Tuesday - November 26, 2024
News Tipoffs - Tennessee Editors Newsletter for Friday September 06, 2024 ( 19 items )  

A.G. Garland Delivers Remarks at Meeting of Election Threats Task Force
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following remarks on Sept. 4, 2024, by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland at a meeting of the Election Threats Task Force: * * * Good afternoon, everyone. We launched the Election Threats Task Force to respond to a dangerous increase in violent threats against the public servants who administer our elections. We did so because countless Americans were enduring terrible threats simply for doing their civic duty. And we did so   more

Alaska A.G. Taylor: Alaska Joins Case With 22 States to Overturn NEPA Ruling-Dangerous to the Energy Economy
JUNEAU, Alaska, Sept. 5 -- Alaska Attorney General Treg R. Taylor issued the following news release: The State of Alaska joined an amicus petition before the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a case that threatens the energy industry of States by how NEPA was applied. "The case is as much about federalism and State sovereignty as it is about environmental law," the brief states. NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act, is a law that requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effect  more

Attorney General Bonta Leads 20 States in Opposing Tennessee's Law Barring Access to Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth
SACRAMENTO, California, Sept. 5 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release: California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Skrmetti, urging the Court to reverse a decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a state law in Tennessee that bans critical, lifesaving gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents suffering from gender dysphoria. I  more

Attorney General Labrador Joins Effort to Protect First Amendment Rights
BOISE, Idaho, Sept. 5 -- Idaho Attorney General Raul R. Labrador issued the following news release: Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador on Tuesday joined a brief in a First Amendment case aimed at protecting students' free-speech rights. Twenty-one other state attorneys general joined the brief. The friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit involves an Ohio school district that is forcing students to either use preferred pronouns or be punished. "At   more

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $28 Million in Grants to Recruit, Prepare, and Develop a Diverse Educator Workforce
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 -- The U.S. Department of Education issued the following news release: U.S. Department of Education Additionally Releases New Data on Public Service Loan Forgiveness Approvals in Every State The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced more than $28 million in new awards in the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) program to recruit, prepare, develop, and retain a strong, effective, and diverse educator workforce for classrooms across the country. The   more

Bryan Maldonado: Fast-tracking energy efficiency improvements for building envelopes
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: As a mechanical engineer in building envelope materials research at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Bryan Maldonado sees opportunities to apply his scientific expertise virtually everywhere he goes, from coast to coast. In any neighborhood or downtown district, one is likely to find a building constructed before 1980, when energy efficiency  more

Calif. A.G. Bonta: Pregnant Workers Deserve Protections at Their Workplaces
SACRAMENTO, California, Sept. 5 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release: OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general in an amicus brief defending the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) of 2022. Filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the amicus brief supports EEOC's rule implementing the federal landmark legislatio  more

Deep Waters: ORISE Participants Discuss the Science Conducted on the EPA Research Vessel Lake Guardian
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Sept. 5 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education issued the following news: The Lake Guardian, the largest research vessel owned by the Environmental Protection Agency, is aptly named. The vessel is owned and operated by the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) and monitors the health of the Great Lakes. It is also one of the research sites of two ORISE participants, Isabel Dunn and Susanna "Suse" LaGory. Dunn and LaG  more

Department of Labor Recovers $30k From Tennessee Assisted Living Centers Operator for Retaliating Against Employee
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division issued the following news release on Sept. 5, 2024: * * * Family First also denied overtime wages to 7 workers * * * NASHVILLE, TN - The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $31,761 in back wages and damages from a Tennessee operator of assisted living communities that illegally fired one worker for questioning the employer's pay practices and denied full overtime wages to seven care workers. The department's Wage   more

Gov. Lee Announces Orano USA Seeks To Locate Uranium Enrichment Operations in Oak Ridge
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Sept. 5 -- Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, issued the following news on Sept. 4, 2024: * * * Oak Ridge selected as the preferred site, representing the single-largest investment in Tennessee history * * * Today, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Orano USA has selected Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the preferred site to construct a new, multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility. The uranium enrichment center will be a multi-structure commercia  more

Governor Moore Joins State and Federal Leaders to Announce Maryland Adding IRS Direct File System For 2025 Filing Season
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, Sept. 5 -- Gov. Wes Moore, D-Maryland, issued the following news release on Sept. 4, 2024: Governor Wes Moore today announced that Maryland will join the Internal Revenue Service's Direct File online tool for the 2025 filing season, enabling taxpayers to prepare and file their taxes electronically and free of charge. Governor Moore and Comptroller Brooke Lierman were joined by U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo; U.S. Senator Ben Cardin; U.S. Senator Chris Van Holl  more

INVESTING IN AMERICA: Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $1 Billion in Grants for 350+ Communities to Make Local Roads Safer
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the following news release: As students head back to school, new round of funding from President Biden's infrastructure law will make America's roads safer for everyone, including pedestrians, cyclists, and those living in rural communities Announcement is paired with release of NHTSA's early estimates on traffic fatalities for first half of 2024, showing a 3.2 percent decline compared to the same period in 2023 Today, U.S.  more

Justice Dept.: Two RT Employees Indicted for Covertly Funding and Directing U.S. Company that Published Thousands of Videos in Furtherance of Russian Interests
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Sept. 4, 2024: * * * Employees of Russian State-Controlled Media Outlet Deployed Nearly $10 Million to Publish RT-Curated Content, Which Garnered Millions of Views, Through a Tennessee-Based Online Content Creation Company Note: View the indictment here (https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1366266/dl). * * * An indictment charging Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, also known as Kostya, and   more

N.Y. U.S. Attorney: Two RT Employees Indicted for Covertly Funding and Directing U.S. Company That Published Thousands of Videos in Furtherance of Russian Interests
NEW YORK, Sept. 5 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued the following news release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; Lisa Monaco, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States; Matthew G. Olsen, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"); and Christ  more

Novel ORNL-led manufacturing effort focuses on large parts for clean energy in hydropower
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: A unique manufacturing program for large metal parts holds promise to help revitalize American manufacturing and return clean energy manufacturing technologies to the United States. The approach could greatly reduce waiting times for critical components and enable economic growth in the manufacturing sector for energy, according to scientists at the Department of Ene  more

Oak Ridge Contractor Builds on Intern Program Success
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management issued the following news: Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management cleanup contractor UCOR continued to expand its summer internship program this year, providing opportunities for 40 students from 13 schools across the country. This year's class included nontraditional students, veterans and students from colleges and universities with existing partnerships with UCOR. There were a  more

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education: Embracing the Uncomfortable - Melissa De Vera Discusses Indian Health Services, Her Career, and the IHS Summer Internship
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education issued the following news: When asked how she got to her current role as an assistant director of the Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction with Indian Health Services (IHS), Melissa de Vera replied that it "was not a straight path by any means." "I feel like the only way that I ever go anywhere is when I step out of my comfort zone," de Vera said in a recent interview for th  more

ORNL leads five public-private INFUSE projects to advance fusion technologies
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Sept. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the lead partner on five research collaborations with private fusion companies in the 2024 cohort of the Innovation Network for FUSion Energy, or INFUSE, program. These collaborative projects are intended to resolve technical hurdles and develop enabling technologies to accelerate fusion energy research in t  more

Utah A.G. Reyes Joins Amicus Brief to Stand for Religious Freedom
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 5 -- Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes issued the following news: Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined 16 attorneys general in an amicus brief at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in World Vision v. McMahon. The brief, which was led by the State of Montana, involves a question of the church autonomy doctrine governing interactions between religious and secular entities. In 2020, McMahon applied for a job at World Vision, a "Christian Minist  more