Washington, DC - At the recommendation of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer will issue a Secretarial Letter of Censure to USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) former commanding officer Cmdr. Bryce Benson and former crew member Lt. Natalie Combs.

El Centro, California - This morning, at just prior to 2:30 am, an Officer from the El Centro Police Department attempted to stop a blue Honda Civic which speeding in the area of 8th and Wake in the City of El Centro.  The vehicle, driven by Lorenzo Esquivel (21 years old) and another passenger, began to swerving about the roadway and ultimately led officers on a pursuit.  Esquivel continued to evade as he navigated the area and ultimately pulled into a driveway in the 400 block of Driftwood. 

Washington, DC - Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo travels to Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Cucuta, Colombia, April 11-15 to deepen U.S. partnerships in the Western Hemisphere. The Secretary’s visit will celebrate and reinforce shared commitments to democracy and human rights, highlight increased opportunities for prosperity and security for our citizens, and rally support for democracy in Venezuela.

Washington, DC - Monday the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new prize competition to support the development of pumped storage hydropower—the Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time (FAST) Commissioning for Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) prize. The prize seeks novel solutions and technologies that address the non-regulatory challenges PSH developers face deploying new storage projects and supports the goal to reduce the time to commission PSH from its current 10 years to less than five.

Washington, DC - Republic National Distributing Company and Breakthru Beverage Group announced on Friday that they have abandoned their proposed merger.

Washington, DC - The Navy has announced the selection of five outstanding officers and enlisted Sailors from more than 100 nominees as the Capt. Joy Bright Hancock and Master Chief Anna Der-Vartanian Leadership Award winners.