News published on Federal Newswire in December 2015

News from December 2015


Wyden Praises USTR Enforcement on China

News Release: WASHINGTON - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today praised the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for a new trade enforcement action against China, which has used tax policies to discriminate against American aircraft.



Chairman Royce: Strengthening Visa Waiver Program Will Help Keep America Safe

News Release: Washington, D.C. - House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), a member of the Chairmen’s Task Force on Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Improvement Act of 2015...


Eastern District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects over $121 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions for U.S. Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2015

News Release: SACRAMENTO, Calif. - United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California collected over $121 million in civil and criminal actions, including forfeitures, in Fiscal Year 2015, which ended on Sept. 30, 2015. Over $65 million...


How Coffee Berry Borers Survive on Caffeine

News Release: A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist and his colleagues have discovered what allows the world's most devastating coffee pest, the coffee berry borer, to survive on a caffeine-rich diet that is lethal to other insects: the bacteria in its gut.


House Votes for Efficient, Effective U.S. Foreign Aid

News Release: Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today passed the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R. 3766). This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), ensures that United States foreign assistance is efficient and effective. Specifically, the legislation directs the President to establish guidelines for U.S. foreign development and economic assistance programs.


Physician’s Assistant And Husband Charged With Conspiracy To Unlawfully Distribute Oxycodone

News Release: HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that the former assistant to a York physician and her husband were charged in U.S. District Court with conspiracy to obtain and distribute up to 20,000 units of oxycodone through fraud and forgery.


News Release: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for possessing stolen mail and for credit card fraud.


News Release: Las Vegas - Orphan wild horse foals rescued from drought-stricken public lands near Las Vegas are now healthy and strong and will be offered for public adoption Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Dr. in Las Vegas.


Invitation for Proposals to Host Ranger-Narrated Activities

News Release: Acadia National Park will issue a Request for Proposals on Dec. 14, 2015, to host ranger-narrated activities for the public in and around the park during the 2016 summer season. Acadia is soliciting proposals to provide safe, high-quality interpretive experiences for visitors that are consistent...


Temporary Water Unavailability in the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park

News Release: Over the next two weeks, water pumps will be replaced in the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā NP. During the repairs, there will be very limited water available for drinking. Visitors should plan on bringing their own drinking water. Because the district rest rooms will also be closed, portable toilets will be made available.


eBay Salesman Who Ripped Off Postal Service and His Customers Convicted of Mail Fraud

News Release: Assistants U. S. Attorney Christopher P. Tenorio and Emily Keifer (619) 546-8413.


News Release: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that RICKY DALE BARRON, age 61, of Muse, Oklahoma, pled guilty to an Information charging him with Felon in Possession of Firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. It also charged him with Interstate Transportation of Illegally Taken Wildlife, in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(2).


Vermont Dairy Farm Agrees To Permanent Injunction Barring Unlawful Administration Of Veterinary Drugs

News Release: Farm and Three Individual Defendants Agree to Settle Allegations That Adulterated Food and Drugs Were Introduced Into Interstate Commerce in Violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act.


Local Residents Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar Ketamine Conspiracy

News Release: HOUSTON - Four people have been charged in a $17 million health insurance fraud scheme involving the sale of ketamine to patients without a valid prescription, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Catherine A. Hermsen, Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), Kansas City Field Office.


Owner Of Utah-Based Pharmaceutical Wholesale Distributor Charged In Hundred-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme

News Release: Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI"), and William J. Bratton, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD"), announced...


Three Former Civilian Military Employees and One Military Contractor Sentenced for Bribery Scheme at Georgia Military Base

News Release: Three Former Civilian Military Employees and One Military Contractor Sentenced for Bribery Scheme at Georgia Military Base.


News Release: BOSTON - A Worcester woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Worcester in connection with a $3.6 million food stamp fraud scheme that she operated out of her Worcester convenience store.


News Release: Greenbelt, Maryland - A federal jury convicted George Jack Smith, age 28, of Burtonsville, Maryland, late yesterday for possession with intent to distribute phencyclidine (PCP), illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon; and using, carrying and discharging a weapon in connection with drug trafficking.


News Release: HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Harrisburg man was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Yvette Kane in Harrisburg for committing five bank robberies in two states.