Federal - Executive Branch
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from the U.S. Executive Branch, covering all aspects of the Obama administration including cabinet departments, federal agencies, regulatory and independent agencies.
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Determining the bubble nucleation efficiency of low-energy nuclear recoils in superheated C3F8 dark matter detectors
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following abstract of a journal article:
The bubble nucleation efficiency of low-energy nuclear recoils in superheated liquids plays a crucial role in interpreting results from direct searches for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter. The PICO collaboration presents the results of the efficiencies for bubble nucleation from carbon and fluorine recoils in superheated C3F8 from calibration data taken with five distinct neutron spectra at various thermodynamic thresholds
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following abstract of a journal article:
The bubble nucleation efficiency of low-energy nuclear recoils in superheated liquids plays a crucial role in interpreting results from direct searches for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter. The PICO collaboration presents the results of the efficiencies for bubble nucleation from carbon and fluorine recoils in superheated C3F8 from calibration data taken with five distinct neutron spectra at various thermodynamic thresholdsranging from 2.1 to 3.9 keV.
Instead of assuming any particular functional forms for the nuclear recoil efficiency, a generalized piecewise linear model is proposed with systematic errors included as nuisance parameters to minimize model-introduced uncertainties. A Markov chain Monte Carlo routine is applied to sample the nuclear recoil efficiency for fluorine and carbon at 2.45 and 3.29 keV thermodynamic thresholds simultaneously.
The nucleation efficiency for fluorine was found to be =50% for nuclear recoils of 3.3 keV (3.7 keV) at a thermodynamic Seitz threshold of 2.45 keV (3.29 keV), and for carbon the efficiency was found to be =50% for recoils of 10.6 keV (11.1 keV) at a threshold of 2.45 keV (3.29 keV). Simulated datasets are used to calculate a p value for the fit, confirming that the model used is compatible with the data. The fit paradigm is also assessed for potential systematic biases, which although small, are corrected for. Additional steps are performed to calculate the expected interaction rates of WIMPs in the PICO-60 detector, a requirement for calculating WIMP exclusion limits.
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Original text here: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/determining-bubble-nucleation-efficiency-low-energy-nuclear-recoils-superheated-c3f8
USS Hershel 'Woody' Williams ESB 4 Joins Forces With Ghana Navy in the Gulf of Guinea for Exercise Sea Lion 2024
WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The U.S. Navy's U.S. Fleet Forces Command issued the following news:
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ethan Morrow, USS Hershel "Woody" Williams Public Affairs
The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4) completed its participation in Exercise Sea Lion 2024 alongside the Ghana Navy in the Gulf of Guinea, March 21, 2024.
Sea Lion 24 brought together Hershel "Woody" Williams, the U.S. Navy's only ship assigned to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and Ghana Navy ships GNS Volta (P.40) and GNS Ankobra (P.43). The exercise began
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WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The U.S. Navy's U.S. Fleet Forces Command issued the following news:
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ethan Morrow, USS Hershel "Woody" Williams Public Affairs
The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4) completed its participation in Exercise Sea Lion 2024 alongside the Ghana Navy in the Gulf of Guinea, March 21, 2024.
Sea Lion 24 brought together Hershel "Woody" Williams, the U.S. Navy's only ship assigned to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and Ghana Navy ships GNS Volta (P.40) and GNS Ankobra (P.43). The exercise beganwith a flagging-off ceremony hosted by the Ghana military, with Ghana Chief of Defence Staff Lt. Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah leading the ceremony.
In support of the exercise, Hershel "Woody" Williams hosted five Sailors from the Ghana Navy, while two U.S. Sailors embarked on the Ghana Navy vessels. During the personnel exchange, Sailors made their way to longitude and latitude 0 at the center of the Earth. The Sailors then swapped back to their own ship via two separate personnel transfers from Hershel "Woody" Williams' rigid-hull inflatable boat crew.
"It was a pleasure hosting the Ghana Sailors aboard the "Woody" Williams and being able to learn more about their Navy and culture," said Capt. Amy Lindahl, commanding officer of Hershel "Woody" Williams. "It was also amazing to see our two Sailors come back with big smiles and great stories to tell about their time on their respective ships."
Once the ships reached longitude and latitude 0 the Sailors aboard the Ghana ships held a crossing the line ceremony.
"It was an awesome experience to go out there and really learn their culture and crossing the line ceremony," said Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Andrew Hill, one of the Sailors that embarked aboard the Ghana Navy ships. "It was really great to work together with them because they were absolutely amazing hosts to us while we were onboard."
