Source: United States Navy
NORFOLK, Va. – The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) was named the best all-around ship in the Atlantic Fleet based on accumulation of achievements, and the ship that showed the most dramatic improvement in battle effectiveness, earning it the Battenberg Cup and the Arleigh Burke trophy, respectively.
Source: United States Airforce
The U.S. Air Force kicked off Bamboo Eagle 25-3—Air Combat Command’s premier advanced training exercise designed to enhance multi-domain combat readiness and agility in a contested environment.
Source: United States Airforce
The training was designed to certify air traffic controllers in four different roles to support REFORPAC, effectively increasing ATC manpower by 50%.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Allwaste Onsite, doing business as Onsite Environmental (Onsite Environmental), entered two guilty pleas today in relation to federal Clean Water Act violations. As part of the plea, Onsite Environmental has agreed to pay a fine of $512,000 and serve a three-year term of probation that requires Onsite Environmental to properly treat industrial wastes according to a detailed facility operating plan.
According to court documents, Onsite Environmental operated a facility in Nashville, Tennessee, that treated liquid non-hazardous industrial wastes before discharging them into the sewer. Onsite Environmental had obtained a pretreatment permit from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro) under an approved Clean Water Act pretreatment program. The permit required Onsite Environmental to remove pollutants in the industrial wastes prior to discharging them into the sewer.
However, from Dec. 5-22, 2022, and again from Jan. 4-17, 2023, Onsite Environmental employees knowingly bypassed treatment processes and discharged untreated or partially untreated industrial wastes into the Metro sewer system in direct violation of the pretreatment permit.
U.S. District Court Judge Aleta A. Trauger for the Middle District of Tennessee accepted the guilty pleas. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee made the announcement.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Criminal Investigation Division and EPA Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Matthew T. Morris of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie N. Toussaint for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Royal Sovereign International Inc. (Royal Sovereign), a New Jersey corporation that sold office and home appliances, pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging it under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) with failing to report immediately to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) information concerning portable air conditioners allegedly linked to more than 40 fires and one death. Additionally, Royal Sovereign agreed to a civil settlement with the United States that included a $16,025,000 civil penalty, the maximum civil penalty authorized by the CPSA.
According to court documents, Royal Sovereign, which also did business as Royal Centurian Inc., imported and sold more than 33,000 defective air conditioners between 2008 and 2014. The air conditioners were defective due to a faulty drain motor that could electrically short and cause them to catch fire and burn uncontrollably. The company’s CEO, Takwan Lim, previously signed a settlement agreement with CPSC stemming from allegations that a related entity, Royal Sovereign Corporation, sold certain portable ceramic heaters that posed a fire risk. Royal Sovereign recalled the defective air conditioner models in 2021.
“It is critical for companies, corporate executives, and their employees to exercise strict compliance with their obligations under the Consumer Product Safety Act to safeguard the American public and recall hazardous products as soon as possible,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Companies cannot attempt to evade liability by delaying or avoiding reporting. When they do, they must be held accountable.”
“The criminal and civil resolutions in this matter show this Office’s commitment to protecting the public and holding companies accountable for violating their obligations under the Consumer Product Safety Act,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for the District of New Jersey.
“Royal Sovereign’s failure to report a deadly defect led to tragedy, including the death of a mother and serious injuries to her children,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman. “CPSC will not hesitate to use the full weight of its executive power to pursue violations of the law — including criminal penalties — and we thank our partners at DOJ for helping to bring this company to justice.”
In pleading guilty, Royal Sovereign admitted that, despite knowing of the defects from numerous consumer complaints and lawsuits, it willfully failed to report information about the air conditioners immediately to CPSC, as was its obligation under the CPSA. According to the information filed in the case, the company misled the CPSC in November 2010 by telling the agency that it was aware of only two fire incidents related to the air conditioners and that the products had been discontinued. In reality, the government alleged, the company was aware of at least 16 fires and continued to distribute the products anyway. According to the recall notice, a woman died in August 2016 from smoke inhalation and her two children were injured after their Royal Sovereign air conditioner caught fire. In connection with the guilty plea, Royal Sovereign is required to pay $395,786.48 in restitution to victims.
The civil settlement resolves allegations that Royal Sovereign failed to notify the CPSC “immediately,” as required by law, that its portable air conditioners contained a defect presenting a substantial product hazard and that the products created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death.
Takwan Lim, the former CEO of the company, died in 2023. Royal Sovereign has permanently ceased all company operations related to the marketing, sale, or distribution of consumer products. In recognition of the company’s limited ability to pay, all but $100,000 of the civil penalty was suspended. The consent decree requires Royal Sovereign and certain individuals associated with it to notify the government and to develop internal controls and procedures designed to ensure timely, truthful, complete, and accurate reporting to CPSC as required by law before resuming the marketing, sale, or distribution of any consumer products.
