Federal Executive Branch
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Surface Transportation Board Issues Decision Involving 4 Companies
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Board issued the following decision (Docket No. MCF 21141) entitled "Van Pool Transportation LLC And AG Van Pool Holdings, LP - Continuance in Control - Rolling V Bus Corp. and STS of New Mexico LLC":
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By notice served and published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2025 (90 Fed. Reg. 60,223), the Board tentatively approved an application by Van Pool Transportation LLC and AG Van Pool Holdings, LP (collectively, Applicants), both noncarriers, to continue in control of two of Applicants' subsidiaries--Rolling
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Board issued the following decision (Docket No. MCF 21141) entitled "Van Pool Transportation LLC And AG Van Pool Holdings, LP - Continuance in Control - Rolling V Bus Corp. and STS of New Mexico LLC":
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By notice served and published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2025 (90 Fed. Reg. 60,223), the Board tentatively approved an application by Van Pool Transportation LLC and AG Van Pool Holdings, LP (collectively, Applicants), both noncarriers, to continue in control of two of Applicants' subsidiaries--RollingV Bus Corp. (Rolling V) and STS of New Mexico, LLC (STS)--upon Rolling V and STS becoming federally regulated passenger motor carriers.
The Board's December 23, 2025 notice established a deadline of February 6, 2026, for comments on the application and, if comments were filed, a deadline of February 23, 2026, for reply comments. The notice provided that, if no opposing comments were filed by the February 6, 2026 deadline, then the notice would be effective without further action by the Board on February 7, 2026.
The foregoing comment deadlines and tentative effective date might be affected by the current lapse in the Board's appropriation and resulting cessation of operations. If funding has been restored and the Board resumes operations on or before February 6, 2026, then the comment deadlines and the effective date (if no comments are filed) that were established in the December 23, 2025 notice will remain in effect.
If, however, the Board does not resume operations on or before February 6, 2026, then all the comment deadlines and effective date established in the December 23, 2025 notice will be tolled. In that case, a further order regarding the submission of comments and the effective date will be issued upon resumption of the Board's operations.
It is ordered:
1. The deadlines and tentative effective date that the Board established in its December 23, 2025 notice in this proceeding are conditionally tolled as discussed above.
2. A copy of this notice will be served on: (1) the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20590; (2) the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, 10th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20530; and (3) the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the General Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20590.
Decided: February 2, 2026.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, and Schultz.
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Original text here: https://dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com/DCMS_External_PROD/1770046977075/52903.pdf
Justice Department Seeks to Denaturalize Convicted Rapist
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2026:
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Justice Department Seeks to Denaturalize Convicted Rapist
Today, the United States filed a denaturalization action in the Eastern District of New York against Gurmeet Singh, a native of India, who, according to the Department of Justice's complaint, concealed and misrepresented in his naturalization application that he had previously kidnapped and sexual assaulted a female passenger of his taxicab. After his passenger fell asleep in the backseat, he drove her to a side street and the
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2026:
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Justice Department Seeks to Denaturalize Convicted Rapist
Today, the United States filed a denaturalization action in the Eastern District of New York against Gurmeet Singh, a native of India, who, according to the Department of Justice's complaint, concealed and misrepresented in his naturalization application that he had previously kidnapped and sexual assaulted a female passenger of his taxicab. After his passenger fell asleep in the backseat, he drove her to a side street and thepassenger awoke to find Singh on top of her with a knife to her throat, telling her to stop resisting if she wanted to live. Singh then bound and gagged her, blindfolded her, removed her clothes, and raped her.
Singh concealed these acts throughout his naturalization proceedings and naturalized as a U.S. citizen on Oct. 19, 2011. After naturalizing, Singh was convicted in New York of Rape in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the Second Degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
"This Department of Justice will continue to strip citizenship from those who commit heinous crimes and conceal them during the naturalization process," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "American citizenship is a great and sacred privilege that must be earned honestly."
"This individual's vile acts prove that he should not have been granted U.S. citizenship," said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "Singh entered our country through family-based immigration laws, then committed horrible crimes before lying about them to become a U.S. citizen. We will now correct this injustice."
