District of Columbia News

Family Research Council (FRC) praised the passage of U.S. Rep. Trent Franks' (R-AZ) Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797) on the House floor today. Despite President Obama's veto threat, FRC calls on the Senate to pass legislation to stop the inhumane painful abortion of unborn children 20 weeks and older. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080930/FRCLOGO) FRC President Tony Perkins said of the vote: "I applaud the House vote on a bill that is truly informed by modern science, which shows unborn children ... read more

Participants in the Children's Hospital Association's Speak Now for Kids Family Advocacy Day - 36 child patients and their families - convene today through Thursday on Capitol Hill to deliver an important message to their members of Congress: at a time when access to care is improving for millions of adults, don't forget the kids. The Association's Speak Now for Kids Family Advocacy Day facilitates meetings between families and their elected representatives to highlight key issues that affect their health care, ... read more

Ironworkers General President and Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA) Chairman Walter Wise released the following statement today following the publication of PILMA's new study Medicaid Drug Rebates in Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: An Economic Analysis of the Proposed Policy and its Implications for Multiemployer Plans: <blockquote> "The study released today demonstrates that new government rebates imposed on the Medicare Part D prescription drug program would result in a cost-shifting from government to private payers. This shift would potentially increase health insurance ... read more

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, now exploring Saturn, will take a picture of our home planet from a distance of hundreds of millions of miles on July 19. NASA is inviting the public to help acknowledge the historic interplanetary portrait as it is being taken. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Earth will appear as a small, pale blue dot between the rings of Saturn in the image, which will be part of a mosaic, or multi-image portrait, of the Saturn system Cassini is composing. "While Earth will be ... read more

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and BIOCOM today thanked Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) for introducing legislation that would make renewable chemicals eligible for support in the USDA Biorefinery Assistance Program. Mr. Peters offered the legislation as an amendment to be considered during House floor debate on ... read more

The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's DC Chapter (AFCEA DC), a non-profit association dedicated to providing our members with technical, policy, regulatory, program and budget information that directly shapes federal technology decisions in the Defense & Security arena, today announced the - Emerging Technology Companies selected to present a product/technology/solution during the Emerging Technology Symposium being held on June 20, 2013 at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. The Selection Committee made up of Government, Industry, Academia and Venture ... read more

As the world’s first solar-powered airplane to fly both day and night touched down early Sunday in Washington, all eyes focused on the odd-shaped plane and its pioneering pilots. Equally significant is the science and innovative technology behind the ... read more

NASA announced Tuesday a Grand Challenge focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The challenge, which was announced at an asteroid initiative industry and partner day at NASA Headquarters in Washington, is a large-scale effort that will use multi-disciplinary collaborations and a variety of partnerships with other government agencies, international partners, industry, academia, and citizen scientists. It complements NASA's recently announced mission to redirect an asteroid and send humans ... read more

Bookoff McAndrews, a patent law firm, announced today that Vinu Raj has joined the firm as an associate. Mr. Raj, previously with the Washington, D.C. office of McDermott Will & Emery, is a skilled patent attorney who holds over a decade of experience in working with electrical, computer, and internet technologies. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130618/PH32611 ) "Vinu is an outstanding attorney who brings to us a unique skills set in the areas of networking, wireless communications, cloud computing, image processing, and consumer electronics," ... read more

Malaria No More today announced the recipients of annual awards for distinguished service in the fight against malaria. The three separate awards, which this year are being received by Senator Dan Coats (R-IN), Congressmen Ander Crenshaw (R-04-FL) and Gregory Meeks (D- -NY), and Novartis were presented this morning at the Fifth Annual Malaria Champions Breakfast in Washington, D.C. "Malaria No More is proud to honor Senator Coats, Congressman Crenshaw, Congressman Meeks and Novartis at the fifth annual Malaria Champions Breakfast," said ... read more

