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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced the implementation of federal disaster assistance for New Hampshire following severe storms and flooding from April 3 to April 5, 2024. President Biden issued a major disaster declaration for Belknap, Carroll, Rockingham, and Sullivan Counties.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has charged multiple entities with housing discrimination for issuing a biased appraisal and then denying a refinance loan application in Denver, Colorado. HUD’s Charge against the appraiser, Maksym Mykhailyna; appraisal company, Maverick Appraisal Group; appraisal management company, Solidifi U.S. Inc.; and lender, Rocket Mortgage, LLC, alleges that the appraiser issued a discriminatory appraisal that undervalued a Black homeowner’s property on the basis of her race. The Charge further alleges...

Washington, D.C. — Today, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump on the grounds that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional. In response, Devon Ombres, senior director for Courts and Legal Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued a statement.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the successful resolution of a course of remediation addressing alleged labor rights violations at the RV Fresh processing facility in Michoacan, Mexico, under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Rapid Response Labor Mechanism. The Secretary of Labor and U.S. Trade Representative co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee.

Apple has introduced the HomePod mini in a new midnight color, made with 100 percent recycled mesh fabric. Standing at just 3.3 inches tall, the HomePod mini offers substantial sound in a compact design. Its exterior features a seamless, acoustically transparent mesh and a backlit touch surface that illuminates from edge to edge.

This week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the release of $100 million in Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation funds to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The funds are available for the purchase of fuel storage infrastructure benefitting the Islands, streamlining the fuel delivery process, and increasing energy security and resilience on the Islands.

On July 12, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Deputy Director Jimmy Kirby participated in a beneficial ownership reporting outreach event in Lakewood, Colorado. The event was coordinated with the office of Representative Brittany Pettersen, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has submitted a comment to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in response to its request for information on building the Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity. The Agenda aims to enhance the federal government’s ability to make data-informed policy decisions that advance equity for people with disabilities.

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have sent a letter to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, requesting an assessment of information that Russia has shared with the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding U.S. weapons capabilities and those of its partners and allies.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $167,101 in back wages for 20 workers employed by a Keene roofing contractor, The Melanson Company, a Tecta America Company LLC. The company was found to have paid incorrect wages and improper overtime to foreign temporary workers under the federal H-2B nonimmigrant program.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) are seeking contractors to provide federal facilities in several mid-Atlantic and Midwest states with 100% carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030. These two parallel clean electricity procurements, expected to be awarded later this year, would represent one of the federal government's largest-ever clean electricity purchases.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA is awarding $14.3 million in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants to 154 projects across 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. This investment aims to help 1.9 million children access nutritious foods in school while supporting local farmers and producers.

Washington, D.C. — A new report from the Center for American Progress exposes the impact of Trump administration policies that ushered in a permissive era of U.S. firearms exports, contributing to violence and human rights abuses worldwide.

On April 24, the Justice Department published a landmark final rule to strengthen accessibility of web content and mobile applications under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a plan to clean up the Collins & Aikman Plant (former) Superfund Site in Farmington, NH. The EPA will hold a public meeting to update the community on the proposed remediation plan and a public hearing to accept verbal comments. The deadline to submit written public comments is August 30, 2024.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with Amerikal Products Corp., located at 2115 Northwestern Ave., Waukegan, Illinois, for allegedly selling and distributing an unregistered pesticide product in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). As part of the settlement, Amerikal Products will cease production and sale of the product and pay a $138,762 penalty.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today a final rule updating eligibility requirements for current and former nuclear weapons workers seeking to file benefits claims related to beryllium sensitivity. The new rule, which will be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, July 16, makes benefits available to individuals once deemed ineligible.

Statehouses nationwide have introduced laws to regulate AI, which are now so plentiful that the Electronic Privacy Information Center has introduced a scorecard for AI legislation. In Rhode Island, Senator Lou DiPalma and Representative Jacquelyn Baginski both introduced AI-related legislation during the 2024 session, and both sit on the AI task force as ex officio members.

Following the events of July 13, 2024, President Joe Biden directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct an independent security review of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas named a bipartisan panel with extensive law enforcement and security experience to conduct a 45-day independent review. The review will examine the planning for and actions taken by the U.S. Secret Service and state and local authorities before, during, and after the rally, as well as the U.S. Secret...

After shots were fired at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Patrick Gaspard, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued a statement condemning the violence.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra today declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE) for the state of Texas to address the health impacts of recent severe weather. The declaration follows President Biden’s emergency declaration and gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), health care providers, and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will commence a 30-day public comment period on July 15, 2024, regarding proposed revisions to the Velsicol Chemical Superfund site cleanup plan. The revisions include repairing the existing slurry wall around the former plant site and eliminating the need to extend a collection system around monitoring well 19.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a series of actions today aimed at addressing concerns about unfair and deceptive practices by franchisors. The measures are intended to ensure that the franchise business model remains an opportunity for honest small business owners.

The Justice Department's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism (State CT) co-hosted the third annual meeting of the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum (CTLEF) in The Hague on July 10 and 11. This event aimed to enhance international cooperation in countering racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE).

Federal workplace safety inspectors have cited an Illinois construction contractor for exposing employees to falls from elevation, the leading cause of injury and death in the industry. The violations occurred during residential framing work at four subdivisions under construction in Mahomet and Savoy in January, March, and May 2024.