"The defendant in this case secured U.S. citizenship through deceit, and on the heels of committing the heinous crimes of rape and kidnapping," said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr for the Eastern District of New York. "This case, brought to strip the defendant of citizenship that he did not earn and to which he was not entitled, demonstrates our Office's commitment to protecting the American people and defending the sanctity of U.S. citizenship."
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen's citizenship may be revoked, and his certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.
This case was investigated by the Civil Division's Office of Immigration Litigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. The litigation is being handled by Trial Attorney Christopher Lyerla and Assistant U.S. Attorney Layaliza Soloveichik for the Eastern District of New York and reviewed by John Inkeles, Chief, Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit.
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The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seeks-denaturalize-convicted-rapist
IRS Issues Revenue Ruling on Section 149 - Bonds Must Be Registered To Be Tax Exempt; Other Requirements
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The Internal Revenue Service issued the following revenue ruling (No. 2026-4) on Feb. 2, 2026, entitled "Section 149 - Bonds Must Be Registered To Be Tax Exempt; Other Requirements".
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ISSUE
Whether bonds issued by the Alaska Railroad Corporation (Railroad Corporation) to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of certain property are required to satisfy the rules in Sec.Sec. 141 through 147 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code)/1 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under Sec. 103(a)?
FACTS
The Federal government built a railroad in the State of Alaska
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The Internal Revenue Service issued the following revenue ruling (No. 2026-4) on Feb. 2, 2026, entitled "Section 149 - Bonds Must Be Registered To Be Tax Exempt; Other Requirements".
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ISSUE
Whether bonds issued by the Alaska Railroad Corporation (Railroad Corporation) to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of certain property are required to satisfy the rules in Sec.Sec. 141 through 147 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code)/1 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under Sec. 103(a)?
FACTS
The Federal government built a railroad in the State of Alaska(State) to serve the transportation and development needs of the State and later transferred the assets of that railroad (State Railroad) to the State pursuant to the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982, Title VI of Public Law 97-468, 96 Stat. 2543, 2556 (1983) (Railroad Act). The Railroad Act contemplates that the State continue to operate the railroad as a rail carrier after the transfer. By statute, the State established the Railroad Corporation as a public corporation to operate the State Railroad.
In connection with a project in the State to extract, process, liquify, and transport natural gas (LNG Project), the Railroad Corporation intends to issue bonds to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of facilities and other property that are located within the State and that are directly related to the LNG Project. Such facilities and other property are collectively referred to in this revenue ruling as the "Property" and consist of:
* The facilities and other related project infrastructure described in Section I, Background and Proposal, of the Order Granting Authorization Under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 21, 2020, see 171 FERC
61,134 (2020);
* Railroad tracks and embankment, rail sidings, rail extensions, rail terminal yards, locomotives and rail cars to transport materials and equipment necessary for pipeline construction and project operations, as well as trains equipped to carry liquified natural gas (LNG);
* Port facilities to import pipe and transport construction materials (including supplies, fuel, and equipment), and infrastructure equipped to store LNG, to serve LNG carrier ships, to transfer LNG to carrier ships, to transfer LNG from carrier ships to LNG storage, and to regasify LNG;
* Airports and helicopter pads;
* Roads, highways, causeways, bridges;
* Power generation facilities;
* Communications infrastructure;
* Construction-related housing; and
* Other facilities directly related to the LNG Project.
For the avoidance of doubt, a facility or property does not qualify as Property solely because it uses natural gas produced by the LNG Project.
LAW
Internal Revenue Code of 1986
Section 103(a) generally provides that, except as otherwise provided in Sec. 103(b), gross income does not include interest on any State or local bond. Section 103(b) provides that Sec. 103(a) does not apply to any private activity bond that is not a qualified bond (within the meaning of Sec. 141), to any arbitrage bond (within the meaning of Sec. 148), or to any bond that does not meet the applicable requirements of Sec. 149. Section 103(c)(1) defines a "State or local bond" as an obligation of a State or political subdivision thereof.
Section 141(a) defines the term "private activity bond" as any bond issued as part of an issue that meets the private business use test of Sec. 141(b)(1) and the private security or payment test of Sec. 141(b)(2) or that meets the private loan financing test of Sec. 141(c).
