BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 10 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Governor Maura Healey signed An Act criminalizing sexual assault by fraud of a medical professional. This legislation protects vulnerable individuals by ensuring that Massachusetts can prosecute health care professionals and clergy members who influence patients or clients to engage in sexual activity under the guise of treatment or counseling. "Health care and counseling environments shoul  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 10 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Governor Maura Healey signed An Act regulating the use of elephants, big cats, primates, giraffes and bears in traveling exhibits and shows, becoming the sixth state in the nation to pass similar legislation. This legislation bans the use of elephants, lions, giraffes and other animals in traveling acts like circuses. "For years, circuses have harmed the welfare of animals for the sake of e  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 10 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Governor Maura Healey signed an Act to ensure legal parentage equality, which updates the state's parentage laws for the first time in 40 years to make them more inclusive. This historic legislation ensures the rights and protections for parents who use surrogacy, in-vitro fertilization and assisted reproduction, while also updating the law to be more inclusive to LGBTQ+ parents. "Our laws   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living issued the following news: ACL's Grassroots Project was launched in 2023 to support the work of disability advocates to ensure the perspectives, priorities, and preferences of disabled people are reflected in disability policies and service systems. A key focus of the Grassroots Project is supporting partnership development and facilitating collaboration among national, state, and local di  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 10 -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued the following news on Aug. 9, 2024: Today, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Madison Foley as the new Dorchester Liaison in the Office of Neighborhood Services. The Office of Neighborhood Services is integral in connecting residents to City services and resources, facilitating resident input in all aspects of local government, ensuring the appropriate City departments respond to constituent service requests, attending neighborhood meet  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release: SAN ANTONIO National Telecommuting Institute, Inc. (NTI), a Westwood, Massachusetts-based staffing support firm, agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC's lawsuit charged NTI with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act when it did not pursue placement o  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (TNSres) -- The National Science Foundation issued the following news release: Realizing practical advantages and societal benefits from quantum-scale phenomena has been a long-sought milestone in quantum information science. The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced the initial $5 million investment across five pilot projects designed to help reach that milestone by taking the first steps toward creating the NSF National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL), a first-  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will begin its annual distribution of RABORAL V-RG(R), an oral rabies vaccine (ORV) bait, in select areas in the eastern United States to prevent the spread of raccoon rabies into America's heartland. Rabies is a serious public health concern. While rabies is almost always   more