WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news: Well, good afternoon, everybody. Michael, thanks for those kind words. This makes four years in a row for me at the Reagan National Defense Forum. And it's great to receive this award alongside Leader McConnell, who believes so deeply in President Reagan's legacy--and who has done so much for a free Ukraine. The Department has once again sent a superb delegation here this year--including members of the Joint C  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news: American leadership rallies its allies and partners and inspires ordinary people around the world to work together toward a brighter future, said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, who delivered the keynote address today at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California. Autocrats worldwide and terrorist groups want to weaken America's leadership and its alliances and partnerships, he said. "O  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce issued the following news release: Proposed Investment Would Support the Creation of the Largest SiC Semiconductor Factory for Bosch and Create up to 1,700 Jobs in California Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bosch have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $225 million in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. The proposed inves  more

SACRAMENTO, California, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments: Corrin Buchanan, of El Cerrito, has been appointed Undersecretary at the Health and Human Services Agency. Buchanan has been Deputy Secretary for Policy and Strategic Planning at the Health and Human Services Agency since 2021. She was Assistant Director for Housing and Homelessness at the Department of Social   more

SACRAMENTO, California, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: Governor Gavin Newsom today announced his appointment of 11 Superior Court Judges: one in Fresno County; one in Kern County; three in Los Angeles County; two in Orange County; one in San Bernardino County; two in San Diego County; and one interim in Santa Clara County. Fresno County Superior Court Maria G. Diaz, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge i  more

SACRAMENTO, California, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: * * * Invites AI innovators to submit formal proposals to test solutions * * * Building upon Governor Newsom's GenAI Executive Order to safely and responsibly integrate GenAI into state operations, California announced new progress in efforts to explore using GenAI to address critical issues that are top of mind for Californians: housing, budget, and jobs. The state is also  more

SACRAMENTO, California, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: By the end of this year, more than 3,000 miles of the backbone "middle mile" broadband network will be under construction and expansion, paving the way to connect millions of Californians to high-speed internet. This publicly funded, owned and open-access network is set to be the nation's largest. The California Department of Technology (CDT) recently sealed two more joint-b  more

SACRAMENTO, California, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: The Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bosch have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $225 million in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. Along with the state match from a CalCompetes Tax Credit award last year, this proposed funding will support Bosch's planned investment  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news: Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced today nearly $1 billion in additional security assistance to help Ukraine bolster its combat power amid Russia's continued aggression. The $988 million package of new equipment, provisioned under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, includes unmanned aerial systems, rocket munitions and support for maintenance and repair programs. It marks the 22nd USAI pa  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: * * * Historic funding will help California reduce air pollution and combat climate change, while advancing career access, equity, and justice * * * SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 11, 2024) -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has tentatively selected 13 California applicants to receive $135.2 million total in grants to help purchase 455 zero-emission vehicles through the   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: SAN FRANCISCO - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with Central Valley Meat Company Inc. for claims of violations of the Clean Air Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Under the settlement, the company will pay $210,332 in civil penalties and make significant safety improvements to the facility to come into compliance with federal env  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- The Federal Election Commission issued the following weekly digest: * * * Commission meetings and hearings On December 10 and 12, the Commission met in executive session. On December 12, the Commission held an open meeting. * * * Election of Officers On December 12, the Commission elected Ellen L. Weintraub as Chair and James E. "Trey" Trainor, III as Vice Chairman for 2025. * * * Advisory Opinions Opinion Issued Advisory Opinion 2024-15 (https://www.fec.gov/dat  more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, Dec. 13 (TNSres) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco issued the following white paper (No. 2024-36) on December 5, 2024, by Michael Bauer, Daniel Huber, Eric Offner, Marlene Renkel, and Ole Wilms entitled "Corporate Green Pledges." Here are excerpts: * * * We identify corporate commitments for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions--green pledges--from news articles using a large language model. About 8% of publicly traded U.S. companies have made green ple  more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, Dec. 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco issued the following Dec. 5 edition of Fed Views by Robert G Valletta: Here are excerpts: * * * * The U.S. economic expansion has slowed this year but remains solid. Cooling of the overall economy has helped bring supply and demand conditions in the labor market into better balance and supported the progress of inflation toward the Federal Reserve's 2% longer-run goal. * The unemployment rate in early 2023 had fa  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Joseph Battista and Nelson Caballero and the reappointment of Jeff Cross, Troy Stefano, and Burton "Tra" Williams III to the Commission for Independent Education. Joseph Battista Battista, of Heathrow, is the Vice President of Workforce, Career, and Professional Education at Valencia College. He currently serves as a member of t  more