Section 141(b)(1) provides that, except as provided in that subsection, an issue meets the private business use test if more than 10 percent of the proceeds of the issue are to be used for any private business use. Under Sec. 141(b)(6)(A), the term "private business use" means use (directly or indirectly) in a trade or business carried on by any person other than a governmental unit, although use as a member of the general public is not taken into account. Under Sec. 141(b)(6)(B), any activity carried on by a person other than a natural person is treated as a trade or business.
Section 141(c) provides that an issue meets the private loan financing test if the amount of the proceeds of the issue that are to be used (directly or indirectly) to make or finance loans (other than certain loans described in paragraph (c)(2)) to persons other than governmental units exceeds the lesser of five percent of such proceeds or $5,000,000.
Section 141(e) defines a "qualified bond" as any private activity bond if such bond is: an exempt facility bond as defined in Sec. 142, a qualified mortgage bond as defined in Sec. 143(a), a qualified veterans' mortgage bond as defined in Sec. 143(b), a qualified small issue bond as defined in Sec. 144(a), a qualified student loan bond as defined in Sec. 144(b), a qualified redevelopment bond as defined in Sec. 144(c), or a qualified 501(c)(3) bond as defined in Sec. 145. A qualified bond must also meet the requirements of Sec. 146 relating to volume cap and certain other requirements in Sec. 147.
Under Sec. 148(a), the term "arbitrage bond" means any bond issued as part of an issue any portion of the proceeds of which are reasonably expected at the time of issuance to be used (or is intentionally used after issuance) to acquire higher yielding investments or to replace funds that were used directly or indirectly to acquire higher yielding investments. Under Sec. 148(b), "higher yielding investments" means investment property with a yield that is materially higher than the yield on the issue of which the bond is a part.
Section 149 generally enumerates certain additional requirements for a bond to qualify as tax-exempt under Sec. 103(a). Section 149(b) generally provides that, subject to certain exceptions, Sec. 103(a) does not apply to any State or local bond if such bond is federally guaranteed. For this purpose, a bond is federally guaranteed if: (A) the payment of principal or interest with respect to such bond is guaranteed (in whole or in part) by the United States (or any agency or instrumentality thereof); (B) such bond is issued as part of an issue and five percent or more of the proceeds of such issue is to be (i) used in making loans the payment of principal or interest with respect to which is to be guaranteed (in whole or in part) by the United States (or any agency or instrumentality thereof), or (ii) invested (directly or indirectly) in federally insured deposits or accounts; or (C) the payment of principal or interest on such bond is otherwise indirectly guaranteed (in whole or in part) by the United States (or an agency or instrumentality thereof).
Section 149(c)(1) provides that, except as provided in paragraph (c)(2), no interest on any bond shall be exempt from taxation under the Code unless such interest is exempt from taxation under the Code without regard to any provision of law that is not contained in the Code and that is not contained in a revenue Act.
Section 149(c)(2)(A) provides that for purposes of the Code, notwithstanding any provision of Sec.Sec. 141 through 150, any bond the interest on which is exempt from taxation under the Code by reason of any provision of law (other than a provision of the Code) that is in effect on January 6, 1983, shall be treated as a bond described in Sec. 103(a).
Section 149(c)(2)(B) provides that paragraph (c)(2)(A) shall not apply to a bond (not described in paragraph (c)(2)(C)) issued after 1983 if the appropriate requirements of Sec.Sec. 141 through 150 (or the corresponding provisions of prior law) are not met with respect to such bond.
Section 149(c)(2)(C) provides that bonds issued under or pursuant to three specific statutory provisions are treated as described in section 149(c)(2)(A). Section 149(c)(2)(C)(ii) provides that a bond is described in paragraph (c)(2)(C) (and treated as described in paragraph (c)(2)(A)) if such bond is issued pursuant to Sec. 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act, as in effect on October 22, 1986, the date of the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Public Law 99-514, 100 Stat. 2085 (1986).
Section 150 contains definitions and special rules that are used for purposes of applying the requirements of Sec.Sec. 103 and 141 through 149.
The Railroad Act as in Effect on October 22, 1986
Section 602(4) of the Railroad Act, as in effect on October 22, 1986,/2 states that the transfer of the railroad and provision for its operation by the State in the manner contemplated by Sec.Sec. 601 through 616 of the Railroad Act is made pursuant to the Federal goal and ongoing program of transferring appropriate activities to the States.
