WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 -- The U.S. Department of Education issued the following news release: The Biden-Harris Administration today is publishing a state-by-state breakdown of the nearly 153,000 borrowers who are receiving $1.2 billion in forgiveness under President Biden's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. Servicers started processing this forgiveness today. "When we talk about fixing a broken student loan system, this is what we're talking about," said U.S. Secretary of Educati  more

BALTIMORE, Maryland, Feb. 23 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued the following news release: Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency. CMS Releases Vaccine Toolkit of Vaccine Coverage and Administration for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Individuals February 12: CMS released a vaccine toolkit to equip states with the tools necess  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following transcript of a news briefing on Feb. 22, 2024, by Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh: * * * DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: Matt, nice to see you back. Welcome back. And Lita, welcome back. All right, so good afternoon, everyone. Just a few things at the top, and then be happy to take your questions. Earlier today, Secretary Austin participated in the fifth North American Defense Ministerial virtually, hosted  more

SEATTLE, Washington, Feb. 21 (TNSres) -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: * * * Unprecedented funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is transforming communities across the state * * * Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced over $45,509,000 from President Biden's Investing in America agenda for Alaska drinking water and clean water infrastructure upgrades. The funding is part of the over $50 billion investment in water infrastructur  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the following news release: In response to the death of Nex Benedict, a non-binary/two-spirit student in Owasso, Oklahoma, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has compiled resources related to mental health and youth crisis services, tools for youth-serving providers, and resources to preventing school-based bullying and violence. HHS stands in solidarity with the LGBTQI+ community and reaffirms its comm  more

EIELSON AFB, Alaska, Feb. 24 -- The U.S. Air Force Eielson Air Force Base (354th Fighter Wing) issued the following statement on Feb. 23, 2024, by Commander Paul Townsend on potential school closure: * * * To our Eielson parents: Facing a budget shortfall, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District proposed closing Ben Eielson Jr./Sr. High School. While the decision is under review with opportunities to participate in this discussion, I understand the uncertainty this drives for our fam  more

COPPER CENTER, Alaska, Feb. 24 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service issued the following news release on Feb. 23, 2024: Today, the National Park Service announced that 400 national parks reported a total of 325.5 million visits in 2023, an increase of 13 million or 4% over 2022. At Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, visitation numbers increased from 65,236 in 2022 to 78,305 in 2023. The report shows that July was the busiest month, with 28,446 visits, and   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Regional Office issued the following feature story on Feb. 23, 2024: * * * The State of Alaska Aquaculture report is a first-of-its-kind overview of the aquaculture industry in Alaska, revealing the state's opportunities and challenges to date. * * * NOAA Fisheries continues to direct support towards Alaska's growing aquaculture (also known as "mariculture") industry. Marine aquaculture in Alaska con  more