Washington, DC - A Westlake, Ohio, cardiologist was sentenced to 20 years in prison for performing unnecessary catheterizations, tests, stent insertions and causing unnecessary coronary artery bypass surgeries as part of a scheme to overbill Medicare and other insurers by $29 million, law enforcement officials said.

New York - The leader of a Mexican cartel that imported tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States was extradited Thursday to face drug trafficking charges. The extradition and charges resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University is joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative (MITEI) to support implementation of the DOE-led U.S. Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) program to advance women’s participation and leadership in clean energy.

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On International Migrants Day, commemorated on December 18, we pay tribute to all those who venture abroad in search of safety, dignity, and a better life.

Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on an application by Pfizer Inc. to modify the FTC’s January 2010 final order, which settled the FTC’s competition concerns arising from Pfizer’s 2009 acquisition of Wyeth. The final order remedied the likely anticompetitive effects of the acquisition in numerous markets for animal health products by requiring Pfizer to sell approximately half of Wyeth’s U.S.-based animal health business to Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (“BIVI”). It also included additional requirements governing Pfizer’s future conduct.

Los Angeles, California - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris last night convened interfaith and community leaders and law enforcement officials in southern California, after the recent terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Paris, to condemn terrorism and discuss the danger of the recent rise in Islamophobic rhetoric and several high-profile hate crime incidents over the past week.  Attorney General Harris discussed the critical role of American Muslim communities in our fight against radicalization and terrorism at home and abroad, and the danger posed when alienating this community.