WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it has enrolled 401,006 Veterans in VA health care over the past 365 days -- 30% more than the 307,831 it enrolled the previous year. This is the most yearly enrollees in at least the past five years at VA, and nearly a 50% increase over pandemic-level enrollment in 2020. The number of new enrollees increased in all 50 states yea  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following news release: By Patrick Bloodgood, USACE HQ Public Affairs Office In a ceremony held at the Hart Senate Office Building, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Director of Planning and Policy, Eric Bush, was presented with the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association's (ASBPA) Corps of Engineers Coastal Summit Award. The award, which was first handed out in 2004, recognizes an employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 -- 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 W. Berger sentenced E'Chavion Semaj Flewellen (24, Cocoa) to 16 years and 8 months in federal prison for distribution of 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. Flewellen entered a guilty plea on January 4, 2024. According to court documents, from Jun  more

SACRAMENTO, California, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California issued the following news release: A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Paulo Perez-Mendoza, 44, of Stockton, charging him with conspiring to receive and sell smuggled pesticides into the United States and the unlawful distribution and sale of unregistered pesticides, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, between Jan. 1, 20  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, March 30 -- The city of Tallahassee issued the following news: As part of its ongoing efforts to help ensure the urban forest is healthy and properly managed for future generations, the City of Tallahassee recently secured a $25,000 Urban and Community Forestry grant from the Florida Forest Service, which the City will match. Tallahassee has one of the highest percentages of tree canopy coverage in the nation at 55 percent. It also has an extremely diverse population of t  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, March 30 -- The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson applauded the heroic actions taken by three officers with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) following a fiery crash that occurred in Suwannee County. "If not for the quick actions of our agricultural law enforcement offi  more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, March 29 -- Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 583, which allows for the purchase and sale of wine in glass containers up to 15 liters. "In Florida, we are always looking for ways to reduce regulation and improve our residents' quality of life," said Governor Ron DeSantis. "If Floridians can purchase a large bottle of wine online from another state, they should be able to buy one fr  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, March 29 -- Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Jay Demetree to the University of North Florida Board of Trustees. Jay Demetree Demetree is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Demetree Brothers, Inc. Active in his community, he serves as a member of the Jacksonville University Board of Advisory, the St. Vincent Hospital Foundation, and the Ronald McDonald Hou  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, March 30 -- The Florida Public Service Commission issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold a Commission Conference on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. Items scheduled for consideration at the Commission Conference can be found here (https://www.floridapsc.com/commission-conferences-of-the-fpsc). Public comment may be taken on any item noticed for public participation. Any interested person wanting to pa  more

MIAMI, Florida, March 30 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, issued the following news release: On March 27, a former police officer with the City of Miami Police Department (MPD) pleaded guilty to attempted Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right and attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The charges arose from the use of his police position and authority, and MPD-issued vehicle and equipment to conduct two illegal traffic st  more

MIAMI, Florida, March 30 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, issued the following news release: A Miami federal district judge sentenced a longtime fugitive and Cuban national, Ariel Nunez-Finalet, to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a massive 18-defendant conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud through various south Florida pharmacies. The judge also ordered Nunez-Finalet to pay $1,910,222   more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, March 30 -- Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody issued the following weekly briefing (Vol. 6, Issue 13): This week, we launched our 2024 Tax Season Scam Series to help Floridians avoid falling prey to fraudulent schemes when preparing returns. As Tax Day approaches, it's important to know that scammers may attempt to exploit the stress many feel when preparing taxes to steal personal and financial information. In 2022, Internal Revenue Service data revealed that consum  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol issued the following news: By Anne Saita, Contributing writer By the time most of the world became aware of deadly wildfires ripping through Lahaina and Kula on Maui, a small team of Civil Air Patrol and Federal Emergency Management Agency members had already remotely identified 800 damaged or destroyed structures. Using publicly available imagery and artificial intelligence technology, within days the remote team assessed  more