Section 608(a)(1) of the Railroad Act provides in part that, after the date of transfer to the State pursuant to Sec. 604 of the Railroad Act, the "State-owned railroad" shall be a rail carrier engaged in interstate and foreign commerce subject to the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission under chapter 105 of subtitle IV of title 49, United States Code, and all other Acts applicable to rail carriers subject to that chapter. Section 603(14) of the Railroad Act defines "State-owned railroad" as the authority, agency, corporation or other entity which the State designates or contracts with to own, operate or manage the rail properties of the railroad or, as the context requires, the railroad owned, operated, or managed by such authority, agency, corporation, or other entity.
Section 608(a)(2) of the Railroad Act provides in part that the transfer to the State authorized by Sec. 604 of the Railroad Act and the conferral of jurisdiction to the Interstate Commerce Commission pursuant to Sec. 608(a)(1) of the Railroad Act are intended to confer upon the State-owned railroad all business opportunities available to comparable railroads.
Section 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act states:
After the date of transfer, continued operation of the Alaska Railroad by a public corporation, authority or other agency of the State shall be deemed to be an exercise of an essential governmental function, and revenue derived from such operation shall be deemed to accrue to the State for the purposes of section 115(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 115(a)(1). Obligations issued by such entity shall also be deemed obligations of the State for the purposes of section 103(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 103(a)(1)), but not obligations within the meaning of section 103(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 103(b)(2)).
Section 609(a) of the Railroad Act provides that the State or State-owned railroad may request the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate under law, to expeditiously approve an application for a right-of-way in order that the State-owned railroad may have access across federal lands for transportation and related purposes.
Section 610(b) of the Railroad Act provides that, if the State discontinues use of any land within the right-of-way (defined as an area extending a certain distance on both sides of the center line of any main line or branch line of the railroad), the State's interest in such land shall revert to the United States. For this purpose, the State shall be considered to have discontinued use when, among other circumstances, the State has made no use of the land for a continuous period of eighteen years for transportation, communication, or transmission purposes.
Internal Revenue Code of 1954
Section 103(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (1954 Code), as in effect from the date of enactment of the Railroad Act until the date of enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, provided that gross income does not include interest on the obligations of a State, a Territory, or possession of the United States, or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing, or of the District of Columbia.
Section 103(b)(2) of the 1954 Code, as in effect from the date of enactment of the Railroad Act until the date of enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, defined an "industrial development bond" as any obligation (A) which is issued as part of an issue all or a major portion of the proceeds of which are to be used directly or indirectly in any trade or business carried on by any person who is not an exempt person, and (B) the payment of the principal or interest on which (under the terms of such obligation or any underlying arrangement) is, in whole or in major part, (i) secured by any interest in property used or to be used in a trade or business or in payments in respect of such property, or (ii) to be derived from payments in respect of property, or borrowed money, used or to be used in a trade or business.
Section 103 of the 1954 Code, as in effect immediately prior to the date of enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, imposed additional requirements on tax-exempt bonds, including rules in Sec. 103(c) of the 1954 Code related to arbitrage bonds and rules in Sec. 103(h) of the 1954 Code related to federally guaranteed bonds.
Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Sec.Sec. 103 and 103A of the 1954 Code were recodified into Sec.Sec. 103 and 141 through 150 of the Code. Section 103(a)(1) of the 1954 Code was recodified into Sec. 103(a) of the Code. Section 103(b) of the 1954 Code (defining and governing industrial development bonds) was recodified into Sec.Sec. 141 through 147 of the Code (defining and governing private activity bonds). Section 103(c) of the 1954 Code (defining and governing arbitrage bonds) was recodified into Sec. 148 of the Code. Section 103(h) of the 1954 Code (defining and governing federally guaranteed bonds) was recodified into Sec. 149(b) of the Code.
