Washington, DC - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: "On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, I extend my best wishes to our Muslim friends and partners celebrating Eid al-Fitr.

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Thursday welcomed Portugal to the Under2 Coalition – the global pact among cities, states and countries to limit the increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius.

New Orleans, Louisiana - Every day, thousands of researchers and scientists are collecting massive amounts of data about agricultural systems—from soil chemistry and germination rates to harvest indicators and market logistics. At the same time, an estimated 500 million smallholder farmers—the world’s food producers—lack access to digital technologies and these latest research insights, which limits agricultural innovation in the developing world. The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture is a new initiative connecting these two critical sectors of the food system by facilitating widespread access to research data. In doing so, the Platform is creating an innovation space for agriculture that has the potential to usher in a new era for farming and the global food system.

Mediterranean Sea - The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) returned to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to resume flight operations in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), Sunday.

Washington, DC - Last week Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-CA) re-introduced the “Ensuring National Constitutional Rights for Your Private Telecommunications (ENCRYPT) Act.” The act aims to create a national encryption policy that supsersedes any local and state laws that may seek to undermine encryption strength.

Washington, DC - Doctors use X-rays to see inside people, and scientists use neutrons to peer inside advanced materials and devices such as fuel cells to better understand and improve them. But a critical shortage of a rare form of helium used for detecting neutrons-which are difficult to spot directly-threatens to slow advances in this critical type of materials research.