WHITE HOUSE ISSUES CONTINUATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO TERRORISTS THREATENING MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
January Notice -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Terrorists Who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process

CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO TERRORISTS WHO THREATEN TO DISRUPT THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

On January 23, 1995, by Executive Order 12947, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by grave acts of violence committed by foreign terrorists that disrupt the Middle East peace process. On August 20, 1998, by Executive Order 13099, the President modified the Annex to Executive Order 12947 to identify four additional persons who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process. On February 16, 2005, by Executive Order 13372, the President clarified the steps taken in Executive Order 12947.

These terrorist activities continue to threaten the Middle East peace process and to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on January 23, 1995, and the measures adopted to deal with that emergency must continue in effect beyond January 23, 2015. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmit 21, 2015
ted to the Congress.

BARACK OBAMA

REP. POWER'S REMARKS ON DOMINIC ONGWEN'S ARRIVAL AT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations 
New York, NY
January 20, 2015 UN 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dominic Ongwen’s arrival at the International Criminal Court in the Hague is a welcome development in the international community’s campaign to counter the LRA’s dehumanizing violence, and to bring perpetrators to justice after more than two decades of the LRA’s brutal campaign of torture, rape and murder.

I commend the governments of the Central African Republic and Uganda, as well as the leadership of the African Union, for their close coordination on this effort and for their commitment to ensuring that perpetrators of human rights violations face justice.

The fact that Ongwen will finally face trial is the latest sign of tangible progress in the African Union-led effort to end the threat posed by the LRA and its leader, Joseph Kony, to which the United States has dedicated considerable resources, including more than 100 U.S. military advisors. Today’s outcome is a great example of what can result from regional coordination in combating the LRA, and it is imperative that the African Union Regional Task Force (AU-RTF) continue to coordinate with regional governments, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) in its fight against the LRA, which still remains a serious threat to regional peace and security.

Those remaining LRA members should follow the lead of Dominic Ongwen and the more than 250 other individuals who have left the LRA since 2012. They should end their lives on the run and turn themselves in.

The United States continues to look forward to the end of the LRA and the day when its victims will finally be free from LRA terror, seeing justice that is long overdue.

WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON JOB-DRIVEN TRAINING AND AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

FACT SHEET: Ready to Work At a Glance: Job-Driven Training and American Opportunity

New Actions to Expand Job-Driven Training and Broaden the Pathway to the Middle Class

“So tonight, I've asked Vice President Biden to lead an across-the-board reform of America's training programs to make sure they have one mission: train Americans with the skills employers need, and match them to good jobs that need to be filled right now. That means more on-the-job training, and more apprenticeships that set a young worker on an upward trajectory for life. It means connecting companies to community colleges that can help design training to fill their specific needs. And if Congress wants to help, you can concentrate funding on proven programs that connect more ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs.”

— President Obama, State of the Union, January 28, 2014

Across the country, federal job training programs help hard-working Americans find good jobs and careers, employers recruit and hire the skilled workers they need to compete, and American communities build the skilled workforces they need to attract business investment and create jobs. In order to continue to grow the economy, expand opportunity, and widen the pathway to the middle class, the President and Vice President are committed to improving training opportunities for Americans by replicating strategies that work.

In his 2014 State of the Union Address, and as part of his plan to make 2014 a Year of Action, the President announced that he was asking the Vice President to lead a review of federal training programs in order to identify and implement steps to make these programs more “job-driven”: to be responsive to the needs of employers in order to effectively place ready-to-work Americans in jobs that are available now or train them in the skills needed for better jobs. Today, the President and Vice President will announce the results of the review, including new actions by the federal government and the private sector. The Vice President will release a new report that details these actions and highlights successful job-driven strategies. The President will also sign the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which will help improve business engagement and accountability across federally-funded training programs.

In the months ahead, the Administration will continue to work with business and union leaders, school administrators, workforce experts, and state and local elected officials to replicate successful training strategies in communities throughout the United States.

For additional details, click HERE.

