WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 -- The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) issued the following news: Amtrak, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), California Operation Lifesaver (CAOL), Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and other rail partners launched September Rail Safety Month with a special train event in Oakland. The mission is to raise awareness and promote rail safety tips in and around railroad tracks and crossings. "The safety of our passengers is our number one priority," sa  more

LOS ANGELES, California, Aug. 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release on Aug. 28, 2024: Law enforcement today arrested six defendants that a federal grand jury charged in a 46-count indictment alleging a Santa Clarita Valley man facilitated a crime tourism group of South Americans and other individuals who engaged in burglaries, thefts, and other crimes throughout the United States, then laundered millions of dollars in illicit   more

SAN DIEGO, California, Aug. 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California issued the following news release on Aug. 28, 2024: David Constantin, mastermind of a scheme to steal more than $5 million in California unemployment benefits intended to help workers affected by the pandemic, was sentenced in federal court today to five years in prison and was ordered to pay $ $5,178,276 in restitution to the state. The co-mastermind of the scheme, Constantin Bobi Sandu,   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey issued the following news release: SANTA CRUZ, Calif. In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists compiled one year's worth of soil and sediment erosion quantities occurring after large California wildfires between 1984 and 2021. Scientists found that postfire erosion has accelerated over time, particularly in northern California, likely reflecting both the increase in wildfire in the state and the frequency of wet  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Aug. 28, 2024: A California man pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Virginia to wire fraud for defrauding Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), of more than $10 million. Craig David Davis, 49, of Venice, was the owner of Bright Vanguard LLC., which he held out as a computer hardw  more

MISSOULA, Montana, Aug. 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana issued the following news release on Aug. 28, 2024: A California man who admitted to mailing thousands of fentanyl pills to co-conspirators in the Butte area for redistribution and to possessing a firearm as part of a large trafficking operation was sentenced on Aug. 27 to 20 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today. The defendant, Antho  more

PASADENA, California, Aug. 28 (TNSres) -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news: Stoked by Canada's warmest and driest conditions in decades, extreme forest fires in 2023 released about 640 million metric tons of carbon, NASA scientists have found. That's comparable in magnitude to the annual fossil fuel emissions of a large industrialized nation. NASA funded the study as part of its ongoing mission to understand our changing planet.The research team used satellite observat  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 -- The U.S. Department of State issued the daily public schedule for Aug. 29, 2024: * * * SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN Secretary Blinken has no public appointments. * * * DEPUTY SECRETARY KURT M. CAMPBELL Deputy Secretary Campbell is on travel to Tonga, Vanuatu, and New Zealand from August 28-31, 2024. * * * DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCES RICHARD R. VERMA Deputy Secretary Verma is on travel to California and Mexico from August 28-30, 2024. * * * UN  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued the following news release: LOS ANGELES, August 27, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) in collaboration with County Agricultural Commissioners, are proud to announce that after a year of hard work we have eradicated all populations of invasive fruit flies from C  more

RICHLAND, Washington, Aug. 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington issued the following news release: On August 21, 2024, a federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington returned an Indictment charging Gilbert Orosco, of Richland, Washington, with ten counts of conspiracy, fraud, and aggravated identify theft. Orozco made his first appearance in Federal Court on August 27, 2024. The Indictment alleges that, beginning in July 2020, Orosco took pa  more