ANALYSIS
Under Sec. 149(c)(1), except as provided in Sec. 149(c)(2)(A), a bond is not tax-exempt unless the exemption is derived from the Code without regard to any provision of law that is not contained in the Code and that is not contained in a revenue act (Non-Code Provision). Under Sec. 149(c)(2)(A), a bond that is tax-exempt by reason of a Non-Code Provision in effect on January 6, 1983, is treated as a State or local bond that is tax-exempt under Sec. 103(a). Under Sec. 149(c)(2)(B), the beneficial treatment provided in Sec. 149(c)(2)(A) generally does not apply to a bond issued after 1983, unless the bond is described in Sec. 149(c)(2)(C). Bonds "issued pursuant to section 608(a)(6)(A)" of the Railroad Act, a Non-Code Provision enacted after January 6, 1983, are described in Sec. 149(c)(2)(C)(ii) and thus are treated as described in Sec. 149(c)(2)(A). Consequently, Sec. 149(c)(2)(C)(ii) makes clear that even though the Railroad Act was enacted after January 6, 1983, bonds issued pursuant to Sec. 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act are nonetheless covered by Sec. 149(c)(2)(A) and not subject to the issue date limitation in Sec. 149(c)(2)(B).
The phrase "pursuant to" in Sec. 149(c)(2)(C)(ii) signals that the content of Sec. 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act circumscribes the nature of bonds to which Sec. 149(c)(2)(C)(ii) applies. Under Sec. 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act, bonds issued by "a public corporation, authority or other agency of the State" that is engaged in "the continued operation of the [State Railroad]" are "obligations of the State for the purposes of section 103(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 103(a)(1)), but not obligations within the meaning of section 103(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 103(b)(2))."
The Railroad Corporation is a public corporation formed by State statute to operate the State Railroad. The Railroad Act contemplates that operation of the State Railroad entails operating as "a rail carrier engaged in interstate and foreign commerce" (Sec. 608(a)(1) of the Railroad Act), engaging in "all business opportunities available to comparable railroads" (Sec. 608(a)(2) of the Railroad Act), deploying the State Railroad's assets for "transportation and related purposes" (Sec. 609(a) of the Railroad Act), and for "transportation, communication, or transmission purposes" (Sec. 610(b) of the Railroad Act). To the extent the Railroad Corporation engages in activities consistent with and related to the operation of the State Railroad as contemplated by the Railroad Act, the Railroad Corporation is an entity described in Sec. 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act.
Therefore, under Sec. 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act, bonds issued by the Railroad Corporation for purposes consistent with and related to the operation of the State Railroad as contemplated by the Railroad Act (Railroad-Related Bonds) are obligations of the State for purposes of Sec. 103(a)(1) of the 1954 Code and are not industrial development bonds under Sec. 103(b)(2) of the 1954 Code or private activity bonds under Sec. 141(a) of the Code. Railroad-Related Bonds are also "issued pursuant to section 608(a)(6)(A)" of the Railroad Act within the meaning of Sec. 149(c)(2)(C)(ii) and, therefore, under Sec. 149(c)(2)(A), are treated as tax-exempt under Sec. 103(a), notwithstanding any failure to comply with the rules in Sec.Sec. 141 through 147 governing private activity bonds. Because Sec. 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act exempts Railroad-Related Bonds only from the rules in Sec.Sec. 141 through 147 governing private activity bonds, Railroad-Related Bonds must still satisfy the rules in Sec.Sec. 148, 149, and 150 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under Sec. 103(a).
In connection with the LNG Project, the Railroad Corporation intends to engage in activities to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property. Because the Railroad Corporation's engagement in these activities is consistent with and related to the operation of the State Railroad as contemplated by the Railroad Act, the bonds issued by the Railroad Corporation to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property are Railroad-Related Bonds and are not required to satisfy the rules in Sec.Sec. 141 through 147 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under Sec. 103(a). This conclusion is limited to bonds issued by the Railroad Corporation to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property, all of which must be located within the State and directly related to the LNG Project. For example, this conclusion would not apply if the Railroad Corporation were to issue bonds to finance construction of a facility that uses natural gas generated by the LNG Project but has no other relationship to the LNG Project because such a facility does not qualify as Property.
HOLDING
Because financing the construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property constitutes an activity consistent with and related to the operation of the State Railroad as contemplated by the Railroad Act, bonds issued by the Railroad Corporation to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property are not required to satisfy the rules in Sec.Sec. 141 through 147 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under Sec. 103(a). However, such bonds are required to satisfy the rules in Sec.Sec. 148, 149, and 150 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under Sec. 103(a).
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this revenue ruling is the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products). For further information regarding this revenue ruling, call (202) 317-3900 (not a toll-free number).
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Footnotes:
1/ Unless otherwise specified, all "Section" or "Sec." references are to sections of the Code.