Engaging Employers in Partnerships to Define Needed Skills, Offer Apprenticeships, and Hire Graduates

Matching ready-to-work Americans to in-demand jobs works best when employers engage to define needed skills, shape training programs, and invest in apprenticeships and on-the-job training.

• Competitive grants to launch hundreds of job-driven industry partnerships across the country. $950 million in job-driven grants have already been launched and will have been awarded to over 100 job-driven industry partnerships by this fall. Starting October 1, all applicants for 25 annual competitive grant programs across federal agencies must follow the job-driven checklist, meaning that over $1.4 billion in existing job training funds for youth, displaced workers, long-term unemployed, and others will be awarded to hundreds of community organizations and education and training institutions in partnership with employers.
• Expanding American Apprenticeships. In addition to making $100 million available for the American Apprenticeship Grants to expand apprenticeships to more Americans, the Administration has engaged high-growth industries and is today announcing new resources to help employers start or expand apprenticeships.
• Using a job-driven checklist to ensure $15 billion in job training funds are more effective. Agencies boiled down what makes training programs successful and created a Job-Driven Checklist that will be used to drive successful practices like employer engagement and apprenticeship into all training programs.

Information to Help Job Seekers, States, and Communities Make Smart Choices

In-demand skills and job opportunities evolve as our economy and technology changes. Making data-driven tools available at all levels allows individuals, employers, and taxpayers to realize higher returns on training investments.

• Ensure all federal programs track employment outcomes. Employment measures will be added to any program without them, including programs serving Americans with disabilities and veterans.
• Mobilizing America’s innovators. Following a White House Data Jam for Job Seekers, Glassdoor, Apploi and others are committing to make personalized guidance on job search and training freely available.
• Give states and localities information and incentives to tailor job-driven strategies locally. Agencies will provide states guidance and flexibility to tailor job-driven strategies, offering grants for implementation.

Innovation and Promoting More Effective Strategies

We will enable agencies to pilot promising job-driven training strategies and learn how best to scale them.

• High-impact innovations in higher education. The Department of Education will waive particular federal student aid rules to enable the testing of innovative education models awarding degrees based on demonstrated skills rather than seat time, and the Department of Labor will award $25 million to create an online skills academy designed to prepare adult learners for in-demand careers.
• Testing effective strategies for adult learners. The Department of Agriculture will award $200 million for up to 10 pilot projects to rigorously test employment and training programs. A partnership of employers, foundations, and non-profits is launching a national competition to crowd source for the best technologies to upskill this population.
• Testing strategies for disconnected youth. The Administration will allow up to 10 state and local pilot programs to blend funds from multiple federal programs to test new models for serving disconnected youth, and the Department of Labor will use Job Corps’ demonstration authority to experiment with new models to improve outcomes for youth under age 20.

U.S. SENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF COLOMBIA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Colombia's Independence Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

July 18, 2014

---

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send my best wishes to the people of Colombia as you celebrate your independence on July 20th.

We celebrate 190 years of U.S.-Colombian friendship this year. This is an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of our relationship, which now extends far beyond security cooperation to include collaboration on issues such as environmental protection, renewable energy, entrepreneurship, bilingual education, and academic mobility.

Last August, I took my first official trip to Colombia as Secretary. I was taken with the warmth and spirit of your country and have long been inspired by your resilience. Radio stations that once broadcasted messages of support from mothers to their kidnapped children instead play the popular music of the day. Bogota is a thriving capital where business booms and police patrol the streets. Colombians have an incredible story to tell the world about transformation.
As you celebrate with your countrymen, the United States is proud to stand by all Colombians as you work to secure a peaceful future for your children and grandchildren.

SECRETARY KERRY STATEMENT ON EXTENSION OF IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Extension of Iran Nuclear Talks

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

July 18, 2014

---

As President Obama and our entire administration has made clear, we are committed to testing whether we can address one of the world’s most pressing priorities – ensuring that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon – through the diplomatic negotiations in which we and our international partners are currently engaged.

