BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 3 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2024: A leader of one of the largest and most violent criminal street gangs in the country was sentenced yesterday for leading a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy across the North Shore and into Maine. In furtherance of the conspiracy, the defendant participated in six shootings as well as acquired over 40 firearms and multiple "selector switches"  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 3 -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued the following news on Feb. 2, 2024: Mayor Michelle Wu today announced the launch of the Boston Tax Help Coalition's (BTHC) twenty-second year of providing free tax preparation services. Area residents earning $70,000 or less annually can file safely while maximizing their refunds and credits at over 30 neighborhood tax sites. Tax preparation is available remotely and in-person in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creo  more

OAKLAND, California, Feb. 3 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release on Feb. 1, 2024: California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a multistate agreement in principle on monetary terms, requiring opioid manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals to pay up to $150 million to address its role in the opioid epidemic. Hikma produces a range of generic opioid products and sells hundreds of millions of opioid doses every year. The Attorneys General allege that from   more

OAKLAND, California, Feb. 3 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release on Feb. 1, 2024: California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health, LLC, to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm's role in the prescription opioid crisis. California will receive approximately $31 million from the settlement to help address this crisis. The settlement money is anticipated to be paid  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 1 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: PORTLAND, Ore.--A Fontana, California man was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for his role in a local drug distribution ring responsible for trafficking large quantities of illegal narcotics from Mexico into the Portland metro area for redistribution and sale. Javier Sarabia, 28, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison and five ye  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Alyssa Avery (32, Green Cove Springs) to six years in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine base, and cocaine. Avery entered a guilty plea on October 19, 2023. According to court documents, on January 30, 2023, deput  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara has sentenced Alonso Pineda-Torres (52, Colombia), a/k/a "Galladita," to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine on board vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Pineda-Torres entered a guilty plea on October 11, 2019, after his arrest a  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 1 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: EL PASO, Texas - An El Paso man was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 130 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. According to court documents, Gary Everett Rinker, 56, sold approximately 200 pills containing 19.8 grams of fentanyl to a buyer at an El Paso hotel. The criminal complaint filed July 12, 2023   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on Feb. 1, 2024: * * * Arts and cultural strategies will support ongoing progress in treasured water bodies across America * * * The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox announced on Tuesday EPA's inaugural Artist-in-Residence Program in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts. Assistant Administrator Fox made the announcement   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 (TNSres) -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a comprehensive review of completed cleanup work at the Saco Tannery Waste Pits National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund site in Saco, Maine this year. Each individual site will undergo a legally required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to protect public health and the envi  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 (TNSres) -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a comprehensive review of completed cleanup work at the Linemaster Switch Corporation National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund site in Woodstock, Connecticut this year. Each individual site will undergo a legally required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to protect public he  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 (TNSres) -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct comprehensive reviews of completed cleanup work at five National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund sites in New Hampshire this year. Each individual site will undergo a legally required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to protect public health and the environment. Once the Fiv  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct comprehensive reviews of completed cleanup work at six National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund sites in Vermont this year. Each individual site will undergo a legally required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to protect public health and the environment. Once the Five-Year Review is  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 (TNSres) -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct comprehensive reviews of completed cleanup work at three National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund sites in Rhode Island this year. Each individual site will undergo a legally required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to protect public health and the environment. Once the Fiv  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: ORLANDO, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger has sentenced Ernesto Hidalgo (30, Orlando) to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Hidalgo entered a guilty plea on September 21, 2023. According to court documents, over the course of several months in 2023,   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Ronnie Lee Seward (41, Seffner) to 25 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Seward entered a guilty plea on September 20, 2023. According to court documents, on January 12, 2023, the Tampa Police Department and the Drug Enforcem  more

LINCOLN, Massachusetts, Jan. 30 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: During a visit from officials and members from the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) hosted by the NEXUS Center, the Healey-Driscoll administration today announced $9.2 million in new technology and workforce development grants aimed at spurring the microelectronics and semiconductor industry across the Northeast Region. The new awards are t  more

BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 3 -- Idaho Attorney General Raul R. Labrador issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2024: Thursday, Attorney General Raul Labrador announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm's role in the prescription opioid crisis. Idaho will receive nearly $1.6 million from the settlement to help address the opioid crisis. "The opioid crisis has been a national tragedy of greed and expl  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Feb. 1, 2024: The Justice Department announced today that it has secured an agreement with the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (UJS) to resolve allegations that UJS courts violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by preventing individuals under court supervision from taking lawfully prescribed medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). Under the agreement, UJS courts will pay $100,00  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Labor issued the following weekly report entitled "Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims" for week ending Feb. 1, 2024: * * * SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending January 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 224,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 214,000 to 215,000. The 4-week moving average was 207,750, an increase of 5,250 from  more

AUGUSTA, Maine, Feb. 3 -- Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2024: Attorney General Aaron Frey today announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm's role in the prescription opioid crisis. Maine will receive over $1.8 million from the settlement to help address the opioid crisis. Filings describe how Publicis' work contributed to the crisis by helping Purd  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BOSTON - A Malden man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer. David Desousa, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In September 2022, Desousa pleaded guilty to one   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Benancio Pineda (50, Mexico) to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Pineda entered a guilty plea on September 28, 2023. According to court documents, on December 20, 2022, Pineda met with an individual at a gas stat  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Debora Ryder (56, New Port Richey) to three years in federal prison for drug conspiracy. Ryder entered a guilty plea on September 19, 2023. She has also agreed to forfeit her nursing licenses. According to court documents, Ryder was a Florida-licensed advanced practice register  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Katherine Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Javontah Harris, a/k/a "Gut," (21, St. Petersburg) to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, 40 grams or more of fentanyl and cocaine, and possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2024: Representatives from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) - Crane Division, and National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) visited three Microelectronics Commons Hubs in California and Arizona to connect with Hub leaders, members, and staff, and engage with local government leaders, Jan. 22-26. As part of the imple  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Luis Irizarry-Santiago, a/k/a "Bullet" (33, Spring Hill), to eight years and four months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, and cocaine. Irizarry-Santiago was also ordered to forfeit $28,889 in cash that was seized from his residence. Iri  more