Federal Executive Branch
Here's a look at documents from the U.S. Executive Branch
Featured Stories
State Dept. Issues Readout of Secretary Rubio Call With Kenyan President Ruto
WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The U.S. State Department issued the following readout by Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Secretary Marco Rubio's call on March 23, 2026, with Kenyan President William Ruto:
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional security issues.
Secretary Rubio thanked President Ruto for his public condemnation of Iranian aggression against Gulf States and discussed the objectives of Operation Epic Fury. He also expressed his gratitude for Kenya's significant contributions to peace and
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WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The U.S. State Department issued the following readout by Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Secretary Marco Rubio's call on March 23, 2026, with Kenyan President William Ruto:
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional security issues.
Secretary Rubio thanked President Ruto for his public condemnation of Iranian aggression against Gulf States and discussed the objectives of Operation Epic Fury. He also expressed his gratitude for Kenya's significant contributions to peace andsecurity in Haiti and Kenya's commitment to ensuring a smooth transition to the Gang Suppression Force.
The Secretary and President Ruto also discussed commercial opportunities and how to further strengthen our enduring partnership.
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Original text here: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/03/secretary-rubios-call-with-kenyan-president-ruto-2/
INL Partners With Industry to Dig Deep Into Organic Waste Disposal
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, March 24 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory issued the following news release:
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INL partners with industry to dig deep into organic waste disposal
When most people think of tree nuts, they imagine a tasty snack -- not the parts of the nut that get left behind. But for Houston-based startup Vaulted Deep, a fibrous byproduct from nut agriculture is one ingredient in a bold new approach to waste management. Thanks to a recent collaboration with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), that vision is one step closer to realization.
Vaulted Deep has a
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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, March 24 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory issued the following news release:
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INL partners with industry to dig deep into organic waste disposal
When most people think of tree nuts, they imagine a tasty snack -- not the parts of the nut that get left behind. But for Houston-based startup Vaulted Deep, a fibrous byproduct from nut agriculture is one ingredient in a bold new approach to waste management. Thanks to a recent collaboration with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), that vision is one step closer to realization.
Vaulted Deep has anovel goal: repurpose a technology developed for the oil and gas industry, called deep well injection, to permanently dispose of organic waste thousands of feet underground. For the nut industry, this approach would reduce the burden of managing hundreds of thousands of tons of hulls -- the fleshy, protective outer layer of nut fruits that enclose the hard shell and the nut we eat -- each year.
Traditional disposal options like landfilling or incineration are facing challenges that include tightening environmental regulations, shrinking disposal capacity and seasonal bottlenecks. Vaulted Deep's geologic infrastructure offers a safe, year-round disposal pathway that can operate regardless of weather with the benefits of less processing and less delays. The process streamlines operations and avoids bottlenecks during the critical harvest window.
To refine its innovative technology for this specific waste, Vaulted Deep turned to INL's Technology Deployment team. Technology Deployment specializes in helping INL researchers turn their inventions into commercialized products. They also help drive innovation through the U.S. Department of Energy's Technical Assistance Program (TAP). Startup companies can receive up to 40 hours of laboratory expertise from TAP at no charge. This assistance helps them to handle technical issues beyond their ability to solve alone.
INL biomass researcher Luke Williams partnered with Vaulted Deep to explore methods for grinding solid organic waste material into ultra-fine particles. The aim was to optimize the material size for use in Vaulted Deep's proprietary subsurface carbon storage process.
"Vaulted came to us with a clear challenge," said Williams, a senior research engineer. "They needed to understand how different milling techniques would affect particle size, energy use and throughput. We were able to help them test multiple approaches and generate actionable data."
Over the course of the project, INL researchers used different mill types to reduce the material in stages. They carefully tracked particle size distributions and energy requirements. The team also evaluated how long the material needed to stay in the mill to achieve the desired consistency, and whether additional methods like attrition or hammer milling might be worth exploring.
