WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following remarks on March 28, 2024, by Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer at the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative media briefing: * * * It's my great pleasure to welcome everyone to this press briefing on behalf of the United States Department of Justice. I want to start by recognizing my colleagues Amy Solomon, the Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Office of Just  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: ALBUQUERQUE - A federal judge sentenced an Albuquerque man to 57 months in federal prison for maintaining a drug-involved premises in southeast Albuquerque. As the manager of the Best Choice Inn, Kamal Bhula, 44, of Albuquerque, profited from in a kickback scheme that required drug traffickers and users to pay a "visitor fee" if they wanted   more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: Projects Funded by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act Will Lower Energy Costs and Create Revenue for Rural Business Owners and Farms OMAHA, Neb., March 28, 2024 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is investing $124 million in renewable energy and fertilizer production projects in 44 states to lower energy costs, generate new income and create   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued the following news on March 28, 2024: Mayor Michelle Wu announced she will file a home rule petition that would protect residential property owners from a potentially dramatic increase in their property taxes due to declining commercial property values. The proposal would allow the City to lessen increases in residential property tax bills caused by declining commercial values by temporarily shifting more of the property tax lev  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 28 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on March 14, 2024, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Jack Gower, 36, of Burlington, Vermont, with distributing controlled substances to a person under 21 years of age. Gower entered a plea of not guilty to the charges dur  more

OAKLAND, California, March 29 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release on March 27, 2024: California Attorney General Rob Bonta led 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (BAGLY), et al. v. United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), et al. in support of the plaintiffs' motion to vacate the Trump Administration's 2020 federal rule (the Rule), which strips nondiscriminati  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following recall alert on March 28, 2024: * * * Name of Product: Berkley Jensen Citronella 72-inch Tiki Torches Hazard: The tiki torch top can break open and/or fall off while lit, posing a burn hazard. Remedy: Refund Recall Date: March 28, 2024 Units: About 90,000 Consumer Contact: BJ's Wholesale Club at 800-257-2582 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: * * * Homes built before 1978 are very likely to contain lead paint * * * The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) initiative to prevent childhood lead poisoning in communities with a higher risk of lead exposure is coming to the greater Manchester, New Hampshire area. Lead is particularly harmful to children because they are more vulnerable to its effects, which include damage to th  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration issued the following news release on March 27, 2024: Research teams from universities nationwide are working on a variety of aviation environmental topics including sustainable aviation fuels, aircraft emissions, and noise impacts with support from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants. The FAA is awarding $27.2 million to 11 U.S. universities as part of its Aviation Sustainability Center (ASC  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BOISE, Idaho - Tyler Watson, 40, of Nampa, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for possessing ten pounds of fentanyl with intent to distribute it to others, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. According to court records, Watson was a mid-level fentanyl distributor for a large drug trafficking organization with direct ties t  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 29 -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of today a coalition of 19 attorneys general, today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts supporting a motion to vacate a 2020 federal rule that strips nondiscrimination protections from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the brief (https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/News-Room/Current-News/  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Labor issued the following weekly report entitled "Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims" for week ending March 28, 2024: * * * SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending March 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 210,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 210,000 to 212,000. The 4-week moving average was 211,000, a decrease of 750 from t  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 -- The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority issued the following news on March 28, 2024: Building upon the Healey-Driscoll Administration's FY24 budget that includes $5 million for the MBTA to develop a low-income fares program, the MBTA today announced that the MBTA Board of Directors has unanimously approved the MBTA's plan to implement a reduced fares program for riders with low-income. This program, which has been a topic of research and planning by the  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 (TNSres) -- The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: The Healey-Driscoll Administration today moved to address air quality issues in or near environmental justice areas by announcing amendments to state air pollution regulations. The changes require certain facilities seeking air emissions permits in or near communities with environmental justice populations to conduct a cumulative impact analys  more

LOWELL, Massachusetts, March 29 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Governor Maura T. Healey today announced a major milestone in a transformative project that will bring new housing, economic development, technology jobs and workforce development to downtown Lowell. The research non-profit, Draper Laboratory (Draper) will become an anchor tenant in the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC), a transformative public-private partnership   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: A Haverhill man was arrested and charged today in connection with a Massachusetts Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claim he filed in 2020 for a man who was living in Brazil and who has since been charged with migrant smuggling, among other offenses. Julio Roncaly Morais, 41, was charged by complaint with mail fraud, wire fraud, and cons  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: SEATTLE, Wash. - A 38-year-old resident of Maple Falls, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison for his role in distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jesse Witteveen was arrested November 1, 2022, when he fled at high speeds from law enforcement, to  more

WASHINGTON, March 27 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Southeast Fisheries Science Center issued the following feature story: * * * Scientists find evidence of critical feeding grounds for endangered leatherback turtles along the U.S. Atlantic coast by studying movement behavior with satellite tags. * * * Leatherback sea turtles are known to travel thousands of miles to move from warm, tropical and subtropical nesting areas to cooler, prey-rich feeding grounds  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: McALLEN, Texas -A 63-year-old Pharr resident has been sentenced following his conviction of possession with intent to distribute 11 kilograms of cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Gilberto Eloy Ramirez pleaded guilty Oct. 1, 2  more

MCALLEN, Texas, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas issued the following news release: Four Mission residents have entered guilty pleas for their roles in a conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and a related conspiracy to transport aliens within the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Luis Enrique Moctezuma-Acosta, 36, Elizabeth Acosta, 52, and Keysi Fuentes-Gavarrete, 27, admitted to laundering over $2 million in monetary  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 28 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging Zaid Mendoza a/k/a Diamond, 45, Cora Waddington, 24, Kelvin O. Thomas, 41, all of Jamestown, NY, with narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force and coercion, sex trafficking by force a  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: McALLEN, Texas - Two Mission men have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Eddie Perez, 29, and Juan Alberto Mendez Jr., 29, pleaded guilty Apr  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: McALLEN, Texas - A 50-year-old Edinburg man has been sentenced following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge, Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Orlando Candelario Almanza pleaded  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 28 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: WATERBURY, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHELLE CRUZ, 38, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for her role in a narcotics trafficking ring.   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: McALLEN, Texas - A 21-year-old Pharr resident has been sentenced following his conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Alex Dominque Carrillo pleaded guilty Dec. 20, 2023  more