WASHINGTON–Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. today formally imposed the federal death penalty sentence on Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana, aka “Wizard,” announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina. A 12-person federal jury in Charlotte, N.C., […]

WASHINGTON–Two individuals have pleaded guilty to charges related to their participation in an international group of child pornography traffickers who used a social networking site to share thousands of sexually explicit images, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer for the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Robert Cessar for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  […]

WASHINGTON–Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today launched the “Blue Campaign”—a DHS-wide initiative to combat human trafficking through enhanced public awareness, victim assistance programs, and law enforcement training and initiatives. “The battle against human trafficking is a shared responsibility involving the Department’s federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners, non-profit and non-governmental […]

WASHINGTON–The Department of Defense (DoD) announced plans today to make 32 awards to academic institutions to perform multidisciplinary basic research.  The total amount of the awards is expected to be $227 million over five years.  Awards are subject to the successful completion of negotiations between the academic institutions and DoD research offices that will make […]

WASHINGTON–A former U.S. Army contracting official was sentenced today to 42 months in prison in connection with two schemes to solicit more than $30,000 in bribes and other payments from an Egyptian businessman in Kuwait, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern […]

WASHINGTON–The Justice Department has announced a consent decree resolving a lawsuit filed against Ventura County, Calif., alleging that the county violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it refused to hire a qualified applicant for a children’s social services position because she is deaf and required reasonable accommodations. At the time of her application, […]

WASHINGTON–Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced more than $1.8 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparedness grants designed to help states, urban areas, tribal governments and non-profit organizations enhance their protection, prevention, response and recovery capabilities for risks associated with potential terrorist attacks and other hazards. “The grants being […]

WASHINGTON–The Army released suicide data Thursday for the month of June. Among active duty soldiers, there were 21 potential suicides: one was confirmed as a suicide, and 20 remain under investigation. For May, the Army reported 10 potential suicides among active duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, four have been confirmed as suicides, […]

MT. PLEASANT, S.C.,–(USNewswire)–Charging BP and other defendants with harming his health and causing serious personal injuries, a Mobile resident and recreational fisherman has filed suit against 16 companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. On May 29, Obie F. Carlisle was fishing for flounder in Mobile Bay, near Fairhope and Bayou La Batra, Ala. […]