"This kind of collaboration with private industry is exactly what TAP is designed for," said Jim Keating, who leads INL's TAP work. "It's about helping innovative companies move faster by giving them access to national lab expertise."
The results were promising. Vaulted Deep now has a clearer picture of how to scale its process for commercial operations, and INL's final report includes detailed recommendations for further optimization. Samples from the final milling stage were shipped to Vaulted Deep's Great Plains facility in Kansas for more testing.
"Innovation doesn't happen in isolation, and public-private partnerships have proven themselves to be a key component to innovation," said Bryan Epps, Vaulted Deep's head of Commercialization. "Working with a national lab like INL gave us the critical insights we needed to move faster while also giving us confidence that our approach can scale safely and sustainably."
Vaulted Deep plans to move forward and apply this new form of innovative waste disposal to nut byproducts.
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About Idaho National Laboratory
Battelle Energy Alliance manages INL for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy. INL is the nation's center for nuclear energy research and development, and also performs research in each of DOE's strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and the environment. For more information, visit www.inl.gov.
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Original text here: https://inl.gov/news/inl-partners-with-industry-to-dig-deep-into-organic-waste-disposal/
Fed: Queuing, Service Time, and Price Dynamics in Residential Mortgage Lending
WASHINGTON, March 24 (TNSLrpt) -- The Federal Reserve issued the following white paper abstract (No. 2026-017) on March 23, 2026. The white paper, by Akos Horvath and Benjamin S. Kay, was entitled "Queuing, Service Time, and Price Dynamics in Residential Mortgage Lending".
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Queuing, Service Time, and Price Dynamics in Residential Mortgage Lending
Abstract:
Building on queuing theory, we develop and empirically validate a novel theoretical model of residential mortgage supply. Our model gives insight into how the stochastic arrival and sequential servicing of loan applications affect mortgage
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WASHINGTON, March 24 (TNSLrpt) -- The Federal Reserve issued the following white paper abstract (No. 2026-017) on March 23, 2026. The white paper, by Akos Horvath and Benjamin S. Kay, was entitled "Queuing, Service Time, and Price Dynamics in Residential Mortgage Lending".
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Queuing, Service Time, and Price Dynamics in Residential Mortgage Lending
Abstract:
Building on queuing theory, we develop and empirically validate a novel theoretical model of residential mortgage supply. Our model gives insight into how the stochastic arrival and sequential servicing of loan applications affect mortgageorigination. The model provides closed-form predictions for lenders' optimal response to changes in the level and price elasticity of mortgage demand. Using confidential HMDA data, we estimate that a one standard deviation increase in mortgage demand raises mortgage rate spreads by 3 to 8 basis points, loan quantities by 20 to 32 percent, and application processing times by 3 to 5 days. We also provide empirical evidence for the model prediction that a higher elasticity of mortgage demand moderates price increases due to demand shocks, which can limit lenders' exploitation of their market power.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2026.017
PDF: Full Paper
Disclaimer: The economic research that is linked from this page represents the views of the authors and does not indicate concurrence either by other members of the Board's staff or by the Board of Governors. The economic research and their conclusions are often preliminary and are circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The Board values having a staff that conducts research on a wide range of economic topics and that explores a diverse array of perspectives on those topics. The resulting conversations in academia, the economic policy community, and the broader public are important to sharpening our collective thinking.
