RICHMOND, Virginia, Nov. 14 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia issued the following statement on Nov. 13, 2024: * * * In response to the House Privileges & Elections Committee's hearing today on language for three amendments to Virginia's constitution, ACLU of Virginia's Executive Director Mary Bauer released the following statement: "As our civil rights and civil liberties face threats at the federal level, it's even more important that we safeguard them here at home. Protect  more

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Nov. 14 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Mid-Atlantic Regional Information Office issued the following report on Nov. 7, 2024, entitled "Business Employment Dynamics in Virginia - First Quarter 2024": * * * From December 2023 to March 2024, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Virginia were 191,176, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 174,  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the following news release: Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a study revealing significant disparities in how lenders treat Black and white small business owners seeking loans. The research found that Black entrepreneurs received less encouragement to apply for a loan and were more frequently steered toward alternative loan products compared to white shoppers with similar or weaker business cre  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release: BRISTOL, Va. The Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) location at the New River Valley Fairgrounds in Dublin, Va. closed on Nov. 12. The DRC was located at: Pulaski County New River Valley Fairgrounds 5581 Fair Grounds CircleDublin, Va. 24084 DRCs remain open throughout southwest Virginia. To find a DRC close to you, visit FEMA.gov/drc or text DRC and a ZIP code   more

RICHMOND, Virginia, Nov. 13 (TNSres) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond issued the following economic brief (No. 24-34) in November 2024 by Andreas Hornstein entitled "The Persistent Decline of LFP Rates for Older Individuals Around the Pandemic". Here are excerpts: * * * Labor force participation (LFP) experienced a bit of a roller coaster ride with the onset of the pandemic. But not all age groups experienced the ride in the same way. For example, we see two very different paths for th  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement on Nov. 13, 2024: * * * Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued the following statement in response to the Biden-Harris administration's latest move to appease union bosses and erode the employer-employee relationship: "This decision is a blatant attempt to interfere with the lawful right of employers t  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following news release: Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su demanding information about the administration's management of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (Trust Fund), which provides benefits to coal miners who have been disabled due to black lung disease. Whi  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- The Interior Inspector General issued the following report (No. 22-0785) on Nov. 12, 2024, entitled "U.S. Park Police Officers' Use of Deadly Force Following a Pursuit on the George Washington Memorial Parkway." Here are excerpts: * * * EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We investigated whether two U.S. Park Police (USPP) officers, Lucas Vinyard (Officer 1) and Alejandro Amaya (Officer 2), acted in accordance with USPP policies in place at the time during their vehicular pursuit and su  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following readout of the Civil Rights Division Quarterly Meeting on Nov. 13, 2024, with state and local civil and human rights stakeholders on veterans rights: * * * The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division held its quarterly convening of state and local civil and human rights partners to commemorate Veterans Day and discuss efforts to protect the civil rights of servicemembers and veterans. "We owe our servicemembers, vet  more

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, Nov. 13 -- The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency issued the following news: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency personnel left the office behind for a day and gained a unique insight into the warfighter perspective at the fourth annual land navigation training exercise in the St. Louis area, Nov. 6. LandNav 4.0 was the largest one yet, bringing together 86 NGA participants with 56 Gateway Reserve Officer Training Corps Battalion members and the Missouri Army Na  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: Following Tuesday evening's passage of U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger's bipartisan bill to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), several organizations representing the interests of America's public servants celebrated this historic step toward protecting Americans' earned retirement benefits and urged a swift vote on the U.S. Senate floor.   more

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina, Nov. 13 -- The U.S. Army Reserve Command issued the following news: JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. Maj. Gen. Kris A. Belanger, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve's 99th Readiness Division, has confirmed the appointment by Lieutenant General Robert D. Harter, Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command, of Douglas M. Reed as a United States Army Reserve Ambassador At Large for the 99th RD's 13-state region stretching from M  more

ARLINGTON, Virginia, Nov. 13 -- President Biden issued the following remarks on Nov. 11, 2024, at the National Veterans Day observance at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery: * * * THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's a great honor to be standing here again. Over 160 years ago, during what would become his final days in office, President Abraham Lincoln addressed this nation, and he said, "Let us strive on to finish the work we are i  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- Rep. Benjamin Cline, R-Virginia, issued the following news release: GROTTOES, Va. - The town now runs the program, and this year, the town of Grottoes put on its fifth official Veterans' Day program in the Town Hall. It included performances by local kids, speeches by veterans and an appearance from U.S. Rep. Ben Cline (R-6th). Cline also spoke briefly during the event, thanking the veterans present for their service. "You're a living testament to the truth that freedom  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia, issued the following news on Nov. 13, 2024: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) voted with the majority of the U.S. House Representatives in favor of H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. This legislation, which passed the House by a vote of 327-75-1, would eliminate Social Security's Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions, allowing public service employees to collect their full Social Se  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 -- Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Don Beyer (all D-VA) released the statement below following the release of a report by the Department of the Interior's Office of the Inspector General on the use of deadly force by U.S. Park Police officers against Bijan Ghaisar. "The death of Bijan Ghaisar remains a great tragedy. Despite the OIG's findings that the officers who killed Bijan Ghai  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- The Naval Sea Systems Command issued the following news: Traveling across the globe is nothing new for Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport In-Service Engineering Agents (ISEA) Matthew George, Daniel Braman and Dillon Savitzky, but the trio recently experienced a historic first Down Under. Members of the Handling Systems Engineering Branch in the Sensors and Sonar Systems Department, the agents participated the first three-week Submarine Tendered Mainten  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia issued the following news release on Nov. 13, 2024: Paul Alejandro Felix, 25, of Glendale, California, was sentenced yesterday to 164 months in prison for participating in a wide-spread narcotics trafficking conspiracy that distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills purchased in Southern California to destinations throughout the United States, including the District of Columb  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia issued the following news release: A Virginia man was sentenced to prison on Nov. 12, 2024, after he was previously found guilty of assaulting law enforcement and other offenses stemming from his conduct during 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  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Garret Graves (R-LA-06) today released the following statement after a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, their bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). "By passing the Social Security Fairness Act, a b  more

RICHMOND, Virginia, Nov. 14 -- Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Virginia, issued the following news release on Nov. 13, 2024: * * * Battery separator manufacturer will establish over 1 million square feet of facilities on the Southern Virginia Megasite * * * Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that Microporous LLC, a leading manufacturer of battery separators, will invest $1.35 billion to establish a new manufacturing facility in Pittsylvania County. The company will develop two phases of the pro  more

ROANOKE, Virginia, Nov. 14 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia issued the following news release: A Dublin, Virginia man, who continued to prescribe pain medication even after he was informed he lacked the necessary license to do so, pled guilty recently to federal charges. Ehikioya Osemobor, 47, waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty last week to a one count Information charging him with using an expired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Number  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: Video of Kaine Discussing the Announcement is Available Here Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded the announcement that Microporous LLC will invest $1.35 billion to build a new manufacturing facility at the Southern Virginia Megasite, which is managed by Pittsylvania County and the City of Danville. This will create 2,015 new jobs. With support from Warner and Kaine, Micropo  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) as Secretary of State: "I have worked with Marco Rubio for more than a decade on the Intelligence Committee, particularly closely in the last couple of years in his role as Vice Chairman, and while   more