CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina, March 14 -- The U.S. Marine Corps issued the following news release: Marines and Sailors assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) will return home in several waves beginning Mar. 16, 2024, after successfully completing an extended eight-month deployment embarked aboard the amphibious warships of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (BATARG) in U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/6th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fle  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest about $138 million of financial assistance from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act--the largest climate investment in history--in 138 new climate-smart conservation easements, through which farmers and ranchers are conserving wetlands, grasslands and prime farmlands. These selected Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) projects ar  more

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, March 14 -- Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement on March 13, 2024: * * * Attorney General Tim Griffin today announced Arkansas's Medicaid Program will receive $191,050.63 as part of a $25 million national settlement with Lincare Holdings, Inc., over alleged false Medicaid billing for Noninvasive Home Ventilation (NIV) devices and issued the following statement: "It is alleged that from January 2013 to February 2020, Lincare violated fede  more

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, March 14 -- Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement on March 13, 2024: * * * Attorney General Tim Griffin released the following statement today in support of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' recent trade delegation trip to east Asia: "I applaud Governor Sanders' engagement with our Asian allies, especially South Korea and Japan. We share common values of freedom, democracy, free trade and security. These are precisely the sort of relationsh  more

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina, March 13 -- The U.S. Army Reserve Command issued the following news: KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany - The 7th Mission Support Command, America's Army Reserve in Europe, hosted their annual operations & training synchronization workshop at the Sembach Community Center, in Kaiserslautern, Germany, March 4-8, 2024. U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Howard Johnson, the Readiness and Mobilization Officer (G37), and the event officer in charge explained the event and it  more

DALLAS, Texas, March 14 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Southwest Regional Information Office issued the following report on March 13, 2024, entitled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for the Regions - December 2023": * * * Private industry employer costs for employee compensation among the four regions of the country ranged from $38.48 per hour in the South to $52.32 in the Northeast in December 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported  more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas, March 14 -- The U.S. Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center issued the following news: By Debbie Aragon, AFIMSC Public Affairs The Department of the Air Force announced its 2024 John L. Hennessy Trophy Awards for food service excellence March 4. The awards, in their 68th year, are presented to installations with the best food service programs based on their display and execution of excellence in management effectiveness, force readiness support, food  more

DURHAM, North Carolina, March 14 -- The city of Durham issued the following news: Durham organizations serving the needs of people without homes received more than $2.1 million in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in February to further support their efforts to help those in need in the Bull City. The award is part of nearly $40 million awarded to North Carolina communities for projects that provide housing and/or supportive services to peopl  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, March 14 -- The North Carolina Department of Commerce issued the following news release: Applications are again being accepted by the Department of Commerce for its professional development and education program for rural leaders in North Carolina. New participants in the Rural Community Capacity (RC2) program will be able to select an eastern location for the campus-based educational program as East Carolina University joins Appalachian State University in the RC2 prog  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the following news release: KEY POINTS Infertility affects millions of Americans in the United States at some point in their life. Difficulty conceiving can be caused by a variety of factors such as age, health conditions, and for couples who are same sex or individuals without a partner and cannot otherwise conceive. In addition, some couples experience unexplained infertility where tests reveal no obvious causes  more

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina, March 13 -- The U.S. Army Reserve Command issued the following news: ADELPHI, Md. - The Army Reserve Cyber Protection Brigade held its retirement ceremony for Lt. Col. Jennifer Roberts at the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md. on Mar. 2, 2024. After 25 years of service, Roberts concluded her career as the Brigade S1 for ARCPB. As a token of appreciation, Col. Dane Sandersen, ARCPB's Commander, presented Roberts with awards and gifts from the  more

GOLDSBORO, North Carolina, March 14 -- The North Carolina Department of Commerce issued the following news release: Twelve communities will receive awards for excellence in downtown revitalization during the annual North Carolina Main Street Awards Ceremony held in Goldsboro this evening. N.C. Department of Commerce Chief Deputy Secretary Jordan Whichard, Assistant Secretary of Rural Development Kenny Flowers, and Director of the North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center Liz Parham w  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, March 14 -- The North Carolina Department of Commerce issued the following news release: Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in all 100 of North Carolina's counties in January 2024. Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate at 8.8 percent while Greene County had the lowest at 2.7 percent. All 15 of the state's metro areas experienced rate increases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.0 percent while Asheville had the lowe  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, March 14 -- The North Carolina Department of Labor issued the following statement on March 13, 2024: * * * Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson released the following statement: "After thoughtful consideration of the petitions received on December 14, 2022, I, Josh Dobson, Commissioner of Labor, have made the decision not to adopt either of the proposed rules, to include the General Industry/Construction Infectious Diseases and the Airborne Infectious Diseases for Migrant H  more

TRENTON, New Jersey, March 13 -- New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin issued the following news release: Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin is co-leading a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the federal government's request for review of a lower court decision invalidating commonsense "ghost gun" regulations - regulations that are already showing every indication that they are working as intended to get these deadly weapon  more

WELLFLEET, Massachusetts, March 14 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service issued the following news release: Seven national park sites, including Cape Cod National Seashore, were recently selected for a collective $800,000 in funding from President Biden's Investing in America Agenda, part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, aimed at investing in climate restoration and resilience projects over the next decade. The funding will allow National Park Service scientists   more

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, March 13 -- Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued the following news release: Attorney General Gentner Drummond and a coalition of 39 other attorneys general are urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to update and strengthen the rules technology companies must follow under the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Drummond said the update is necessary because the rules governing online privacy protections for children under the age o  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the following news release: As a part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $450 million in Federal Fiscal Year 2024 funding through MARAD's Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). Investments made under the PIDP focus on modernizing the Nation's coastal and inland waterway ports as   more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 12 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: USS Annapolis (SSN 760) arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia Sunday. This marks the second visit by a U.S. fast-attack submarine to HMAS Stirling since the announcement of the AUKUS [Australia, United Kingdom, United States] Optimal Pathway in March 2023. The Optimal Pathway is designed to deliver a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine capability to  more