ARGONNE, Illinois, Sept. 26 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory issued the following news release on Sept. 25, 2024: * * * Saw Wai Hla was named the Science Breakthrough of the Year winner in the physical sciences category for the prestigious Falling Walls award * * * The German Falling Walls Foundation is recognizing Hla for using a new X-ray capability in a way that could be widely applied in environmental and medical research and the development of batt  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce issued the following news release: Includes an anticipated $11.5 million for the first workforce development awardees to address critical U.S. job and skill gaps across semiconductor research, design, manufacturing, and production Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the launch of the National Semiconductor Technology Center's (NSTC) Workforce Center of Excellence (WCoE), making a decisive step toward solving one of the most p  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 -- The U.S. Department of Labor issued the following news release: * * * Court order resolves department's allegations of overtime, recordkeeping violations * * * CHICAGO - A federal judge has ordered Mariusz Lekarczyk, the owner and operator of four Chicago-area We Wash Hand Wash and Car Detail Centers, and We Wash Car Care Center Inc. to pay $799,566 in back wages and damages to 110 employees and $110,990 in penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor, as part of a conse  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release: CHICAGO Reggio's Pizza, Inc., which operates restaurants and sells ready-made pizza throughout Chicago, violated federal law when it retaliated against an employee who objected to workplace harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today. According to the suit, Reggio's Pizza fired an employee at its O'Hare Airport location because she   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: BALTIMORE - Today, Sept. 25, in a ceremony at the FMI - The Food Industry Association's Energy and Store Development Conference, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill Program recognized nine supermarket and commercial refrigeration leaders - eight food retail companies and one advanced refrigeration system manufacturer - for exceptional achievements to reduce the impacts of commercial   more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Sept. 26 (TNSres) -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following news release on Sept. 25, 2024: * * * Raoul Encourages Voters to Visit Website for 2024 Voter Misinformation Guide; Offers Tips to Detect and Report Fake AI Election Content * * * Attorney General Kwame Raoul today released a 2024 Voter Misinformation Guide (https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Page-Attachments/ElectionMisinformationGuide.pdf) to help Illinois voters identify and report election  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Sept. 26 (TNSres) -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, was named a 2024 Fall Pritzker Fellow by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, and will be giving a series of seminars titled "An Insider's Look at the New Springfield: America's Laboratory for Democracy" to cover Illinois' status as an emerging national policy leader. "Recent years have seen Illinois usher in an unprecedented slate of new policies l  more

URBANA, Illinois, Sept. 26 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois issued the following news release: A Champaign, Illinois, woman, Malaia A. Turner, 36, was sentenced on September 23, 2024, to 324 months in prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Turner was a leader in a consp  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Sept. 26 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois issued the following news release: A Quincy, Illinois, man, Damond Thomas, 31, was sentenced on September 23, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, to 60 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine. Thomas was indicted in September 2023 and pleaded guilty in May 2024. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Myerscough concluded that Thomas was responsible for the distribution of mor  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Sept. 26 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois issued the following news release: The owner of a Texas trucking company has been sentenced to 25 years in prison as part of a federal investigation that dismantled a Mexico-to-Chicago drug pipeline. JOSE FARIAS owned a trucking company in McAllen, Texas, and resided in Mexico. In 2015 and 2016, Farias arranged with truck drivers to transport dozens of kilograms of narcotics to the Chicago area  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Sept. 24, 2024: A federal court in the Northern District of Illinois today permanently enjoined Joliet, Illinois, tax return preparer Sir Michael Joseph Davenport and his company My Unity Tax Financial & Tax Preparation LLC (My Unity Tax) from preparing federal tax returns for others and from owning or operating any tax return preparation businesses in the future. Davenport agreed to the permanent injunc  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Sept. 26 -- Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell issued the following news release on Sept. 25, 2024: * * * 22 Attorneys General Sign On to Amicus Brief in Support of ATF Rule That Seeks to Curb Gun Trafficking By Requiring Licensing and Background Checks * * * Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today announced that she, along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, have co-led a coalition of 22 attorneys general in support of a Bureau of Alcohol,  more

ALBANY, New York, Sept. 26 -- New York Attorney General Letitia James issued the following news release on Sept. 25, 2024: * * * AG James and 21 AGs File Amicus Brief in Support of ATF Rule That Seeks to Curb Gun Trafficking * * * New York Attorney General Letitia James and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell today co-led a multistate coalition of 22 attorneys general in support of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' (ATF) rule that helps prevent illegal gun   more

ROCK ISLAND, Illinois, Sept. 26 -- The U.S. Army Sustainment Command issued the following news: Story by Corinna Baltos, U.S. Army Sustainment Command At U.S. Army Sustainment Command the need for top-of-the-line intelligence capabilities is vital as the command has a worldwide mission to provide global logistics and materiel readiness for combatant commanders. One of the people providing information for ASC and its subordinate units, is Capt. Ariel Ayala. He is a production manager for the c  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the following news: In its fourth year, the Inclusive NOAA Fisheries Internship (IN FISH) Program partners NOAA scientists with academic and private non-profit researchers to build a diverse and inclusive workforce. This year's class of 33 IN FISH students hail from 20 states, U.S. territories, and countries. They're enrolled in 29 different colleges and universities in 20 states and U.S. territories. Project top  more

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, Sept. 25 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following remarks by Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer at the 2024 Hate Crimes Grantee Conference: * * * Thank you, Liz Ryan, for that introduction and thank you also to Director Karhlton Moore and the Bureau of Justice Assistance for putting together this week's conference. This inaugural conference has brought together grantees of the Justice Department's hate crime grants, which includes l  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release: 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 34 million small businesses, announced the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Stage Two winners. Forty-four accelerator partnerships received between $50,000 and $150,000 each to advance their work supporting small businesses an  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Board issued the following notice (Docket No. FD 36804) entitled "Vermilion Valley Railroad Co. LLC - Operation Exemption - FNG Logistics Co.": * * * Vermilion Valley Railroad Company, LLC (VVRR), a Class III rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.41 to operate a rail line owned by FNG Logistics Company (FNG). The line extends approximately 5.91 miles between the India  more