our homes and communities.

    “May this be a time of celebration and rejuvenation for the year ahead,” said the President. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Travel safe this Easter

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Thursday, April 17, 2025

    As holidaymakers and motorists head off to various destinations for the Easter long weekend, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has shared tips on how to get there safely.

    Motorists have been urged to be responsible on the road and ensure they and their loved ones arrive alive.

    Before any journey ensure you:
    •    Check your vehicle and make sure it is roadworthy.
    •    Carry a valid driver’s license.
    •    Check your tyres thoroughly.
    •    Have a spare wheel (make sure you have a wheel spanner).
    •    Get your battery tested before heading out.
    •    Have your shocks checked.
    •    Have your lights checked.
    •    Have your wipers checked.
    •    Make sure your public driving permit is in order if you need one.
    •    Maintain focus and avoid distractions like cellphones.
    •    Be sure to pay special attention to your blind spots.
    •    Do not engage in secondary activities while driving. 
    •    Wear your seatbelt, even for short journeys.

    If you are a pedestrian this Easter weekend, make smart choices and:
    •    Only cross the road at a marked intersection or pedestrian crossing.
    •    Avoid jaywalking.
    •    Wear bright clothing at night.
    •    Walk on the pavement rather than on the road.
    •    Avoid wearing earphones or texting while you’re walking.

    As commuters:
    •    When disembarking make sure it is safe to do so, and only once the vehicle has come to a complete stop. 
    •    Always pass behind the vehicle instead of the front where your view of oncoming traffic is obstructed.
    •    Make use of marked pick-up and drop-off points.
    •    Don’t distract the driver.

    As a motorcyclist:
    •    Wear a properly fitted helmet and proper gear for your ride.
    •    Focus on the road ahead to anticipate obstacles such as potholes, speed bumps, stationary cars or vehicles that brake suddenly.
    •    Increase your visibility by wearing a brightly coloured vest and be vigilant of vehicles that may not be able to see you in their mirrors.
    •    Avoid wearing earphones, as you need your ears on full alert.
    •    Obey the rules of the road, like adhering to speed limits.  

    The Easter and Festive Season period is a critical period for road traffic management authorities in South Africa.

    Road traffic fatalities are among the main causes of death in South Africa. This results in serious social and economic costs for the country. These consequences include the loss of family members, bread winners and leave behind traumatised families. – SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Government pays out R45.6 billion in RAF claims

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has encouraged road users to be responsible on the roads this Easter weekend, while highlighting the significant costs that road accidents have on government spending and society.

    In the 2023-2024 financial year, the RAF settled claims to the value of R45.6 billion

    The amount included R47 million for funeral claims, R21.6 billion for loss of earnings, R12.7 billion for general damages, R2.6 billion for loss of support and R1.7 billion for medical compensation.

    “The RAF pleads with South African road users to make this Easter fatality free by using the roads responsibly. Road fatalities and trauma result in devastating emotional, social and economic costs to the victims, their families and the country.

     “This calls for an immediate change of attitude by all road users. Easter 2024 recorded the highest Easter weekend fatalities since 2019 with 335 deaths. This was a sharp increase from 252 deaths in 2023,” RAF said on Wednesday.

    Human error, vehicle failure, and environmental factors all significantly contributed to the 1 325 fatalities recorded from 2019 to 2024 Easter weekend car crashes. 

    Major human factor contributors were speeding, jaywalking, and hit-and-run. 

    Vehicle related factors that resulted in the highest accidents were tyre bursts, brake failures, and smooth tyres. Environmental factors such as poor visibility, sharp bends, stray animals, and road surface defects also jeopardise peoples’ road safety and require caution. 

    RAF Chief Executive Officer Collins Letsoalo said: “Reckless driving, pedestrian negligence, and poor vehicle maintenance remain major contributors to road crashes. These are all factors that we can do something about as individual road users. 

    “Arrivals at unintended destinations should never happen. We encourage all road users to pledge to themselves or whoever is precious to them to drive responsibly and make this Easter weekend fatality free.”

    In the first quarter of 2025, the RAF participated in a road safety awareness campaign through partnerships with radio stations, soccer events, school activations, scholar patrol uniform distribution, cyclist safety awareness, Defensive Driver Workshops, spraying of livestock with reflective sprays, adult assisted crossing for learners, and removing vegetation from sidewalks in areas with high accidents. 

    In the event of being involved in a motor vehicle accident, the RAF can be reached on 087 820 1 111 from Monday to Friday, 07h45 to 16h00. 

    Claimants may also contact the RAF’s Contact Centre on the WhatsApp number 071 605 4707, via SMS on 44930, or by email on contactcentre@raf.co.za. 

    In addition, the RAF is reachable through its offices countrywide, details of which are available on its website on www.raf.co.za. –SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyoming Army and Air National Guard team up for first-ever firefighting exercise

    Source: US State of Wyoming

    Wyoming Army and Air National Guard team up for first-ever firefighting exercise

    Wyoming Air National Guard

    By Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen 

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center is home to semi-arid scrubland, prairie grass, and conifer cover, all of which can be primed for fire during hot, dry conditions, especially when troops shoot round after round of heavy artillery at the camp’s vast impact area.

    Due to this heightened risk, the firefighters in the camp’s Army National Guard Fire Department specialize in practices and techniques unique to wildland firefighting. A usual day can consist of prescribed burns, which is the controlled use of fire to clear downed trees, control plant diseases, and create fire breaks between the camp’s training ranges and neighboring properties.

    So, when Camp Guernsey’s Fire Chief received an invitation to conduct a joint training exercise with the 153rd Airlift Wing, a unit of the Wyoming Air National Guard in nearby Cheyenne, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Leah Urquhart jumped at the chance for her firefighters to brush up on skills they don’t use on a day-to-day basis.

    Eight firefighters made the 65-mile trip south to Cheyenne for the 6-day joint training exercise. It was the first collaborative training of its kind between the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard nationwide.

    “As firefighters, we have to meet yearly training requirements to keep our certifications,” Urquhart said. “You also hit a lot of the same, but more in-depth training to get certified in the first place. We have three guys on the Army side who are working towards their initial certifications. They are stoked to have this training.”

    The first day focused on gear familiarization. For firefighters who focus on structural fires, like burning buildings, the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, or SCBA, is an essential piece of equipment that provides a supply of breathable air from a compressed air cylinder.

    Although not required for wildland firefighting, firefighters from Camp Guernsey readjusted to the equipment, tugging at the elastic facemask straps while hopping into trousers.

    The SCBA has four main components, the first being the backplate with shoulder straps and a waistbelt. The second is the air cylinder itself, which weighs 16-20 pounds, contains 4,500 psi of compressed air, and provides 30-60 minutes of breathing time for firefighters.

    The third component is the regulator assembly. The compressed air from the cylinder tank travels through a hose and the regulator assembly, which drops the air pressure to levels slightly above atmospheric. Once its breathable, the air hits the facemask.

    The facemask is the last component. When a firefighter inhales, the pressure in the facemask is lowered, tilting the admission valve just enough to allow the breathable air into the facemask. The exhalation valve, located on the chin, releases a breath without allowing any outside contaminants to enter.

    Every assembly also has a Personal Alert Safety System, or PASS device, that sounds a distress signal if it does not detect motion for 30 seconds, alerting nearby firefighters of a downed firefighter in need of rescue. (This is why standing firefighters periodically shimmy-shake, resetting the countdown.) Also, the PASS device features a gage that indicates pressure levels in the air cylinder.

    Gear familiarization culminated in what is called a SCBA confidence course, which tests a firefighter’s knowledge and expertise with the equipment.

    Urquhart and her team leaders also incorporated elements of search and rescue into the course. They disassembled the SCBA gear, scattering it around the bunkroom of the firehouse, as if the equipment were incapacitated victims. They then created an obstacle course.

    The firefighters in training were hooded to simulate the lack of visibility in a smoke-filled room.

    As they crawled on their hands and knees around the obstacle course, the instructors yelled, played loud music, and banged on lockers. Calmly, the firefighters communicated above the din of music and the clamor and clang. Once they all located their equipment, they reassembled it slowly by touch.

    Finally, the firefighters paired up to connect a buddy breather to each other’s SCBA. A buddy breather is an accessory hose that allows two firefighters to share the same air supply, in the event one of them is depleted. They then exited the obstacle course.

    For an experienced firefighter, a SCBA confidence course can take about an hour to complete. For a firefighter in training, it can take much longer.

    “The course is as much about teamwork as it is about familiarity with your gear,” Urquhart said. “Our Army guys from Camp Guernsey performed really well. We got to see what to do from here and how to improve. They were super motivated.”

    U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Beau Murphy helped lead the vehicle extrication training the next day. Vehicle extrication is the process of safely removing a patient from an automobile involved in a collision. The firefighters traveled to a local salvage yard at the edge of town where cars lay on cinderblocks and cranes grazed in the background with their long necks. Two old cars were waiting for them.

    “We folded the Army guys right into our ranks,” Murphy said. “We were happy to have them along.”

    As real-time goes up at the scene of an emergency, patient survivability rate goes down. For that reason, effective time management is crucial for first responders, with vehicle extrication ideally taking no longer than 10 minutes.

    After staging their hydraulic tools nearby, two firefighters knelt on each side of the car, tucking wheel chocks under its belly to stabilize it. They swept around the car, one moving around it clockwise, the other counterclockwise, in opposing circles, punching out glass, razorblading seatbelts, peeling back molding, marking cut locations, and popping tires. These steps should take no longer than two minutes.

    A Halligan bar is a tool used by firefighters for forced entry. A firefighter used one to pry off the grille, exposing the hood latch. He held the fork of the Halligan bar around it and twisted. He popped the hood, cut the battery cables, and closed it again. After prepping the car, they retrieved their hydraulic tools to begin chopping it up.

    The group of hydraulic tools used by firefighters in a vehicle extrication are known as the Jaws of Life. They include cutters, spreaders, and rams. These tools use hydraulic pressure to create immense force, allowing them to slice through metal, spread vehicle doors, and lift heavy objects.

    The car was ready for door removal. A firefighter used the spreader to push apart the fender of the car, exposing the two door hinges. He spread them to their breaking point. He then jiggled the door from its place and walked it out of the scene, setting it down carefully, paint to pavement. The door cannot be set down otherwise. If an airbag inadvertently deploys, it could launch the door into the sky.

    With access to the patient now, a firefighter would begin to administer first aid, if necessary.

    “Weather conditions can change how you do things,” Murphy said. “Down in Georgia, you worry about heat injuries. Up here, you deal with cold injuries, like complicating shock. Or if the car is on an incline and it’s crazy icy, you’ve got to get creative with vehicle stability.”

