Stories by David Beasley on Federal Newswire


Buttigieg: Airport expansion will 'allow Grand Rapids to accommodate that increasing passenger growth'

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg recently highlighted the $8.68 million federal grant to help fund Gerald R. Ford International Airport’s concourse expansion in western Michigan.


McCollister: 'The placement of illegal fill material into streams and rivers degrades watershed health'

A Missouri limestone quarry operator has agreed to pay a $210,000 fine and conduct rehabilitation of a watershed as part of a settlement of alleged Clean Water Act violations, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a news release.


USDA official on agriculture workforce grants: 'We are training the workforce of the future'

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has committed more than $14 million for agricultural workforce development in historically marginalized regions, a news release said.


EPA regional administrator on Puerto Rico development violations: 'Polluted stormwater harms water bodies used for fishing and swimming'

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency instructed The Kanaan Corporation to adhere to the Clean Water Act permitting pollution-reduction measures in order to address stormwater discharges from a 19-acre site in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, where Kanaan is developing a commercial center, according to a news release.


U.S. energy secretary at Sydney conference: 'Australia and the United States, along with all democracies all over the world, will always be friends'

U.S Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm recently highlighted the common interests of the U.S. and Australia in the energy sector.


Biden on Supreme Court's emissions ruling: 'I have directed my legal team to work with the Department of Justice to review this decision carefully'

Responding to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limits the power of federal agencies to regulate power plant emissions, President Joe Biden vowed to continue to find ways to regulate pollution.


Buttigieg on airport funding: 'It's going to help make air travel safer, more  accessible and more  efficient'

Eight months after president Joe Biden signed the infrastructure bill into law, the U.S. government has approved $1 billion for improvements to 85 airports across the country, according to a news release.


Buttigieg calls new LA rail line 'a big deal'

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg took a ride on LA's K-Line, the latest light rail line to be built in the area and scheduled to open later this year, ABC 7 reported.


Brinley: 'The infrastructure of electric vehicles needs to be a sort of combination of locations like Pilot'

General Motors, Pilot Travel Centers and EVgo said they would work together to build a network of 2,000 charging stalls at 500 Pilot stations across the U.S, Fox2 Detroit reported.


Buttigieg: 'Americans deserve a world-class rail system'

The Federal Railroad Administration recently announced more than $368 million in grant funding to 32 states and the District of Columbia to improve rail infrastructure and enhance and strengthen supply chains.


Agriculture Secretary Vilsack: USDA 'making crop insurance more available in over 1,500 counties'

The Department of Agriculture announced July 12 it will implement steps to better support farmers.


Mexican national dies in ICE custody, 'agency-wide review' underway

A Mexican national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) Enforcement and died July 8, at Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex (CAFCC), according to a news release.


Brown: 'Cartels exist for one reason and one reason only – to generate a profit'

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control recently designated a high-caliber firearms dealer for acting on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion.


Smithfield COO on reducing operations in Western U.S.: 'We are grateful to our team members in the Western region for their dedication'

Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods is closing its production facility in Vernon, CA and reducing its sow herds in the Western United States, it said in a news release.


Two-year investigation is 'a great example of successful collaboration between multiple law enforcement agencies'

A federal grand jury has indicted 26 people on international drug smuggling, drug trafficking and related conspiracy charges following a two-year investigation of an operation based in Sinaloa, Mexico.


Plantz: Law enforcement works to 'identify criminals who profit from selling lethal drugs in the San Diego community'

A San Diego man pleaded guilty to federal charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine after admitting he supplied a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 24-year-old woman in 2020.


U.N. High Commissioner on China trip: 'This visit was not an investigation'

United Nations High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet's recent trip to China was not an investigation.


Baker: ICE 'committed to enforcing our nation’s immigration laws against violent criminals, sex offenders and other priority migrants'

In May, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 10 convicted sex offenders living in the Houston area.


Gitt: 'China's chokehold on the solar supply chain threatens the energy security of any country reliant on solar'

As President Biden prepares to pause tariffs on Chinese solar product, China has a "chokehold" on the solar energy supply chain.


Leith on Solomon Islands funding: 'Providing reliable, climate resilient transport connections is a major challenge'

As tensions increase with China, the Solomon Islands have received commitments of $130 million from the World Bank to assist with infrastructure.