LUKE AFB, Arizona, Aug. 31 -- The U.S. Air Force's 56th Fighter Wing issued the following news: U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Chad Bickley, Command Chief of Air Education and Training Command, visited Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, to discuss the importance of training and combat readiness with Luke Airmen and leadership, Aug. 16-18, 2023. U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jason Shaffer, 56th Fighter Wing Command Chief, accompanied Bickley as he toured 56th FW squadrons and base facilities.   more

PHOENIX, Arizona, Sept. 1 -- The U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, Gary Restaino, issued the following news release: Vanessa Rene Dundon (a.k.a. Sioux Z, a.k.a. Suzie Q), 38, of Indian Wells, Arizona, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. As a condition of her supervised release, Dundon cannot travel to, or be on, the Hopi Reservation. Dundon pleaded guilty to Possession with In  more

KINGMAN, Arizona, Aug. 29 -- 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 (BLM), Kingman Field Office has completed an environmental assessment (EA) and is seeking public comment on the proposed issuance of a 10-year grazing permit on the Palmerita Ranch Allotment (DOI-BLM-AZ-C010-2023-0023-EA). Palmerita Ranch Allotment is located in La Paz and Mohave counties, Arizona. It is approximatel  more

BUCKLEY AFB, Colorado, Aug. 31 -- The U.S. Air Force Buckley Air Force Base (460th Space Wing) issued the following news: By Senior Airman Shaun Combs, Space Base Delta 2 Public Affairs A piece of steel belonging to the USS Arizona from Pearl Harbor made its way to the Colorado Freedom Memorial in Aurora, Colorado, August 29, 2023. About 150 pieces of the USS Arizona have been distributed across the U.S. over the years, with the Colorado Freedom Memorial Center now housing the relic. A team   more

DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB, Arizona, Aug. 30 -- The U.S. Air Force Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (355th Fighter Wing) issued the following news: By Senior Airman William Turnbull, 355th Wing Public Affairs Fifty-eight Airmen from across Davis-Monthan Air Force Base were selected for the rank of master sergeant and were formally inducted into the senior non-commissioned officer corps, Tucson, Ariz., Aug. 28, 2023. This year 4,998 Airmen were selected out of 28,831 eligible technical sergeants across the  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior issued the following news release on Aug. 31, 2023: Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland joined members of the Hualapai Tribe late yesterday for a celebration of the Tribe's historic $312 million water rights settlement. The Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2022, the first Indian water rights settlement enacted during the Biden-Harris administr  more

CORONA, New Mexico, Sept. 2 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior issued the following news release on Sept. 1, 2023: Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Senior Advisor to the President John Podesta joined federal, state and community leaders today to celebrate the groundbreaking of the SunZia Transmission Project. When completed, this project will transport up to 4,500 megawatts of primarily renewable energy from New Mexico to markets in Arizona and California, furthering the Biden-Harr  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Aug. 30, 2023: The Justice Department announced today that the United States filed a complaint to enjoin a Gilbert, Arizona, company from manufacturing and distributing products the government alleges to be adulterated and unapproved new animal drugs, the Justice Department announced today. In a civil complaint for permanent injunction filed Aug. 29, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Aug. 31, 2023: An Ohio man pleaded guilty today to sending threatening communications to an election official with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. "The Justice Department has no tolerance for illegal threats that target those who administer our elections, and it will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute such criminal conduct," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: Watermark Retirement Communities LLC, a senior living community operator based in Tucson, Arizona, that manages 79 retirement homes across the country, agreed to pay $4.25 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by soliciting and receiving a kickback from a nationwide home health agency (HHA) operator in order to facilitate referrals from Watermark retirement homes. The United   more

GREAT FALLS, Montana, Aug. 31 -- The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, Jesse Laslovich, issued the following news release on Aug. 30, 2023: An Arizona man who admitted to trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin in the Great Falls community and to failing to appear after absconding before a jury trial was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison, to be followed by three months of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today. Jose Manuel Villalobos Medina, 2  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Sept. 2 -- The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Philip R. Sellinger, issued the following news release: The Arizona-based operator of a senior living community has agreed to pay $4.25 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by soliciting and receiving a kickback from a nationwide home health agency (HHA) operator in order to facilitate referrals from Watermark retirement homes. Watermark Retirement Communities LLC is a senior living  more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, Aug. 30 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service issued the following news release on Aug. 29, 2023: The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Mike Gauthier, a veteran of the agency, as the new permanent superintendent of Lake Mead National Recreation Area beginning mid-September. Gauthier has been the acting superintendent at Lake Mead since December 2022. Gauthier will continue to manage the large, heavily visited park that straddles the b  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 -- The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. issued the following news release on Aug. 29, 2023: * * * Southern California Glaziers Plan Will Restore Benefits Through Receipt of Special Financial Assistance * * * The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced today that it has approved the application submitted to the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the Southern California, Arizona, Colorado and Southern Nevada Glaziers, Architectural Metal and Glass Wor  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Board issued the following notice (Docket No. FD 36501) entitled "Union Pacific Railroad Co. - Construction and Operation Exemption - In Maricopa County, Arizona": * * * Postponement of Final Environmental Assessment This proceeding involves a request by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) for authority to construct and operate an approximately 6-mile rail line in Mesa, Arizona. On May 31, 2023, the Surface Tran  more

TUCSON, Arizona, Sept. 1 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona issued the following news release: Dulce Maria Haros, 19, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Rosemary Marquez to 16 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Haros pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl on March 7, 2023. On October 1, 2022, Haros was traveling on a shuttle that stopped at a United States Border   more

TUCSON, Arizona, Sept. 1 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona issued the following news release: Emma Encinas-Obregon, 34, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 45 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Encinas-Obregon pleaded guilty to Importation of Methamphetamine. On October 19, 2022, Encinas-Obregon entered the United States from Mexico through the Mariposa Port of Entry   more

PORTLAND, Maine, Aug. 30 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine issued the following news release on Aug. 29, 2023: A former Arizona man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland today to six counts of wire fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft. According to court records, from January to November 2020, James McAuliffe, 55, filed false claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. McAuliffe filed fraudulent applications for UI payments with the Main  more

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Arizona, Sept. 1 -- The U.S. Marine Corps issued the following official news: By Capt. Brian Tuthill, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit Marines assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit completed training in Reno, Nevada, Aug. 24 to conduct U.S. Embassy reinforcement and noncombatant evacuation operation missions. The scheduled training was supported by Department of State advisors at Army National Guard Base Reno-Stead, Nevada, and was not related to Presiden  more