    The firefighters began to cut through the pillars of the roof. The cutters have clawlike blades, pulling the metal back to their pivot point where the greatest force is generated. As the firefighters swept around the car, biting through metal, the goal was to move forward, never backward, which increases the time at the scene of an emergency. They peeled off the roof.

    “We call this turning it into a convertible,” Murphy said.

    When a car is crushed like an accordion, a patient’s lower body may become pinched under the dashboard. The technique by which firefighters extricate the lower body is called a dash roll. That was their next step.

    A firefighter made relief cuts around the dashboard, freeing it up. He grabbed the spreader and began to lift the dashboard. The firefighter then wedged the ram between the dashboard and the floor of the car. As the ram extended, the dashboard rolled onto itself, creating ample space for the lower body to be extricated.

    “These guys got a lot of really good hands-on experience and tool time,” Murphy said. “That’s what I’m looking for: proficiency with the equipment.”

    They worked on more trainings in the following days. Their necks craned, they toured the cargo compartment and flight deck of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a massive, gunmetal gray transport aircraft. They did a lot of bunker drills, where firefighters practice putting on their protective clothing and SCBA gear in a timed manner.

    “They’re standing over their gear, and we yell, ‘Bunker drill, bunker drill, bunker drill!’” Urquhart said. “After two hours of doing that, the slowest guy was able to get down to a minute and 45 seconds. Really scary, crazy timeline when you think about all the gear you have to put on.”

    They consolidated their training with a structural fire exercise on the last day. It took place in an abandoned building on base with tables and chairs still in place, as if the building was vacated only a moment ago. Two large fog machines emitted a dense vapor that looked like smoke, clouding over the wide bays and office rooms. Visibility was very low.

    In the building were two victims in need of rescue. For the exercise, four firefighters manned the fire truck, two firefighters were search and rescue, and two firefighters were the Rapid Intervention Team, or RIT crew, who are on standby if firefighters become lost, trapped, or injured and need rescuing themselves.

    Urquhart and other team leaders walked around the building, observing how the firefighters used their training. They would go through three rotations of the exercise.

    Oftentimes, a firefighter goes into a burning building blind, literally and figuratively. Before the parking brake on the fire truck gets pulled, they are already thinking of structures that resemble the one that is on fire. Understanding building construction can help predict how the fire will spread, while having an idea of the floorplan and layout can help locate a victim.

    When they arrive on the scene, the highest-ranking firefighter does what is called a size up. He observes the exterior of the structure for indications of the size and location of the fire. The color of the smoke can also indicate the type of fuel being burned, the phase of the fire, and where the fire will spread. If the building shows no potential for collapse, he identifies means of entry and escape routes, like doors, windows, and fire escapes. After making his assessment, the firefighter radios it in to forward command.

    They then look for clues for who could be inside, like window lights still on, toys in the backyard, cars in the parking lot, or even a car-window sticker depicting stick figure versions of family members. But they always remain ready for the unexpected.

    “When you get on scene to a structural fire, you’re typically going to have anywhere from one to 50 different things going on,” Urquhart said.

    The exercise used a digital fire training system. A screen emitting LED-driven flames glowed in one of the smoke-filled rooms of the building. The firefighters were equipped with a digital nozzle.

    In the building they crawled on their hands and knees towards the seat of the fire as they looked for victims at the same time. Thermal layering of the heat and the buoyancy of the smoke will create clearer vision just above floor level, while also being cooler.

    Instead of slowly fighting their way towards the seat of the fire, firefighters begin their attack at its point of origin and move outwards from there. This also allows them to locate potential victims who may be in the greatest danger.

    Once the firefighters located the fire’s ignition point and steadied their digital nozzle, the orange-glowing panels on the LED screen slowly dimmed.

    As they went through different rotations of the exercise, Urquhart and her team leaders would mix it up.

    “We told a firefighter during one scenario, ‘Hey, you’re down. You ended up passing out. Let your PASS alarm go off,’” Urquhart said. “Now, there’s a firefighter who found a victim, but also his partner went down, which is a very possible real-life situation. Now what do you do? So we watched him work through the process of getting both people out.”

    As the firefighters crawled through the smoke-filled building, they sounded the floor, tapping a tool on it. In a real-life scenario, if the floor feels too spongy or breaks through, they go another way.

    When a team came to a door, they felt it with the back of their hand. They located the handle and opened the door and shut it behind them, shielding themselves from fire spread. They hugged the wall as they made their way around the room, looking for victims. They swept a bunkbed, felt under a table, and handled a chair. Like the house of a person who is blind, they never misplaced things, which can become disorienting. Anchored to the wall, they extended themselves across the floor and swept the center of the room with a tool, furthering their reach.

    They found a victim. They checked his status through physical contact. Radioing it in to forward command, they stated they located a victim, his status, what they planned to do, and if they needed help. They webbed the victim with nylon straps and dragged him to the door, careful to keep his head and shoulders elevated. In the hallway, they followed the hose line until they were back outside.

    “We were planning to do three different rotations of the exercise in a four-hour time slot,” Urquhart said. “We were able to do four with still time to spare because everybody was so motivated and efficient at doing their job. You don’t see that all the time.”

    By the end of the week, the joint training exercise created a strong partnership between the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard Fire Departments, while ensuring both units are better prepared and proficient in their firefighting roles.

    U.S. Army Pvt. Cody Carr, for example, wasted no time in applying the skills he learned during the week of training in a real-life situation. The first night back home, Carr and his fire department responded to an emergency call for a chimney fire. Carr was standing outside the burning building in the cold night when a mayday went out over the radio. The chimney had collapsed on the two firefighters inside. Without thinking, Carr threw his gear on, went on air, found a teammate, and rushed inside.

    “Going into it, I’m like, I’m ready for this. I just learned all this. I can use my knowledge and get them out very quickly,” Carr said.

    Carr and his teammate followed the hose line to the smoking rubble. As they began to pull the brick and mortar off one firefighter, another began shouting from the other side of the room. Carr rushed to the yelling firefighter and checked his status. Carr hoisted him up and dragged him out of the burning building and to safety.

    “It was all fresh in my mind,” Carr said. “Just got done doing it. I was able to put it in play.”

    Carr is looking forward to further collaboration between the 153rd Airlift Wing and Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center. Future plans include sending firefighters up to Camp Guernsey to get certified in wildland firefighting.

    “It was amazing to watch the Army and Air Guard learn from each other over this training,” Urquhart said. “This is just the beginning of a fantastic relationship.”

    Wyoming Army and Air National Guard team up for a six-day firefighting exercise at the 153rd Airlift Wing in Cheyenne, Wyo., Feb. 28, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Samuel Toman)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at the global distribution of cropland contaminated by heavy metal pollution

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in Science looks at global soil contamination by toxic metals. 

    Dr Lucie Buchi, Senior Lecturer in Crop Ecology at the NRI, University of Greenwich, said:

    “While the results of the study seem alarming, the 10×10 scale of the grid cells that the study was based on does not allow any practical application at a local scale. The authors make note of this in the paper: ‘The present study is based on average metal concentrations on a 10-km grid, which is more reflective of diffusive and regional pollution rather than site-specific conditions. The data may be sufficient for risk screening purposes but are inadequate to support risk mitigation. Soil remediation needs to rely upon site-specific delineation of lateral and vertical extent of soil pollution, as well as a better understanding of metal sources, fate and transport dynamics, and bioavailability’.

    “Their map also seems to show low risks in the UK, except for a hotspot in the south and Ireland, but the scale of the figure doesn’t allow to understand where it is actually. And again, with a resolution of 10 x 10 km, nothing can be concluded for any particular fields. But farmland in the hotspot would probably need to be careful, but these regions are probably already known for heavy metal presence.

    “The authors conclude ‘We hope that the global soil pollution data presented in this report will serve as a scientific alert for policy-makers and farmers to take immediate and necessary measures to better protect the world’s precious soil resources.’, and I think this is what it is, more of an alert about a global problem, but which requires further investigation at smaller spatial scales.”

     

    Prof Oliver Jones, Professor of Chemistry, RMIT University, said:

    “I am in two minds about this paper. On the one hand, it takes a clever scholarly approach, and soil pollution is a serious issue in many parts of the world; on the other hand, I feel some of the conclusions are perhaps a little preliminary.

    “The authors have not generated new data but combined data from existing studies together and then used some very complex data processing methods to predict concentrations of selected metals across a wider area. This method has generated some interesting insights – such as the potential “metal-enriched corridor” across low-latitude Eurasia (although I think blaming this corridor on multiple ancient cultures might be overspeculative). However, there are also issues here. For example, the authors refer to “toxic metals” throughout the paper, even in the title. This is a little misleading because detection is not the same as relevance. Everything is toxic at the right dose, even water. It would be better to just say ‘metals’ and then discuss concentrations if/where appropriate rather than suggesting everything is toxic right from the title.

    “The authors also refer to metal concentrations in soil. The fact that some places on Earth have high levels of metal contamination in their soils and that this could have effects on humans is not new. However, the amount of a compound in the soil does not automatically correlate with the amount that ends up in plants grown in the soil or the amount that people or animals that might eat those plants might eventually be exposed to. According to the supplementary data of the paper, the probability of many of the metals exceeding human health thresholds is low in most cases (including the UK). Context and nuance are important in toxicology and environmental health, as are local conditions. Thus, while certainly worth discussion, the question of whether metal pollution actually threatens agriculture and human health at a global scale is, I think, far from proven”.

     

    Dr Wakene Negassa, Soil Chemist, The James Hutton Institute, said:

    Does the press release accurately reflect the science?

    “The press release accurately captured the important ideas presented in the published paper. 

    Is this good quality research? Are the conclusions backed up by solid data?

    “The authors did not present original research but reviewed previously published studies. Nevertheless, reviewing existing literature is a conventional and valuable approach for identifying research and technology gaps. What sets this review apart is the authors’ use of artificial intelligence to identify global hotspots of soil pollution, distinguishing it from traditional mapping and review papers. Such global analyses are essential for technological and policy interventions of addressing global soil pollution by heavy metals. Although soil pollution from anthropogenic activities has not been widely addressed, databases like Web of Science (WOS) and the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) have indexed over 2,000 related publications since 1960. As the authors conclude, “We hope that the global soil pollution data presented in this report will serve as a scientific alert for policy-makers and farmers to take immediate and necessary measures to better protect the world’s precious soil resources.”

    How does this work fit with the existing evidence?

