BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release: eBay Inc., the global ecommerce company, has agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty for an August 2019 harassment and intimidation campaign targeting a Massachusetts couple in retaliation for their online coverage of eBay, and for its obstruction of the investigation that followed. eBay was charged criminally with two counts of stalking through interstate  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2024: The leader of a Fitchburg-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for fentanyl, heroin, crack and cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Pedro Baez, 54, of Fitchburg, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. In F  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2024: A Springfield man pleaded guilty today to possessing cocaine intended for distribution. Hector Quinones, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for May 9, 2024. Quinones was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2022. On Jan. 20, 2  more

HANSCOM AFB, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- The U.S. Air Force's Hanscom Air Force Base issued the following news: By Capt. Adam Livermore, 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is hosting a Focus Week Jan. 22-26. Focus Week is a quarterly opportunity for personnel to complete mandatory and discretionary leadership and acquisition training, along with the potential to earn continuous learning points. Over 130 courses will be offered this session ranging fro  more

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Jan. 12 (TNSrep) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Mid-Atlantic Regional Information Office issued the following report on Jan. 11, 2024, entitled "Consumer Price Index, Northeast Region - December 2023": * * * Area prices were unchanged over the past month, up 2.6 percent from a year ago * * * Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in December, the U.S. B  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued the following news on Jan. 11, 2024: Mayor Michelle Wu today announced that, in partnership with Boston University, the City of Boston will present "A Day of Celebration in Honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr" on Monday, January 15, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. at Metcalf Hall on the second floor of the George Sherman Union at Boston University, located at 775 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. The event will be live-streamed on both boston  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 11 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a five-count indictment was unsealed charging Ariana Charles with conspiring to illegally traffic 18 firearms to Brooklyn. The defendant is charged under the gun trafficking provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress and the President enacted in June 2022. The Act i  more

OAKLAND, California, Jan. 12 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release: California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 20 attorneys general, submitted a letter to the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention calling for a federal investigation after recent reports that billions of rounds of military-grade ammunition manufactured at the federally-owned Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri were sold on the civilian commercial market,   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 10 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced Jereaud Egans, 38, of Castor, Louisiana has been sentenced by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to 195 months (16 years, 3 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for drug possession and illegal possession of firearms. Egans pleaded guilt  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, Jan. 12 -- Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued the following news release: Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general calling on the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to investigate recent reports that a federally funded contractor has produced military-grade ammunition for sale to civilians, including to perpetrators of horrific recent mass shootings. The coalition sent a letter asking the Office to invest  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (TNSres) -- The National Science Foundation issued the following news release: Destructive winds that flow out of thunderstorms in the central United States are becoming more widespread with warming temperatures, according to new research by the U.S. National Science Foundation-supported National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The new study, published in Nature Climate Change, shows that the central U.S. experienced a fivefold increase in the geographic area affect  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 12 -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following news release: Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with 19 attorneys general, called on the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to investigate recent reports that a federally funded contractor has produced military-grade ammunition for sale to civilians, including to perpetrators of horrific recent mass shootings. In their letter, Raoul and the coalition are calling on the White House office to in  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 11 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that Francisco Javier Mecina Barrera, a/k/a "Angel," was sentenced to 21 years in prison for MECINA's leadership of a large-scale firearms trafficking and methamphetamine distribution and importation operation he called the "Cartel de Houston" -  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following litigation release (No. 1:22-CV-10023; D. Mass. filed Jan. 6, 2022) involving Sakal Capital Management LLC, Sakal U.S. Fund LLC, David Schottenstein, Kris Bortnovsky and Ryan Shapiro: * * * On January 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered a final judgment against Florida resident David Schottenstein for misappropriating inside information about three corporate announcements f  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 11 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: DALLAS, TX - Three defendants were sentenced today to a combined 35 years in federal prison for their roles in the drug conspiracy that claimed the lives of three teenagers in North Texas. Jason Xavier Villanueva, 23, Robert Alexander Gaitan, 20, and Rafael Soliz, Jr., 23, were indicted in a superseding indictment in March 2023. In June 202  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2024: Today, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced a $1.8 million settlement with Nelnet, Inc. (Nelnet), one of the nation's largest federal student loan servicers, resolving allegations that the company failed to appropriately communicate with borrowers about renewing Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans that provide access to affordable payments. Loan ser  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2024: Today the EPA has announced the award of more than $30 million in federal funding for approximately 80 electric school buses in Boston, Worcester, New Bedford, and Fall River. The awards will greatly expand the capacity for four of Massachusetts' largest school districts to electrify their bus fleets and improve air quality for children and  more

WORCESTER, Massachusetts, Jan. 11 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release on Jan. 10, 2024: Today the Board of Early Education and Care unanimously approved the Healey-Driscoll Administration's transformative changes to how the state reimburses early education and care providers who accept state child care financial assistance, known as rates. Child care providers across Massachusetts will start to receive at least a 5.5 percent increase to their daily per child  more

STOW, Massachusetts, Jan. 12 -- MassDevelopment issued the following news release: MassDevelopment has issued a $25,774,124 tax-exempt bond on behalf of SEHC Elizabeth Brook Apartments Limited Partnership, an affiliate of Stow Elderly Housing Corporation. The organization is using proceeds to renovate an existing 50-unit affordable rental housing complex for seniors and an existing single-family house, and build a new 37-unit affordable, supportive housing building for seniors, the Elizabeth Br  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 10 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: Oxford, MS - A Starkville man was sentenced Wednesday to 121 months for selling pounds of methamphetamine. According to court documents, Willie Saul Dean III, a/k/a "Buck Dean", 45, of Starkville, Mississippi pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Northern District to Mississippi to one count of distribution of methamphe  more

PORTLAND, Maine, Jan. 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine issued the following news release on Jan. 10, 2024: A Worcester, Massachusetts man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for distributing and possessing with intent to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Devon Ashton, 28, to 72 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Ashton pleaded guilty on July 26, 2023. According to court r  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 -- The U.S. Agency for International Development issued the following remarks on Jan. 10, 2024, by Administrator Samantha Power at a swearing in ceremony Michele Sumilas as assistant to the administrator for the Bureau for Planning, Learning and Resource Management: * * * ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER: Michele has built legions of relationships and friendships across all of the various domains where she has worked and lived, and we are thrilled that we can have a day like th  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 -- The White House sent to the Senate on Jan. 11, 2024, the nominations of the 43 individuals for positions in the federal government: * * * * Jennifer M. Adams, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Cabo Verde. * Joseph R. Adams, of West Virginia, to be United States Marshal for the Northern District of West Virginia for the  more