2/ References to the Railroad Act in the balance of this notice are to the Railroad Act as in effect on October 22, 1986.
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Original text here: https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-06_IRB#REV-RUL-2026-4
Hanford Activity Report for the Week Ending January 16, 2026
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Resident Inspector in Hanford issued the following activity report for the week ending Jan. 16, 2026:
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TO: Technical Director
FROM: Hanford Site Resident Inspectors
SUBJECT: Hanford Activity Report for the Week Ending January 16, 2026
Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility: After reprogramming the weld model for the outer transportable storage container lid (see 1/2/2026 report), welders successfully completed the work. The concrete lid was successfully placed on the vertical concrete cask (VCC); however, the team was
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Resident Inspector in Hanford issued the following activity report for the week ending Jan. 16, 2026:
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TO: Technical Director
FROM: Hanford Site Resident Inspectors
SUBJECT: Hanford Activity Report for the Week Ending January 16, 2026
Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility: After reprogramming the weld model for the outer transportable storage container lid (see 1/2/2026 report), welders successfully completed the work. The concrete lid was successfully placed on the vertical concrete cask (VCC); however, the team wasunable to move the VCC from the truck port to the outside loading pad due to a failed motor on one of the air-pallet drive units. After repairs were completed, the project plans to deliver the first loaded VCC to the capsule storage area early next week.
Low Activity Waste (LAW) Facility: A resident inspector observed an emergency preparedness drill. The scenario involved a truck carrying waste glass canisters crashing into the ammonia reagent system loading area, rupturing an ammonia line, and triggering a site area emergency. The resident inspector observed the initial response in the incident command post and the radiological control response in the field. He observed simulations and scenario constraints that limited the usefulness of the drill for determining proficiency of the radiological hazard assessor or radiological control technicians. The only radiological tasks in the scenario were to perform area monitoring and air sampling of a small area designated as the cold line. The scenario did not include any detectable radiological releases or contaminated individuals, and there was no demonstration of surveying or doffing firefighters responding to the event, which limits the scope of what controllers could evaluate for proficiency. The resident inspector communicated these observations to emergency preparedness personnel for their information.
LAW Facility procedures control process cell access to protect workers from radioactive steam and hazardous gases, which might occur during a melter over-pressure event that releases offgas into the cells. Although the cells are normally locked, workers can access them to perform maintenance after establishing alternative controls, including a lockout/tagout (LOTO) prior to entry. Two facility workers became confused and entered the incorrect process cell without signing on to the correct LOTO. The error did not expose the workers to hazardous conditions because the cell had been prepared for entry to support other work activities. However, the event revealed potential access control weaknesses that may have contributed to the error. Facility management is evaluating access controls and postings to ensure protection of workers.
Hanford Site: The DOE Chief of Nuclear Safety was onsite to meet with HFO and contractor representatives to discuss proposed or expected changes in nuclear and chemical safety policy, development of safety bases for new and existing facilities, and ongoing HFO work to respond to recent DNFSB communications to DOE regarding the safe operation of nuclear facilities. Meeting topics focused on design and construction of the High-Level Waste Facility, systems and facilities for pretreatment of liquid waste, prior to disposal as glass or grout, safety implementation for potential reuse of Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility strontium capsules, proposed modification of site dispersion parameters, and changes to procurement and quality assurance practices that could speed the delivery of new nuclear facilities without jeopardizing safety.
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Original text here: https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/2026-02/Hanford%20Week%20Ending%20January%2016%202026.pdf
DOE Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: How a Machine Learning Pipeline Could Accelerate Innovation
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory issued the following news:
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How a Machine Learning Pipeline Could Accelerate Innovation
SYNAPS-I, a new multi-lab AI platform supporting DOE's Genesis Mission, aims to accelerate discoveries at advanced light and neutron scattering user facilities. The results could speed breakthroughs in energy, semiconductors, medicine, and many other technologies critical to modern society.
By Theresa Duque
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is working to transform petabytes of imaging data from
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory issued the following news:
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How a Machine Learning Pipeline Could Accelerate Innovation
SYNAPS-I, a new multi-lab AI platform supporting DOE's Genesis Mission, aims to accelerate discoveries at advanced light and neutron scattering user facilities. The results could speed breakthroughs in energy, semiconductors, medicine, and many other technologies critical to modern society.