    “This work aligns with existing evidence, as soil pollution has become a global concern. Although the authors did not include a detailed account of polluted areas, a recent review by Khan et al. (2021) reported over five million soil pollution sites worldwide (Khan et al., 2021; DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126039)

    Have the authors accounted for confounders? Are there important limitations to be aware of?

    “One major limitation of this review is that the authors did not present the chemical forms (speciation) of heavy metals. It is not the total concentration of heavy metals that determines their potential as pollutants, but rather their bioavailable forms—those that can be taken up by plants and transferred through the food chain to animals and humans. Additionally, the magnitude of global soil pollution may be greater than what is reported in the review, as the authors themselves acknowledge, due to a lack of comprehensive data from many countries.

    What are the implications in the real world? Is there any overspeculation?

    “As mentioned in previous responses, the actual extent of global soil pollution may far exceed what is presented by the authors, due to limited data availability and likely underestimation.

    What is the significance of heavy metal contamination in croplands – how does it affect food and/or biodiversity?

    “Soil pollution by heavy metals disrupts plant cellular functions and enzyme activities, resulting in reduced growth and yield, as well as shifts in soil microbial populations. Consuming food or feed grown on contaminated soils, or direct exposure to such soils, poses significant health risks, including kidney damage, neurotoxic effects, and increased carcinogenic potential.

    What is the relevance of this study for UK agriculture and/or public health?

    “It is also worthwhile to investigate UK agricultural soils, as over half a century of intensive farming practices, including continuous use of agrochemicals and the application of various agricultural and urban waste materials, may have led to the accumulation of heavy metals. This could pose potential risks to plant, animal, and human health and ecosystem services.”

     

    Prof Mark Tibbett, Chair of Soil Ecology, University of Reading, said:

    “After many years working post-mining landscapes and in industries that supply metals to soil in organic wastes, it has been intuitively obvious to me that our food production and natural ecosystems are commonly replete with toxic metal, often of human origin. This comprehensive analysis, which seems long overdue, provides clear and worrying empirical evidence of the extent and expanse of this global issue. It is clear that anthropogenic toxic metals are a global and growing pollution issue in our soils, with human activities at the core of the patterns seen.”  

     

    Prof Chris Collins, Professor of Environmental Chemistry, University of Reading

    “This is a very useful study and highlights the issue of global soil pollution. Congratulations to the authors for compiling such a large data set. Although as the authors state the real issues only potentially exist in Eurasia rather than worldwide. It should be noted that presence in soil does not mean the crop grown in that soil will absorb and be contaminated by an element as this depends on the chemical form. The authors do acknowledge this along with other exposure factors e.g. if crops are for human consumption. The study will be of use in identifying those areas where edible crops should be avoided and alternatives, e.g. biomass crops, should be grown. The UK is relatively unaffected (Fig 2B). There are some areas e.g. the SW but this is known and is probably arsenic which is in a form not freely transferred into crops.”

     

    Dr Liz Rylott, Senior Lecturer, Department of Biology, University of York, said:

    “Deyi Hou and colleagues used cutting edge technologies to globally map the distribution of toxic metals. Their findings reveal the deeply worrying extent these natural poisons are polluting our soils, entering our food and water, and affecting our health and our environment.

    “Of concern are cadmium, copper, nickel and lead, and the metalloid arsenic. Often collectively called heavy metals, these elements cause a range of devastating health problems, including skin lesions, reduced nerve and organ functions, and cancers. While some of the contamination is due to naturally occurring geological outcrops of these metals, much of the pollution is from mining and associated industrial activities. As our drive for technology-critical metals to build the green infrastructure required to tackle climate change (wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries and photovoltaic panels) will exacerbate this pollution.

    “Other scientists (Fuller et al The Lancet 2022) calculated that 16% (9 million) of all deaths globally each year are caused by  environmental pollution, of which, heavy metals comprise a significant proportion. This new research links the presence of these heavy metals in the agricultural soils and water, with the food that we eat.

    “To track these elements, extensive regional studies and AI technology were used to build a map detailing soil metal concentrations at a 10 km grid resolution across the world. The analysis reveals previously unrecognised hotspots of metal-enriched areas, including a zone across southern Europe.

    Much of the pollution is in low- and middle-income countries, where communities are directly affected, exacerbating poverty. The effect of these contaminated crops entering global food networks is not as clear. The authors call for soil pollution surveys in data-sparse areas such as sub-Saharan Africa to understand more about its effects on local, and global, human and environmental health.

    “There are ongoing global initiatives (the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and FAO) to remediate contaminated soils. This map will be a powerful tool to help us to identify high-risk areas, understand how natural and human activities have contributed to the pollution, and design mitigation and remediation strategies.

    “This map also illustrates how metal pollution is independent of human borders; to tackle this problem, countries will have to work together.”

    ‘Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health’ by Hou  et al. was published in Science at 19:00 UK time on Thursday 17th April.

    DOI: 10.1126/science.adq6807

    Declared interests

    Dr Lucie Buchi “I don’t have any conflict of interests to declare”

    Prof Oliver Jones “I have no conflicts of interest to declare in this case.”

    Dr Wakene Negassa “None”

    Prof Chris Collins “None”

    Dr Liz Rylott “no conflict of interest”

    For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Bristol Virginia Man Sentenced to Over 31 Years for Carjacking and Firearm Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    GREENVILLE, Tenn. – On April 16, 2025, Charles Nile Mixon, 49, of Bristol, Virginia, was sentenced to 377 months imprisonment by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Following his imprisonment, Mixon will be on supervised release for five years. 

    On October 30, 2024, following a three-day trial, a jury convicted Mixon of carjacking in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 2119; using and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii); possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18. U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and possession of a stolen firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j). The jury also made a special finding that Mixon had previously been convicted of at least three, qualifying violent crimes, which established Mixon as an armed career criminal in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).

    According to witnesses, court documents, and evidence presented at trial, in the early morning hours of May 24, 2023, Mixon carjacked a female victim at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Taco Bell restaurant in Bristol, Tennessee. Mixon briefly held the victim at gunpoint inside the vehicle. Following a police chase, Mixon escaped into Virginia and abandoned the carjacked vehicle. The following day, during a conversation with a relative, Mixon admitted to taking the relative’s firearm and using it to carjack the woman at the Taco Bell. The relative contacted law enforcement and Mixon was arrested after another chase from Bristol, Virginia into Bristol, Tennessee. The stolen firearm was located on Mixon after his arrest. 

    “The sentence imposed is a powerful reminder that violent offenses, such as this carjacking, will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “Individuals who repeatedly commit violent offenses are a threat to public safety and our office will continue to prosecute those individuals vigorously.”

    “This case involves an individual who has continuously shown total disregard for the law by committing armed carjackings, firearm related offenses, and terrifying acts of violence,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz of the Nashville Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The ATF remains committed to working tirelessly with our local, state, and federal partners to combat violent crime, and protect the communities that we serve.”

    The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Bristol Tennessee Police Department and ATF.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Todd Martin and Emily Swecker represented the United States.

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

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man from Dominican Republic sentenced for transporting illegal aliens

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Luis Davis German Soriano, 32, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, who was convicted of transporting illegal aliens, was sentenced to time served (approximately 15 months) by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. Soriano was then turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeve E. Huggins, who is handling the case, stated that on January 3, 2024, Soriano aided co-defendant Silvestre German Andujar, an alien, in transporting three other individuals, who were not citizens or nationals of the United States. Soriano drove from New Jersey to an agreed upon location in Youngstown, NY, to pick-up Andujar and the others, who had traveled on a motorized raft vessel on the Niagara River from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada. Andujar piloted the vessel across the United States-Canada border. U.S. Border Patrol Agents responded to the area as Andujar and the others got off the vessel, prompting them to flee. Simultaneously, law enforcement observed Soriano’s vehicle driving in the area near the vessel’s landing spot on the shoreline. Officers conducted a traffic stop. Soriano provided conflicting information as to the purpose of his travel but was released by officers. He then drove back to the pick-up location and picked up Andujar and the others inside the van.

    Subsequently, on January 4, 2024, U.S. Border Patrol Agents parked on the Niagara Scenic Parkway in Youngstown, NY, observed Soriano driving his vehicle with Andujar and the others inside. Agents stopped the vehicle in Ransomville, NY, at which time Soriano and the others were arrested and official immigration records checks were conducted.

    Silvestre German Andujar was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

    The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent in Charge Martin B. Coombs, and the Lewiston Police Department, under the direction of Chief Frank Previte.

    # # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: $4 Million Intersection Improvement Project in Oneonta

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that work is beginning on a $4 million project to enhance safety and improve traffic flow at a key gateway to the City of Oneonta. The project will transform the intersection of James F. Lettis Highway (State Route 23) and Main Street (State Route 7) by constructing a modern roundabout that will reduce vehicle congestion and make it easier for pedestrians and motorists to reach the area’s popular destinations, including SUNY Oneonta, Hartwick College and the shops and businesses of downtown Oneonta.

    “The City of Oneonta is a true gem of the I-88 corridor, with a robust, walkable downtown, thriving businesses and thousands of college students making this Mohawk Valley community their home every year,” Governor Hochul said. “We want to make sure that everyone in Oneonta reaches their destinations as safely as possible, and that’s just what this new roundabout and other community enhancements will provide.”

    The project will convert the current, signalized intersection of Lettis Highway and Main Street into a single-lane roundabout that will improve vehicle mobility and reduce idling. New sidewalks, lighting and signage – including flashing beacons – will also be installed to enhance safety for pedestrians. New drainage systems and landscaping will be added to improve resiliency and sustainability.

    Roundabouts are engineered to maximize safety and minimize congestion. They are safer, more sustainable, and more efficient than traditional intersections. Crashes in roundabouts are less severe, resulting in fewer injuries and fatalities. Roundabouts also eliminate the need for electric-powered traffic signals. For tips on how to safely navigate a roundabout, check out this helpful instructional video.

    Work on the project is getting underway this month with tree removal and other site preparation activities. Major construction will start in early to mid-July and will focus initially on the northern end of the intersection and the interior of the roundabout. During this phase, only the ramps to and from the Lettis Highway will be open to traffic traveling eastbound on Main Street. All other vehicular and pedestrian access will be closed. Detours for vehicles and pedestrians will be posted.

    In early to mid-September, work will shift to the southern end of the intersection and the ramps to and from Lettis Highway. At this point, the ramp onto the Lettis Highway southbound will be closed. Traffic traveling eastbound on Main Street will also be detoured around the intersection. All detours for vehicles and pedestrians will be posted.

