News from July 2024

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
Strauss Ventures LLC, operating as The Grand Health Care System, along with 12 affiliated skilled nursing facilities, has agreed to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act by billing federal health care programs for unreasonable, unnecessary, or unskilled therapy services.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
With CMS estimating a fifth consecutive year of Medicare payment reductions—this time by 2.8 percent—it is evident that Congress must address this issue. In addition to the cut, CMS predicts that the Medicare Economic Index (MEI)—the measure of practice cost inflation—will increase by 3.6 percent. Facing this widening gap between what Medicare pays physicians and the cost of delivering quality care to patients, physicians are urging Congress to pass a reform package that would permanently strengthen Medicare.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
On behalf of the United States of America, I wish a joyous 2024 Naadam festival to the people of Mongolia.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division convened principals of federal agency civil rights offices and senior government officials to foster AI and civil rights coordination. This was the third such meeting hosted by the Civil Rights Division following President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (EO 14110). The order tasks the Civil Rights Division with coordinating federal agencies to prevent and address unlawful discrimination and other harms that may result from AI use in programs and...

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
BOSTON – Federal workplace safety investigators found that a Boston waterproofing contractor exposed employees to life-threatening cave-ins and excavation hazards at residential worksites in Arlington, Massachusetts, and Warwick, Rhode Island, twice in less than three months in late 2023.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
The Department of State has submitted the annual report to Congress, consistent with section 5 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act. The 2024 Elie Wiesel Act Report details U.S. interagency efforts to address genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity worldwide. It also chronicles whole-of-government work over the past year to promote atrocity prevention programs, protect civilians at risk, and hold perpetrators accountable in places where some of the most heinous crimes have been committed.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
NFIB’s Holly Wade Discusses Small Business Outlook on Yahoo! Finance

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging 15 Memphis, Tennessee, residents for their involvement in an organized drug trafficking scheme.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
Hudson Institute Senior Fellow John Lee stated that Australia, the U.S., and their allies should examine "non-military" tactics to employ against China whenever the country "intimidates Taiwan." Lee shared his statement in a commentary piece for the Hudson Institute on June 28.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock today in Washington on the margins of the NATO Summit. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Baerbock reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and discussed challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China, including China's support for Russia’s military industrial base.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
The American Medical Association (AMA) has expressed its appreciation for the Biden administration's efforts to clarify privacy protections concerning reproductive health care information. This development comes with the introduction of a new information blocking exception in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s (ONC) proposed Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (HTI-2) Rule.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
BRUSSELS – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a global tech trade association, has outlined its Vision for the Future of EU AI Policy and the implementation of the EU AI Act. The organization emphasized that supporting AI development and adoption must be a fundamental public policy goal for the EU in the coming mandate.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its third review of the cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Upper Hudson River. The review concludes that PCB levels in water and fish are decreasing overall, but more years of fish data are needed to determine if the cleanup is meeting expectations.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
An Alaska man was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison for embezzling more than $1 million from the City of Houston, Alaska, and a Wasilla-based equipment company, and then evading taxes on the embezzled profits.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
WASHINGTON D.C. -- Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has written to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, questioning why the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a Chinese agricultural biotech company with close ties to the Chinese government to operate in the United States. The firm, Qi Biodesign, produces genetically engineered soybean seeds and was prioritized for USDA regulatory approval ahead of many American agricultural companies currently facing extensive delays.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced today that the President has made the following nominations:

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the allocation of over $39 million in grants to 46 states and territories. These funds aim to enhance the capacity of Registered Apprenticeship programs across various key industries, providing workers with access to new, well-paying jobs under the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the allocation of over $30 million to 14 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) across 12 states, aimed at increasing earned income and improving economic mobility for families through the Jobs Plus program. Richard Monocchio, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, made the announcement in Jacksonville, FL.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has submitted a comment supporting a proposed rule by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding new requirements for patent terminal disclaimer practice to address potential abuses within the patent system.

By Federal Newswire | Jul 10, 2024
House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) have sent letters to several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Council on Environmental Quality. The letters request documentation on how these agencies plan to comply with rulemaking guidance following the recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright...