WASHINGTON, June 2 (TNSrep) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the following document from Economics Daily: * * * Unemployment rates were lower in April 2023 than a year earlier in 16 states, higher in 10 states, and stable in 24 states and the District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate, 3.4 percent, was 0.2 percentage point lower in April 2023 than in April 2022. * * * Chart: State unemployment rates, April 2023 * * * Nevada had the highest unemp  more

BOISE, Idaho, June 1 -- Idaho Attorney General Raul R. Labrador issued the following news release: Attorney General Raul Labrador joined an amicus brief led by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in the case of Florida v. Mayorkas, supporting the State of Florida's lawsuit against the Biden Administration's unlawful immigration policy, creating a dangerous crisis at our southern border. Rather than detaining illegal immigrants as the law requires, the Biden Administration has released those  more

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, June 1 -- Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued the following news release on May 31, 2023: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey joined a coalition of 48 states in filing suit against Avid Telecom, its owner Michael Lansky, and its vice president Stacey Reeves, for sending more than 7.5 billion calls to telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The lawsuit alleges that Avid Telecom initiated and facilitated billions of illegal robocalls to mil  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, June 1 -- North Carolina State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell issued the following news release: State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, welcomed a court filing from 21 states in support of the authority of North Carolina officials to determine which benefits will be covered by the State Health Plan. The filing, submitted by the attorneys general for each state, contends that certain gender transition procedures "are at best experimental and at worst deeply harmful." The state  more

LINCOLN, Nebraska, June 2 -- Gov. Jim Pillen, R-Nebraska, issued the following statement on June 1, 2023: * * * Governor Jim Pillen issued the following statement regarding the end of the 2023 legislative session. "Today, I am proud to report that, in the face of extraordinary challenges, the will of the people of Nebraska has prevailed and our state has implemented once-in-a-generation conservative policies during the 2023 legislative session. The accomplishments of the this session were onl  more

LINCOLN, Nebraska, June 2 -- Gov. Jim Pillen, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release on June 1, 2023: Governor Jim Pillen signed LB562 into law. The legislation contains provisions to increase consumer access to E15 fuel in the state, boost higher blend ethanol tax credits, improve the NextGen program and cut red tape for food trucks. Nebraska ranks second in the nation for ethanol production but comes in 45th for its ethanol blend rate. LB562 will make it possible for more consumers to  more

OMAHA, Nebraska, June 2 -- The U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska, Steven A. Russell, issued the following news release on May 31, 2023: United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that William Eugen Packer, 47, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Packer to 151 month  more

OMAHA, Nebraska, June 2 -- The U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska, Steven A. Russell, issued the following news release on May 31, 2023: United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Zachary Wichmann, 27, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Wichmann to 57 months' imprisonment on the  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, June 1 -- Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti issued the following news: Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of two Florida parents who were stripped of their fundamental and longstanding right to direct the upbringing and care of their child when officials at Leon County Schools secretly held meetings with their child about gender identity. In 2020, January and Jeffrey Littlejo  more

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, June 2 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri issued the following news release on June 1, 2023: A former bank branch manager in Kansas City, Mo., has been indicted by a federal grand jury for accepting Kansas City Chiefs playoffs tickets and a new Chevrolet Tahoe in exchange for facilitating a $12.4 million Covid fraud scheme by a Jefferson City, Mo., business owner, as well as a separate fraud scheme to receive unemployment benefits.   more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 2 -- Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes issued the following news on June 1, 2023: Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined a bipartisan coalition supporting individuals suing Merck & Co. for injuries they suffered using Merck's osteoporosis drug Fosamax. The Plaintiffs claim they suffered atypical femur fractures after using the drug between 1999 and 2010, and Merck knew about the risk before putting a warning label on it in 2012. To recover for those injuries, t  more

RICHMOND, Virginia, June 1 -- Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares issued the following news release: Attorney General Jason Miyares led a bipartisan coalition of 23 state attorneys general in support of individuals suing Merck & Co. for injuries they suffered using Merck's osteoporosis drug Fosamax. The plaintiffs alleged they suffered atypical femur fractures from long term use of the drug between 1999 and 2010, and said that Merck knew about the risk before finally adding it to the wa  more