WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2024: * * * Fifty Years of Access to Lending Opportunity: Where Are We Now? Courtesy of Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) has just entered its 51st year, providing an occasion to look back -- and to look ahead. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a tireless advocate for a more just and equal society, and ensuring access to housing opportunity was a criti  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release: Tuesday evening, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), along with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.-6), and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.-2) announced a final agreement on the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the following public communication dated Nov. 12, 2024, from the National Association of Community Health Centers: * * * To: Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Attention: CMS-9888-P Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 445-G Washington, DC 20201 RE: Patie  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the following public communication dated Nov. 11, 2024, from the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers: * * * To: Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Attention: CMS-9888-P Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 445-G Washington, DC 20201 RE: Patient P  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the following public communication dated Nov. 12, 2024, from the Ohio Hospital Association. Here are excerpts: * * * To: The Honorable Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 7500 Security Blvd Baltimore, MD 21244 RE: CMS-10913 Medicare Part C Utilization Management Annual Data Submission and Audit Protocol Data Request * *   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the following public communication dated Nov. 8, 2024, from Signature Health, Mentor, Ohio. Here are excerpts: * * * To: Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Attention: CMS-9888-P Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 445-G Washington, DC 20201 RE: Patient   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12465) on Dec. 3, 2024, by economic development policy analyst Julie M. Lawhorn: * * * Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization Activities, 2023-2024 Since its inception in 2021, the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization has focused on providing a whole-of-government re  more

HURLBURT FIELD, Florida, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command issued the following news: By Capt. Richard Caesar, 353rd Special Operations Wing YAKUSHIMA, Japan -- Close to 100 military and civilian personnel from the United States and Japan gathered at the Yakushima Town Hall Nov. 29, 2024 to attend a ceremony dedicating a cenotaph to the eight heroes who died when their CV-22B Osprey went down just off the coast of the island last year and the joint effort expended to sear  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, issued the following news release on Dec. 4, 2024: Today, Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) delivered remarks at a markup of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic's final report titled "After Action Review of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lessons Learned and a Path Forward." Chairman Wenstrup explained how this 520-page report is the culm  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Dec. 4, 2024: A three-count indictment was unsealed yesterday charging a former Franklin County, Ohio, Sheriff's Office deputy with two counts of depriving an inmate of his civil rights and one count of conspiring to do the same. According to the indictment, in March 2022, Matthew Carey, 27, of Grove City, Ohio, was employed as a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, and he worked in the Frank  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release: BALTIMORE The Thomas B. Finan Center of the Maryland Department of Health, a multipurpose psychiatric facility located in Cumberland, Maryland, will pay $270,000 to settle an equal pay lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, for several years up to the present, Finan paid a less tenured and le  more

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center issued the following news: By Michele Donaldson, Air Force Materiel Command As part of the ongoing effort to promote a variety of perspectives and experiences through the mentoring process, the Air Force Materiel Command hosted a Native American and Alaskan Native Heritage Month Mentoring Panel Nov. 19. The event titled, "Affirming Native Voices: Visibility, Leadership, Service", was coordinated by the AFMC   more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 5 -- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued the following news release on Dec. 4, 2024: (YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio) -- Human traffickers better watch out this holiday season because the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force is delivering justice, with several investigations having recently led to criminal charges and penalties. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene today credited the task force for the recent convictions and sentences of tw  more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 4 -- The Ohio Society of CPAs issued the following news: * * * New Initiative Tackles Workforce Gaps as Two-Thirds of Ohio CPAs Approach Retirement * * * Ohio's economic future is at risk as 65% of the state's CPAs approach retirement. The Ohio Society of CPAs (OSCPA) is tackling this urgent talent shortage with "Look Beyond," a campaign designed to attract students and professionals to accounting careers, address workforce gaps and expand access to the profession. "'Lo  more

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Dec. 5 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio issued the following news release on Dec. 4, 2024: The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio today unsealed a second superseding indictment against 18 members and associates of a Cleveland-based, violent street gang known as the Fully Blooded Felons or "FBF." The defendants charged are alleged to have committed numerous federal crimes, including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organi  more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 5 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio issued the following news release on Dec. 3, 2024: A former Columbus police officer was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 65 months in prison for conspiring with another police officer to traffic more than eight kilograms of fentanyl and for conspiring with a confidential informant to traffic 40 kilograms of cocaine. John J. Kotchkoski, 36, of Marengo, Ohio, conspired to distribute and to posses  more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 5 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio issued the following news release: A federal jury has convicted a Columbus man of murdering three victims as part of a narcotics conspiracy to rob a local marijuana dealer of drugs and cash. Williams had others dismember and bury two of the bodies to dispose of evidence of his crimes. Larry J. Williams, Jr., also known as "J Streets" and "J", 43, was found guilty of all 16 counts as charged against him   more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 -- Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, issued the following news release: BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS - Yesterday, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, joined a distinguished bipartisan Congressional delegation led by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to Barbados. This visit underscores a shared commitment to advancing security, economic prosperity, and climate resilienc  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Rep. W. Greg Steube, R-Florida, issued the following news release: * * * Steube Legislation Heads to President Biden's Desk * * * U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) today announced his legislation, H.R. 5863 The Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, passed the U.S. Senate. The legislation provides long-awaited tax relief for Americans harmed by recent hurricanes, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and the train derailment in Ohio. The legislation now awaits President Joe Bi  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, issued the following news release: Sewell is leading the effort to designate December 1st as Rosa Parks Day Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) spoke on the House Floor to commemorate the 69th anniversary of the arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama. Rep. Sewell called on her colleagues to pass her bill, H.R. 308, to designate December 1st as a federal holiday commemorating Rosa Parks' historic arrest. Watch it on YouTube here. Rep.  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, issued the following news on Dec. 3, 2024: U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) today introduced a bicameral resolution designating December 3rd as National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day. The resolution spotlights the ongoing crisis of chemical disasters nationwide and marks the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, which is considered the deadliest chemical acciden  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Reps. Mike Turner (OH-10), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Brendan Boyle (PA-2), and Max Miller (OH-7) announced that their bill, the Commission to Study the Potential Transfer of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History to the Smithsonian Institution Act (H.R. 7764), passed the Senate last night and now heads to the President's desk. This commission is a critical step in transferr  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Space Force issued the following news: By Capt. Kayla K. Edwards, Space Training and Readiness Command COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFNS) -- Space Training and Readiness Command's Delta 10 hosted the second annual Tactics Development Conference, or TACDEVCON, and the first iteration with international partner participation Nov. 4-7 at the National Air and Space Intel Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. More than 350 participants gathered at this year's TA  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: Funding Will Support Family Farms, Small Businesses, Infrastructure and Clean Energy in Underserved Rural and Tribal Communities LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Dec. 4, 2024 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new round of investments totaling more than $194 million to support local economic development plans and projects in Rural Partners Network (RPN) communities and other  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has issued the following news release: * * * Funding Will Support Family Farms, Small Businesses, Infrastructure and Clean Energy in Underserved Rural and Tribal Communities * * * LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Dec. 4, 2024 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new round of investments totaling more than $194 million to support local economic development plans and projects in Rural Partne  more