Washington, DC - Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State: "On November 15, 2019 and in the week that followed, brave Iranians took to the streets of more than 200 cities across Iran to protest four decades of mismanagement by a corrupt regime that squandered its people’s wealth on terrorism abroad and oppression at home. As the protesters exercised their freedom of expression, the regime responded by expressing its radical ideology of indiscriminate violence and terror. In doing so, the regime once again revealed its true nature and squandered any remaining claim to legitimacy in the eyes of the Iranian people. The regime killed as many as 1,500 Iranians, including at least 23 children.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken and pork tamale products containing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated diced tomatoes in puree that have been recalled by the producer, due to concerns that the products may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically hard plastic. The hard plastic may pose a choking hazard or cause damage to teeth or gums. FSIS is issuing this public health alert out of the utmost of caution to ensure that consumers are aware that these products, which bear the USDA mark of inspection, should not be consumed.

Washington, DC - November 16-20, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education are celebrating the 21st annual International Education Week (IEW), a joint initiative to highlight the benefits of international education and exchange.  International education – both welcoming international students to the United States and encouraging more Americans to experience the world through study abroad – is a cornerstone of the State Department’s academic exchange efforts.

Washington, DC - COVID-19 treatments for people with early infection are needed urgently, according to a JAMA Viewpoint article by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and colleagues. Treating people early in the course of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, would speed their recovery, reduce the likelihood that they develop severe outcomes and reduce demand on the healthcare system, they write.

Washington, DC - A National Institutes of Health clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has formally concluded that the drug provides no clinical benefit to hospitalized patients. Though found not to cause harm, early findings in June when the trial was stopped indicated that the drug was not improving outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Final data and analyses of the trial, which was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH, will appear online November 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association

Newark, New Jersey - The United States filed suit to halt the sale by a New Jersey entity of an unapproved “nano silver” product previously touted as a COVID-19 treatment, the Department of Justice announced Friday.