WASHINGTON–U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced an expansion of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) pilot program that streamlines its mortgage insurance applications for affordable housing developments that have equity from the sale of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, the nation’s primary source of affordable housing production. Secretary Carson made the announcement at […]
IHOP To Pay $700,000 To Settle Sexual Harassment, Retaliation Lawsuit
LAS VEGAS–Several franchisees of the popular IHOP restaurant chain in Nevada and New York will pay $700,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency said Wednesday. The U.S. District Court of Nevada has approved a consent decree filed […]
Coast Guard Continues Response To Sheen Reported From Container Ship In Oakland
SAN FRANCISCO–The Coast Guard continues to respond Friday to a sheen reported from a container ship moored at the Matson Terminal in Oakland. Crewmembers aboard the Matsonia, a 713-foot U.S.-flagged container ship, noticed a sheen around their ship around 8 a.m. Thursday shortly after mooring, which was believed to have originated from the vessel. The Matsonia […]
Border Patrol Foils Attempt To Smuggle Methamphetamine Within Gas Tank
SALTON CITY–El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents working at the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint arrested a man suspected of smuggling methamphetamine Thursday morning. The incident occurred at approximately 5:40 a.m., when a 30-year-old United States citizen man driving a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer approached the checkpoint. A Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the vehicle. Agents sent […]
Utah Man Charged With Hate Crime For Attacking Three Men With Metal Pole
Salt Lake City, UT–A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City, Utah, returned a three count indictment charging a man with a hate crime for attacking three men with a metal pole because he believed the men were Mexican, federal prosecutors said. The indictment alleges that on Nov. 27, 2018, Alan D. Covington entered the […]
Construction Begins On San Diego Secondary Wall
WASHINGTON–U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, began construction Monday on the San Diego Secondary Wall Project. On December 20, 2018, the Customs and Border Protection awarded a contract to construct up to 14 miles of secondary wall in California within the agency’s San Diego sector. The contract […]
Julián Castro Pledges To Visit All 50 States During Presidential Campaign
SAN ANTONIO, TX–Democratic presidential candidate, and former Obama Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and San Antonio Mayor, Julián Castro, pledged to visit all 50 states during his campaign. Noting that as HUD Secretary he visited 40 states, providing him with a strong sense of the “issues most important to the people” he served, Castro […]
Former U.S. Counterintelligence Agent Charged With Espionage On Behalf Of Iran
Washington, D.C.–A former U.S. service member and counterintelligence agent, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to deliver and delivering national defense information to representatives of the Iranian government, federal prosecutors said. Monica Witt, 39, who defected to Iran in 2013, is alleged to have assisted Iranian […]
Three People Sentenced To Prison For Bribery Schemes Involving VA Program For Disabled Military Veterans
Washington, D.C.–Two owners and an employee of for-profit, non-accredited schools were sentenced during the last two days for bribing a public official at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in exchange for the public official’s facilitation of over $2 million in payments that were supposed to be dedicated to providing vocational training for military […]
US, Australian Authorities Intercept 1.7 Tons Of Methamphetamine Bound For Australia
LOS ANGELES–United States and Australian federal authorities seized a mixed narcotic load of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin weighing in a more than 1.7 tons and concealed within a shipment of loud speakers and destined for Australia from the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaport, federal authorities said. As a result of the investigation, Australian Federal […]