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida, March 23 -- The U.S. Central Command issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - From 2:50 to 4:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) March 23, the Iranian-backed Houthis launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) into the Red Sea in the vicinity of M/V Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated oil tanker. At 4:25 p.m. (Sanaa time), a fifth ballistic missile was detected as fired toward M/V Huang Pu. The ship issued a distress call but did not   more

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida, March 28 -- The U.S. Central Command issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - Between 6:00 and 10:56 p.m. (Sanaa time) on March 28, and for the second day in a row, U.S. Central Command successfully engaged and destroyed four unmanned aerial systems (UAS) launched by Iranian backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. These UAS were aimed at a Coalition vessel and a U.S. warship and were engaged in self-defense over the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage r  more

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida, March 29 -- The U.S. Central Command issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Central Command conducted an air drop of humanitarian assistance into Northern Gaza on March 29, 2024, at 12:17 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict. The joint operation included two C-17 U.S. Air Force aircraft, and U.S. Army Soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of U.S humanitarian assistance supplies. U.S. C-17s   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 -- 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 Merryday sentenced Raul Carbajal (34, Plant City) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. Carbajal entered a guilty plea on November 21, 2023. According to court documents, Carbajal, who was prev  more

MOODY AFB, Georgia, March 30 -- The U.S. Air Force Moody Air Force Base (23rd Air Wing) issued the following news: By Airman 1st Class Whitney Gillespie, 23rd Wing Public Affairs Senior leaders from the 23rd Wing hosted an expert from the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, March 22, 2024, in preparation for an upcoming readiness exercise designed to test the wing's capability to deploy under the new Air Forces Force Generation model. Lt. Col. Dustin Bur  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a final site-specific Environmental Impact Statement - known as an EIS - for the subsequent renewal of the licenses for Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 in Florida. The final EIS is based, in part, on a revised environmental report received from Florida Power and Light. The final site-specific EIS evaluates all the environmental impacts of conti  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today the availability and individual state allocations of approximately $811 million in funding to states, territories, and native entities to empower individuals and communities with the tools, skills, and opportunities to  more

ORLANDO, Florida, March 30 -- Orange County issued the following news: It has been three years since the COVID pandemic, but its effects, along with international conflicts and inflationary pressures, are still creating issues for governments in obtaining goods and services. Supply chain slowdowns have affected access to materials and how they are delivered to their final destinations. In 2024, although slowdowns have lessened, they still linger. Orange County has not been immune to the challen  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden's Cabinet for America's more than 33 million small businesses, announced the selection of 17 new Women's Business Centers (WBCs), 13 of which will be hosted by established Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) across ten state  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden's Cabinet for America's more than 33 million small businesses, recognized four SBA Resource Partners of the Year awardees. The awardees - from Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, and Mississippi - will be honored at a ceremony dur  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, March 30 -- The city of Tallahassee issued the following news on March 29, 2024: The Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) is conducting a fraud investigation in conjunction with the United States Secret Service. On March 28, TPD's Financial Crimes Unit received a report from the City of Tallahassee disclosing more than a million dollars in City funds had been stolen from an outside source. TPD takes any allegations of fraudulent activity seriously and will work tirelessly  more

PATUXENT RIVER, Maryland, March 30 -- The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command issued the following news release: The U.S. Navy delivered the first P-8A Poseidon aircraft to be modified with Increment 3 Block 2 capabilities to Boeing on March 27, enabling the fleet to be outfitted with the full anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities outlined in the P-8A program's evolutionary acquisition strategy. The P-8A is th  more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 29 -- Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes issued the following news: Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Labor regarding its "proposed rule revising the regulations for registered apprenticeships." The letter, which the State of Tennessee led, notes the coalition's nationwide concerns over race-based regulations for apprenticeships. According to the attorneys general, "the proposed rule deviates from the statutory purpose  more