WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: BOSTON -- An unlawfully present Brazilian citizen who formerly resided in New Bedford was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for illegal reentry Feb. 27 in Boston. The defendant is currently serving a sentence of 25 years to life for a 2016 murder conviction. He was previously convicted of armed assault to murder and domestic assault and battery. Walter Gomes  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 1 -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued the following news on Feb. 29, 2024: Mayor Michelle Wu, the Human Services Cabinet, and Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) today announced expanded investments in water safety through the City's Swim Safe program. The City is opening up a new round of grant funding to support learn-to-swim programming for historically underserved communities. This expansion builds on an investment made by the City this past fall to offer   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A southern Illinois district judge sentenced an Arkansas man to 30 years in prison for trafficking about 40 pounds of methamphetamine through the Metro East St. Louis region. Christopher Palmer, 40, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, pleaded guilty on June 29, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with inten  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 28 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TUCSON, Ariz. - Manuel Alejandro Beltran-Quintero, 35, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 120 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Beltran-Quintero pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine on September 7,   more

FREDERICK, Maryland, Feb. 29 (TNSres) -- The National Institutes of Health's National Laboratory for Cancer Research issued the following news on Feb. 28, 2024: HIV ravages the immune system in people who acquire it, but not everyone is affected equally. In some of these individuals, the effects of the virus don't manifest as swiftly as in others. Scientists have long recognized that people's genes and the proteins they encode play a role in why this is. Now, a team in Frederick National Labo  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 1 -- The Massachusetts Department of Transportation issued the following news release on Feb. 29, 2024: The Healey-Driscoll Administration today swore in members of the new Transportation Funding Task Force, which is tasked with developing recommendations for a long-term, sustainable transportation finance plan. The recommendations will address the need for a safe, reliable, equitable and efficient transportation network, including roadways, bridges, railways, and b  more

WASHINGTON, March 1 -- The U.S. Department of Labor issued the following weekly report entitled "Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims" for week ending Feb. 29, 2024: * * * SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending February 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 215,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 201,000 to 202,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,500, a decrease of 3,000 f  more

AUGUSTA, Maine, March 1 -- The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry issued the following news: Biologists from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) are asking for the public's help finding locations of two severely invasive plants: Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vinimeum) (https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/invasive_plants/microstegium.html) and Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) (https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/in  more

SOMERVILLE, Massachusetts, March 1 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release on Feb. 29, 2024: Today, Governor Maura T. Healey detailed major new proposals to make Massachusetts a global hub for life sciences, climatetech and applied artificial intelligence (AI). She announced that she is reauthorizing the Life Sciences Initiative to build on the success of the program that has made Massachusetts a global leader in this critical industry. She also announced that   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health issued the following news release on Feb. 28, 2024: * * * NIH-funded observational study shows risk grows sharply with more frequent use. * * * Frequent cannabis smoking may significantly increase a person's risk for heart attack and stroke, according to an observational study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 (TNSres) -- The National Science Foundation issued the following news release: The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected Kaye Husbands Fealing to head the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). Husbands Fealing is dean of the Georgia Institute of Technology Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and former chair of the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy. She specializes in the science of science and innovation policy, the public value of resea  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BOSTON - A Rhode Island man has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Alfredo Valdez, 46, of Providence, R.I. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. D  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 1 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on Feb. 29, 2024: Two men pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to participating in a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) that allegedly distributed tens of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. Isaac Clayton, 77, and Christopher Tejeda, 22, both of Lynn, pleaded guilty to one count e  more