NEW YORK, Feb. 28 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration issued the following news release: The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has sentenced Howard Preschel of Teaneck, New Jersey, to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $462,049 in restitution for embezzling funds from an employee pension benefits plan sponsored by CMG Vending Inc. in Union City, New Jersey. The court also fined Presch  more

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, Feb. 25 -- The U.S. Air Force Academy issued the following news: Two Olympic athletes and a human rights activist talked to cadets about overcoming adversity during the Air Force Academy's National Character and Leadership Symposium Feb. 20. New York Times bestselling author Ishmael Beah was a child soldier during the Sierra Leonne War in West Africa and sisters Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux overcame sexism and inequality to negotiate a fair contract for women hock  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it has charged an Oneida, New York, property owner with illegal discrimination for denying the reasonable accommodation request of a resident with mental disabilities. HUD's charge further alleges that the owner attempted to charge the resident extra fees for having an assistance animal, made threats to intimidat  more

ALBANY, New York, Feb. 28 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service - New York Field Office issued the following news release: The total value of fish sales received by trout growers in New York totaled 714 thousand dollars for 2019, a decrease of 3 percent from 2018, according to King Whetstone, director of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, Northeastern Regional Field Office. The number of 6"-12" trout sold during 2019 totaled 65 thous  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- The Federal Trade Commission issued the following news release: * * * - Scheme leader will be permanently banned from debt collection * * * The operator of a debt collection scheme has settled claims by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General that he and the companies he controlled lied to consumers about how much debt they owed and used illegal scare tactics to collect it. Under the settlement, Robert Heidenreich, who ran the scheme from the Buffa  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the following news release: Preliminary data from the June 2019 benchmark survey of foreign portfolio holdings of U.S. securities were released today on the Treasury website at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Pages/shlreports.aspx. Final survey results, which will include additional detail as well as possible revisions to the preliminary data, will be reported on April 30, 2020. The survey was undert  more

NEWBURGH, New York, Feb. 25 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration issued the following news release: A Dutchess County, New York, woman was stopped by the Transportation Security Administration after a TSA officer spotted her with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber, at the New York Stewart International Airport checkpoint on Friday, Feb. 21. TSA officers detected the gun as the woman's carry-on items en  more

NEW YORK, Feb. 28 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration issued the following news release: * * * - Man says he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him * * * A Kentucky man became the first individual caught by the Transportation Security Administration with a firearm at a LaGuardia Airport checkpoint this year. He was stopped with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with seven bullets in his carry-on bag at a security checkpoint yesterday, Feb. 26.  more

KINGS POINT, New York, Feb. 29 -- The Maritime Administration's U.S. Merchant Marine Academy issued the following news release: On Monday morning, United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Superintendent, Rear Admiral Jack Buono, Academic Dean & Provost, Dr. John Ballard, Commandant of Midshipman, Captain Mike Stroud, and Director of Professional Development and Career Services, CAPT Eugene Albert, presented Sea Year Ribbons to the First Sailing Period 2022B-Split Midshipmen, for their exce  more

SACRAMENTO, California, Feb. 27 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service California office issued the following news release: American Farmland Trust the organization behind the national movement No Farms No Food(R), is releasing a new "Accelerating Soil Health" case study about Rogers Orchard in Madera, California. This study is among four examples from Illinois, Ohio and New York farmers, which add to four studies released in July 2019 that included Okuye  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- The White House issued the following news release: NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: John Peter Cronan, of New York, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, vice William H. Pauley III, retired. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of Transportation. (New Position) Katherine Camille Henderson, of Tennessee, to be Chief of Protocol, and to have the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service, vice Sean P. La  more