Hershel "Woody" Williams is forward deployed to Souda Bay, Greece and serves as the first U.S. Navy ship assigned to the AFRICOM area of responsibility. The ship is capable of conducting expeditionary missions, counter piracy, maritime security, and humanitarian and disaster relief operations. Hershel "Woody" Williams' unique capabilities are part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces and supplies to support global missions. The ship operates with blue and gold crews, allowing it to remain continually deployed throughout AFRICOM.
For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.
Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.
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Original text here: https://www.usff.navy.mil/Press-Room/News-Stories/Article/3720265/uss-hershel-woody-williams-esb-4-joins-forces-with-ghana-navy-in-the-gulf-of-gu/
Solar Eclipse Information for Lake Ouachita, Lake Greeson and DeGray Lake
VICKSBURG, Mississippi, March 28 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Vicksburg District issued the following news release:
In advance of the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, Lake Ouachita, Lake Greeson and DeGray Lake are expecting HIGH visitation. Facilities will be impacted with full parking lots in the campgrounds, boat rams and day use parking lots. We are urging visitors coming to any of these lakes to carpool and minimize multiple vehicles per party.
Entrances to certain recreation areas will be restricted by barricades by the monitoring Rangers once a recreation area is deemed
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VICKSBURG, Mississippi, March 28 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Vicksburg District issued the following news release:
In advance of the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, Lake Ouachita, Lake Greeson and DeGray Lake are expecting HIGH visitation. Facilities will be impacted with full parking lots in the campgrounds, boat rams and day use parking lots. We are urging visitors coming to any of these lakes to carpool and minimize multiple vehicles per party.
Entrances to certain recreation areas will be restricted by barricades by the monitoring Rangers once a recreation area is deemedFULL. Emergency services personnel will be the only vehicular traffic allowed in once an area is barricaded. Outgoing traffic from the areas will not be impacted, but you may not be able to reenter until after the event as traffic subsides.
Hours of traffic impacts are expected between 7 AM - 7 PM on APRIL 8th, 2024. For further information, you may call the Field Office at Lake Ouachita at 501-767-2101, Lake Greeson at 870-285-2151 and DeGray Lake at 870-246-5501.
The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation's toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.
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Original text here: https://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/3720726/solar-eclipse-information-for-lake-ouachita-lake-greeson-and-degray-lake/
Second Gentleman of the U.S. Joins Guardians to Bring 'STEMtoSpace' to DC Students
WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Space Base Delta I issued the following news release:
The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, joined U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, and other volunteer Guardians for a STEMtoSpace event at Takoma Elementary School in Washington, D.C., March 20.
STEMtoSpace started as a campaign in honor of the Space Force's first birthday and was designed to connect Guardians with K-12 students to share the importance of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. The now-annual campaign
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WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Space Base Delta I issued the following news release:
The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, joined U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, and other volunteer Guardians for a STEMtoSpace event at Takoma Elementary School in Washington, D.C., March 20.
STEMtoSpace started as a campaign in honor of the Space Force's first birthday and was designed to connect Guardians with K-12 students to share the importance of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. The now-annual campaignhighlights careers related to space and the role the Space Force plays in supporting national security.
The event brought together over two-dozen 4th and 5th graders with volunteer Guardians to engage in a variety of STEM discussions and activities. The culmination of this event involved the design, build and launch of balloon-powered rockets across different teams.
During their remarks at the event, Emhoff and Burt emphasized the importance of learning about STEM at a young age to inspire students and help them develop skills that will generate new ideas and creative solutions to complex problems in the future.
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Original text here: https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3720760/sgotus-joins-guardians-to-bring-stemtospace-to-dc-students/
Ky. U.S. Attorney: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Indiana Man for Firearms Trafficking and Other Firearms Offenses
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, March 28 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky issued the following news release:
A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment on March 20, 2024, charging a New Albany, Indiana man with firearms trafficking, illegal possession of a machine gun, and illegal possession of an unregistered firearm.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, March 28 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky issued the following news release:
A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment on March 20, 2024, charging a New Albany, Indiana man with firearms trafficking, illegal possession of a machine gun, and illegal possession of an unregistered firearm.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel of the Louisville Metro Police Department made theannouncement.
According to the indictment, Allen Love, 39, was charged with four counts of firearms trafficking, occurring on February 1, 5, and 17, and March 6, 2024. He was also charged with three counts of illegal possession of a machine gun, specifically six Swift Conversion Devices on February 5 and 17, and March 6, 2024. Lastly, Love illegally possessed an unregistered firearm, specifically a 9-millimeter short barreled rife, on February 1, 2024.
