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The Department of the Interior has announced that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) will allocate $130 million in fiscal year 2024 for the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) program. This initiative is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to address legacy pollution while creating jobs and economic opportunities in coalfield communities.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in Union County, New Jersey, for the June 4 primary election.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced enforcement actions against Lufthansa, South African Airways, and KLM Royal Dutch Airways for significant delays in issuing over $900 million in refunds to passengers affected by flight cancellations or significant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the consent orders, these airlines are mandated to provide timely refunds and pay civil penalties to the U.S. Treasury.

The United States has sanctioned four Iranian entities and one individual connected with the development, manufacture, and proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These UAVs are reportedly provided by the Iranian regime to Russia and militant proxies to prolong conflict and destabilize the region. The designations were issued concurrently with the European Union's sanctions against individuals and entities involved in Iran's UAV industry.

BRUSSELS – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a global tech trade association, joined various groups across the tech industry today to advocate for the preservation of both safety and privacy in the Council's position on the Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation. This stance emphasizes maintaining the integrity of end-to-end encryption (E2EE), particularly in light of recent developments within the Council Law Enforcement Working Party.

Father’s Day spending is expected to reach $22.4 billion this year, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. This figure marks the second highest in the survey’s history, closely following last year's record of $22.9 billion.

BANGKOK—May 30, 2024—Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, announced that AXONS, a Thai AgriTech firm specializing in IT solutions for the agri-food industry, has developed its FarmPro app on AWS's cloud platform. The FarmPro app is designed to assist small-scale farmers involved in the contract farming project under CP Group. It currently supports over 30,000 farmers across Thailand and Vietnam, with plans to expand to Myanmar and India this year.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued the third proposed rule in a series of updates to the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act). The rule addresses abuse by the poultry industry of broiler chicken producers under the “tournament” ranking system and situations where poultry companies make coercive facility investment demands of growers. The announcement also includes increased transparency in cattle contracts with new reports and tools through the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Live Cattle Data Dashboard.

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2024 – As part of National Homeownership Month, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is celebrating 75 years of assisting millions in purchasing, repairing, and building affordable homes in rural and Tribal communities.

During a visit to Heilongjiang Province in September 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the nation to mobilize “new quality productive forces” (新质生产力) to drive economic growth. This message was reiterated at the annual Central Economic Work Conference in December and emphasized by Premier Li Qiang during his annual work report at the National People’s Congress in March 2024. Additionally, on January 31, a coalition of seven ministries led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a list of “future industries” (未来产业), which are intended to be major...

The Center for American Progress' Reel Progress program will host a special screening of the documentary "The Bitter Pill" as part of the DC/DOX Film Festival. This 99-minute film follows plaintiff attorney Paul Farrell Jr., who confronts pharmaceutical companies to address the opioid crisis that devastated his hometown. His legal strategy gains national attention, leading to the largest civil litigation in U.S. history.

Amazon Games has announced the release of "New World: Aeternum," a new action RPG set to debut on October 15, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. This game marks the first time console players can explore the world of Aeternum, previously available only on PC.

The Republic of The Gambia has conveyed to Morocco its endorsement of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) following its attendance at the PSI African Political Meeting and Outreach Event, co-hosted by Morocco and the United States on January 31-February 2, 2024, in Marrakesh, Morocco. The United States welcomes The Gambia’s endorsement and participation in the Initiative and looks forward to working with the Government of The Gambia to advance the counterproliferation goals of the PSI and its Statement of Interdiction Principles. The Gambia is the 113th state to...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Japan Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru, and Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik convened a Trilateral Ministerial Meeting on June 2, 2024, in Singapore. They discussed shared regional security concerns, reviewed the implementation of trilateral security cooperation lines of effort presented at the historic Camp David Summit on August 18, 2023, and discussed new initiatives to strengthen and institutionalize trilateral security cooperation to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,...

NVIDIA announced new RTX technology at COMPUTEX to power AI assistants and digital humans on GeForce RTX AI laptops. The company introduced Project G-Assist, an AI assistant technology demo for PC games and apps, debuting with ARK: Survival Ascended from Studio Wildcard. Additionally, NVIDIA launched the first PC-based NIM inference microservices for the ACE digital human platform.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to discuss shared security interests in the Horn of Africa. The conversation focused on reducing regional tensions, counterterrorism objectives, and planning for a successor mission to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Additionally, they addressed the significant role of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia.

With nearly all the votes counted in the South Africa elections, the African National Congress has received less than 50 percent of the vote, leading to the likely formation of a coalition government. In response, Patrick Gaspard, president of the Center for American Progress and former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, issued a statement.

Various civil society organizations celebrated the movement of the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) and urged Congress to pass the privacy law. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) "commended the Subcommittee and Chair McMorris Rodgers for their work." The Center for American Progress also urged Congress to pass APRA, highlighting the pressing need for comprehensive privacy and children's safety laws.

Carl Szabo is the vice president and general counsel of NetChoice. He is also an adjunct professor of Internet law at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law.

Ahead of the third anniversary of the establishment of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Justice Department has announced additional efforts to dismantle human smuggling operations and increase accountability for those who violate immigration laws. Launched in June 2021 by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, JTFA is a partnership between the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aimed at disrupting human smuggling and trafficking organizations operating in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador,...

Alan Butler, executive director and president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group that defends privacy online, urges people to ask plenty of questions to show their concerns.

The Biden-Harris Administration has introduced a new tool aimed at helping communities prepare for extreme heat and prevent heat-related illnesses, particularly among those most vulnerable. The Heat and Health Index (HHI), launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on National Heat Awareness Day, is the first nationwide tool to provide heat-health outcome information at the ZIP code level.

Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ambassador Bonnie D. Jenkins will travel to Singapore from May 31 to June 2, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has introduced a "Support Our Troops" dashboard aimed at facilitating travel benefits for U.S. military service members and their immediate families. This tool, accessible via flightrights.gov/military, displays the commitments of the ten largest U.S. airlines in their Customer Service Plans. Benefits include free carry-on and checked bags and fee-free refunds when flight plans change due to military orders.

Daniel Cochrane, senior research associate in the Tech Policy Center at The Heritage Foundation, testified before the Texas legislature this week regarding the influence of Big Tech platforms on American voters and elections. Following his testimony and that of other experts, the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs voted unanimously to authorize an investigation into Facebook, Google, and other tech giants ahead of the November 2024 election.