    Additionally, a free, 24-hour shuttle service will be provided to further aid pedestrians during periods when access to the work zone will be restricted. There will be four designated pickup and drop-off locations, including two on Main Street and two on Lettis Highway. Signs will be installed to identify the designated drop-off/pick-up locations at least a week prior to closure of the roadway. Additional signs will be posted at the roadway closure limits informing pedestrians of the transportation service availability, pick-up and drop-off locations, and the contact information to call for the service.

    New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “New York State, under the leadership of Governor Kathy Hochul, is investing in our transportation infrastructure to create safer systems that reduce conflicts and minimize the likelihood of fatal crashes, with the goal getting to zero fatalities – because even one death on our highway system is too many. This new roundabout will benefit the entire Oneonta community, creating more efficient vehicle flow and enhancing safety for the many residents, visitors and students who travel to and from this beautiful city and its many attractions each day.”

    The project is being funded with a mix of state and federal funding, with the bulk of it provided via the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. It’s also part of NYSDOT’s Safe System Approach toward Zero Deaths that involves designing and managing road infrastructure to keep the risk of a human error low and minimizing the likelihood of fatality or serious injury during crashes. Construction is tentatively scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2025.

    This is the first of two projects that are being advanced to address congestion in the Oneonta area. The Southside Oneonta Safety and Mobility Improvements Project is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2026 and will focus on improving the sidewalks and traffic flow along State Route 23 and State Route 28 near the southern end of the Lettis Highway.

    Representative Josh Riley said, “Projects like the roundabout at Lettis Highway and Main Street are exactly the kind of common-sense solutions that will make a real difference for communities like Oneonta. It’s not just about traffic; it’s about safety for our students, residents, and visitors. I’m pushing hard to bring federal dollars back home for projects across NY-19, and I’m grateful for the Governor’s leadership in helping to deliver these crucial infrastructure improvements.”

    Assemblymember Brian Miller said, “Investing in infrastructure that improves safety and mobility is critical to the growth and vitality of our communities. The intersection improvement project located at State Route 23 and State Route 7 in the City of Oneonta is a smart and forward-thinking investment that will not only reduce congestion and improve traffic flow but also enhance pedestrian and bicycle access to educational institutions and downtown businesses. Improving safety on our roadways is always a top priority, and this intersection upgrade in Oneonta is a great example of the kind of investment that makes a real difference.”

    Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek said, “On behalf of the City of Oneonta I’d like to express my deep gratitude for the continuing support of our Governor and the State of New York in making our city increasingly safe, attractive, and conveniently accessible to residents and visitors.”

    About the Department of Transportation

    It is the mission of the New York State Department of Transportation to provide a safe, reliable, equitable and resilient transportation system that connects communities, enhances quality of life, protects the environment and supports the economic well-being of New York State. Lives are on the line; slow down and move over for highway workers!

    For more information, find them on Facebook, follow us on X or Instagram, or visit their website. For up-to-date travel information, call 511, visit www.511NY.org or download the free 511NY mobile app.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Increasing Bus Service on 16 Local NYC Bus Routes

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced it will increase bus service on 16 local routes across Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island beginning June 29, 2025. This is in addition to enhanced express bus service on eight lines that went into effect earlier this Spring. The service enhancement will decrease travel times, shorten commutes and reduce wait times at bus stops.

    “Every New Yorker deserves access to safe, fast and reliable public transit, and I’m investing in our buses and subways so we can deliver better service in every corner of our city,” Governor Hochul said. “We’re taking action to strengthen our transportation infrastructure, bring stations and equipment up to par and create the best experience for every rider.”

    MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Buses connect New Yorkers to jobs, education, entertainment and everything else the city has to offer. By increasing service on some of the busiest routes in the outer boroughs, we can deliver opportunity and quality of life upgrades to literally thousands of New Yorkers.”

    Proposed by Governor Hochul in November 2024 in connection with the launch of congestion pricing, the service enhancements are one of the many ways stakeholders are working to give commuters better alternatives to driving. The following is a list of local bus routes that will benefit from the enhanced service. These lines have high ridership and, thanks to the success of congestion relief, allow riders to have expanded access to fast, safe, reliable transit service — especially in areas underserved by the subway system.

    The Bronx:

    • Bx10 (Riverdale-Norwood)
    • Bx17 (Port Morris-Fordham Plaza)
    • Bx23 (Co-op City-Pelham Bay Park Station)
    • Bx28/Bx38 (Co-op City-Fordham Center)

    Brooklyn

    • B17 (Crown Heights-Canarsie)
    • B26 (Fulton St-Ridgewood)
    • B74 (Sea Gate-Stillwell Avenue Station)
    • B103 (Canarsie-Downtown Brooklyn)

    Queens

    • Q13 (Flushing-Ft. Totten)
    • Q28 (Bayside-Flushing)
    • Q35 (Rockaway Park-Midwood)
    • Q43 (Jamaica-Floral Park)
    • Q66 (Flushing-Long Island City
    • Q69 (Long Island City-Astoria)

    Staten Island

    • S46/S96 (Castleton Avenue)
    • S79 SBS (Staten Island Mall-Bay Ridge)

    The following is a list of the express bus routes in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island that have already implemented expanded service:

    • BM2 (Canarsie-Avenue H-Midtown/Downtown)
    • BM5 (Spring Creek-Linden Blvd-Woodhaven Blvd-Midtown)
    • X27 (Bay Ridge-Midtown/Downtown)
    • QM15 (Lindenwood-Cross Bay Blvd-Woodhaven Blvd-Midtown)
    • SIM1C (Eltingville-Hylan Blvd-Midtown/Downtown)
    • SIM4C (Huguenot-Richmond Av-Midtown/Downtown)
    • SIM23 (Annadale-Arden Av-Midtown)
    • SIM24 (Prince’s Bay-Huguenot Av-Midtown)

    NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said, “Frequent, reliable bus service is essential for so many New Yorkers, especially for those who don’t live near the subway. By enhancing bus service on 16 local routes starting this summer, we can improve trips along critical corridors, especially where we have seen increased ridership since the beginning of congestion relief.”

    Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie said, “Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus routes are of great importance for everyday New Yorkers, facilitating their commuting to and from various destinations, like work, especially in transportation deserts. Today’s announcement of service enhancements for 16 local bus routes across the city set to commence this summer, will ensure frequent and dependable services during a period when ridership tends to surge. I would like to thank the MTA for its commitment to the people of New York and its dedication to ensuring the accessibility of public transportation for all.”

    State Senator Jeremy Cooney said, “When we invest in public transit, we break down barriers to transportation and make it easier for passengers to get from Point A to Point B, and increasing bus service helps achieve this. I want to thank Governor Hochul and MTA Chair Lieber for their commitment to an efficient bus system that meets the needs of all New Yorkers.”

    State Senator Leroy Comrie said, “Increasing bus services throughout Queens is crucial for ensuring that all New Yorkers have access to reliable and efficient transportation. These enhancements will reduce commute times and make connecting with essential services easier for our communities. I support this initiative, which reflects our commitment to improving public transit and enhancing the quality of life for all residents. I will continue to advocate for equitable investments in transportation, especially with the expansion of the Q43 route to better connect residents to vital locations.”

    State Senator Kristen Gonzalez said, “I’m so excited for more frequent and reliable bus service in our community. Thank you to the MTA for their work in expanding bus service across NYC, and to my colleagues in the legislature who voted to fund this project.”

    State Senator Andrew Gounardes said, “Brooklynites from across my district rely on buses to get to work, school, and everywhere else they need to go, and they deserve frequent, reliable service that works for them. That’s especially true for seniors, folks with disabilities and those who live far from the subway. These are some of the highest-ridership bus routes in the city, and this service increase is a boon to New Yorkers and to our economy. Thanks to the MTA for making smart investments like this in our transit system and our city.”

    State Senator Robert Jackson said, “Transit justice begins with investment—and I commend the MTA for taking this step toward a fairer, faster New York. For my constituents in District 31 and working-class New Yorkers across the city, expanded service on the Bx10 and other local routes is more than a convenience—it’s a correction. It’s a recognition that access to reliable, efficient transit is not a luxury, but a right. Every added bus, every reduced wait, brings us closer to a system that serves all of us—equitably, urgently, and with the dignity our communities deserve.”

    State Senator John Liu said, “These service enhancements are a welcome step forward for Queens riders who rely on our bus network to get to school, work, and other essential destinations every day. Increasing service on many of these routes will provide more options for riders in northeast Queens without direct subway access to connect to mass transit. This expansion is an important part of the MTA’s broader bus redesign and aligns with the goals of congestion pricing, which is to invest in faster, more reliable service and get more commuters out of their cars and into mass transit.”

    State Senator Julia Salazar said, “Hundreds if not thousands of New Yorkers in our district depend on buses to get to work, see their loved ones, grab their groceries, and more. As a strong advocate for investing in our public transit systems, I’m thrilled the MTA is enhancing services on 16 local routes, making commutes faster, more reliable, and more convenient.”

    Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz said, “Thank you MTA for announcing increased bus service around the city, specifically in my district with the Bx10 bus line. The Bx10 runs throughout most of my district, including Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Van Cortlandt Village, and Norwood, and will now have additional buses in rotation all day, reducing wait times at bus stops and shortening travel times. Many of my constituents rely on the Bx10 for transportation and these new service enhancements will improve their daily commutes. Investing in our public transportation is one of the smartest choices we can make, and I am confident that these changes will benefit us all greatly.”

    Assemblymember Charles D. Fall said, “I’ve long called for improvements to the S46 line, and I’m glad to see this critical investment finally being delivered for the West Shore and North Shore communities of our borough. These enhancements will help reduce wait times, ease overcrowding, and make daily commutes more reliable for working families who rely on this route. I remain committed to fighting for equitable, accessible transit across Staten Island and beyond.”

    Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks said, “We appreciate the additional service being added to key routes like the Q66 and Q69, which play an essential role in connecting neighborhoods across Queens. This is a positive step toward improving access for residents who often experience long and complex commutes. I look forward to continued efforts that build a more efficient and equitable transit system for all New Yorkers.”

    Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon said, “The upgraded B103 bus service is a game-changer for our community. More frequent service means faster, more reliable commutes. Investing in our bus network is critical to making transit work better for everyone.”

    Assemblymember Steven Raga said, “I’m grateful for the MTA’s leadership in creating reliable, efficient, and speedy bus service for New Yorkers. Like many New Yorkers throughout the city, I have several constituents who do not live near a train station, resulting in busses to be one of their only modes of transportation. The Q66, for example, is a vital bus service that connects my constituents in Jackson Heights and Woodside to neighborhoods all the way to Flushing and Long Island City. With the enhanced bus services taking effect, I’m excited for my constituents and all New Yorkers to experience faster commutes and experience shorter wait periods.”

    Assemblymember George Alvarez said, “Investing in better bus service is investing in the everyday lives of Bronx residents. With enhanced service on key routes like the Bx10, Bx17, Bx23, and Bx28/Bx38, communities from Riverdale to Co-op City will benefit from shorter wait times, improved reliability, and greater access to opportunity. This is a meaningful step toward a more connected, equitable Bronx.”

    Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson said, “I’m pleased to see the MTA expanding local bus service in the Bronx and across the city. Reliable and frequent public transit is essential to our communities — it connects people to jobs, school, healthcare, and opportunity. These service enhancements will help shorten commutes, reduce wait times, and make everyday travel more manageable for Bronxites who rely on our buses the most. Investments like this bring us one step closer to a more equitable and accessible transit system for all New Yorkers.”

    Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said, “More than 800,000 Queens residents rely on MTA bus service each day, and each one of them deserves a fast, reliable commute that gets them to work, school, home or elsewhere quickly. With these needed service enhancements — in tandem with the full Queens Bus Network Redesign coming this summer — that commute is exactly what families across the borough will finally be able to enjoy. I’m deeply grateful to our dedicated partners at the MTA for working hand-in-hand with our borough to deliver the kind of mass transit system all 2.4 million of us in Queens have long sought and advocated for.”

    The increased service is being funded with $8 million from the Outer Borough Transportation Account, which was established by the New York State Legislature in 2018 to improve transportation service in the outer boroughs.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Budget Commitments Include Targeted Investments for Safer Communities

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on April 17, 2025

    The Government of Saskatchewan is reinforcing its commitment to delivering safer communities and neighbourhoods through new and continued investments in the 2025-26 Budget. This includes $665 million for the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety; $271 million for the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General; $118.9 million for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA); and $9.1 million for the Saskatchewan Firearms Office (SFO). 

    “Public safety continues to be a top priority for our government, which is reflected through investments in Budget 2025-26,” Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety and Justice and Attorney General Tim McLeod said. “Investments in policing, border security initiatives, reintegration supports for offenders and measures to address gangs, illegal drugs and weapons will help create safer communities for everyone in Saskatchewan.” 

    In 2024-25 and 2025-26, the Government of Saskatchewan invested $2 billion in public safety. This includes an increase of $28.4 million, totaling $699.4 million over two years, to support policing and community safety in the province and over $518 million over two years to enhance access to justice services.

    Investing in the protection of people and property 

    This year, the budget includes $261 million to fund RCMP operations in the province, including $23.7 million for the First Nations Policing Program. 

    The 2025-26 Budget also includes funding to continue public safety commitments that were announced last fall. These include $6 million as part of the $11.9 million commitment to hire approximately 100 new municipal police officers; $2.7 million to hire 14 new Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods personnel to reduce crime by targeting nuisance properties; and $1.6 million for the Saskatchewan Police College, as part of the government’s three-year commitment to train more officers in the province. 

    An additional $3.6 million will be invested to hire 50 new officers under the Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS), which is expected to become operational in the coming months – a full year ahead of schedule. The SMS will focus on provincial policing priorities, including gangs, illegal weapons and drugs, along with apprehending prolific, high-risk offenders and wanted individuals who pose a public safety risk.

    The 2025-26 Budget includes a targeted investment of $1.5 million to enhance roadway patrols, border security initiatives and other public safety priorities, including investments for six weigh-scale operators to conduct commercial vehicle inspections and seven prisoner transport deputy sheriffs to increase their capacity for prisoner transport, allowing more RCMP officers to focus on addressing frontline calls for service.

    This enhanced law enforcement presence extends to Saskatchewan’s border with the United States. To enhance security and safety at the border, the government introduced the Saskatchewan Border Security Plan in January 2025 to mobilize Provincial Protective Services officers to work in partnership with provincial policing services and federal agencies to boost law enforcement’s presence near the border.

    Investing in a more accessible court system

    The 2025-26 Budget provides funding to create a more accessible court system, support the enforcement of municipal bylaw offences and enhance prosecution services. This year’s budget also supports initiatives that reduce the amount of time police need to spend in court, which will allow them to spend more time delivering core policing duties in their communities. 

    Major investments in the 2025-26 Justice and Attorney General budget include $665,000 to support the expansion of traffic safety courts; a commitment of $447,000 for the development of municipal bylaw court hubs which will streamline and improve municipal bylaw enforcement; and investing $822,000 in Public Prosecutions to accommodate the introduction of body-worn cameras by the RCMP and the expansion of body-worn camera use by the Saskatoon Police Service.

    This year’s budget will continue to invest in the Court Modernization Project, providing $3.38 million for ongoing enhancements such as modernized courtroom technology and infrastructure and the continued implementation of the Judicial Scheduling, Tracking and Amalgamated Reporting system. 

    “Over the last two years we have improved police accountability, built community partnerships and invested in courtroom modernization,” McLeod said. “Our government is following through on our ongoing commitment to increase access to justice services across the province for the benefit of all Saskatchewan individuals, families and communities.” 

    Improving safety for correctional staff, offenders and the public

    To improve overall safety for correctional staff, offenders and the public, and to address capacity concerns at correctional facilities, this year’s budget provides $11.7 million to the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety to support the opening of the new Saskatoon Correctional Centre expansion. 

    It includes investments to expand the capacity for women in the correctional system, as well as increasing funding to the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan as it works to successfully reintegrate female offenders back into their communities. 

    This year’s budget also includes $1.1 million for the Electronic Monitoring Program to increase the real-time monitoring of offenders in the community.

    Investing in interpersonal violence programs and services 

    In 2025-26, government will invest $31.7 million for interpersonal violence programs and services through the justice system. This includes $328,000 for second-stage housing and an additional $720,000 for community-based organizations, including those that deliver supports and services to individuals and families impacted by interpersonal violence and abuse. 

    The 2025-26 Budget includes funding to allow the SPSA to continue its four-year plan to purchase four repurposed airtankers for use in fighting wildfires and other emergency services.

    The budget provides $9.1 million in funding for the SFO this year, including $569,000 to support the Saskatchewan Ballistics Laboratory, which is set to open this fall. The ballistics laboratory will play a vital role in supporting firearms-related criminal investigations and help reduce the impact of illegal firearms and gun violence in the province. 

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Reverend Warnock, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Expand Childcare Relief 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

    Senator Reverend Warnock, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Expand Childcare Relief 

    The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act permanently expands childcare tax credits to alleviate childcare costs for working families
    Senator Reverend Warnock has long been a champion for providing tax cuts to working families
    Last week, Senator Reverend Warnock introduced the American Family Act, which would nearly double the Child Tax Credit (CTC) 
    Senator Reverend Warnock: “The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act will help parents and caregivers afford caretaking costs in a time when margins are tight for many families across the country. Tax cuts should go to hardworking Americans, not the wealthiest people in the nation”
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced legislation to help more working families cover the rising cost of childcare by increasing the childcare tax credit.
    The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act would permanently expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC). This bill would help ease the burden of high childcare costs on working families by increasing the maximum tax credit to $4,000 per child, allowing families to receive up to $8,000 in tax credits to offset up to $16,000 in expenses. It would also make the credit refundable to ensure low-income working families can benefit. The credit would also be indexed to inflation to retain its value over time.
    The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act would:
    Increase the maximum credit amount to $4,000 per child, allowing families to receive up to $8,000 in tax credits to offset up to $16,000 in expenses;
    Automatically adjust it to keep pace with inflation;
    Save money by phasing out the credit for families making more than $400,000; and
    Ensure low-income families can benefit from the tax credit by making it refundable.
    “American families have to deal with hefty expenses when raising a child or caring for a loved one. That’s why the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act is so crucial, especially right now,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “It will help parents and caregivers afford caretaking costs in a time when margins are tight for many families across the country. Tax cuts should go to hardworking Americans, not the wealthiest people in the nation.”
    “I constantly hear from families in Minnesota who are struggling with the high cost of childcare. For some, it rivals mortgages and is even higher than tuition at the University of Minnesota. Families need real relief and this bill will lower costs and put more money back into the pockets of parents,”said Senator Smith. “When childcare works, everything else does, too—families thrive, the economy grows, and our communities get stronger. That’s why I’m committed to fighting to lower costs and improve access to childcare.”
    “No matter where I go in New Hampshire, families tell me about how much they struggle to access affordable child care,” said Senator Shaheen. “The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit is a proven and effective tool for bringing quality, affordable child care within reach for more families. Expanding this credit to keep up with the rising cost of child care is the right thing to do for workers, families and our nation’s economy.”
    “Instead of addressing the growing child care crisis, Trump is indiscriminately firing the very workers who help child care and Head Start centers keep their doors open—making child care more expensive and harder to get for working parents,” said Senator Murray. “While Trump raises families costs by nearly $4000 a year and pushes child care even farther out of reach, my Democratic colleagues and I are continuing to fight to lower families’ costs in every possible way, and I am proud to reintroduce the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act as one additional way to help get families some additional relief to afford the child care they need.”
    “The cost of raising a family in this country is already way too high, and it’s getting even more expensive as Trump’s global tariffs jack up the cost of food, cars and products families use every day,” said Senator Wyden. “This proposal is a commonsense, pro-family policy aimed at helping parents and people caring for loved ones, and it’s striking that this kind of bill is nowhere to be found in the Republican tax agenda that costs a staggering $7 trillion. Trump and Republicans are locked in on giving trillions in new handouts to corporations and the wealthy and sticking everybody else with the bill, but pro-family proposals like this one prove that there’s a better way forward.”
    As a Head Start alum, Senator Warnock has long supported child care and early education programs. In September of 2023, Senator Warnock introduced his bipartisan HEADWAY Act (Head Start Education and Development Workforce Advancement and Yield Act). The legislation would address early child care workforce shortages by allowing Early Head Start classroom teachers to teach and earn their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential simultaneously. Additionally, last week Senator Warnock introduced the American Family Act legislation to provide the most generous expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to date. Senator Warnock successfully pushed to include an expansion of the CTC in the American Rescue Plan, which helped cut child poverty across the country in half until Congress let the tax cut expire. In 2022, Senator Warnock called on Congress to extend the tax cuts for working families and urged the Biden Administration to secure an extension of the expanded CTC as a centerpiece of any subsequent negotiations on economic legislative priorities. 
    In addition to Senators Warnock, Smith, Shaheen, Murray, and Wyden, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act is cosponsored by Senators John Fetterman (D-PA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Angus King (I-ME), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
    The bill is also endorsed by the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Child Care Aware of America, Save the Children, First Focus Campaign for Children, First Five Years Fund, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Moms Rising, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Zero to Three, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Early Care and Education Consortium (ECEC).
    One pager of the bill is availableHERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Valuit: Revolutionizing Access to Private Markets in the Digital Economy

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Private investments have long been dominated by institutional players and high-net-worth individuals, leaving everyday investors sidelined. With blockchain technology opening new avenues for financial inclusion, Valuit is emerging as a pioneering force in on-chain investment banking, breaking down barriers and making private market opportunities more accessible than ever before.

