WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released the following public communication dated Dec. 6, 2024, from Public Citizen: * * * To: Office of the Secretary Consumer Product Safety Commission 4330 East-West Highway Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Re: Comment on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Safety Standards for Toys: Requirements for Water Beads, Docket No. CPSC-2024-0027-0044 * * * Dear Commissioners: Public Citizen is a consumer advocacy organization with mor more ST

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration has released the following public communication dated Dec. 5, 2024, from the U.S. Pharmacopeia, Rockville, Maryland: * * * To: Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305) Food and Drug Administration 5630 Fishers Lane Rm. 1061 Rockville, MD 20852 Re: Draft Pharmaceutical Quality/Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls Data Elements and Terminologies; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request for Comme more ST

BALTIMORE, Maryland, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland issued the following news release: U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Frederick Douglass Moorefield, Jr., age 64, Arnold, Maryland, to 18 months in federal prison, six months of home detention, and a $20,000 fine, followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in a multi-state dogfighting conspiracy. In addition to the fine, Judge Bennett ordered Moorefield to pay a for more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- The Joint Economic Committee released the following testimony by Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer from a Nov. 19, 2024, hearing entitled "Building on the Success of TCJA: The 2025 Tax Policy Debate". TCJA is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. * * * Chairman Heinrich, Vice Chairman Schweikert, and members of the Joint Economic Committee: Thank you for inviting me to speak about the importance of ensuring that we have a tax code that supports a robust, innovative and i more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division issued a notice in the Federal Register on Dec. 2, 2024, entitled "National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Customer Experience Hub". Notice is hereby given that, on October 1, 2024, pursuant to section 6(a) of the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. ("the Act"), The Customer Experience Hub ("CX Hub") has filed written notifications simultaneously with the Attor more ST

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 -- Rep. John P. Sarbanes, D-Maryland, issued the following news release: Today, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen John Sarbanes, Steny Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, David Trone and Glenn Ivey (all D-Md.) announced $31,933,577 in federal funding to support the use of low carbon materials in federally funded construction projects statewide. Incorporating the use of low carbon materials in construction will help reduce pollution  more PR

BALTIMORE, Maryland, Dec. 13 -- The Maryland Department of Health issued the following news release on Dec. 12, 2024: The Maryland Department of Health today announced that it has successfully retained its accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). The PHAB grants accreditation to health departments after fulfilling stringent quality, innovation, and improvement criteria. The Department first received accreditation in 2017, becoming one of the initial 200 health department more PR

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Wes Moore, D-Maryland, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: Governor Wes Moore yesterday announced the inaugural grant awardees of the Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households (ENOUGH) initiative, a first-of-its-kind, community-based strategy to address concentrated child poverty in Maryland. The $13.1 million in grants will fund 27 entities across all 12 statutorily eligible counties as part of the historic $ more PR

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Wes Moore, D-Maryland, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: Governor Wes Moore today announced the launch of Maryland's Unified Benefits Screener, a joint initiative between the Maryland Departments of Human Services, Health, and Information Technology to streamline benefit access. The new screener--the state's first interagency online tool developed with a person-centered and mobile-first design--allows Marylanders to quickly and easily check more PR

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, Dec. 14 -- Gov. Wes Moore, D-Maryland, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2024: Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland congressional delegation today announced that the Maryland Department of Commerce, in collaboration with the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), are once again joining forces to expand Maryland's Defense Technology Commercialization Center (DefTech). The expansion of the program was made possible through a $585,463 grant from the U. more PR

BETHESDA, Maryland, Dec. 13 (TNSres) -- The National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute issued the following news: * * * An observational study of more than 6,500 adults is one of the most detailed in the U.S. * * * WHAT: A large study found that greater exposure to long-term air pollution was linked with increased risks for blood clots that can occur in deep veins, which, if untreated, can block blood flow and cause serious complications, even death. These find more PR

BETHESDA, Maryland, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institute of Mental Health issued the following Research Highlights on December 12, 2024, entitled "Improving Firearm Safety in Pediatric Primary Care." Here are excerpts: * * * Firearm injuries and deaths among young people are a major public health concern. While secure storage is a proven safety measure, less than 30% of homes with children report storing firearms locked and unloaded . In a new study  more PR

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Dec. 14 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the following news: Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, a merchant mariner lowers a cylindrical robotic ocean observing instrument from a ship into the sea to record ocean temperature and salinity. Another instrument is deployed from a plane into the eye of a hurricane to take the pulse of the ocean during the storm. In Antarctic waters, a rounder float is released that will sink far deeper more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, issued the following news release: Today, Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08) announced that Ayden Yeung of Wheaton High School and Julian Givens of Montgomery Blair High School have won MD-08's 2024 Congressional App Challenge with their 'Better Buildings,' app that helps students, faculty and staff report problems with school facilities, bridging the gap between campus communities and administrators to maintain safer, cleaner and more func more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior issued the following news release: NANJEMOY, Md. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams today joined partners and community members to celebrate the establishment of Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge as the 573rd and newest unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. A newly acquired 31-acre parcel is the first of several donations that will become part of th more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee released the following testimony by Gordon Hartogensis, President Biden's nominee to be a governor of the U.S. Postal Service, from a Nov. 14, 2024, confirmation hearing: * * * Thank you, Chairman Peters, Ranking Member Paul, and distinguished Members of the Committee. It is an honor to appear before you today as you consider my nomination to be a Governor of the United States Postal Service. I want to than more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 -- Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Acadia is under investigation by federal agencies Acadia Letter Text (PDF) | Acadia Response (PDF) Washington (December 12, 2024) Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, today wrote to Acadia Healthcare, raising concerns regarding the company's profit motivations and the impact on the quality a more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 -- Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Companies failed to respond to Senators' questions Letters Text (PDF) | OTP Responses (PDF) Washington (December 12, 2024) Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, and Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) today wrote to BayMark Health Services, Behavioral Health Group, Crossroads Treatment Centers, New S more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia issued the following news release: A Maryland man was sentenced to prison today after he was previously convicted of assaulting law enforcement and other offenses during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. 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. Adam Ryan Obest, 4 more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service issued the following news release on Dec. 12, 2024: Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to list the eastern hellbender as an endangered species throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act. Eastern hellbenders are found in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West  more PR

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia, Dec. 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia issued the following news release on Dec. 12, 2024: Anette Sanabria-Velez, 40, of Morgantown and Granville, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 168 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride. According to court documents and statements made in court, Sanabria-Velez was trafficking cocaine in Monongalia County, sometimes from her home. S more PR