WASHINGTON, July 25 -- The Attorneys General from 14 states have submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Food and Nutrition Service expressing strong opposition to the proposed creation of a National Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Information Database. The proposal, as outlined in a System of Record Notice in the Federal Register, has been met with significant concern regarding its potential impact on the privacy of citizens and its align  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior issued the following news release: * * * Department of the Interior Launches Effort to Unlock Critical Minerals from Mine Waste * WASHINGTON -- At Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum's direction, the Department of the Interior is taking decisive steps to recover critical minerals essential to America's economic strength, national defense, and energy future from mine waste, coal refuse, tailings and abandoned uranium mines. This eff  more

ARGONNE, Illinois, July 25 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory issued the following news release: * * * Improving next-generation aircraft with supercomputing and AI Researchers use Aurora to boost aircraft efficiency and performance * By combining large-scale simulations with machine learning, a University of Colorado Boulder-led team is using the supercomputer to uncover new insights into turbulent airflow and improve the design of future airplanes. With unprec  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin On Trump's Extreme Judicial Nominees: The Only Qualification That President Trump Looks For In His Nominees Is Loyalty To Him And His MAGA Agenda * July 24, 2025 Durbin took to the Senate floor to denounce President Trump's extreme and unqualified judicial nominees WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Sen  more

WASHINGTON, July 25 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following news release on July 24, 2025: * * * Durbin On Trump's Extreme Judicial Nominees: The Only Qualification That President Trump Looks For In His Nominees Is Loyalty To Him And His MAGA Agenda In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized the Trump Administration's unqualif  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin Reintroduced Bill To Combat Alarming Rise In Domestic Terrorism Threats * July 24, 2025 As the Trump Administration reallocates resources away from domestic terrorism prevention efforts to fund an illegal mass deportation campaign, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would codify and bolster key tools and resources to combat domestic terrorist threats WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Sena  more

WASHINGTON, July 25 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following news release on July 24, 2025: * * * Durbin Reintroduces Bill To Combat Alarming Rise In Domestic Terrorism Threats As the Trump Administration reallocates resources away from domestic terrorism prevention efforts to fund an illegal mass deportation campaign, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would codify and bolster key tools and resources to combat domestic t  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin, Collins Call On HHS to Reverse Changes To Runaway And Homeless Youth Act Grant Program * July 24, 2025 Recent changes and a shortened application window for RHYA grant programs have made it more difficult for organizations to apply WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human S  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The Eco-Justice Collaborative, Champaign, Illinois, submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging modifications to a Nationwide Permit used for utility lines. The organization specifically addressed Nationwide Permit 58 arguing its application to large-scale carbon dioxide pipelines exceeds the permit program's original intent and risks substantial environmental harm. The Collaborative asserted that the Corps of Engineers is misapplying NWP   more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, July 25 -- The Illinois Department of Employment Security issued the following news on July 24, 2025: * * * Unemployment Down in All 12 Metro Areas for June, St. Louis Metro Reaches Record Low Chicago Metro Achieves 12 Consecutive Months of Year-over-Year Job Growth, Continued Gains in Champaign, Springfield * SPRINGFIELD - The unemployment rate decreased in all twelve metro areas for the year ending June 2025, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of La  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group (IERG) has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting a reconsideration of the agency's recent actions regarding the ozone status of the St. Louis nonattainment area. The letter expresses concerns about the reclassification of the Missouri portion of the bi-state region, hinting at a lack of consistent regulations that could impact operations of its member companies. IERG, repr  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: * * * Justice Department Sues New York City Over Sanctuary Policies * WASHINGTON - Today, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, and several other city officials to challenge New York's sanctuary city laws. As detailed in the complaint, New York's sanctuary policies have allowed dangerous criminals to roam the streets and commit heinous crimes within the communi  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is investigating the disappearance of three radioactive gauges from Teasdale Foods in Hoopeston, Illinois. The incident, reported on July 15, 2025, initially concerned one missing Peco Controls Corp., Modesto, California, Gamma 101P gauge, containing 100 millicuries of Americium-241. Further investigation by IEMA staff during a reactive inspection on July 21, 2025, revealed that two additional "Gamma 101P" gauges were also unaccoun  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 (TNSFR) -- UL LLC, Northbrook, Illinois, has received expanded recognition from the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. This approval allows the company to conduct independent safety testing and certification for designated products, in accordance with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.7. The expansion includes the addition of one test site and two test standards to UL LLC's NRTL scope of rec  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The Regulatory Environmental Group for Missouri (REGFORM), Jefferson City, has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging a reconsideration of the recent ozone designation for the St. Louis nonattainment area. The organization, which represents regulated facilities across various sectors such as manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, emphasizes that the designation to Serious nonattainment contradicts factual improvements in air   more