By Theresa Duque
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is working to transform petabytes of imaging data fromadvanced light and neutron scattering user facilities in the U.S. into actionable knowledge, demonstrating AI-accelerated advanced discovery capabilities that can be applied to energy, semiconductors, medicine, and other essential technologies.
The multi-lab effort, called SYNAPS-I (SYnergistic Neutron and Photon Science - Intelligence), is part of the Genesis Mission, a new national initiative led by the Department of Energy to advance AI and accelerate discovery, providing solutions for challenges in science, energy, and national security. A cornerstone of the Genesis Mission is the Transformational AI Models Consortium, which will build and deploy self-improving AI models by harnessing DOE's unique data, facilities, and expertise. SYNAPS-I is one of three AI model teams that Berkeley Lab leads or plays a key role in, building on AI expertise in high-performance computing, managing large datasets, and pioneering AI models in partnership with industry.
"Our national lab facilities are already world leaders in scientific discovery. SYNAPS-I will radically accelerate the path from experiment to insight by embedding AI directly into the analysis workflow," said Alex Hexemer, a senior scientist at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS) and SYNAPS-I lead point of contact.
The SYNAPS-I platform will integrate large machine learning models as well as foundation models across all participating light and neutron sources, enabling unified analysis of imaging data from cutting-edge X-ray and neutron instruments at seven DOE Basic Energy Sciences user facilities, including the ALS, a synchrotron light source that produces X-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared light. The increased data outputs of recently completed and in-progress facility upgrades, such as Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U) project, bring even greater opportunities to accelerate scientific discovery across a wide range of disciplines.
"Our national lab facilities are already world leaders in scientific discovery. SYNAPS-I will radically accelerate the path from experiment to insight by embedding AI directly into the analysis workflow."
-- Alex Hexemer, Berkeley Lab senior scientist and SYNAPS-I lead point of contact
SYNAPS-I is a public-private partnership uniting national laboratories, university researchers, and key industry innovators in AI, materials, pharmaceuticals, and energy, including partners from Berkeley Lab, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
"By pooling expertise and data across facilities, we can build AI capabilities that benefit all users and accelerate scientific discovery in ways that no single facility could achieve alone," Hexemer said.
"SYNAPS-I marks the first step into an exciting new era for science at modern facilities. With the ALS -- especially after the ALS-U upgrade -- we'll gain an unprecedented view into the inner workings of nature and technology. The challenge lies in turning that immense detail into knowledge that advances humanity. SYNAPS-I begins this next chapter of discovery," said Dimitrios Argyriou, Interim ALS-U Project Director.
An advanced AI tool for X-ray and neutron science
X-ray microscopy and neutron scattering techniques help scientists study phase changes in the chemical composition and molecular makeup of active materials. This information can show how chemical processes and structural defects evolve in a material, and those insights can assist in the development of more durable materials for batteries and other useful applications.
Advances in automation for X-ray microscopy have allowed scientists to speed materials analysis for new applications. For example, more than a decade ago at the ALS, a collaboration of researchers used ptychography -- a lensless, computational X-ray microscopy technique that analyzes the structure of a sample down to the atomic level -- to image 5-nanometer structures in lithium iron phosphate, a material of interest for energy storage applications. That record-setting breakthrough allowed new understanding of the formation of defects in lithium iron phosphate during a chemical phase transformation.
Over the next few years, the multi-lab SYNAPS-I team wants to further accelerate knowledge extraction from X-ray microscopy and neutron scattering. To meet this goal, the team will build a machine-learning pipeline to augment existing algorithms for automated ptychography and image segmentation of X-ray and neutron data. Ptychography scans a sample with overlapping beam positions, collects diffraction patterns, and computationally reconstructs them into high-resolution images in 2D, or scans a sample from multiple angles to form a 3D image. Segmentation identifies patterns and features in X-ray and neutron imaging.
A battery material can be made up of millions of grains and particles. And with image segmentation done the traditional way, the painstaking manual process of identifying individual grains can take considerable time to complete. The SYNAPS-I AI platform will make this significantly easier and faster. By taking advantage of existing and to be developed AI solutions, SYNAPS-I will replace the tedious task of manual segmentation with an automated tool that segments and characterizes particles while you're viewing the material at an X-ray or neutron beamline instrument.