This effort remains as intense as it is important, and we have come a long way in a short period of time. Less than a year ago, President Obama and Iranian President Rouhani spoke for the first time to try to usher in a new diplomatic moment, and I held the first bilateral meeting between a Secretary of State and an Iranian Foreign Minister in more than three decades.
Since that time, we’ve been intensely engaged in a constant and comprehensive effort – the best chance we’ve ever had to resolve this issue peacefully. This effort has been made possible by the Joint Plan of Action, which stopped the progress of Iran’s nuclear program – and rolled parts of it back – for the first time in a decade.

The JPOA was a six-month understanding that went into effect on January 20, and it has been a clear success. Since its implementation, Iran has complied with its obligations to neutralize its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium; cap its stockpile of 5 percent enriched uranium; not install advanced centrifuges; not install or test new components at its Arak reactor; and submit to far more frequent inspections of its facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency has regularly verified that Iran has lived up to these commitments. Meanwhile, we and our P5+1 and EU partners have provided limited sanctions relief, as agreed to in the Joint Plan of Action, while vigorously enforcing the broader sanctions regime that remains in place.

As I said on Monday in Vienna, it is clear to me that we have made tangible progress in our comprehensive negotiations, but there are very real gaps in some areas. Today, we have a draft text that covers the main issues, but there are still a number of brackets and blank spaces in that text.

In terms of progress, we have been working together to find a long-term solution that would effectively close off the plutonium path to a bomb through the reactor at Arak. We have been working on a different purpose for Fordow that would ensure it cannot be used to build a nuclear weapon. We have been working to guarantee Iran’s stockpile of low enriched uranium can’t be turned into higher enriched uranium suitable for a bomb. And we have agreed that any long-term, comprehensive solution will involve enhanced monitoring and verification measures that go well beyond the status quo – measures that are absolutely critical in creating the confidence we need that Iran will not be able to build a weapon in secret. There are other areas where we’ve made progress; these are just some of the most important. Of course, on all these issues there is still work to do and differences to resolve, but we have made real progress.
Still, there are very real gaps on issues such as enrichment capacity at the Natanz enrichment facility. This issue is an absolutely critical component of any potential comprehensive agreement. We have much more work to do in this area, and in others as well.
Diplomacy takes time, and persistence is needed to determine whether we can achieve our objectives peacefully. To turn our back prematurely on diplomatic efforts when significant progress has been made would deny ourselves the ability to achieve our objectives peacefully, and to maintain the international unity that we have built. While we’ve made clear that no deal is better than a bad deal, the very real prospect of reaching a good agreement that achieves our objectives necessitates that we seek more time.

As a result, we have decided – along with the EU, our P5+1 partners, and Iran – to extend the Joint Plan of Action until November 24, exactly one year since we finalized the first step agreement in Geneva. This will give us a short amount of additional time to continue working to conclude a comprehensive agreement, which we believe is warranted by the progress we’ve made and the path forward we can envision.

Under this short extension, all parties have committed to upholding their obligations in the Joint Plan of Action. For the next four months, we will continue to halt the progress of Iran’s nuclear program in key areas. In addition, Iran has committed to take further nuclear-related steps in the next four months that are consistent with the types of steps that they committed to in the JPOA. These include a continued cap on the amount of 5 percent enriched uranium hexafluoride and a commitment to convert any material over that amount into oxide.

In the JPOA, Iran diluted half of its 20 percent enriched uranium hexafluoride and converted the rest to oxide. In this extension, Iran has committed to go one step further and make all of this 20 percent into fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor. Twenty-five kilograms of this material will be converted into fuel by the end of the extension. Once the 20 percent material is in fuel form, it will be very difficult for Iran to use this material for a weapon in a breakout scenario. Attempting to do so would be readily detected by the IAEA and would be an unambiguous sign of an intent to produce a weapon.

In return, we will continue to suspend the sanctions we agreed to under the JPOA and will allow Iran access to $2.8 billion dollars of its restricted assets, the four-month prorated amount of the original JPOA commitment. Let me be clear: Iran will not get any more money during these four months than it did during the last six months, and the vast majority of its frozen oil revenues will remain inaccessible. And, just as we have over the last six months, we will continue to vigorously enforce the sanctions that remain in place.

