WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Education issued the following news release: The Biden-Harris Administration announced today the approval of an additional $4.8 billion in student loan debt relief for 80,300 borrowers. These discharges stem from fixes made by the U.S. Department of Education to income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Today's announcement brings the total approved debt cancellation by the Biden-Harris Administration to   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: BOSTON -- Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present female foreign fugitive who is wanted by law enforcement authorities after being convicted of assaulting and threatening a minor child in Brazil. Officers in Worcester, Massachusetts, apprehended the 35-year-old citizen of Brazil Nov. 30. She unlawfully entered the U.S. in   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and for illegally possessing firearms. Jerry Wheeler, also known as "Love," 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Nov. 21, 2023, to 35 years in federal prison without pa  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: ENFIELD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that OCTAVIO RAZON-MEJIA, also known as "Pachas," 37, a citizen of Mexico last residing in Enfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 28 months of imprisonment for trafficking cocaine. According to  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BURLINGTON, Vt. - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont announced that Javon Calderon (also known as "Juju,") of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Christopher Morgan (also known as "Mula,") of Chicopee, Massachusetts, Shavonne Doucette of Bennington, Vermont, and Kyle Winnie also of Bennington, were indicted in the District of Vermont o  more

GAINESVILLE, Georgia, Dec. 8 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Ryan K. Buchanan, issued the following news release: Ronald House, who applied for unemployment insurance in his name and the names of others in multiple states during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge. "House ran a multi-state scam stealing benefits allotted for those in need," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "COVID-19 pandemic funds provided vital aid for   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: NEWARK, N.J. - A member of the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips gang was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy and for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) New Jersey Field Division Cheryl Ortiz and U.S. Attorney   more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Dec. 7 -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following news release on Dec. 5, 2023: Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 20 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief (https://ilag-dev.dotcms.cloud/dA/5d3e5b3a-2f47-474b-9bd1-0a2d1df13257/fileAsset/Dekker%20amicus.pdf) in support of transgender rights and equal access to health care. The amicus brief, filed in Dekker v. Weida, a case pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit  more

LIVERMORE, California, Dec. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2023: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a four-year, $16 million project to a multi-institutional team led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to accelerate inertial fusion energy (IFE) science and technology. This effort will be carried out by the newly established IFE Science and Technology Accelerated Research for Fusi  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BOSTON - A Maine man has been convicted by a federal jury in Boston in connection with his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that operated in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Northern California. Jacob Parlin, 44, of Lebanon, Maine, was convicted on Nov. 30, 2023 of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with inte  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An Akron, Ohio, man was charged in federal court today with transporting more than 27 kilograms of methamphetamine through Kansas City, Mo., aboard a bus. Rogeric Romone Clark, 39, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., with one count of possessing methamphetamine with the   more

CHELMSFORD, Massachusetts, Dec. 7 -- MassDevelopment issued the following news release: MassDevelopment has issued a $10 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Lighthouse School, Inc., a nonprofit serving the needs of students living with disabilities, which will use proceeds to build an approximately 22,000-square-foot building on the school's existing campus at 25 Wellman Ave. in Chelmsford. The new building will serve the school's younger students (pre-K through fifth grade) and provide for th  more

BALTIMORE, Maryland, Dec. 8 -- Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the following news release: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 20 Attorneys General in submitting letters to the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging both agencies to ensure that national banks cooperate with investigations into state law violations being conducted by state Attorneys General. Although national   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Dec. 7 -- Gov. Roy Cooper, D-North Carolina, issued the following news release: Governor Roy Cooper has signed a letter calling on U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to take additional steps to ensure that all forms of contraception are affordable and accessible. Governor Cooper serves on the Executive Committee of the Reproductive Freedom Alliance that coordinated the multi-state letter. "It's absolutely essential that birth control be affordable   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- The White House issued the following remarks on Dec. 7, 2023, by National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard addressing the challenge of housing affordability at the National Housing Conference: * * * Good morning. It's great to be here to kick off today's conference and speak to one of the most important issues in the President's economic agenda - lowering costs and increasing access to housing for Americans. President Biden knows that too many Americans feel the path to th  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: SEATTLE- Ten members of a South Puget Sound drug trafficking organization were indicted following a lengthy investigation that uncovered the trafficking of marijuana to East Coast locales, and the importation and distribution of fentanyl and cocaine in Western Washington. Multiple search warrants were served this morning and eight people were   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Navy issued the following news release: BOSTON - Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro observed the 82nd remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the USS Constitution Museum, Dec. 7, 2023. The program was hosted by the National Parks of Boston. Secretary Del Toro delivered keynote remarks about the importance of Pearl Harbor to the nation and the United States Navy. "On that fateful morning on Dec. 7th, 1941, the world changed, thrusting the Uni  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 8 -- The U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations issued the following news release: Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro observed the 82nd remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the USS Constitution Museum, Dec. 7, 2023. The program was hosted by the National Parks of Boston. Secretary Del Toro delivered keynote remarks about the importance of Pearl Harbor to the nation and the United States Navy. "On that fateful morning on Dec. 7th, 1941, the world   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 8 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2023: The former owner and operator of a Norfolk-based dermatology practice was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for fraudulently receiving federal workers' compensation and disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Karen Nolan, 66, of Norwood, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman t  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 8 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2023: A Revere man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for possessing cocaine and fentanyl as well as receiving a firearm while under indictment for felony charges. Cesar Rivera, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In December 2022, Rive  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (TNSrep) -- The Veterans Affairs Inspector General issued the following oversight report (No. 22-04037-32) on Dec. 5, 2023, entitled "Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the VA Providence Healthcare System in Rhode Island." Here are excerpts: * * * Report Overview This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program (CHIP) report provides a focused evaluation of the quality of care delivered in the inpatient and outpatient settings of the V  more

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Dec. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center issued the following news on Dec. 7, 2023: On November 30, 2023, the U.S. DOT Volpe Center and Federal Aviation Administration, in collaboration with the Office of the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, kicked off the first of a seven-part thought leadership series titled Up, Up and Away: Innovations in Advanced Air Mobility. Remarks and key insights were s  more