    Transforming Traditional Finance with Blockchain Innovation

    Valuit was conceived out of a real-world challenge—how to invest in private assets like litigation financing and private credit despite capital constraints. The company’s founding team, with expertise spanning cryptocurrency trading, traditional finance, banking infrastructure, and debt markets, recognized the inefficiencies in legacy systems. Their solution? A blockchain-powered financial ecosystem that democratizes access to investment opportunities.

    “Valuit is not just about tokenizing assets; it’s about creating an inclusive investment infrastructure where liquidity, compliance, and security come together seamlessly,” said Kevin Cafeo, Co-Founder & CEO of Valuit.

    Meet the Visionary Founders

    • Kevin Cafeo – Co-Founder & CEO

      Kevin founded Valuit in 2022 with the mission to make private market investments more inclusive. Prior to Valuit, he played a pivotal role in scaling Zeebu, a blockchain-powered payment network that processed billions in on-chain telecom settlements, where he led growth and market expansion strategies.

    • Aren Bagci – Co-Founder & CIO

      A seasoned leader in global market expansion and institutional finance, Aren has a proven track record of driving corporate growth by entering new markets and forging high-impact strategic partnerships. During his tenure at TigerEdge, he led growth-focused investment initiatives across domestic energy markets, including capital deployments into onshore oil and gas projects involving major operators such as Exxon, Pioneer, and Devon.

    • Raj Brahmbhatt – Co-Founder & Chairman

      A trailblazer in blockchain and fintech, Raj is the co-founder and CEO of Zeebu, where he has overseen over $7 billion in on-chain transactions. His expertise in scaling blockchain-powered payment solutions and building products that truly bridge Tradfi to Defi, highlight his deep understanding of financial technology innovation.

    The Rising Market Opportunity

    The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is redefining financial markets. According to a report by Boston Consulting Group, the RWA tokenization market is projected to exceed $16 trillion by 2030, encompassing diverse asset classes such as real estate, private equity, and commodities.

    With institutional adoption gaining traction and regulatory frameworks evolving, the market is poised for exponential growth. However, despite this momentum, accessibility and compliance challenges persist—gaps that Valuit is actively addressing through its comprehensive ecosystem.

    Beyond Tokenization: A Full-Scale Investment Ecosystem

    Unlike platforms that merely tokenize assets, Valuit is building a holistic financial infrastructure, integrating:

    • Compliance & Regulation: Ensuring global regulatory adherence to make tokenized assets legally sound and institutionally viable.
    • Capital Markets Integration: Bridging traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) for efficient capital deployment and secondary market liquidity.
    • Blockchain-Powered Automation: Utilizing smart contracts to streamline transactions, reduce costs, and enhance transparency.

    Valuit’s product suite is designed to cater to a broad range of stakeholders:

    • Tokenization Platform: A comprehensive solution for issuing, managing, and trading tokenized assets.
    • DeFi Tools: Advanced decentralized financial instruments that enhance liquidity, enable market-making, and optimize capital efficiency.
    • AI-Driven Compliance: Leveraging AI-powered automation for regulatory oversight, risk management, and investment decision-making.

    Who Stands to Benefit?

    Valuit serves as a gateway to new financial opportunities for diverse stakeholders:

    • Asset Owners: Unlock liquidity through seamless tokenization, ensuring transparency of investment products and leveraging innovative capital structures.
    • Institutional Investors: Gain exposure to new asset classes with reduced friction. Reduce bottom-line expenditure by up to 60%, enable cross-border distribution channels to onboard new liquidity providers, and create innovative investment vehicles to automate administrative functions while optimizing portfolios for existing investors.
    • Retail Investors: Access investment opportunities that were previously out of reach, with enhanced options for cross-border diversification and addressing capital constraints.

    With an intuitive and compliant platform, Valuit eliminates the technical complexities often associated with blockchain investments, ensuring a seamless experience for all investors.

    A Vision for the Future

    Valuit is on a mission to reshape the financial landscape, making alternative investments as straightforward as trading public stocks. With a firm foundation in compliance, capital markets, and blockchain innovation, the company is positioned to redefine asset issuance, management, and trading in real-time.

    “As finance moves toward decentralization, Valuit is ensuring this shift is not just a wrapper of traditional products, but a shift from legacy capital markets infrastructure to a transparent, automated, and efficient process that benefits all stakeholders.” added Kevin Cafeo.

    Stay Updated with Valuit

    For more information and the latest updates, follow Valuit on:

    Media Contact:

    Pranav Goyal

    marketing@valuit.com

    Valuit LLC

    https://valuit.com/

    Disclaimer

    Valuit is a technology platform enabling the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) and bridging traditional and decentralized finance. While it offers tools for asset tokenization, liquidity, compliance, and smart contracts, Valuit does not provide financial advice, manage investments, or act as a broker.

    All investment activities involve risk, and blockchain-related offerings are subject to evolving regulations. Users should conduct independent research and seek professional advice before investing. Valuit makes no guarantees on financial outcomes and is not liable for losses resulting from reliance on this information.

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the Valuit LLC. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/62accd69-a45f-424c-b4df-1970b841db8e

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Senior Traffic Commissioner launches consultation to review approach in determining a driver’s suitability

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Senior Traffic Commissioner launches consultation to review approach in determining a driver’s suitability

    Industry regulator seeks views on revised Statutory Guidance and Statutory Directions.

    The Senior Traffic Commissioner for Great Britain has today (17 April 2025) called on professional drivers, commercial vehicle operators, legal representatives and road safety stakeholders to take part in a review of guidance on the conduct of professional drivers.

    The purpose of the driver conduct process is to ensure lorry, bus and coach drivers are fit to drive large commercial vehicles. The Statutory Document, which guides the approach traffic commissioners take to regulating drivers, has remained largely unchanged for years.

    Previous reviews in 2015 and 2019 led to significant improvements and the traffic commissioners committed as part of their Strategic Objectives to consider whether this approach remains fit for purpose in the current century.

    The 6 week consultation seeks feedback on proposed revisions and invites views on how the profile of traffic commissioners can be raised amongst the drivers they regulate.

    Richard Turfitt, the Senior Traffic Commissioner, stated, “Our mission is to ensure road safety and maintain public confidence in the commercial driving sector. This consultation is a vital step in ensuring we are regulating vocational drivers in a way which is effective and proportionate to the risk they pose to other road users. We need your input to make sure our guidelines are fair, consistent, and transparent.”

    The consultation runs until 29 May 2025.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s tactics for creating disruption are testing the limits of presidential power – a legal expert explains

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen Clear, Lecturer in Constitutional and Administrative Law, and Public Procurement, Bangor University

    In less than 100 days, Donald Trump’s second term has proved the most disruptive and transformative start to a US presidency ever. Using executive orders and mass firings, he has moved quickly on his far-reaching agenda to consolidate his power.

    Trump has actually signed fewer bills into law at this point than any new president for seven decades. But he has signed 124 executive orders (which don’t need congressional approval). Joe Biden signed 162 of these over his whole term.

    Executive orders are a way of pushing through a presidential directive, usually based on existing statutory powers, without it going to a vote. So far, these have covered issues from energy policy to TikTok’s ownership.

    Using this tactic, Trump has stretched his authority far more in just a few months than any recent president.

    While the president may issue executive orders, he cannot create laws without the support of Congress. This has led, in part, to the launch of lawsuits regarding the statutory basis of some of these orders. Some are now going through the federal courts on constitutional and lawfulness grounds.

    But the Supreme Court can also review and overturn executive orders that lack legal authority. These orders cannot contradict or supersede existing laws passed by Congress, or violate the US constitution.

    A system of checks and balances that prevents US presidents from becoming too powerful is facilitated by the “separation of powers”, which is written into the US Constitution. The legislative (members of Congress), executive (president) and judiciary (the courts) are all separate bodies – in part to prevent an over-concentration of power in any one body or person.

    Bills passed by presidents in first 85 days

    The US Congress has a key supervisory role through its two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, which work together to pass laws. But there are many reasons why this president may not be that concerned by these constitutional safeguards.

    The Democratic opposition is in an exceptionally weak position to take on Trump. It is in the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and is routinely outvoted by the Republicans.

    And Trump is often dismissive of congressional oversight. House committees have previously launched multiple investigations into his conduct, business dealings, and whether he has financially benefited while serving as president. Congress also issued subpoenas for documents and testimonies in 2022, but Trump often resisted or delayed them.

    Congress controls federal spending and can, in theory, deny funds for presidential initiatives. But it is currently full of Republicans who, so far, have not been willing to challenge the president.



    Read more:
    Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s strongman leader doing Donald Trump’s legwork abroad

    Testing the legal limits

    Trump’s approach seems to be one of testing the limits of the law. This was seen with the travel ban imposed on mostly Muslim countries in his first term, which the Supreme Court initially struck down as unconstitutional. The court later upheld a significantly revised version.

    In terms of impeachment, Trump has already been there on two occasions. He was first impeached in 2019 after he allegedly pressured Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate Joe Biden in the run-up to the 2020 election.

    This claim of illegality on the part of Trump stemmed from it being illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election. The House of Representatives impeached him for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, but the Senate ultimately acquitted him.

    Trump was impeached again in 2021, after he was accused of inciting the January 6 Capitol riots. For the first time in US history, a president was impeached after leaving office – but he was again acquitted by the Senate.

    Trump has suggested these impeachment attempts are evidence of him being persecuted for his efforts to “drain the swamp” (how he describes Washington’s political establishment). Overall, the president seems to favour testing the limits of executive policy-making, then making changes later if challenged.

    Judges also have an important role to play in checking the work of the president. They can declare presidential actions unconstitutional. For example, in US v Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court ruled the president does not have executive-privilege immunity from court actions.

    Some may think that as the president appoints top judges, this undermines their independence. However, once judges are appointed, they are bound to execute their duties fairly while upholding the rule of law. Importantly, they do not answer to the president for their decisions.

    The US constitution also puts some limits on the office of the president. As part of their oath of office, presidents vow to uphold and defend the constitution and faithfully execute their responsibilities. In that sense, a US president must execute diligence in ensuring the law is faithfully followed. They cannot simply ignore laws they do not like.

