WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service issued the following article: * * * U.S. Obesity Rate Changes Differ for Rural and Urban Areas, as Well as Across Regions By Mariah Ehmke and Brandon J. Restrepo Highlights * Despite a slight decline in the U.S. overall obesity rate from March 2022-2023 to March 2023-2024, rural obesity rates rose 0.5 percentage points during the same time. * The U.S. obesity rates in rural areas were higher than urban rat more PR

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, issued the following news release: * * * Heinrich, Warnock, Daines, Justice Introduce Legislation to Protect Communities from Increasingly Catastrophic Wildfires, Boost Forest Management at Forest Service * WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation alongside U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Steve Daines (R-Mont. more PR

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on Aug. 4, 2025: * * * Heinrich, Warnock, Daines, Justice Introduce Legislation to Protect Communities from Increasingly Catastrophic Wildfires, Boost Forest Management at Forest Service U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation al more PR

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release: * * * In Case You Missed It: Capito Joins Colleagues in Reintroducing Bipartisan College Transparency Act * WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, recently joined a bipartisan group of her colleagues in reintroducing the College Transparency Act (CTA), which  more PR

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Marshals Service issued the following news release: * * * U.S. Marshals Service Warns of Scam Calls in West Virginia * Clarksburg, WV - The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) is alerting the public of imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. Marshals, other law enforcement officials, or federal court employees. These imposters attempt to collect financial compensation in lieu of arrest due to a claim of failing to report for jury more PR

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Colorado. *** Magnetic Construction Tile Set ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Aug. 5 -- RETROSPECTIVE GOODS, LLC, New York, New York has been assigned a patent (No. US 12377362 B2, initially filed Jan. 22, 2021) developed by Shihan Qu, Denver, Colorado, and Craig Zucker, New York, New York, for "Magnetic construction tile set." *** Chipset Attached Random Access Memory ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Aug. 5 -- ADVANCED MICRO more ST

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Florida. *** Linkage Pin Monitoring and Galling Protection ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Aug. 5 -- CATERPILLAR INC., Peoria, Illinois has been assigned a patent (No. US 12380741 B2, initially filed May 17, 2023) developed by eight inventors Yang-Kyoo Chang, Dunlap, Illinois; Byron D Collis, Chicago, Illinois; Brian Howson, Bolingbrook, Illinois; Joel P Busker, Plainfield, Illinois; Christopher Arnold Junck, Kobe, Ja more ST

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Ohio. *** Methods for Controlling Cooperative Surgical Instruments ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Aug. 5 -- CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL, Zug, Switzerland has been assigned a patent (No. US 12376910 B2, initially filed Oct. 5, 2021) developed by three inventors Frederick E. Shelton, IV, Hillsboro, Ohio; Charles J. Scheib, Loveland, Ohio; and Jason L. Harris, Lebanon, Ohio, for "Methods for controlling cooperative surgic more ST

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Pennsylvania. *** Dry Sprinkler ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Aug. 5 -- VICTAULIC COMPANY, Easton, Pennsylvania has been assigned a patent (No. US 12377300 B2, initially filed July 18, 2022) developed by five inventors Richard A. Bucher, Jaimson, Pennsylvania; Frank J. Cygler, Nazareth, Pennsylvania; William J. Reilly, Langhorne, Pennsylvania; Yi Liu, Dalian, China; and Lawrence W. Thau, Jr., Flemington, New Jersey more ST

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Washington. *** Patient-Specific Medical Systems, Devices, and Methods ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Aug. 5 -- CARLSMED, INC., Carlsbad, California has been assigned a patent (No. US 12376907 B2, initially filed Dec. 16, 2024) developed by four inventors Niall Patrick Casey, Carlsbad, California; Michael J. Cordonnier, Carlsbad, California; Justin Esterberg, Mercer Island, Washington; and Jeffrey Roh, Seattle, Wash more ST

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in West Virginia. *** Automated Industrial Ergonomics Risk Root Cause Identification and Management ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Aug. 5 -- VELOCITYEHS HOLDINGS, INC., Chicago, Illinois has been assigned a patent (No. US 12380392 B1, initially filed Dec. 18, 2023) developed by three inventors Julia Penfield, Seattle, Washington; Richard Thomas Barker, West Chester, Ohio; and Veeru Talreja, Morgantown, West Virginia, f more ST

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released a document detailing the methods used to collect and analyze fish tissue from Lake Koocanusa, a reservoir receiving mine wastes from British Columbia, Canada. The report, titled 'Preparation and Analysis Methods for Fish Tissue Collected from Lake Koocanusa, Montana,' was authored by a large team led by Travis S. Schmidt. It is designated as Open-File Report 2025-1034 and was issued by the U.S. Department of the Inter more PR

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (TNSLrpt) -- A comprehensive statewide assessment of West Virginia's bedrock aquifers has been published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Titled 'Factors Affecting the Distribution of Water-Bearing Fractures in the Bedrock Aquifers of West Virginia,' the report was a collaborative effort with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Division of Water and Waste Management. The authors are Mark D. Kozar, Mitchell A. McAdoo, Samuel H. Austin, and Carson A. Wr more PR

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, Aug. 6 -- The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission issued the following news on Aug. 5, 2025: * * * West Virginia selected for national initiative to expand career pathways in rural communities More West Virginians will soon have access to affordable, career-focused education programs close to home -- thanks to West Virginia's selection for a major national initiative aimed at creating high-quality training pathways in rural areas. West Virginia has bee more PR

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Sen. Raphael G. Warnock, D-Georgia, issued the following news release: * * * Warnock Leads Bipartisan Legislation to Spur Innovation for Georgia's Forestry Industry and Create Rural Jobs * Today, Senator Reverend Warnock introduced the Forest Bioeconomy Act to help expand forest product research and create new market opportunities for Georgia's forestry sector, helping create new jobs in rural Georgia Georgia's forestry industry is a boon for the state, injecting $41. more PR