Ultimately, our goal in pursuing this brief extension is to capitalize on the progress we’ve already made, while giving us the best chance of success at the end of this process. Critically, Iran’s nuclear program will remain halted during the next four months. This is in our interest, and in the interest of our allies. And as we pursue this path, we will continue to consult with those allies and with the Congress about this critical issue.

We do so mindful not just of where we hope to arrive, but of how far we have come. One year ago, few would have predicted that Iran would have kept all its commitments under a first step nuclear agreement, and that we would be actively negotiating a long-term comprehensive agreement. Now we have four additional months to determine the next miles of this difficult diplomatic journey. Let’s all commit to seize this moment, and to use the additional time to make the fundamental choices necessary to conclude a comprehensive agreement that makes the entire world a safer place.

HHS SAYS $100 MILLION AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT NEW HEALTH CENTER SITES

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

HHS announces the availability of $100 million in Affordable Care Act funding to expand access to primary care through new community health centers
HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced today the availability of $100 million from the Affordable Care Act to support an estimated 150 new health center sites across the country in 2015. New health center sites will increase access to comprehensive, affordable, high quality primary health care services in the communities that need it most.  Later today, Secretary Burwell will also visit a Community Health Center in Decatur, Georgia to talk with its health care professionals about the important work they are doing to connect the community with high quality primary care.

“In communities across the country, Americans turn to their local Community Health Center for vital health care services that help them lead healthy, productive lives,” said Secretary Burwell.  “That’s why it’s so important that the Affordable Care Act is supporting the expansion of health centers.”

The investment announced today will add to the more than 550 new health center sites that have opened in the last three years as a result of the Affordable Care Act.  Today, nearly 1,300 health centers operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites that provide care to more than 21 million patients in every State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin.  Health centers are also playing a critical role in helping the public learn about new coverage opportunities under the Affordable Care Act, by conducting outreach and enrollment activities that link individuals to affordable coverage options available through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

“Since last fall, health centers have provided enrollment assistance to more than 4.7 million people across the country,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “We are pleased that the Affordable Care Act is supporting the establishment of additional health center sites to provide expanded opportunities for the newly insured to receive care.”

OBSTRUCTION GUILTY PLEA OBTAINED IN BRIBERY CASE INVOLVING MINING RIGHTS IN REPUBLIC OF GUINEA

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, March 10, 2014
French Citizen Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Criminal Investigation into Alleged Bribes Paid to Win Mining Rights in the Republic of Guinea

Frederic Cilins, 51, a French citizen, pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of New York to obstructing a federal criminal investigation into whether a mining company paid bribes to win lucrative mining rights in the Republic of Guinea.

Mythili Raman, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York; and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, made the announcement.

Cilins pleaded guilty to a one-count superseding information filed today, which alleges that Cilins agreed to pay money to induce a witness to destroy, or provide to him for destruction, documents sought by the FBI.   According to the superseding information, those documents related to allegations concerning the payment of bribes to obtain mining concessions in the Simandou region of the Republic of Guinea.

According to publicly filed documents, Cilins allegedly attempted to obstruct an ongoing federal grand jury investigation concerning potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and laws proscribing money laundering.   Court documents state the federal grand jury was investigating whether a particular mining company and its affiliates – on whose behalf Cilins had been working – transferred into the United States funds in furtherance of a scheme to obtain and retain valuable mining concessions in the Republic of Guinea’s Simandou region.   During monitored and recorded phone calls and face-to-face meetings, Cilins allegedly agreed to pay substantial sums of money to induce a witness to the bribery scheme to turn over documents to Cilins for destruction, which Cilins knew had been requested by the FBI and needed to be produced before a federal grand jury.   Court documents also allege that Cilins sought to induce the witness to sign an affidavit containing numerous false statements regarding matters under investigation by the grand jury.