    Donald Trump’s Oath of Office.

    And despite claims that Trump is prepared to seek a third term, the 22nd Amendment limits an individual to a maximum of two – although Trump has hinted at a plan to find a way around this.

    As was seen with his previous administration, the voters can turn against sitting presidents and vote them out of power. Businesses and market pressures can also play a significant role, as was seen in the recent pauses in the president’s international tariff decision-making.

    What needs to change?

    A significant amount of change has been achieved via Trump’s executive orders in just 85 days. Meanwhile, judicial oversight and checks will take time to filter through the courts and, if necessary, be tested in the Supreme Court.



    Read more:
    Federal judge finds ‘probable cause’ to hold Trump administration in contempt – a legal scholar explains what this means

    Nonetheless, the judiciary is starting to flex its muscles more. For example, a federal judge has said he would find administration officials in contempt unless they engaged with a legal process to secure the return of Maryland resident Kilmar Ábrego García, after he was illegally sent to an El Salvador prison. This is already being hailed as a test case for the rule of law.

    It’s also noteworthy that recent polls of US citizens indicate 82% want the president to obey federal court orders.

    One area where more explicit clarity in US law might be needed is over the scope of executive orders – to curtail some of the testing of their limits we are currently seeing. While Congress already has the power to legislate to reverse and override an executive order, as well as to refuse to provide the funding necessary to carry out policy measures contained within an order, it (so far) seems unprepared to execute this power.

    In the next few months, the US public and politicians will be able to see the impact of these executive orders – and there will be a wealth of judicial rulings to add to the debate. Whether that will change how Trump operates is as yet unclear.

    Stephen Clear 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. Trump’s tactics for creating disruption are testing the limits of presidential power – a legal expert explains – https://theconversation.com/trumps-tactics-for-creating-disruption-are-testing-the-limits-of-presidential-power-a-legal-expert-explains-254120

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Barr, Deepfakes and the AI Arms Race in Bank Cybersecurity

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity.1 In the past, a skilled forger could pass a bad check by replicating a person’s signature. Now, advances in AI can do much more damage by replicating a person’s entire identity. This technology—known as deepfakes—has the potential to supercharge identity fraud. I’ve recently spoken about the importance of recognizing both the benefits and the risks of generative AI (Gen AI).2 Today, I’d like to focus more on the darker side of the technology—specifically how Gen AI has the potential to enable deepfake technology, and what we should be doing now to defend against this risk in finance.
    Escalating Threat of Gen-AI Facilitated CybercrimeCybercrime is on the rise, and cybercriminals are increasingly turning to Gen AI to facilitate their crimes. Criminal tactics are becoming more sophisticated and available to a broader range of criminals. Estimates of direct and indirect costs of cyber incidents range from 1 to 10 percent of global GDP.3 Deepfake attacks have seen a twentyfold increase over the last three years.4
    Cybercrime with deepfakes involves the same cat and mouse game common to sophisticated criminal activity. Both cybercriminals and financial institutions are constantly trying to outdo each other. Criminals develop new attack methods, and companies respond with better defenses. Here, the same technological innovations that enable the bad actors can also help those fighting cybercrime. However, there is an asymmetry—the fraudsters can cast a wide net of approaches and target a wide number of victims, and they only need a small number to be successful. Their marginal cost is generally low, and individual failures matter little. Conversely, companies must undergo a rigorous review and testing process to mount effective cyber defenses and will thus be slower in developing their defenses. A single failure is very costly. As we consider this issue from a policy perspective, we need to take steps to make attacks less likely by raising the cost of the attack to the cybercriminals and lowering the costs of defense to financial institutions and law enforcement.
    Anatomy of a DeepfakeDeepfake attacks are those in which an attacker uses Gen AI to create a doppelganger with a person’s voice or image and uses this doppelganger to interact with individuals or institutions to commit fraud. Deepfake technology is a particularly pernicious vehicle for cybercrime.5 The process begins with voice synthesis, where Gen AI models can synthesize the speech of their victim not only in words, but also in phrase patterns, tone, and inflection. With just a short sample audio, for example, criminals assisted by Gen AI can impersonate a close relative in a crisis situation or a high-value bank client, seeking to complete a transaction at their bank.6
    Criminals can also use Gen AI-generated videos to create believable depictions of individuals. For videos, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are the core technology behind most deepfake systems.7 GANs consist of two competing models, the generator and the discriminator, which compete with and improve each other. This competition results in increasingly realistic, indistinguishable fake images and videos.8
    Deepfake technology can also be augmented by other AI tools; for instance, criminals can use AI to extract and organize extensive multimodal personal data to facilitate identity verification. Attackers can also turn to “dark web” tools, such as jailbroken versions of popular large language models, where the guardrails have been removed, to learn the deepfake trade and improve their attacks.9
    Deepfakes in ActionI expect that many of you can recall examples of how deepfakes of politicians and prominent business executives have fooled the public and spread disinformation. Deepfakes are also being used to commit payment fraud. In one case in 2024, a sophisticated deepfake of the chief financial officer for British engineering and architectural firm Arup was reportedly deployed in a video meeting and convinced an Arup financial employee to transfer $25 million to thieves.10
    In another case, an attacker attempted to undertake a highly convincing audio deepfake of the chief executive of Ferrari, down to mimicking his southern Italian accent.11 The recipient of the attack—another Ferrari executive—tested the caller with a personal question only the chief executive would know, which thankfully exposed the fraud.
    And these institutions and individuals are not alone—a 2024 survey finds that over 10 percent of companies reported experiencing deepfake fraud attempts, and few steps have been taken to mitigate the risks.12
    Particularly since COVID, we conduct much of our professional and personal lives over video. When we see realistic and interactive video images of a loved one in trouble, we are disposed to trust them and do what we can to help. Identity verification standards at banks often use voice detection, which may become vulnerable to Gen AI tools. If this technology becomes cheaper and more broadly available to criminals—and fraud detection technology does not keep pace—we are all vulnerable to a deepfake attack. These attacks can have significant financial costs to the victims of the crime and can also pose costs to society, eroding trust in communications and in institutions.
    Defending Against DeepfakesSo what should we do? As I mentioned above, we should take steps to lessen the impact of attacks by making successful breaches less likely, while making each attack more resource-intensive for the attacker.
    Let me start with ways to make successful breaches less likely. A key step is to recognize the importance of strong, resilient financial institutions in preventing attacks. Banks are frontline defenders against deepfake-enabled fraud due to their direct involvement with financial transactions and customer data. To verify payors, banks maintain identity verification processes, including multi-factor authentication and account monitoring practices. To the extent deepfakes increase, bank identity verification processes should evolve in kind to include AI-powered advances such as facial recognition, voice analysis, and behavioral biometrics to detect potential deepfakes. Other techniques focus on assessing the probability that AI has been used in audio or video based on underlying metadata and then flagging the identity or transaction for further review using other verification. These technical solutions can detect subtle inconsistencies in video and audio that human observers may miss.
    Banks have two points of control over the transaction—confirming not only the sender’s identity, but also the legitimacy of the recipient address. They can scrutinize the recipients of large or unusual transactions, employing advanced analytics to flag suspicious patterns that could indicate fraudulent activities, and perform additional reviews before authorizing a payment to a recipient that raises flags. Banks also invest in their human controls by maintaining up-to-date training for staff on the emerging risks and incorporating the necessary security measures to mitigate the damages from breaches when they occur. And they are engaging with other financial institutions to help define the threat and identify appropriate controls and mitigants.13
    Customers should do their part, enabling multi-factor authentication on their accounts and verifying unusual requests through a separate channel, even if the person making the request seems genuine. They should seek out education for themselves and their loved ones to help them detect and prevent fraud before it occurs.14 And customers should value strong security practices at their financial institutions, including those which may add some friction to the user experience. The customers that may be the highest-value targets for criminals are often those with the largest digital presence, and thus most susceptible to deepfakes. They are also the customers who may prefer the most frictionless user experience, making detecting deepfakes more difficult. When it comes to protecting our money, we ought to expect and appreciate a little friction.
    Regulators can help to reinforce the importance of cyber defenses in safe and sound banking through appropriate updates to guidance and regulation. As with all rules, we should be mindful of the impacts on smaller institutions and help ensure that rules are right-sized for the risk. In addition, we can work with core providers to understand the extent to which they are incorporating AI advancements in their products and services to help smaller banks defend against deepfakes and other emerging risks from the technology. Last, we can also highlight research and development for cybersecurity startups and research into tools to combat deepfakes and Gen AI-based fraud.
    Regulators should consider how we could leverage AI technologies ourselves, including to enhance our ability to monitor and detect patterns of fraudulent activity at regulated institutions in real time. This could help provide early warnings to affected institutions and broader industry participants, as well as to protect our own systems.
    In addition to preventing attacks, we should also explore ways of making attacks more costly. These may include coordination with domestic and global law enforcement, internationally consistent laws against cybercrime, and continued improvement on sharing threat intelligence and insights in real-time. The official sector and banks should continue efforts to improve fraud data sharing within the financial sector and help institutions respond more quickly to emerging Gen AI-driven threats. This will make it far harder for fraudsters to operate undetected, increasing the complexity and cost of their activities. But the sharing is only as good as the data, and banks must do their part. We should help ensure that banks and other regulated institutions meet their duties to report cyber incidents in a timely way, and regulators should too.15
    Another way to disrupt the economics of cybercrime is by increasing penalties for attempting to use Gen AI to commit fraud and increasing investment in cybercrime enforcement. This includes targeting the upstream organizations that benefit from illegal action and strengthening anti-money-laundering laws to disrupt illicit fund flows and freeze assets related to cybercrime. The fear of severe legal consequences could help to deter bad actors from pursuing AI-driven fraud schemes in the first place.
    ConclusionDeepfakes are only one of many new techniques to facilitate cyberattacks, but they feel particularly salient because they are so personal. And they are on the rise.
    We will need financial institutions to adapt, collaborate, and innovate in the face of these emerging threats.
    Thank you.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. Michael S. Barr, “Artificial Intelligence: Hypothetical Scenarios for the Future” (speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY, February 18, 2025); Michael S. Barr, “AI, Fintechs, and Banks” (speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, April 4, 2025). Return to text
    3. International Monetary Fund, Global Financial Stability Report, chapter 3 (October 2024), See also, World Economic Forum, Why We Need Global Rules to Crack Down on Cybercrime (January 2023). Return to text
    4. “Fraud attempts with deepfakes have increased by 2137% over the last three years,” Signicat, February 20, 2025, https://www.signicat.com/press-releases/fraud-attempts-with-deepfakes-have-increased-by-2137-over-the-last-three-year#:~:text=Evolving20AI2Dbased20techniques20pose,AI2DDriven20Identity20Fraud20report. Return to text
    5. Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud,” public service announcement, December 3, 2024. Return to text
    6. See note 5. Return to text
    7. Tianxiang Shen, Ruixian Liu, Ju Bai, and Zheng Li, “Deep Fakes” Using Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) (PDF). McAfee, Beware the Artificial Impostor (May 2023), https://www.mcafee.com/content/dam/consumer/en-us/resources/cybersecurity/artificial-intelligence/rp-beware-the-artificial-impostor-report.pdf. Return to text
    8. “What is a GAN?” AWS, https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/gan/#:~:text=A20generative20adversarial20network20(GAN,from20a20database20of20songs. Return to text
    9. KELA, The State of Cybercrime 2025 Report (February 2025), https://www.kelacyber.com/resources/research/state-of-cybercrime-2025/. Return to text
    10. Kathleen Magramo, “British Engineering Giant Arup Revealed as $25 Million Deepfake Scam Victim,” CNN Business, May 17, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/tech/arup-deepfake-scam-loss-hong-kong-intl-hnk/index.html. Return to text
    11. Sandra Galletti and Massimo Pani, “How Ferrari Hit the Brakes on a Deepfake CEO,” MIT Sloan Management Review, January 27, 2025. Return to text
    12. Chad Brooks, “1 in 10 Executives Say Their Companies Have Already Faced Deepfake Threats,” business.com, June 28, 2024, https://www.business.com/articles/deepfake-threats-study/. Return to text
    13. See, for instance, FS-ISAC’s report on deepfake threats and risk management at https://www.fsisac.com/hubfs/Knowledge/AI/DeepfakesInTheFinancialSector-UnderstandingTheThreatsManagingTheRisks.pdf. Return to text
    14. There are a variety of public and private resources that can help. See, for example, the National Security Agency/Central Security Service at https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/Press-Releases-Statements/Press-Release-View/Article/3523329/nsa-us-federal-agencies-advise-on-deepfake-threats/; and the National Cybersecurity Alliance at https://www.staysafeonline.org/articles/why-your-family-and-coworkers-need-a-safe-word-in-the-age-of-ai. Return to text
    15. “Computer-Security Incident Notification Requirements for Banking Organizations and Their Bank Service Providers,” 86 Fed. Reg. 66,424 (November 23, 2021). Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Katy Perry’s celebrity spaceflight blazed a trail for climate breakdown

