WASHINGTON, April 18 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service issued the following news release on April 17, 2024: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has a cooperative agreement with Vermont under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and Vermont are working together to offer over $2 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build re  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 18 -- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued the following news release on April 17, 2024: Attorney General today joined a coalition of 25 states and territories in filing a letter with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in support of proposed rules entitled "Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Residential Real Estate Transactions." In a letter sent yesterday, the attorneys general expressed staunch support for the propose  more

OAKLAND, California, April 18 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release on April 17, 2024: California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorney generals in submitting a comment letter in response to the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) notice of proposed rulemaking regarding certain real estate transactions. The proposed rule increases transparency by imposing reporting and record kee  more

OAKLAND, California, April 18 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release on April 16, 2024: California Attorney General Rob Bonta today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to affirm a federal district court's ruling that Georgia's congressional and legislative maps violate Section Two of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Attorney General Bonta joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Grant, et al., v. Secretary of St  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, April 18 -- The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection issued the following news release: A coalition of New England states jointly submitted two applications to secure federal funding to support investments in large-scale transmission and energy storage infrastructure to enhance grid reliability and resilience across the region. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resource  more

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb issued the following news release on April 17, 2024: Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today led a group of 19 attorneys general defending Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act--a key protection against racial discrimination in elections--against radical challenges raised in a Georgia redistricting lawsuit. In an amicus brief filed in Pendergrass v. Secretary of State of Georgia, the coalition of attorneys general argu  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, April 18 (TNSres) -- The Connecticut Department of Education issued the following news release: The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) is pleased to announce updated results of its continued commitment to addressing educator shortages and diversification across the state. In line with national trends, Connecticut has faced challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified educators. However, through decisive actions led by Education Commissioner Charlene M. R  more

WILLISTON, Vermont, April 18 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: Starting this summer, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC), with EPA oversight, will break ground on a remedial action for the cleanup of groundwater at the Commerce Street Plume Superfund Site in Williston, Vermont. The goal of this work is to cleanup groundwater to meet VTDEC drinking water requirements and prevent the spread of trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination.   more

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on April 16, 2024: Last week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the first-ever national drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as 'forever chemicals,' as well as $1 billion through President Biden's Investing in America agenda to help every state and territory fund PFAS detection and treatment systems to meet  more

WASHINGTON, April 17 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States Office of Inspector General issued the following news release: Vilnius, Lithuania - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Director Owen Herrnstadt traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania last week to attend the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) and the 3SI Business Forum to participate in discussions alongside government leaders, Three Seas Initiative representatives, and private sector companies to highlight EXIM's ong  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, April 18 -- The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued the following news release: A coalition of New England states jointly submitted two applications to secure federal funding to support investments in large-scale transmission and energy storage infrastructure to enhance grid reliability and resilience across the region. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection,  more

BALTIMORE, Maryland, April 18 -- Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the following news release on April 17, 2024: Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a group of 19 attorneys general defending Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act - a key protection against racial discrimination in elections - against challenges raised in a Georgia redistricting lawsuit. In an amicus brief (https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/News%20Documents/041624_Brief_DC_NY_Amici_Curiae.pdf) filed  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, April 18 -- North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein issued the following news release: Attorney General Josh Stein joined a group of 19 attorneys general defending Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act--a key protection against racial discrimination in elections--from radical challenges raised in a Georgia redistricting lawsuit. In an amicus brief filed in Pendergrass v. Secretary of State of Georgia and two other consolidated cases, the attorneys general argue that th  more

WASHINGTON, April 17 (TNSres) -- The National Science Foundation issued the following news release: The U.S. National Science Foundation is excited to announce the expansion of the NSF Convergence Accelerator to 10 regions to enhance national and regional competitiveness in research, innovation and workforce development. These 10 regional Convergence Accelerators will promote convergence research and innovation by connecting researchers, practitioners and stakeholders from various domains and   more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the following news release: New partnership with 18 state attorneys general creates fast-track system to prioritize misconduct cases referred to DOT by state attorneys general Secretary Buttigieg made the announcement at the Denver International Airport alongside Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser DENVER - Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the launch of the bipartisan Airline Passenger Prote  more

WOODLAWN, Maryland, April 18 -- The Social Security Administration issued the following news release on April 17, 2024: Last Thursday, the Social Security Administration published a final rule, "Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Applicants and Recipients." This rule provides the second of several updates to the agency's SSI regulations that will help people receiving and applying for SSI. "Our mission is to continue to help people access crucial bene  more