Washington, DC - The National Institutes of Health has launched a new initiative to harness the power of commercial cloud computing and provide NIH biomedical researchers access to the most advanced, cost-effective computational infrastructure, tools and services available. The STRIDES (Science and Technology Research Infrastructure for Discovery, Experimentation, and Sustainability) Initiative launches with Google Cloud as its first industry partner and aims to reduce economic and technological barriers to accessing and computing on large biomedical data sets to accelerate biomedical advances.

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has ordered Capitol flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of two firefighters who died while working on the Carr Fire in Shasta County – Redding Fire Prevention Inspector Jeremiah "Jeremy" Stoke and a bulldozer operator whose name has not been released.

Washington, DC - The buzz of a possible visit by Russian President, Vladimir Putin has died down. Different reasons have been cited from safety to timing to other things going on right now for President Trump and Putin.

St. Louis, Missouri - Young patients, their families and invited guests were treated to a visit with some amazing animal ambassadors—including chinchillas, a screech owl and a domestic rabbit from the Saint Louis Zoo’s Emerson Children’s Zoo—at a gathering at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital earlier today (July 26, 2018). This special event served to announce the arrival of a closed-circuit television adventure channel, San Diego Zoo Kids, at Ranken Jordan.

Washington, DC - The world of organized labor is in turmoil in the aftermath of the June 27th Supreme Court decision banning public sector unions from collecting fees from non-union workers. Attorney Mark J. Neuberger, who specializes in employment law at the firm of Foley & Lardner, says the ruling was “a stunning blow to public sector unions.”

Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with other partners, are investigating possible Salmonella contamination of a whey ingredient that has caused the recall of several popular foods. Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) of New Ulm, Minn., is recalling dry whey powder due to the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The FDA is working with AMPI’s customers to recall products that pose a potential risk to consumers. Mondelēz International Inc., Pepperidge Farm Inc. and Flowers Foods Inc. recalled certain products because they used the whey ingredient subject to AMPI’s recall.