MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida, April 10 -- The U.S. Central Command issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Central Command conducted an air drop of humanitarian assistance into Northern Gaza on April 10, 2024, at 1:08 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict. The joint operation included four C-130 U.S. Air Force aircraft, and U.S. Army Soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of U.S humanitarian assistance supplies. The U.S. C  more

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida, April 9 -- The U.S. Central Command issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - At approximately 3:00 a.m. (Sanaa time) on April 9, USS Mason (DDG 87) and United States Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully engaged and destroyed one inbound anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) launched by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists from Yemen over the Gulf of Aden. The ASBM was likely targeting the MV Yorktown, a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-owned vessel being escorted b  more

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida, April 9 -- The U.S. Central Command issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Central Command conducted an air drop of humanitarian assistance into Northern Gaza on April 9, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict. The joint operation included four C-130 U.S. Air Force aircraft, and U.S. Army Soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance supplies. The U.S. C-  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, April 11 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Southeast Regional Information Office issued the following report on April 10, 2024, entitled "Consumer Price Index, South Region - March 2024": * * * Prices in the South up 0.4 percent in March and 3.8 percent over the past year * * * The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South rose 0.4 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table   more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, April 11 -- The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued the following news release: Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and the Florida Forest Service held a press conference to highlight Florida's current wildfire conditions and urge residents to be wildfire ready. Historically, Florida's year-round wildfire season peaks in April, May, and June, and the National Interagency Fire Center has predicted a relatively normal wildfire  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, April 10 -- The Florida Auditor General released the following operational audit (No. 2024-192) on April 5, 2024, involving Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY This operational audit of the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation (CCOC) focused on selected CCOC processes and administrative activities. Our audit did not disclose any findings and recommendations regarding the CCOC processes and administrative activities   more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, April 11 -- Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, issued the following news release on April 10, 2024: Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed five pieces of legislation to enhance and create additional criminal punishments for abusing children through grooming or other sexual offenses. These bills provide law enforcement with more tools to keep kids safe and ensure sexual predators and offenders are punished to the fullest extent of the law. "In Florida, we let kids be kids, and we   more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, April 11 -- Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, issued the following news release on April 10, 2024: Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the following bills: HB 1131 - Online Sting Operations Grant Program CS/CS/HB 1235 - Sexual Predators and Sexual Offenders CS/HB 305 - Offenses Involving Children CS/HB 1545 - Child Exploitation Offenses CS/CS/CS/SB 1224 - Protection of Children and Victims of Crime To view the transmittal letters, click here (https://www.flgov.com/wp-con  more

TAMPA, Florida, April 11 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida issued the following news release: United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Pierre C. Marc (37, Bradenton) guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl, marijuana, and heroin. The jury also found Marc guilty of possessing with the intent to distribute marijuana and 40 grams or more  more

TAMPA, Florida, April 11 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida issued the following news release: United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Joseph Marion (41, St. Petersburg) guilty of two counts of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine; one count of distributing fentanyl; and one count of distributing a mixture of fentanyl and heroin that resulted in serious bodily injury. Marion prev  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, April 11 -- Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued the following news release: Attorney General Chris Carr has joined a seven-state coalition in filing suit against the Biden administration's latest lawless student loan plan, which will cost taxpayers an estimated $475 billion overall. "Despite the Court having already settled this issue, the Biden administration continues to brazenly violate the law," said Carr. "Georgia taxpayers have made it clear that they know it's w  more

SANFORD, Florida, April 11 -- Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, issued the following news release on April 9, 2024: This week, First Lady Casey DeSantis joined officers from the Sanford Police Department for a law enforcement de-escalation training at Decision Tactical's facility. The First Lady also met with families of fallen officers and awarded the Seminole County Sheriff's Office Community Foundation and Central Florida Concerns of Police Survivors nonprofits with $20,000 each through the Hope  more

DES MOINES, Iowa, April 11 -- The Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird issued the following news release on April 10, 2024: Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird today led a 13-state coalition in a lawsuit to pull the plug on Biden's electric vehicle handout and defend ethanol. In Biden's most recent attack in the war on gas vehicles, he is creating a rule that overstates the efficiency of electric cars by more than six-times. Biden's illegal boost to electric vehicles hurts car owners, car manufactu  more

NEW YORK, April 11 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued the following news release on April 10, 2024: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; John J. Durham, the Director of Joint Task Force Vulcan ("JTFV"); Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"); Katrina W. Berger, the Executive Associate Director of Homelan  more

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland, April 11 -- The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command issued the following news release on April 10, 2024: The final day of the Sea-Air-Space Expo 2024 began with a question-and-answer session with representatives from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) and concluded with an overview of NAVAIR's Fleet Readiness Centers. Irma Alexander, deputy director of small business for NAVAIR Headquarters, and Larry Butts, deputy director o  more

WASHINGTON, April 11 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Habitat Conservation issued the following feature story: * * * Thanks to $1.3 million in NOAA funding, BoriCorps members will gain paid work experience and training while restoring ecosystems and supporting local communities. * * * Seven years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the island's forests, wetlands, and coral reefs still bear scars from the storm. At Jobos Bay National Estuar  more

WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Naval Sea Systems Command issued the following news: NEWPORT, R.I. - The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport's Federal Women's Program celebrated Women's History Month with a panel discussion by five female employees on March 26 that focused on insights and experiences as women working for the U.S. Navy. The event, which was broadcast to employees throughout the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), kicked off with a video featurin  more

ORLANDO, Florida, April 11 -- Orange County issued the following news: In order to address the increasing number of overdose deaths related to prescription opioids and illicit drugs, Orange County has engaged with the Centers for Disease Control and recently was awarded a grant funded by the CDC to implement its Stop Overdose campaigns locally. The series of campaigns focuses on four key areas: the dangers of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, the risks and consequences of mixing drugs (polysubs  more

ORLANDO, Florida, April 11 -- The city of Orlando issued the following news release: This update is meant to continue to further transparency around the City of Orlando's development of a permanent memorial on the Pulse site and to keep the community updated on those efforts. Stakeholder and Community Engagement As Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer committed when the city purchased the Pulse site in late 2023, a priority is taking a collaborative approach to the development of the memorial to ensure t  more

ORLANDO, Florida, April 11 -- The Orlando Utilities Commission issued the following news on April 10, 2024: To keep pace with increasing water demand as Central Florida's population grows, OUC's Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday (4/9) to approve a new alternative water supply project. To be built at an existing repump station on 15 acres in Lake Nona, the 40,000-square-foot Southeast Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant is estimated to be a $125 million to $155 million investment at complet  more

TAMPA, Florida, April 11 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida issued the following news release: U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Jonathan Rivera-Roman (35, Hudson) to 19 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiring to traffic cocaine and for distribution of cocaine. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $108,000, which was seized from a co-conspirator. Rivera-Roman was arrested on Marc  more

WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: On Tuesday, April 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced finalized updates to the foods prescribed to participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC. Nutrition leaders and mothers from across the country praised USDA's finalized updates to the WIC food package and the positive implications it w  more