At the store and don't know what to make for dinner tonight? Want something healthy and affordable for your family but you're out of ideas? The new mobile application Cooking Matters provides families with 90+ chef-developed recipes for easy, healthy and affordable cooking the whole family can enjoy! As part of the national No Kid Hungry campaign, Cooking Matters has 20 years of experience empowering families with the skills to make delicious, affordable and healthy meals through hands-on cooking courses and ... read more

Startup Act 3.0 offers straightforward solutions to problems facing small startup companies, according to CompTIA, the non-profit association for the information technology (IT) industry. It encourages capital investment in startups; incentivizes startups to invest in research and experimentation; and removes barriers currently limiting access to the most talented workforce. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/DC38135LOGO) In conjunction with National Small Business Week June 17-21, CompTIA is spotlighting issues affecting its small business members and offering solutions to address those challenges. Investing in technology ... read more

The Halifax Group ("Halifax"), a leading middle-market private equity firm, announced today that it has acquired Envision Pharma, Inc. ("Envision") from a subsidiary of Express Scripts Holding Co. Envision is an innovative global technology and scientific communication company focused on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device ... read more

CTIA-The Wireless Association® announced Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Guttman-McCabe has been promoted to Executive Vice President, and replaces Bobby Franklin, who was selected as the new President and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association. Scott Bergmann, Assistant Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, will succeed Guttman-McCabe as Vice President of the department. The promotions will be effective July 15, 2013 to facilitate a timely and smooth transition. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-a) As the new Executive Vice President, Guttman-McCabe will work closely with ... read more

Organizers for the 2013 National Edward R. Murrow Awards have announced that freelance war correspondent, Alex Quade's Chinook Down has won the award in the category of National Online for Writing for her video report for The New York Times/nytimes.com. This is her second, consecutive National Murrow Award win. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130618/DC33756) War reporter, Alex Quade has made a career out of "going to bad places" as an embedded reporter. In body armor, helmet and anti-ballistic eyewear protection, she ... read more

In an effort to alert business owners--large and small--, consumers and lawmakers that key, two decades old, U.S. trade programs are about to expire without action by the U.S. Congress, the Embassy of Ecuador's Keep Trade Going (KTG) campaign has launched KeepTradeGoing.com, an interactive website, letter-writing, and petition drive aimed at encouraging action before it's too late. The KTG campaign, an initiative of the Embassy of Ecuador in Washington, D.C., was launched to promote the Ecuador-U.S. trade relationship, which supports ... read more

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vanda) (NASDAQ: VNDA) presented additional data today at ENDO 2013, the Endocrine Society's 95(th) Annual Meeting, demonstrating that tasimelteon can entrain (synchronize) both melatonin and cortisol rhythms. This effect further confirms tasimelteon's potential to reset the master body clock and address the circadian desynchrony which is inherent in Non-24-Hour Disorder (Non-24). The SET (Safety and Efficacy of Tasimelteon) and RESET (Randomized-withdrawal study of the Efficacy and Safety of Tasimelteon to treat Non-24-Hour Disorder) Phase III studies ... read more

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today launched a funding initiative designed to grow a national community of patients, clinicians, researchers, and other healthcare stakeholders who will advance patient-centered outcomes research. The new PCORI Engagement Awards program will offer targeted funding to dozens of groups of patients, clinicians and other front-line caregivers, and others across the healthcare community who are interested in supporting the expansion of patient- centered outcomes research (PCOR) and implementation of its results. It will do so ... read more

Goodwill will announce a new initiative to significantly augment its support of military veterans at a National Press Club Newsmaker news conference on Thursday, June 20. To address the challenges women veterans experience as they return home, Goodwill will help 3,000 women veterans find jobs in the next two years. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO) Announcing the new initiative and discussing the unique challenges facing women veterans seeking employment will be: -- Jim Gibbons, president and CEO, Goodwill Industries International ... read more

NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier and other agency officials will debut a new machine for manufacturing NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and check on development progress with the heavy-lift rocket at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Friday, June 21. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) NASA is inviting media representatives to attend a 9:15 a.m. CDT ribbon-cutting ceremony for the vertical weld center, where friction-stir weld tooling will be used to assemble the SLS core stage, then ... read more