News published on Federal Newswire in January 2021

News from January 2021


Pile Burning at Indian Garden within Grand Canyon National Park Begins February 2

News Release: GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - Between February 2-5, 2021, Grand Canyon National Park fire managers-working with resources from the Alpine Interagency Hotshot Crew and the Arizona Conservation Corps Veterans Fire Corps-will conduct prescribed pile burning at Indian Garden as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow.


Ensuring public safety tops HSI’s mission at Super Bowl LV

News Release: TAMPA, Fla. - Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will join federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to provide essential public safety efforts in and around the Tampa Bay area for Super Bowl LV. HSI personnel will be on the front lines of the interagency effort to mitigate the threat posed...


New CBO Average Wage Projection Undermines Push to Amend Social Security Benefits Formula

News Release: WASHINGTON - In response to an inquiry from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Congressional Budget Office this week projected only a 0.5 percent decrease in the national Average Wage Index (AWI), a significantly smaller reduction than prior predictions of 3.8 percent.


Incoming HELP Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr Schedule Hearings to Consider Nominees for Secretaries of Education and Labor

News Release: Washington, D.C. - For your planning purposes, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), incoming Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, have scheduled hearings to consider the nominations of Dr. Miguel Cardona to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education and Mayor Marty Walsh to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor.


News Release: ST. LOUIS - A federal grand jury indicted 40-year-old Sherri Welch on two counts of theft or receipt of stolen mail this week. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with the help of the Hazelwood Police Department, arrested Welch on Thursday.


News Release: MACON, Ga. - An indictment was unsealed today charging 11 individuals in a 136-count federal indictment including alleged violations of drug conspiracy, drug distribution, drug possession with the intent to distribute, drug possession, as well as violations of the dog fighting prohibitions of the federal...


Illegal Alien Sentenced for Unlawful Return After Removal

News Release: Gulfport, Miss. - Moises Joaquin-Antonio, 33, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced on Jan. 28, 2021 by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to time served (3 months and 18 days imprisonment) and one year of supervised release for unlawful reentry by an alien after removal, announced Acting U.S. Attorney...


NDNY launches human trafficking task force with local, federal, and state law enforcement partners

News Release: ALBANY, NEW YORK - Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon announced today that her office, together with federal, state, and local law enforcement, has launched a law enforcement task force focused on combating human trafficking.


House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair DeFazio Announces Organizational Meeting and First Hearing of the 117th Congress

News Release: Washington, DC - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) announced the organizational meeting and first committee hearing of the 117th Congress titled, “Protecting Transportation Workers and Passengers from COVID: Gaps in Safety, Lessons Learned, and Next Steps."


Man Charged For Bilking Employer Out of $1.6 Million

News Release: A Plano man has been charged with racking up $1.6 million dollars in personal expenses on company credit cards, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah.


News Release: SPRINGDALE, UT - The following provides an overview of upcoming shuttle service operations in Zion National Park that will occur in February, March, and April 2021. The park always recommends that visitors plan ahead and check the park website before their visit at nps.gov/zion to see what activities...


News Release: Sage Creek Rim Road is now open to vehicle traffic. Park staff worked quickly to move the road away from the slide area. The fix allows the NPS and State Highways to reroute the road to eliminate future risks to motorists on the road. The road was closed on January 6th due to a large landslide adjacent to the road.


News Release: LURAY, VA - The National Park Service (NPS) would like your input on a proposal to restore the Meadow Run watershed in the south district of Shenandoah National Park, northeast of Crimora, Virginia (see map). Decades of acid rain from regional air pollution have affected soil and water quality in this...


News Release: FRESNO, Calif. - Rafael Sanchez, Jr., 41, of Hanford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to seven years and three months in prison for orchestrating a large-scale firearms trafficking ring, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.


New NOAA ocean exploration ship to be based in Newport, Rhode Island

News Release: Newport, Rhode Island has been chosen as the future homeport for a new NOAA oceanographic research vessel being built for the agency. Discoverer will be a state-of-the-art ship that operates around the nation and the world to study and explore the ocean.


News Release: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the general aviation (GA) community national #FlySafe campaign helps educate airmen about safety.


News Release: NEW ORLEANS - United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that EDWARD BELL, age 24 of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged in a one count indictment by a Federal Grand Jury for violating the Federal Gun Control Act, Title 18 United States Code, Sections 922 and 924.


Nebraska Man Sentenced To 235 Months In Prison

News Release: For Robbery Affecting Commerce and Armed Bank Robbery.


News Release: United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Roderick Oneal Pritchett, 30, of Arlington, Alabama, was sentenced in federal court for being a convicted felon in possession of a stolen firearm. Pritchett pleaded guilty to the charge in October of 2020.


Foxx Calls out DOL for Ending Successful Compliance Program

News Release: Today, Republican Leader of the Education and Labor Committee, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), issued the following statement rebuking the Biden administration’s decision to eliminate the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program...