Court documents allege that the documents Cilins sought to destroy included original copies of contracts between the mining company and its affiliates and the former wife of a now-deceased Guinean government official, who at the relevant time held an office in Guinea that allowed him to influence the award of mining concessions. The contracts allegedly related to a scheme by which the mining company and its affiliates offered the wife of the Guinean official millions of dollars, which were to be distributed to the official’s wife as well as ministers or senior officials of Guinea’s government whose authority might be needed to secure the mining rights.

According to court documents, the official’s wife incorporated a company in 2008 that agreed to take all necessary steps to secure the valuable mining rights for the mining company’s subsidiary.  That same contract stipulated that $2 million was to be transferred to the official’s wife’s company and an additional sum was to be “distributed among persons of good will who may have contributed to facilitating the granting of” the valuable mining rights.  According to the complaint, in 2008, the mining company and its affiliates also agreed to give 5 percent of its ownership of particular mining areas in Guinea to the official’s wife.

The case is being investigated by the FBI.   The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Tarek Helou of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant United States Attorney Elisha J. Kobre of the Southern District of New York.   The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations also assisted in the investigation.

SPA DOCTOR PLEADS GUILTY IN MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, February 21, 2014
New Jersey Doctor Who Provided Spa Services Pleads Guilty in Medicare Fraud Scheme

Dr. Chang Ho Lee, 68, of Palisades Park, N.J., pleaded guilty today to health care fraud and agreed to forfeit more than $3.4 million in fraud proceeds.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos of the FBI’s New York Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Thomas O’Donnell of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

According to court documents, Lee, who is a medical doctor, and two others recruited patients by offering free lunches and recreational classes and provided them with spa services, such as massages and facials, then falsely billed Medicare for more than $13 million using those patients’ Medicare numbers.   Lee and the others billed Medicare for physical therapy, lesion removals and other services that were neither medically necessary nor provided.   The scheme took place at three clinics: URI Medical Center and Sarang Medical PC in Flushing, N.Y., and 999 Medical Clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y.   Lee received more than $3.4 million through the submission of the fraudulent claims.

Lee is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the Eastern District of New York on June 13, 2014.   At sentencing, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and approximately $3.4 million in mandatory restitution.

The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.   The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Nicholas Acker and Trial Attorney Bryan D. Fields from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,700 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5.5 billion.  In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

FRAUD CHARGED BY SEC IN ALLEGED MOVIE INVESTMENT SCHEME

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three California residents with defrauding investors in a purported multi-million dollar movie project that would supposedly star well-known actors and generate exorbitant investment returns.

The SEC alleges that Los Angeles-based attorney Samuel Braslau was the architect of the fraudulent scheme that raised money through a boiler room operation spearheaded by Rand Chortkoff of Encino, Calif.  High-pressure salespeople including Stuart Rawitt persuaded more than 60 investors nationwide to invest a total of $1.8 million in the movie first titled Marcel and later changed to The Smuggler.  Investors were falsely told that actors ranging from Donald Sutherland to Jean-Claude Van Damme would appear in the movie when in fact they were never even approached.  Instead of using investor funds for movie production expenses as promised, Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt have spent most of the money among themselves.  The investor funds that remain aren’t enough to produce a public service announcement let alone a full-length motion picture capable of securing the theatrical release promised to investors.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California today announced criminal charges against Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt.

“Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt sold investors on the Hollywood dream,” said Michele Wein Layne, director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office.  “But the dream never became a reality because they took investors’ money for themselves rather than using it to make a movie.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Braslau set up companies named Mutual Entertainment LLC and Film Shoot LLC to raise funds from investors for the movie project.  In January 2011, Mutual Entertainment spent $25,000 to purchase the rights to Marcel, an unpublished story set in Paris during World War II.  Shortly thereafter, Mutual Entertainment began raising money from investors through a boiler room operation that Chortkoff operated out of Van Nuys, Calif.