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View full text here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/queuing-service-time-and-price-dynamics-in-residential-mortgage-lending.htm
[Category: Fed]
Fact Sheet: FCC Updates Covered List to Include Foreign-Made Consumer Routers, Prohibiting Approval of New Models
WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The Federal Communications Commission issued the following news release on March 23, 2026:
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FACT SHEET: FCC Updates Covered List to Include Foreign-Made Consumer Routers, Prohibiting Approval of New Models
Update Follows Determination by Executive Branch Agencies that Consumer-Grade Routers Produced in Foreign Countries Threaten National Security
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Today, the Federal Communications Commission updated its Covered List to include all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries. Routers are the boxes in every home that connect computers, phones, and smart
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WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The Federal Communications Commission issued the following news release on March 23, 2026:
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FACT SHEET: FCC Updates Covered List to Include Foreign-Made Consumer Routers, Prohibiting Approval of New Models
Update Follows Determination by Executive Branch Agencies that Consumer-Grade Routers Produced in Foreign Countries Threaten National Security
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Today, the Federal Communications Commission updated its Covered List to include all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries. Routers are the boxes in every home that connect computers, phones, and smartdevices to the internet. This followed a determination by a White House-convened Executive Branch interagency body with appropriate national security expertise that such routers "pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons."
The Executive Branch determination noted that foreign-produced routers (1) introduce "a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense" and (2) pose "a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons."
President Trump's 2025 National Security Strategy stated: "the United States must never be dependent on any outside power for core components--from raw materials to parts to finished products--necessary to the nation's defense or economy. We must re-secure our own independent and reliable access to the goods we need to defend ourselves and preserve our way of life."
Malicious actors have exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft. Foreign-made routers were also involved in the Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks targeting vital U.S. infrastructure.
The determination included an exemption for routers that the Department of War (DoW) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have granted "Conditional Approval" after finding that such device or devices do not pose such unacceptable risks. Producers of consumer-grade routers are encouraged to submit an application for Conditional Approval using the guidance attached to the determination. Applications should be submitted to conditional-approvals@fcc.gov.
As outlined below, today's action does not impact a consumer's continued use of routers they previously acquired. Nor does it prevent retailers from continuing to sell, import, or market router models approved previously through the FCC's equipment authorization process. By operation of the FCC's Covered List rules, the restrictions imposed today apply to new device models.
Chairman Carr issued the following statement:
"I welcome this Executive Branch national security determination, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign-produced routers, which were found to pose an unacceptable national security risk, to the FCC's Covered List. Following President Trump's leadership, the FCC will continue do our part in making sure that U.S. cyberspace, critical infrastructure, and supply chains are safe and secure."
Additional Background:
* The FCC's Covered List is a list of communications equipment and services that are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the U.S. or the safety and security of U.S. persons.
* Under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, the Commission can update the Covered List only at the direction of national security authorities. In other words, the Commission cannot update this list on its own and is required to implement determinations that are made by our national security agency experts.
* Equipment on the Covered List ("covered" equipment) is prohibited from getting FCC equipment authorization. Most electronic devices (including consumer-grade routers) require FCC equipment authorization prior to importation, marketing, or sale in the U.S. Covered equipment is banned from receiving new equipment authorizations, preventing new devices from entering the U.S. market.
* The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency encourages organizations to use the Covered List for risk management analysis in their regulatory compliance efforts.
* Following a similar National Security Determination in December, and a follow-up Determination in January, the FCC recently added the following to the Covered List: "Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country --except, (a) UAS and UAS critical components included on the Defense Contract Management Agency's (DCMA's) Blue UAS Cleared List, until January 1, 2027,# (b) UAS critical components that qualify as "domestic end products" under the Buy American Standard, 48 CFR 25.101(a), until January 1, 2027; and (c) devices which have been granted a Conditional Approval by DoW or DHS--and all communications and video surveillance equipment and services listed in Section 1709(a)(1) of the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 118-159)".
What does this mean?
* New devices on the Covered List, such as foreign-made consumer-grade routers, are prohibited from receiving FCC authorization and are therefore prohibited from being imported for use or sale in the U.S. This update to the Covered List does not prohibit the import, sale, or use of any existing device models the FCC previously authorized.
* This action does not affect any previously-purchased consumer-grade routers. Consumers can continue to use any router they have already lawfully purchased or acquired.
* Producers of consumer-grade routers that receive Conditional Approval from DoW or DHS can continue to receive FCC equipment authorizations. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit applications to conditional-approvals@fcc.gov.