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Steve Westlake, Lecturer, Environmental Psychology, University of Bath

    What’s not to like about an all-female celebrity crew riding a rocket into space? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

    Katy Perry and her companions were initially portrayed in the media as breaking down gender barriers. On their return to Earth, the team enthused about protecting the planet and blazing a trail for others. Perry even sang What a Wonderful World during the flight, and kissed the ground on exiting the spacecraft.

    But the backlash was swift. Fellow celebrities piled in to highlight the “hypocrisy” of such an energy-intensive endeavour from a former Unicef climate champion. Evidence was quickly presented to dispute the pollution-free claims of the Blue Origin rocket, which is fuelled by oxygen and hydrogen. (In fact, the water vapour and nitrogen oxide emissions it creates add to global heating, on top of the emissions from the programme as a whole.)

    But it’s the negative social effects of this kind of display from celebrities (of any gender) that our research sheds light on. I’m part of a team of social scientists researching the powerful effects of politicians, business leaders and celebrities who lead by example on climate change – or don’t.

    Social kickback

    Space tourism, and other energy-intensive activities by people in the public eye, such as using helicopters and private jets, have a much wider knock-on effect than the direct damage to the climate caused by the activity itself.

    We carried out focus groups with members of the public to understand their reactions to the high-carbon behaviour of leaders in politics, culture and business. We also conducted experiments and surveys to test the effects of leaders “walking the talk” on climate change. We found that observing unnecessary high-carbon behaviour demotivates people and reduces the sense of collective effort that is essential for a successful societal response to climate change.

    Solving climate change and other environmental crises requires fundamental changes to economies, societies and lifestyles according to climate science. Using much less energy, not just different kinds of energy, can play a big part in halting the damage. And it is the wealthiest people in the richest countries who use the most energy and set the standards and aspirations for the rest of society. That’s why the Blue Origin dream (of space exploration for the unfathomably wealthy) is a nightmare for the climate because it perpetuates an unsustainable culture.

    Our findings reveal that when people see public figures behaving like this, they are less willing to make changes to their own lives. “Why should I do my bit for the climate when these celebrities are doing the opposite?” is the question people repeatedly asked in our research.

    Many of the changes to behaviour necessary to tackle climate change will require people to accept trade-offs and embrace alternative ways of living. This includes using heat pumps instead of gas boilers, trading in large, fossil-fuelled vehicles (or even avoiding cars altogether) and forgoing flights – because there is no way to decarbonise long-distance flights in time.

    When celebrities (or politicians and business leaders, for that matter) ignore the environmental damage of their choices, it sends a powerful signal that they are not really serious about addressing climate change.

    Not only does this undermine people’s motivation to make changes, it reduces the credibility of leaders. That in turn makes coordinated climate action less likely, because shifting to a low-carbon society will require public trust in leadership and a sense of collective effort.

    Individual choices matter

    The widespread aversion to Perry’s space flight contradicts the popular argument that tackling the climate crisis “is not about individual behaviour”.

    On the contrary, the response shows that these actions from celebrities and other leaders have much greater symbolic meaning than is captured by the idea of an “individual choice”. People are highly attuned to the behaviour of others because it signals and reinforces the values, morals and norms of our society. As such, few if any choices are truly “individual”.



    Read more:
    Think your efforts to help the climate don’t matter? African philosophers disagree

    This message of collective responsibility is one our current economic and political system works hard to suppress by championing unlimited freedom to consume, while ignoring the loss of freedom that such behaviour causes: freedom to live in a stable climate, freedom from pollution, freedom from extreme weather, freedom for future generations.

    In fact, research reveals that most people understand the interconnectedness of society and the need for a coordinated response to the climate crisis. Climate assemblies, which convene ordinary citizens to discuss and deliberate a course of climate action, have revealed a willingness to curtail some activities in a fair way.

    When it comes to preserving a liveable planet and a stable climate, most people know that space tourism and ultra-high-carbon living are off the agenda. Celebrities have a positive role to play in leading by example. It’s not rocket science.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Steve Westlake has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

    – ref. Why Katy Perry’s celebrity spaceflight blazed a trail for climate breakdown – https://theconversation.com/why-katy-perrys-celebrity-spaceflight-blazed-a-trail-for-climate-breakdown-254824

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Brockton Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Illegal Possession of Firearms and Ammunition

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

    BOSTON – A self-admitted gang member from Brockton, who was previously convicted of killing a 17-year-old outside a Roxbury high school, pleaded guilty today to drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

    Andre McNeil, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for July 30, 2025. McNeil was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2024.

    On Feb. 2, 2024, a series of searches were executed on McNeil’ vehicle and several associated residences. As a result, approximately 31 grams of cocaine, three handguns, two high-capacity magazines, five other magazines, approximately 101 rounds of 9mm ammunition and approximately $17,406 dollars, along with numerous cellular devices were seized. Numerous items used in drug trafficking, including scales, a money counter, baggies and a drug ledger were also observed at the search locations.

    McNeil is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2014 manslaughter conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for shooting and killing a 17-year-old boy outside a Roxbury high school, for which he was sentenced to more than 12 years in state prison.

    The charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute provides for sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Brockton, Foxboro and Taunton Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Dawley of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting 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 gun violence and other violent crime, 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. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Kyle Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Causing a Death on the Pine Ridge Reservation

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Kyle, South Dakota, convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on April 10, 2025.

    Jeremy Red Owl, 29, was sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release on each count. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Red Owl was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and restitution to the family of the victim.

    Red Owl was indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in November of 2024. He pleaded guilty on January 29, 2025.

    Along with other passengers, Red Owl was riding in the backseat of a moving vehicle while he was under the influence of cocaine. He was in possession of a loaded firearm as well. Red Owl told law enforcement that he leaned over causing the firearm in his possession to inadvertently discharge, striking and killing the driver.

    This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

    This case was investigated by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.

    Red Owl was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Josh Brecheen Reintroduces The DRIVE Act To Protect Ranchers, Farmers, and Truckers from Government Overreach

    Source: US Congressman Josh Brecheen (2nd District)

    Washington, D.C. – Congressman Josh Brecheen reintroduced the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act. This legislation would prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from mandating speed limiters on vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) above 26,000 pounds. The speed limiter rule, originally proposed by the Obama Administration and revived under President Biden, would harm both the agricultural and trucking industries by impacting commercial transport. This rule would impact semi-trucks, grain haulers, large bulk feed trucks, large flatbed trucks, dump trucks, furniture trucks, and other vehicles with a GVWR exceeding 26,000 pounds if they cross state lines.

    Washington, D.C. – Congressman Josh Brecheen reintroduced the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act. This legislation would prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from mandating speed limiters on vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) above 26,000 pounds. The speed limiter rule, originally proposed by the Obama Administration and revived under President Biden, would harm both the agricultural and trucking industries by impacting commercial transport. This rule would impact semi-trucks, grain haulers, large bulk feed trucks, large flatbed trucks, dump trucks, furniture trucks, and other vehicles with a GVWR exceeding 26,000 pounds if they cross state lines.

    “Under the Biden Administration, we saw blatant federal overreach that would have required speed limiters set as low as 60 mph for heavy-duty vehicles. I have spent years hauling heavy equipment and materials in a semi. I know from experience that road safety is best maintained by keeping with the flow of traffic as determined by state law—not by a one-size-fits-all mandate from Washington bureaucrats. The DRIVE Act ensures future administrations cannot revive this dangerous rule,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen.

    “OOIDA and our 150,000 members in small business trucking across America thank Representative Brecheen for his leadership in working to keep our roadways safe for truckers and for all road users by fighting to prevent a speed limiter mandate,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer.

    Read the full bill text here.

    Cosponsors: Representatives Mike Bost (R-IL), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Harriet Hagerman (R-WY), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Zachary Nunn (R-IA), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Rich McCormick (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Brian Babin (R-TX), Michael Cloud (R-TX), David Valadao (R-CA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX).

    Group Support: Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Associated Equipment Distributors, Mid-West Truckers Association, National Association of Small Trucking Companies, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, North American Punjabi Trucking Association, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc and United States Cattlemen’s Association.

    Press Inquiries: darren.dershem@mail.house.gov

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    MIL OSI USA News –