Washington, DC - The Administration has determined after careful review that the office of the General Delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington should close. We have permitted the PLO office to conduct operations that support the objective of achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between Israelis and the Palestinians since the expiration of a previous waiver in November 2017. However, the PLO has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel. To the contrary, PLO leadership has condemned a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen and refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise.

Washington, DC - "We have accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions." ~ President Donald J. Trump

Washington, DC - Today, Jim Carroll, Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy, Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, and senior officials from the Departments of State and Defense and the United States Agency for International Development traveled to Colombia to meet with Colombian President Ivan Duque and other high-ranking Colombian officials. This visit is part of an ongoing series of engagements between the United States and Colombian governments to strengthen ties and increase cooperation on many fronts, including combating the troubling spike in coca cultivation and increased cocaine production in Colombia.

Louisville, Kentucky - A former fugitive and social security disability lawyer was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday for his role in retaliating against an informant and fleeing from the United States.  The sentence is to run consecutive to the 12 years in prison previously imposed for his role in the underlying scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration (SSA) of more than $550 million.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cassipa (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual film (applied under the tongue) for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. This action provides a new dosage strength (16 milligrams/4 milligrams) of buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film, which is also approved in both brand name and generic versions and in various strengths.

New York - A New York-licensed attorney and former partner at a New York law firm pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion arising from a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from a deceased client’s estate, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York.