Trial Attorney Ethan Carroll of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch (CPB) prosecuted the criminal case with the assistance of Renee McCune of CPSC’s Office of the General Counsel. CPB Trial Attorney David Crockett handled the civil settlement with the assistance of Patricia Vieira of CPSC’s Office of the General Counsel. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey provided valuable assistance.
For more information about the products that were recalled, visit www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2022/Royal-Sovereign-Recalls-Portable-Air-Conditioners-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards-One-Death-Reported.
Victims who experienced bodily injury or damage, destruction, or loss of property caused by a fire involving a portable air conditioner made or distributed by Royal Sovereign International Inc., or Royal Centurian Inc., with a model number beginning with PAC-3012, ARP-3012, or ARP-3014, should contact the Department of Justice at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov by Sept. 5, if they have not previously received compensation and believe they are entitled to restitution.
For more information about the enforcement efforts of the Consumer Protection Branch, visit the Branch’s website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Two Chinese nationals – one of them an illegal alien – have been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging they knowingly exported to China tens of millions of dollars’ worth of sensitive microchips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, are charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act, a felony that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Geng surrendered to federal authorities on Saturday. Yang was arrested earlier that day.
At their initial appearance late Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, a federal magistrate judge ordered Geng released on $250,000 bond and scheduled an Aug. 12 detention hearing for Yang. Arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 11. No pleas were taken Monday.
Geng is a lawful permanent resident. Yang is an illegal alien who overstayed her visa.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, from October 2022 to July 2025, the defendants – through their El Monte-based company, ALX Solutions Inc. – knowingly and willfully exported from the United States to China sensitive technology, including graphic processing units (GPUs) – specialized computer parts used for modern computing – without first obtaining the required license or authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce. According to the complaint, ALX Solutions Inc. was founded shortly after the Commerce Department began requiring licenses for the advanced microchips that Yang and Geng are alleged to have illegally exported.
A review of export records, business records, and company websites indicates that a December 2024 shipment and at least 20 previous shipments by ALX Solutions involved exports from the U.S. to shipping and freight-forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia, which commonly are used as transshipment points to conceal illegal shipments to China.
ALX Solutions has not received payments from the entities to which they purportedly exported goods. Instead, ALX Solutions received numerous payments from companies based in Hong Kong and China, including a $1 million payment from a China-based company in January 2024.
For example, in December 2024, ALX Solutions sent a shipment that falsely labeled that it was sending GPUs subject to federal laws and regulations. In fact, the shipment contained GPUs that required a license for export to China. Neither the defendants nor their company applied for, nor did they obtain a license from the Commerce Department.
According to the complaint and public information, the chip – made by a manufacturer of high-performance AI chips – is the “most powerful GPU chip on the market,” and is “designed specifically for AI applications,” such as “to develop self-driving cars, medical diagnosis systems, and other AI-powered applications.”
Last week, law enforcement searched ALX Solutions’ office and seized the phones belonging to Geng and Yang that revealed incriminating communications between the defendants, including communications about shipping export-controlled chips to China through Malaysia to evade U.S. export laws.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and the FBI are investigating this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colin S. Scott, Joseph Guzman, and Jenna Long for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case with assistance from Trial Attorney Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
WASHINGTON – Today, the Justice Department published a list of states, cities, and counties identified as having policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”
On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens. The Executive Order recognized that “some State and local officials . . . continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws” and “[i]t is imperative that the Federal Government restore the enforcement of United States law.” The Executive Order directed the Justice Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, to publish a list of such jurisdictions. Accordingly, the following states, cities, and counties have been identified as sanctuary jurisdictions:
STATES:
COUNTIES:
CITIES:
In recent months, the Justice Department has filed several lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdictions seeking to compel compliance with federal law, including one against New York City on July 24th. Recently, the Mayor of Louisville agreed to revoke their sanctuary policies following a letter from the Justice Department threatening legal action.
Read more about the sanctuary jurisdiction list and the criteria for inclusion here. This list is not exhaustive and will be updated as federal authorities gather further information. The federal government will assist any jurisdiction that desires to be taken off this list to identify and eliminate their sanctuary policies, so they no longer stand in opposition to federal immigration enforcement.
Source: United States Navy
NORTHERN TERRITORY, Australia — Against the backdrop of Talisman Sabre 25, the Indo-Pacific’s largest military exercise involving more than 35,000 troops from 19 nations, the Marines and Sailors of the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 25.3 Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) accomplished what few forces can: multimodal and mobile command and control across thousands of kilometers of simulated contested terrain, synchronized precision fires with the U.S. Army and Australian Defence Force (ADF), and seamless combined maneuver with 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5/7 RAR). From the red earth of the Northern Territory to the grasslands of Queensland, the journey was a proving ground for modern warfighting.
Source: United States Navy
The Mercy-class hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) departed from Limón, Costa Rica, August 1, 2025, after spending eight days providing medical care, dental care, veterinary care, and multiple subject matter exchanges for Continuing Promise 2025 (CP25).
Source: United States Navy
MARSEILLE, France – The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) arrived in Marseille, France, for a scheduled port visit August 4, 2025.