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri issued the following news release: A Raymore, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and for illegally possessing firearms. Tony Diaz, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to nine years in federal prison without parole. His brother and co-defendant, Serjio Diaz, 40, of Belton, Mo., was sentenced on Oct. 9, 2024, to 15 years i  more

ALBANY, New York, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York issued the following news release on Dec. 12, 2024: Toqwanda Ketchmore, aka "Quannie," age 30, of Albany, pled guilty today to marijuana trafficking. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement   more

PASADENA, California, Dec. 13 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news: A new study points to why, and how, Io became the most volcanic body in the solar system. Scientists with NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter have discovered that the volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io are each likely powered by their own chamber of roiling hot magma rather than an ocean of magma. The finding solves a 44-year-old mystery about the subsurface origins of the moon's most demonstrative geolo  more

PASADENA, California, Dec. 14 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news: * * * The road ahead will be even more scientifically intriguing, and probably somewhat easier-going, now that the six-wheeler has completed its long climb to the top. * * * NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has crested the top of Jezero Crater's rim at a location the science team calls "Lookout Hill" and rolling toward its first science stop after the monthslong climb. The rover made the ascent   more

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Dec. 14 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the following news: Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, a merchant mariner lowers a cylindrical robotic ocean observing instrument from a ship into the sea to record ocean temperature and salinity. Another instrument is deployed from a plane into the eye of a hurricane to take the pulse of the ocean during the storm. In Antarctic waters, a rounder float is released that will sink far deeper  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory issued the following news release: ORNL computing staff members Hector Suarez (middle) and William Castillo (right) talk HPC at the Tapia Conference career fair in San Diego, California. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy The National Center for Computational Sciences, located at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, made a strong showing at computing conferences this fall. Staff f  more

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued the following news release: The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christopher Texidor, age 37, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on December 11, 2024, to 292 months by United States District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson for trafficking over 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of marijuana and hiring gunmen to protect his illegal  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation issued the following news release: FOLSOM, Calif. The Bureau of Reclamation and Placer County Water Agency have completed negotiation of the Long-Term Contract Between the United States and Placer County Water Agency Providing for Storage and Conveyance of Non-Project Water. The agreement was negotiated and completed pursuant to the Warren Act of 1911 and is available for public review and comment.This long-term   more

HOUSTON, Texas, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas issued the following news release: A Houston resident and his naturalized wife from Vietnam have received prison sentences for unlicensed money transmitting and money laundering, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Vinh Quang Phan and Diana Le Phan entered guilty pleas June 18. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison has now sentenced Vinh Phan and Diana Phan to 120 months in federal prison. Each w  more

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Dec. 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis issued the following analysis on December 2, 2024, by Ayushi Narayan entitled "Pay transparency's rise isn't tied to expected explanations": Here are excerpts: * * * Employers are increasingly providing pay information in job postings despite the fact that a relatively small number of states require the practice. Minnesota will join that number on January 1, 2025, when a law requiring employers to provide pay informat  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 -- The U.S. International Trade Commission issued the following news release: The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to institute an investigation of certain women's flats with colored outsoles thereof. The products at issue in the investigation are described in the Commission's notice of investigation. The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Gavrieli Brands LLC of Culver City, California on November 13, 2024. The complaint was amended on November   more

NORFOLK, Virginia, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia issued the following news release on Dec. 12, 2024: A Norfolk woman was sentenced today to 14 years and six months in prison for fentanyl trafficking. According to court documents, in December 2023, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) intercepted a parcel containing one pound of cocaine that was sent from a UPS store in Chula Vista, California, to an address in Norfolk. On Dec. 13, 2023, a con  more