For more information, please see our FAQ page (https://www.fcc.gov/faqs-recent-updates-fcc-covered-list-regarding-routers-produced-foreign-countries).
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Original text here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-420034A1.pdf
Detroit Man Sentenced for Role in Drug Trafficking Organization
CLARKSBURG, West Virginia, March 24 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia posted the following news release on March 23, 2026:
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Detroit Man Sentenced for Role in Drug Trafficking Organization
A Detroit, Michigan man was sentenced today for his role in a drug trafficking operation that distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl in Harrison County, West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced.
Malik Rashard Fikes, also known as "Face," was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison. Fikes was a supplier of drugs for the conspiracy that distributed
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CLARKSBURG, West Virginia, March 24 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia posted the following news release on March 23, 2026:
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Detroit Man Sentenced for Role in Drug Trafficking Organization
A Detroit, Michigan man was sentenced today for his role in a drug trafficking operation that distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl in Harrison County, West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced.
Malik Rashard Fikes, also known as "Face," was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison. Fikes was a supplier of drugs for the conspiracy that distributedmethamphetamine and fentanyl from residence in Shinnston, WV.
Fikes will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
This case was investigated by the Greater Harrison Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative.
Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/detroit-man-sentenced-role-drug-trafficking-organization
BLS Mid-Atlantic Region Issues Report on Fatal Work Injuries in the District of Columbia 2024
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, March 24 (TNSLrpt) -- Fatal Work Injuries in the District of Columbia 2024 - A report from U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Mid-Atlantic Region - March 23, 2026
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Fatal work injuries totaled 11 in 2024 for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in the District of Columbia was down from 12 in 2023. (See chart 1 and the online table.) The fatal work injury rate was 3.0 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE)
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, March 24 (TNSLrpt) -- Fatal Work Injuries in the District of Columbia 2024 - A report from U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Mid-Atlantic Region - March 23, 2026
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Fatal work injuries totaled 11 in 2024 for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in the District of Columbia was down from 12 in 2023. (See chart 1 and the online table.) The fatal work injury rate was 3.0 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE)workers in 2024, a decrease from a rate of 3.5 in 2023. Nationwide, a total of 5,070 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2024, a 4.0-percent decrease from 5,283 in 2023. These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
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Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries, District of Columbia, 2015-24
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Key findings
* Violent acts (5) were the most frequent type of fatal event in the District of Columbia, accounting for 45 percent of all fatal work injuries in the District. Nationally the share was 14 percent.
* Fatal workplace injuries in private industry accounted for 64 percent of District fatalities.
* Wage and salary workers accounted for all 11 fatal workplace injuries in the District of Columbia. Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 82 percent of fatalities.
* Males accounted for 82 percent of the work-related fatalities in the District of Columbia and 92 percent nationally.
* Fatalities among Hispanic or Latino workers (3) remained unchanged from 2023 and accounted for 27 percent of the work-related fatalities in the District of Columbia. Nationwide, this group accounted for 24 percent of work-related deaths.
* Workers 45-54 years old accounted for four, or 36 percent, of the state's work-related fatalities, compared to 19 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
Additional tables for the District of Columbia can be found on the BLS website.
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Technical Note
Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, is a count of all fatalities resulting from workplace injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the national CFOI release Technical notes, the BLS Handbook of Methods, and the CFOI definitions.
Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the District of Columbia Department of Health for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries nationally. See the national CFOI release Technical Notes for details on cooperating entities.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
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View original text plus charts and tables here: https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/news-release/2026/fatalworkinjuries_washingtondc_20260323.htm
Surface Transportation Board Issues Decision Involving Pittsburg Owner LPV
WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Board issued the following decision (Docket No. FD 36899) entitled "The Pittsburg Owner LPV LLC - Petition For Declaratory Order":
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On December 8, 2025, Jonathan Elton, on behalf of The Pittsburg Owner LPV, LLC (TPO), filed a petition for declaratory order requesting that the Board declare that a certain railroad line in Pittsburg, Cal., is not subject to the Board's jurisdiction and may therefore be abandoned and the track removed without the need for Board authorization.
