WASHINGTON, May 27 -- The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued the following Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting chair's statement on May 26, 2023: * * * All APEC ministers responsible for trade agreed to paragraphs 1 - 3 and 5 - 13. * * * 1. We, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT), met in Detroit, Michigan, the United States of America from 25-26 May 2023, chaired by Ambassador Katherine Tai. We w  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 (TNStalk) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce issued the following joint statement on May 26, 2023: * * * On May 26th, 2023, Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi held the second Ministerial Meeting of the Japan-U.S. Commercial and Industrial Partnership (JUCIP) in Detroit, Michigan. As both countries and the global economy face a range of economic challenges and uncertainties, the Secretary and the Minister re  more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 27 (TNStalk) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce issued the following readout on May 26, 2023, on Secretary Gina Raimondo's meeting with Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell: * * * Secretary Gina Raimondo and Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell held the second Ministerial meeting of the U.S.-Australia Strategic Commercial Dialogue (SCD). During their meeting, the Secretary and Minister re-affirmed the vital importance of the U.S.-Australia c  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on May 25, 2023: * * * EPA Region 5 States and Tribes to receive nearly $1.6 million * * * U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $10.6 million in grant funding to help coastal and Great Lakes communities protect the health of beachgoers this summer. A total of nearly $1.6 million will go to the states of Illinois ($258,000), Indiana ($222,000), Michigan ($298,000), Minnesota ($217,000), Ohio   more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on May 25, 2023: * * * EPA announces the largest investment ever in brownfields communities made by President Biden's Investing in America Agenda * * * U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced more than $9.3 million from President Biden's Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in Michigan while advancing environmental justice. EPA selected seven   more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded Michigan a $9.85 million Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program grant to conduct connected vehicle technology research. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will receive the grant for its Ann Arbor Connected Environment Reimagined project as part of a $5  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: Vasso Godiali, a vascular surgeon from Bay City, Michigan, was sentenced on May 3 to 80 months in prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud health care programs by submitting claims for the placement of vascular stents and for thrombectomies that he did not perform and was ordered to pay $19.5 million in restitution collectively to Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Mich  more

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, May 27 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark A. Totten, issued the following news release on May 26, 2023: U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney sentenced Tommy Terrell Mims, 52, of Grand Rapids, to 240 months in prison for distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of a Kent County man, H.C., in August 2020. When Mims is released from prison, he will be on s  more

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, May 24 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark A. Totten, issued the following news release on May 23, 2023: U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Derek Lado, D.O., and his Grand Rapids practice, Elite Medical Spine & Musculoskeletal Center PLLC (Elite), have agreed to pay $135,871.84 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by using foreign, unapproved Botox to treat Medicare ben  more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 26 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Dawn N. Ison, issued the following news release on May 25, 2023: Vasso Godiali, a vascular surgeon from Bay City, Michigan, was sentenced on May 3 to 80 months in prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud health care programs by submitting claims for the placement of vascular stents and for thrombectomies that he did not perform and was ordered to pay $19.5 million in restitution collecti  more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 26 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Dawn N. Ison, issued the following news release on May 24, 2023: United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison, along with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy, and Detroit Police Chief James E. White, announced a targeted strategy aimed at reducing gun violence in Detroit's neighborhoods with the highest incidence of violent crime - Detroit's 8th and 9th Precincts. The strategy has thr  more

EAST LANSING, Michigan, May 23 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service - Great Lakes Regional Field Office issued the following news release: Dairy herds in Michigan produced 1.003 billion pounds of milk during April, up 2.6 percent from a year ago, according to Marlo D. Johnson, Regional Director of the USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Regional Office. Production per cow in Michigan averaged 2,305 pounds for April, 15 pounds above April 2022. The dairy herd was   more

EAST LANSING, Michigan, May 27 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service - Great Lakes Regional Field Office issued the following news release: Michigan floriculture was worth more than $710 million in 2022, according to Marlo D. Johnson, Regional Director, USDA NASS, Great Lakes Region. Michigan floriculture producers sold $711 million worth of floriculture commodities in 2022. This was up 12 percent from the $635 million sold in 2021. There was 51.8 mi  more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service issued the following news on May 25, 2023: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $8 million in four partnerships to support and expand measurement and monitoring of carbon in soil on working agricultural lands and to assess how climate-smart practices are affecting carbon sequestration. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will work with Iowa State University, Michi  more

CINCINNATI, Ohio, May 25 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection issued the following news release: On May 17, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati intercepted four shipments containing Fentanyl, Cocaine, and Ketamine. The shipments were from Colombia, Dominican Republic, and the United Kingdom, and were heading to residential addresses in California, New York, Michigan, and the United Kingdom. CBP Narcotic Detector Dog "Bruno" was  more

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency has issued the following news release on May 23, 2023: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a Request for Information today, announcing public listening sessions and soliciting public comments on possible changes to prevented planting crop insurance coverage. Coinciding with the public comment period, USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) will hold in-person and virtual listening sessions June through  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia issued the following news release on May 26, 2023: A Michigan man was sentenced today for interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election. Luke Michael Lints,   more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 27 -- U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued the following readout of a meeting on May 26, 2023, with Don Farrell, Australia's minister for trade and tourism: * * * United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell, on the margins of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. Ambassador Tai and Minister Farrell welcomed the positive and constructive negotiations on the Trade Pillar of the In  more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 27 -- U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued the following readout of a meeting on May 26, 2023, with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao: * * * United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai met today with Minister of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, Wang Wentao, on the margins of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. During the meeting, Ambassador Tai shared her views on the progress made to date by APEC members and outlined the   more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 27 -- U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued the following readout of a meeting on May 26, 2023, with Damien O'Connor, New Zealand's minister for trade and export growth: * * * United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today met with New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Damien O'Connor, on the margins of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. Ambassador Tai and Minister O'Connor reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-New Zealand   more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 27 -- U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued the following remarks on May 25, 2023, during the opening session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting: * * * United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today chaired the opening session of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting. In her opening remarks, Ambassador Tai welcomed APEC trade ministers to Detroit and highlighted the theme of the U.S. host yea  more