CAMP ZAMA, Japan, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command issued the following news release: A Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Far East Field Office investigation has led to the conviction and sentencing of an active duty Soldier assigned to an Okinawa based U.S. Army unit. According to court documents, Sgt. Antonio Robert Aden, 27, was charged with the rape and sexual assault of two victims in Ontario, California, and Seoul, the Republic of Korea. Aden w  more

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 (TNSrep) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Northeast Regional Information Office issued a report on Feb. 7, 2024, entitled "Changing Compensation Costs in the Boston Metropolitan Area - December 2023": * * * Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 3.1 percent in the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area (CSA) for the year ended December 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional  more

SACRAMENTO, California, Feb. 8 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Today, Governor Gavin Newsom requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden to support San Diego County as it recovers from severe winter storms in late January. The Presidential Major Disaster Declaration request encompasses San Diego residents impacted by widespread flooding and devastation that resulted from storms between January 21 and January 23, which tragic  more

LOS ANGELES, California, Feb. 8 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: A former engineer at a Southern California company has been arrested on federal charges alleging he stole trade secret technologies developed for use by the United States government to detect nuclear missile launches and to track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, the Justice Department announced today. Chenguang Gong, 57, of San Jose, Califor  more

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. Justice Department Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Two Springfield, Mo., men and two Parsons, Kansas, men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after law enforcement officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a vehicle being transported from California, as well as several firearms found at a Springfield residence. Don  more

LIVERMORE, California, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory issued the following news: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been recognized as a 2024 "Top Hispanic Employer" by DiversityComm Magazine (https://diversitycomm.net/hispanic-community/top-hispanic-employers/). DiversityComm Magazine is one of the nation's fastest-growing magazines, promoting the advancement of diversity in all aspects of business and employment to ensure equal   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration issued the following roundup on Feb. 6, 2024: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency: * On Monday, the FDA issued an outbreak advisory (https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-listeria-monocytogenes-queso-fresco-and-cotija-cheese-february-2024) warning consumers not to eat, sel  more

MIAMI, Florida, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, issued the following news release: On Feb. 5, a Miami woman was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for money laundering of nearly $2 million in fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans, after previously pleading guilty in October 2023. From April 2020 through April 2021, Maritza Morales Hermoso, 58, of Miami, Florida, and others, including co-defendant Javier Lazo Cabrera, conspired to defraud pr  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two Springfield, Mo., men and two Parsons, Kansas, men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after law enforcement officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a vehicle being transported from California, as well as several firearms found at a Springfield resid  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- The Federal Trade Commission issued the following news release on Feb. 6, 2024: * * * Order requires defendants to turn over personal and business assets * * * A group of student loan debt relief scammers will be permanently banned from the debt relief industry and is required to turn over their assets as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. According to the FTC's August 2023 complaint, since at least 2019, Express Enrollment LLC (also doing business  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 8 -- The Massachusetts Department of Transportation issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced an investment of $50 million in initiatives to build out electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across Massachusetts. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will increase access to charging infrastructure for more residents, electrify the state fleet, improve operation of public charging stations, manage t  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: BALTIMORE - An investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore field office and Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic field office led to En-Wei Eric Chang pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy charge, related to the export of defense materials to Iran. Such ma  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Feb. 8 -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following news release: Attorney General Kwame Raoul, with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua L. Kaul, co-led a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general urging the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to authorize needed 2024 bridge funding for the federal Crime Victims Fund (VOCA Fund). The VOCA Fund supports essential direct serv  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Feb. 8 -- The Illinois Senate Republicans issued the following news: Expanding upon her efforts to address the negative effects that social media platforms have been found to have on minors, Illinois Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) held a press conference at the State Capitol to unveil the core pieces of her "Safe Screens, Healthy Minds" legislative package. "While social media offers opportunities for communication and learning, we know from research and   more

DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 8 -- The Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird today announced that she joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in a letter to Congress, urging it to provide critical bridge funding for crime victims. The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 ("VOCA") is the main funding source for victim services across the country. With a 41% decrease projected in payments to the VOCA fund this year,   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute issued the following news release: The JGI is eager to work and share our tools with a widening circle of researchers. That's why each year we look for novel research projects -- aligned with DOE missions and from PIs who have not led any previously-accepted proposals -- through the New Investigator call under our Community Science Program. Below find a list of researchers whose proposals were accepted for 2024. Harnes  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Feb. 6, 2024: A federal grand jury in San Diego returned a superseding indictment on Feb. 2, charging a California man with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, tax evasion, filing false tax returns, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering and failing to file tax returns. According to the indictment, Leronce Suel was the majority owner of Rockstar Dough LLC   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: A federal grand jury in Memphis, Tennessee, returned a superseding indictment yesterday bringing new charges against three alleged members of the Unknown Vice Lords (UVL)-Ghost Mob, a criminal street gang, for causing the death of an individual through the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The superseding indictment charges Edward Earl Allen Jr., also known as E-Money, 40, of S  more

LIVERMORE, California, Feb. 8 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory issued the following news: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists Congwang Ye, Brandon Wells, Steven Hoang-Phou and Mariam Mohagheghi will be joined by Capuchino High School teacher Thi Ngo to present "From bubble-blowing to planet-saving: Emulsion, micro-encapsulation and applications." The event is the second lecture in the 2024 series of Science on Saturdays lec  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 8 -- The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced an investment of $50 million in initiatives to build out electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across Massachusetts. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will increase access to charging infrastructure for more residents, electrify the state fleet, improve operation of public cha  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Feb. 8 -- North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Attorney General Josh Stein today joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general urging the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to authorize much-needed 2024 bridge funding for the federal Crime Victims Fund (the "VOCA Fund.") The VOCA Fund supports essential direct services for crime victims and survivors across the country. Without prompt action by Congr  more

TRENTON, New Jersey, Feb. 8 -- New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs today announced that the Bureau of Securities entered into a consent order with TradeStation Crypto, Inc. to resolve an investigation into the offer and sale of unregistered securities in connection with its crypto interest-earning program. The $1.5 million multistate settlement, on behalf of 51  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- NASA issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: NASA will honor the next generation of Artemis astronaut candidates to graduate at 10:30 a.m. EST Tuesday, March 5, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. After completing more than two years of basic training, these candidates will earn their wings and become eligible for spaceflight, including assignments to the International Space Station, future commercial destinations, missions to the Moon, and eventua  more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 8 -- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued the following news release: Joined by a bipartisan coalition of 41 other state attorneys general, Ohio Attorney General Yost is spearheading an effort calling on Congress to authorize much-needed bridge funding for the federal Crime Victims Fund (also known as the VOCA Fund). Funding for the victim-service grants is projected to be $700 million lower this fiscal year than in fiscal year 2023 - a 41% decrease, according to the U.S  more

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, Feb. 8 -- Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Attorney General Gentner Drummond is leading a pair of efforts - one a bipartisan group of attorneys general across the nation, and the other an Oklahoma coalition of tribal leaders and district attorneys - asking Congress to provide adequate funding to the Crime Victims Fund so states can properly serve victims of crime. In one letter sent today to U.S. House and Se  more

SALEM, Oregon, Feb. 8 -- Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, along with 40 attorneys general nationwide, sent a letter today urging the United States Congress to authorize much-needed 2024 bridge funding for the federal Crime Victims Fund (the "VOCA Fund.") The VOCA Fund supports essential direct services for crime victims and survivors throughout the country, including in Oregon. These services can includ  more

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, Feb. 8 -- The Pennsylvania House Republicans issued the following news release on Feb. 6, 2024: * * * Pennsylvania House Republican leaders responded to Gov. Josh Shapiro's budget proposal Tuesday by stating the plan is akin to a fiscal phishing scam that looks good and sounds good but is wrought with hidden danger and potential ruin. "After listening intently and with an open mind to what Gov. Shapiro has been talking about over the last several weeks, what he prese  more

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, Feb. 8 -- The Pennsylvania House Republicans issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Reps. Joe Hogan (Bucks) and KC Tomlinson (Bucks) and Sen. Frank Farry (Bucks) today hosted a press conference on bicameral legislation that will expand the collection of DNA samples in Pennsylvania's criminal justice system. Hogan, Tomlinson, and Farry were joined by Bucks County Sherrif Fred Harran, an advocate for the technology in law enforcement, and Ashley Spence, foun  more

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, Feb. 8 -- The Pennsylvania House Republicans issued the following statement on Feb. 6, 2024: * * * State Rep. Robert Leadbetter (R-Columbia) issued the following statement regarding Gov. Josh Shapiro's $48 billion spending plan, announced today: "After listening to the governor's budget address, it is evident that he, along with his cohort of progressive Democrats, are advancing an extremist, left-wing agenda that harms Pennsylvanians, resulting in increased taxes, f  more

ARLINGTON, Virginia, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin presented the 2022 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy to Maj. Brady J. Augustin, during a ceremony at the Pentagon Feb. 7. The award is named after 1st Lt. Koren Kolligian Jr., an Air Force pilot who was declared missing when his T-33 Shooting Star disappeared off the California coast Sept. 14, 1955. Presented annually, the Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy is the only individual flight   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- The White House issued the following news release: The President is announcing his intent to nominate four individuals to federal district courts--all of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution. These choices also continue to fulfill the President's promise to ensure that the nation's courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country--both in terms of personal and professional backgrou  more

COLUMBIA, South Carolina, Feb. 8 -- South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Attorney General Alan Wilson, along with a taskforce of state securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), announced today a $3 million settlement in principle with TradeStation Crypto, Inc. ("TradeStation") over its unregistered digital asset interest earning program. The settlement resolves allegations that TradeStation violat  more

CALEXICO, California, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from the San Diego Field Office seized cocaine and fentanyl from a traveler Thursday, at the Calexico West Port of Entry. "Narcotics smugglers use elaborate methods to attempt to smuggle their deadly products into our country," stated Roque Caza, Calexico Area Port Director. "Fortunately, ou  more

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, Feb. 8 -- The Pennsylvania Senate Republicans issued the following statements on Feb. 6, 2024: * * * The massive $3.2 billion increase in state spending in Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed 2024-25 state budget raises concerns for Senate Republicans, said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39), Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-41) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin (R-13). * * * Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39) "Gov. Shapiro's   more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Feb. 8 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: A federal grand jury in Memphis, Tennessee, returned a superseding indictment yesterday bringing new charges against three alleged members of the Unknown Vice Lords (UVL)- Ghost Mob, a criminal street gang, for causing the death of an individual through the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The superseding indictmen  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- The U.S. International Trade Commission issued the following news release on Feb. 6, 2024: The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that a U.S. industry is not materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of tin mill products from Canada, China, and Germany that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the Government of Chi  more

LOS ANGELES, California, Feb. 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release: Five alleged members of an international drug trafficking ring based in the San Gabriel Valley were arrested today on a 27-count federal grand jury indictment charging them with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Two of the defendants also have been charged with maintaining a drug premises where the methamphetamine  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia issued the following news release: A Wisconsin man was sentenced to prison on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election. Riley Kasper, 25, of Pulaski, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 37 mo  more

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, Feb. 8 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Two Springfield, Mo., men and two Parsons, Kansas, men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after law enforcement officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a vehicle being transported from California, as well as several firearms found at a Springfield residence. Dontrell Anth  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the names of individuals who will hold senior staff positions in Washington, D.C. Malcom A. Shorter has been named Assistant Secretary for Administration Malcolm Shorter is an accomplished administrative and financial professional who has offered his expertise in government relations and operational management at USDA for over a decade. In February 202  more

RICHLAND, Washington, Feb. 8 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2024: Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Michael Lopez Ferrel, age 30, of Salinas, California, was sentenced after pleading guilty to Possession with the Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke imposed a sen  more

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Feb. 8 -- The White House issued the following transcript of a press gaggle on Feb. 7, 2024, by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby while en route to New York: * * * MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just have two things at the top. And then, we don't have a lot of time. As you all know, just a short flight. So, because congressional Republicans are choosing partisan politics over our national security an  more