Under the Board's regulations,
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WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Board issued the following decision (Docket No. FD 36899) entitled "The Pittsburg Owner LPV LLC - Petition For Declaratory Order":
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On December 8, 2025, Jonathan Elton, on behalf of The Pittsburg Owner LPV, LLC (TPO), filed a petition for declaratory order requesting that the Board declare that a certain railroad line in Pittsburg, Cal., is not subject to the Board's jurisdiction and may therefore be abandoned and the track removed without the need for Board authorization.
Under the Board's regulations,filings must be prepared and signed either (1) by an attorney, see 49 C.F.R. Sec. 1103.2, or (2) by a registered non-attorney practitioner, see 49 C.F.R. Sec. 1103.3. Alternatively, because a corporation cannot represent itself per se, an officer or director, if properly authorized by the corporation, may represent the corporation in Board proceedings. See 49 C.F.R. Sec. 1104.4. The Board has explained in several decisions that filers may be required to demonstrate why they are able to serve in a representative capacity. See Codorus Creek Ry.--Feeder Line Appl.--Stewartstown R.R., FD 35071 (STB served Apr. 13, 2010); N.H. Dep't of Transp.--Aban. Exemption--Between Littleton, N.H., & Bethlehem, N.H., AB 1237, slip op. at 3 (STB served Dec. 3, 2015); TBL Group, Inc.--Control--JKS Limousines, LLC, Docket No. MCF 21113 et al. (STB served Jan. 8, 2024).
Here, Elton has filed a petition for declaratory order on behalf of TPO but has not shown that he is either an attorney or licensed Board practitioner, or that he is an officer or director of TPO. Accordingly, it is not clear whether Elton can represent TPO in this proceeding. As such, Elton will be directed to show cause as to why he can represent TPO here.
Moreover, appended to the petition is a memorandum created by a third party and dated April 23, 2025, which appears to be an altered version of a similar memo, also dated April 23, 2025, that TPO had submitted earlier in a different docket. TPO provides no explanation for the differences between the version of the memo previously submitted and the version submitted with the petition on December 8, nor any indication that the changes either originated with or were authorized by the named drafter. Thus, in any response to the show-cause order, Elton will thus be directed to either (1) file a new memorandum, contemporaneously signed and dated by the author, or (2) submit the original, unaltered memorandum from April 23, 2025, and explain in the petition or in a separate exhibit any details that Elton and TPO would change, update, or correct about the memorandum.
Until these issues are resolved, the Board will not adjudicate the petition filed in Docket No. FD 36899 or any other filings made by Elton on behalf of TPO. Elton will be directed to respond by April 6, 2026.
In the alternative, TPO may resubmit its petition through an attorney, a licensed Board practitioner, or an authorized officer or director of TPO, thereby mooting the issue of Elton's representational capacity. If TPO elects to proceed in this manner, it is directed either (1) to file a new memorandum, contemporaneously signed and dated by the author, or (2) submit the original, unaltered memorandum from April 23, 2025, and explain in the petition or in a separate exhibit any details that TPO would change, update, or correct about the memorandum. If the issues raised here are not timely addressed, the proceeding will be dismissed.
It is ordered:
1. Elton must respond to the issues in this decision by April 6, 2026. Alternatively, TPO must resubmit the petition through an attorney, a licensed Board practitioner, or an authorized officer or direct of TPO. If the issues raised here are not timely addressed, the proceeding will be dismissed.
2. This proceeding is held in abeyance pending further order of the Board.
3. This decision is effective on its service date.
By the Board, Anika S. Cooper, Chief Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel.
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Original text here: https://dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com/DCMS_External_PROD/1774297109622/52926.pdf