The SEC alleges that Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt claimed that 63.5 percent of the funds raised from investors would be used for “production expenses.”  However, very little if any money was actually spent on movie expenses as they instead used the vast majority of investor funds to pay sales commissions and phony “consulting” fees to themselves and other salespeople.  Rawitt made numerous false claims to investors about the movie project.  For instance, he flaunted a baseless projected return on investment of about 300 percent.  He falsely depicted that they were just shy of reaching a $7.5 million fundraising goal and the movie was set to begin shooting in summer 2013.  He instilled the belief that Mutual Entertainment was a successful film company whose track record encompassed the Harold and Kumar movies produced by Carsten Lorenz.  And he falsely stated that investors would realize revenues from action figures and other products tied to the movie when in fact no such licensing rights had been sold.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Rawitt was the subject of a prior SEC enforcement action in 2009, when he was charged for his involvement in an oil-and-gas scheme.

“Investors can help protect themselves when approached for an investment opportunity by using the Internet to their advantage and researching the individual making the offer,” said Lori Schock, director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.  “In this case, a quick search of the SEC website reveals a copy of the complaint filed against Rawitt in federal court for participating in an offering fraud as well as an order barring him from the brokerage industry.”

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5.  The complaint further alleges that Chortkoff and Rawitt violated Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act, and Rawitt violated Section 15(b)(6)(B) of the Exchange Act.  The SEC seeks financial penalties and permanent injunctions against Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt.

The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Peter Del Greco and Marc Blau of the Los Angeles office.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

U.S. AND 26 OTHER NATIONS COMMIT TO GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA GOALS

FROM:  U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT 
Nations Commit to Accelerating Progress against Infectious Disease Threats

The United States joins 26 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), to accelerate progress toward a world safe and secure from the threat of infectious disease, and committing to the goals of the Global Health Security Agenda.

“Global health security is a shared responsibility; no one country can achieve it alone,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. “In the coming months, we will welcome other nations to join the United States and the 26 other countries gathered here in Washington and in Geneva, as we work to close the gaps in our ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.”

Over the next five years the United States plans to work with at least 30 partner countries (containing at least 4 billion people) to prevent, detect and effectively respond to infectious disease threats, whether naturally occurring or caused by accidental or intentional releases of dangerous pathogens.

“While we have made great progress in fighting and treating diseases, biological threats can emerge anywhere, travel quickly, and take lives,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.  “The recent outbreaks of H7N9 influenza and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome are reminders of the need to step up our efforts as a global community.  The Global Health Security Agenda is about accelerating progress toward a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats.”

Later this year, the White House will host an event bringing together nations who are committed to protecting the world from infectious disease threats to review progress and chart the way forward on building a global system for preventing, detecting, and responding to such threats.

“The United States and the world can and must do more to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks as early and as effectively as possible,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said.  “CDC conducted two global health security demonstration projects last year in partnership with Vietnam and Uganda to strengthen laboratory systems, develop strong public health emergency operations centers, and create real-time data sharing in health emergencies.  CDC is committed to replicate the successes in these two projects in ten additional countries this year.”

In FY 2014, CDC and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency have jointly committed to accelerate progress on global health security by co-developing a strategy and devoting $40 million toward activities focusing on advancing the U.S. government's GHS objectives in ten nations.

The FY 2015 President’s Budget will include an increase of $45 million within CDC to prevent avoidable catastrophes, detect threats early, and mobilize effective responses to contain outbreaks.  The increase also would allow CDC to partner with up to ten countries in 2015 to begin implementation and accelerate successful CDC efforts including training of field epidemiologists, developing new diagnostic tests, building capacities to detect new pathogens, building public health emergency management capacity, and supporting outbreak responses.

Secretary Sebelius, Ms. Monaco and Dr. Frieden were joined at the launch meeting by representatives in Washington and Geneva from 26 other countries, three international organizations, and by other U.S. government officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox, and Department of Agriculture Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford, whose agencies will lead efforts to fulfill the U.S. government commitment to global health security.

“Efforts to prevent deadly outbreaks strengthen geopolitical stability and security, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “None of us, not the public health, security or agriculture sectors can accomplish global health security on our own—it is obvious that an interdisciplinary approach is the best way to make progress.”

HHS, DoS, USDA, and DoD will work closely with global partners to build countries’ global health security capacities in areas such as surveillance, detection and response in order to slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance, establish national biosecurity systems, reduce zoonotic disease transmission, increase routine immunization, establish and strengthen national infectious disease surveillance and laboratory systems, and develop public health electronic reporting systems and emergency operations centers.