A Swift Conversion Device is a device that allows a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle to function as a fully automatic. A Swift Conversion Device is defined as a machine gun under federal law.
The defendant made his initial court appearance this week before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, Love faces a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is being investigated by the ATF and the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Porter 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 violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was prosecuted under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted and the President signed in June 2022. The Act is the first federal statute specifically designed to target the unlawful trafficking and straw-purchasing of firearms.
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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdky/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-indiana-man-firearms-trafficking-and-other-firearms
Agricultural Marketing Service: USDA Settles Packers & Stockyards Case With Rantoul Foods
WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service issued the following news release on March 27, 2024:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entered into a stipulation agreement with Rantoul Foods LLC of Rantoul, Ill., on Feb.15, 2024, for alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act. Under the terms of the stipulation agreement, Rantoul waived his rights to a hearing and paid a civil penalty of $10,000.
An investigation by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) revealed that between July and September 2020, Rantoul Foods failed
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WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service issued the following news release on March 27, 2024:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entered into a stipulation agreement with Rantoul Foods LLC of Rantoul, Ill., on Feb.15, 2024, for alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act. Under the terms of the stipulation agreement, Rantoul waived his rights to a hearing and paid a civil penalty of $10,000.
An investigation by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) revealed that between July and September 2020, Rantoul Foods failedto provide adequate notification to livestock sellers that post-mortem condemns purchased on a live weight basis were being deducted from the final settlement. Rantoul Foods applied deductions to 69 transactions without a seller notification on record.
The P&S Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to assess civil penalties of not more than $33,896 for each violation of this type after notice and opportunity for a hearing on the record. USDA may offer alleged violators the option of waiving their right to a hearing and enter into a stipulation agreement to resolve the alleged violations quickly.
The P&S Act is a fair-trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat, and poultry industries.
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Original text here: https://www.ams.usda.gov/press-release/usda-settles-packers-and-stockyards-case-rantoul-foods-llc
4 Scientists Elected to Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory User Executive Committee
WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The Department of Energy's Office of Science Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory issued the following news on March 27, 2024:
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New members begin their three-year terms in October 2024
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The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) User Organization has elected four new members to the EMSL User Executive Committee.
The new committee members, who represent EMSL's three science areas, are Bin Yang, Marina Kalyuzhana, Rebecca Lybrand, and Devin Rippner. Each will serve a three-year term beginning in October 2024. The User Executive Committee provides
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WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The Department of Energy's Office of Science Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory issued the following news on March 27, 2024:
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New members begin their three-year terms in October 2024
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The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) User Organization has elected four new members to the EMSL User Executive Committee.
The new committee members, who represent EMSL's three science areas, are Bin Yang, Marina Kalyuzhana, Rebecca Lybrand, and Devin Rippner. Each will serve a three-year term beginning in October 2024. The User Executive Committee providesadvice and recommendations to EMSL's management team on matters affecting the EMSL users.
Functional and Systems Biology
Bin Yang
Bin Yang is a professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University in Pullman and the Bioproducts, Sciences & Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University Tri-Cities. Yang is also a joint appointee at EMSL.
He is a leading expert in producing biofuels and bioproducts from biomass using biological and chemical processes. Yang's research focuses on pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and novel pathways that accelerate the commercial application of biomass processing to cellulosic and lignin fuels and chemicals.
Marina Kalyuzhnaya
Marina Kalyuzhnaya is the director of San Diego State University's Cell & Molecular Biology Joint Doctoral Program. She is a former and current user with experience in systems biology of C1-Carbon, functional genomics, and metagenomics.
Kalyuzhnaya's research focuses on grand challenges in microbiology, including the microbial functional capabilities of extremophilic microbes in nature and the characterization of critical elements for microbial methane utilization.
Environmental Transformations and Interactions
Rebecca Lybrand
Rebecca Lybrand is an associate professor in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the University of California, Davis. She is a current EMSL user who is studying the bioweathering of minerals by fungi in soil ecosystems.
Lybrand studies pedology, soil mineralogy, and soil-landscape relationships under contrasting environmental conditions.
Computing, Analytics, and Modeling
Devin Rippner
Devin Rippner is a research soil scientist with the United States Department of Agriculture's Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit. In 2021, Rippner received a Large-Scale Research award to use deep learning to identify particulate organic matter in X-ray computed tomography images of soil aggregates.
His research focuses on multi-modal imaging and spectroscopic techniques to build better computer models to elucidate soil and plant processes.
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Original text here: https://www.emsl.pnnl.gov/news/four-scientists-elected-emsl-user-executive-committee