U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice announced an agreement with the University of Virginia (UVA) to address concerns over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin. Under the agreement, UVA must comply with the Department’s Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination, confirming that it will not engage in racial discrimination in admissions, hiring, or other programs. The university will submit quarterly compliance data to the Department through 2028, with the university’s president required to personally certify adherence. The Department agreed to pause its investigations into UVA’s admissions and other civ...

VIENNA, VA – Ashley Tellis, 64, a U.S. citizen residing in Vienna, was arrested on Oct. 11 for allegedly unlawfully retaining classified national defense information. Tellis appeared in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia for a detention hearing. According to the Justice Department, Tellis, a senior advisor at the Department of State and a contractor for the Department of Defense, is accused of removing over 1,000 pages of classified documents from government facilities and storing them in his home. The materials reportedly included documents labeled SECRET and TOP SECRET, recovered from filing cabinets, a home office, and trash bags in his basement. Tellis held a Top Secret clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information access and had been employed by the Depar...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The Department of Justice announced a federal grand jury indictment charging Luz Maria Peña Lopez, 55, and her daughter, Tatiana Correa Peña, 36, both of Carolina, with forced labor and conspiracy to commit forced labor. Peña Lopez is also charged with document servitude, and her husband, Enrique Gutierrez Rivera, 54, a municipal police officer in Carolina, is charged with misprision of a felony. All three were arrested Tuesday morning. According to the indictment, Peña Lopez and Correa Peña allegedly used physical beatings, restraint, threats, isolation, denial of hygiene and medical care, and the provision of drugs or unprescribed medication to compel an intellectually disabled adult woman to panhandle, engage in fraudulent and criminal activities, and per...

CLEVELAND, OH – A Cleveland man has been arrested and charged with assaulting a federal officer after allegedly opening fire on U.S. Marshals attempting to execute an arrest warrant. File Photo (August 2025) According to a criminal complaint, on Oct. 15, Larry Leon Dwight Wiley, 55, barricaded himself in his apartment for several hours as members of the Cleveland U.S. Marshals Service sought to take him into custody on a prior federal violation. When officers entered the unit, Wiley allegedly fired multiple shots, striking a deputy U.S. Marshal in the arm with a .380 caliber round. The wounded deputy was transported to a nearby hospital and is expected to recover. Wiley appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Dowdell Armstrong on Oct. 16 and was ordered to remain in custody...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal grand jury has indicted former National Security Advisor John Bolton, 76, of Bethesda, Maryland, on multiple charges related to the mishandling of classified information. According to the Department of Justice, the indictment includes eight counts of transmission of national defense information (NDI) and ten counts of unlawful retention of NDI. Prosecutors allege that Bolton transmitted top-secret information through personal email and messaging accounts and retained additional classified documents in his residence. Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, “There is one tier of justice for all Americans. Anyone who abuses a position of power and jeopardizes our national security will be held accountable. No one is above the law.” FBI Director Kash Pat...

WASHINGTON D.C. – Former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform that the federal government had prepared to “surge” into San Francisco to address crime, but agreed to delay the action at the request of Mayor Daniel Lurie. According to Trump, the mayor asked “very nicely” for a chance to turn things around, and Trump said he told the mayor he believed the federal effort could be “faster, stronger, and safer.” In his post, Trump said: “The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting crime … Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!”

Nauticus Robotics, Inc. announced plans to conduct fall and winter testing of its Aquanaut® subsea robots at the Advanced Ocean Systems (AOS) lake facility in Stuart, Florida, as part of its efforts to expand capabilities in leak detection, digital twin solutions, mapping, and autonomous fleet interoperability. Aquanaut lowering into the water to begin its final checks under the watchful eye of a Nauticus operator. Crane launch operations are still required until the launch-from-shore operations currently under development are implemented lakeside. (Photo Credit: Nauticus) The first Aquanaut robot arrived at the AOS site in October and is undergoing pre-deployment checks. A second robot, currently being evaluated at Nauticus’ Louisiana facility following offshore operations during t...

HOUSTON, TX – Greentown Labs announced the launch of Go Build 2026, an open-innovation accelerator program focused on CO₂ utilization technologies, in partnership with Amazon and the Global CO₂ Initiative (GCI) at the University of Michigan. File Photo (July 2022) The program seeks startups with carbon mineralization solutions capable of decarbonizing the built environment. Selected companies will work alongside Amazon’s sustainability experts and GCI researchers to validate technical pathways, test performance under construction conditions, and develop commercial-scale models. Additional support includes Greentown’s venture-focused programming, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Go Build 2026 is open to startups with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4 or higher. Parti...

SEATTLE, WA – Alaska Air Group announced it has postponed its third-quarter 2025 conference call following an IT outage that disrupted operations on October 23. File Photo (December 29, 2024) The outage led to a temporary ground stop for both Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, which was lifted at 11:30 p.m. Pacific time. The company said the decision was made to allow teams to focus on assisting customers and restoring operations. The earnings call, originally scheduled for October 24 at 11:30 a.m. EDT, will not be held. Alaska Air Group stated it has not yet determined the financial impact of the disruption on its fourth-quarter results. The company filed its third-quarter results after market close on October 23. Alaska reported GAAP net income of $73 million ($0.62 per share) ...