WASHINGTON, July 18 -- The U.S. Army News Service issued the following news: By Christopher Hurd, Army News Service The Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, along with the Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office and industry partners, completed a four-week demonstration in June at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. The event was to test solutions for defeating one-way small aircraft systems that are preprogrammed with a target and don't require an oper  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, July 20 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's Arizona State Office issued the following news release: The Bureau of Land Management announces the publication of a Public Land Order extending the withdrawal of 70 acres of public lands at the 230-acre Federal Correctional Institution-Phoenix for an additional 20 years subject to valid existing rights. The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons requested this additional 20-year withdrawal ext  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency issued the following news: * * * DARPA names eleven teams to kick off groundbreaking U.S. chips-of-the-future effort * * * With a focus on the future wave of microsystems innovation, DARPA has selected 11 organizations to begin work on the Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) program. The Phase 0 effort will establish foundational research to inform next steps toward cr  more

DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB, Arizona, July 20 (TNSper) -- The U.S. Air Force Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (355th Fighter Wing) issued the following news: By Airman 1st Class Jasmyne Bridgers-Matos, 355 Wing Public Affairs June 2023 marked a significant transition for the 355th Wing as Chief Master Sgt. Michael Becker assumed the role of command chief. As command chief, Becker advises the installation commander and staff on mission effectiveness, professional development, military readiness, training,   more

ARGONNE, Illinois, July 19 (TNSjou) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory issued the following news release: * * * Scientists have combined X-ray and laser techniques to illuminate the origin of mysterious deep-Earth structures * * * By recreating the extremely high pressures and temperatures 1,800 miles below the Earth's surface, researchers from Arizona State University and University of Chicago have discovered an intriguing phenomenon in this region: the formation  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, July 19 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: On June 14, a judge sentenced Veronica Dittman, 28, of Tempe, to five years in prison for her role in operating multiple darknet pages selling illicit drugs with two previously sentenced co-conspirators. The sentence follows a multiagency investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona. "Illicit dark web marketplaces represent a s  more

NOGALES, Arizona, July 19 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: On July 11, a judge sentenced Hector Francisco Ramirez-Roman, 39, of San Luis, Rio Colorado, Mexico, to 108 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for posing with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The sentence follows an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Drug En  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, July 20 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release: KABIEN CORTES, age 34, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced by United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to seventy (70) months' imprisonment, three (3) years of supervised release, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee after pleading guilty to a superseding bill of information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distrib  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, July 20 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service - Arizona Field Office issued the following news release: Survey results for the 2022 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey are now available, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The 2022 Agricultural Chemical Use Survey of vegetable producers collected data about fertilizer and pesticide use as well as pest management practices on acres planted to 22 different ve  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, July 22 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service - Arizona Field Office issued the following news release: ARIZONA The number of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in Arizona feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 head or larger was estimated at 249,000 head as of July 1, 2023. The latest inventory was 1 percent below last month's inventory and 11 percent below July 1, 2022. The inventory included 239,000 steers and steer cal  more

LAKEWOOD, Colorado, July 21 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service - Mountain Regional Field Office issued the following news release: Arizona dairy herds produced 1.26 billion pounds of milk during the April - June quarter, down 0.2 percent from the previous year. Colorado dairy herds produced 1.35 billion pounds of milk during the April - June quarter, up 0.1 percent from the previous year. Montana dairy herds produced 55.0 million pounds of milk du  more

TUCSON, Arizona, July 21 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona issued the following news release on July 20, 2023: Miguel Angel Acatzihua-Temoxtle, 26, a citizen and national of Mexico, was sentenced last Thursday, by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Acatzihua-Temoxtle pleaded guilty on March 15, 2023, to Assault on a Federal Officer with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon and Assault on a F  more

TUCSON, Arizona, July 20 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona issued the following news release on July 19, 2023: Jesus Alberto Ibarra-Barraza, 31, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on Monday, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to a term of 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Ibarra-Barraza pleaded guilty on February 27, 2023, to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit and Threats to Murder an Employee of the United   more

PHOENIX, Arizona, July 20 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued the following news release: Following a 60-day public comment period, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is listing the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl as a threatened subspecies under the Endangered Species Act, along with a 4(d) rule that tailors protections for the owl. Service biologists will propose designating critical habitat for the species in a separate rule at a later date. In respo  more

WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Veterans Affairs Inspector General issued the following oversight report (No. 22-04104-112) on July 11, 2023, entitled "Inspection of Information Security at the Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System." Here are excerpts: * * * Executive Summary Information security controls protect VA systems and data from unauthorized access, use, modification, or destruction. To determine compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), the VA O  more