Washington, DC - Friday, a U.S. Navy EP-3 Aries II aircraft, flying a mission in approved international airspace, was approached in an unprofessional manner by a SU-30 Flanker Venezuelan fighter aircraft.

Washington, DC - The United States is concerned by reports of China’s interference with oil and gas activities in the South China Sea (SCS), including Vietnam’s long-standing exploration and production activities.  China’s repeated provocative actions aimed at the offshore oil and gas development of other claimant states threaten regional energy security and undermine the free and open Indo-Pacific energy market.

Washington, DC - This week the U.S. Department of State joined the world in celebrating one of humanity’s greatest achievements: landing on the moon.  The Apollo 11 mission was not just a success for America, but for the entire global community.

Washington, DC - A CDC announcement about a multistate outbreak of E. coli infections linked to ground bison produced by Northfork Bison Distributions, Inc., has been posted at the CDC website.

Washington, DC - As cases of Ebola continue to increase in the eastern region of The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and travel-associated cases have been reported in neighboring Uganda, CDC fully supports the decision by the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC). A PHEIC is declared if an extraordinary event poses a public health threat to other nations through the spread of disease and requires a more robust coordinated international response.

Los Angeles, California - A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection watch commander at the Long Beach Seaport pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for running an illegal gun-selling business, unlawfully possessing more than 40 machine guns and other prohibited firearms, failing to disclose his foreign financial interests and contacts in China in order to obtain a secret-level security clearance, and cheating on his federal income taxes.