"Automated segmentation in advanced microscopy is still a significant challenge in science. There are segmentation AI models available today for images of everyday objects, but they don't work well for scientific data. We're building SYNAPS-I to fill that gap," Hexemer said.
Berkeley Lab is also contributing to other projects focused on AI code development, critical minerals and materials, cosmology, microelectronics, and quantum algorithms. Berkeley Lab's contributions to the Genesis Mission build on decades of research in high-performance computing, managing large datasets, and pioneering AI models that yield insights across many science domains.
The Advanced Light Source is a DOE Office of Science user facility at Berkeley Lab.
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab's expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab's world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
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Original text here: https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/02/02/how-a-machine-learning-pipeline-could-accelerate-innovation/
Army Announces Upcoming Unit Deployments
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Army issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2026:
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Army announces upcoming unit deployments
The Department of the Army announced today the deployments of the following units:
The 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, to the Republic of Korea to replace the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division as part of a regular rotation of forces. For more information, please contact the 2nd Infantry Division public affairs officer, Maj. Steven Modugno at steven.m.modugno.mil@army.mil.
The 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Army issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2026:
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Army announces upcoming unit deployments
The Department of the Army announced today the deployments of the following units:
The 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, to the Republic of Korea to replace the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division as part of a regular rotation of forces. For more information, please contact the 2nd Infantry Division public affairs officer, Maj. Steven Modugno at steven.m.modugno.mil@army.mil.
The 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 10th MountainDivision, to U.S. Central Command to replace the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa National Guard as part of a regular rotation of forces. For more information, please contact the 10th Mountain Division public affairs officer, Maj. Geoffrey A. Carmichael at geoffrey.a.carmichael.mil@army.mil or 315-778-5759.
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Original text here: https://www.army.mil/article/290289/army_announces_upcoming_unit_deployments
White House: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Deporting Criminal Illegals, Local Cooperation With ICE
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The White House issued the following news:
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Americans Overwhelmingly Support Deporting Criminal Illegals, Local Cooperation with ICE
As Radical Left Democrats continue their reckless obstruction, two new polls resoundingly confirm President Donald J. Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration is massively popular with the American people. From mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens to empowering ICE as they enforce our nation's laws, Americans are rallying behind President Trump's agenda -- and Democrats' extremism couldn't be more out of touch.
A new poll underscores
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The White House issued the following news:
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Americans Overwhelmingly Support Deporting Criminal Illegals, Local Cooperation with ICE
As Radical Left Democrats continue their reckless obstruction, two new polls resoundingly confirm President Donald J. Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration is massively popular with the American people. From mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens to empowering ICE as they enforce our nation's laws, Americans are rallying behind President Trump's agenda -- and Democrats' extremism couldn't be more out of touch.
A new poll underscoresAmericans' broad agreement on the fundamentals of President Trump's border enforcement:
* 73% agree that entering the U.S. without permission is breaking the law.
* 61% support deporting illegal aliens to their home countries.
* 58% reject Democrats' extremist calls to defund ICE -- now a core position of their party.
* 54% support ICE enforcing our nation's federal immigration laws.
A second new poll reveals even fiercer alignment with President Trump's decisive action to protect our communities from criminal illegal aliens:
* A solid majority approves of President Trump's strong response to the anti-ICE riots in Minneapolis.
* 73% say criminal illegal aliens should be deported -- with over half extending that to all illegal aliens with no lawful right to be here.
* 67% want state and local officials to cooperate with federal authorities to deport criminal illegal aliens (including 64% of independents).
* 67% say local jails should hand over criminal illegal aliens to federal authorities for swift deportation (backed by 62% of independents and even 50% of Democrats).
* 60% see Democrats as actively encouraging resistance to ICE officers simply trying to do their jobs and keep Americans safe.
* 57% oppose elected officials stoking chaos by urging defiance against ICE.
These results expose the extremism of the Radical Left: While Democrats fuel lawlessness and chaos, everyday Americans stand squarely with President Trump to deport criminals, reclaim sovereignty, and restore safety.
The Trump Administration will not relent in its pursuit of secure borders, safe streets, and an agenda that puts America First.
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Original text here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/02/americans-overwhelmingly-support-deporting-criminal-illegals-local-cooperation-with-ice/
