Washington, DC - The Library of Congress, the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader today announced the appointment of Jason Reynolds as the seventh National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2020-2021. The Newbery Honor recipient succeeds Jacqueline Woodson, who served as National Ambassador in 2018-2019.

Washington, DC - President Trump announced a Presidential Delegation to Muscat, Oman to pay respects upon the death of His Majesty Qaboos bin Said Al-Said, Sultan and Prime Minister of the Sultanate of Oman on January 15, 2020.

Sacramento, California - Governor Gavin Newsom submitted his 2020-21 State Budget proposal to the Legislature Friday which makes responsible investments in the state’s economic future while tackling head-on persistent challenges facing the state.

New York - A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Christopher Casacci, 38, of Amherst, New York, with violating the Lacey Act and the U.S. Animal Welfare Act based on his trafficking of African wild cats in interstate commerce, announced Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. for the Western District of New York.

Washington, DC - The Department of Justice Friday withdrew the 1984 DOJ Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines, and, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), released new draft 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines (draft guidelines) and seek public comment. The draft guidelines, open to comment for 30 days, describe how the federal antitrust agencies review vertical mergers to evaluate whether the mergers violate antitrust law. Vertical mergers combine two or more companies that operate at different levels in the same supply chain.

Houston, Texas - An Indian national pleaded guilty Thursday in the Southern District of Texas for his role in operating and funding India-based call centers whose callers, and U.S.-based conspirators, defrauded U.S. victims out of millions of dollars between 2013 and 2016.