“The Global Health Security Agenda set forth today establishes a roadmap for progress that ultimately depends on collaboration between the health and security communities,” said Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Fox. “The Department of Defense is committed to continuing our work, together with our national and international partners, to strengthen global health security.”

Countries joining the United States to meet the Global Health Security goals at today’s launch were Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, and, Vietnam.

CDC REPORT ON CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY

FROM:  CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

New CDC Vital Signs: Child Passenger Safety

One in three children who died in crashes in 2011 was not buckled up, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report. CDC analyzed 2002–2011 data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to determine the number and rate of motor-vehicle occupant deaths, and the percentage of child deaths among children age 12 and younger who were not buckled up. Motor vehicle crash deaths among children age 12 and younger decreased by 43 percent in the past decade (2002-2011), however, more than 9,000 children died in crashes during that period.

Research has shown that using age- and size-appropriate child restraints (car seats, booster seats, and seat belts) is the best way to save lives and reduce injuries in a crash, yet only 2 out of every 100 children live in states that require car seat or booster seat use for children age 8 and under. Almost half of all black (45 percent) and Hispanic (46 percent) children who died in crashes were not buckled up, compared to 26 percent of white children (2009-2010).
To help keep children safe on the road, parents and caregivers can:
Buckle children in car seats, booster seats, and seat belts in the back seat—on every trip, no matter how short.

Rear-facing car seat from birth up to age 2. Buckle children in a rear-facing seat until age 2 or when they reach the upper weight or height limit of that seat.
Forward-facing car seat from age 2 up to at least age 5. When children outgrow their rear-facing seat, they should be buckled in a forward-facing car seat until at least age 5 or when they reach the upper weight or height limit of that seat.
Booster seat from age 5 up until seat belt fits properly. Once children outgrow their forward-facing seat, they should be buckled in a booster seat until seat belts fit properly. The recommended height for proper seat belt fit is 57 inches tall.
Seat belt once it fits properly without a booster seat. Children no longer need to use a booster seat once seat belts fit them properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt lays across the chest (not the neck).

Install and use car seats according to the owner’s manual or get help installing them from a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician.
Buckle children age 12 and under in the back seat.

FINDING ENGINEERING INSIGHTS FROM ANIMAL DRINKING STUDIES

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
Scientists apply biological behavior to human engineering

Study of animals' water drinking motions could lead to better water pumps and new insights into locomotion and propulsion

Have you ever watched your cat or dog drink water?

Their lapping motions, which differ from the way humans drink--and also differ in some respects from each other--are an evolutionary marvel of nature.

Cats and dogs, many other animals, have developed survival mechanisms over time that help them adapt to their environments, in this case, figuring out a way to get water into their mouths when the location of the water is low and the animals' location is high.

The way they do it provides important information for scientists trying to apply biological behavior to human engineering, especially in the field of fluid mechanics, which studies liquids and gases and the forces upon them.

"Nature has spanned billions of years finding the best designs for its many systems," says Sunghwan Jung, an assistant professor of engineering, science and mechanics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. "Human engineering can learn much from how nature does it."

Jung and his colleagues--Jake Socha, also an assistant professor of engineering, science and mechanics at Virginia Tech, and Pavlos Vlachos, a professor of mechanical engineering--all National Science Foundation (NSF)- funded scientists, have been studying the drinking behavior of both domestic animals.

Their findings could have significant applications in the development of novel coating/dipping systems for materials engineering, as well as in designing new types of pumps to transport water, with potential uses in the military, in industry and recreation.

The cat's method relies on its instinctive ability to calculate when gravitational forces overcome inertia, causing the water to fall. A cat curves the upper side of its tongue downward so that the tip lightly touches the surface of the water, then pulls it upward at a high speed, creating a column of water behind it. At the very moment that gravity starts to pull the column down, the cat closes its jaws over the jet of water and swallows it.

The dog, on the other hand, appears to scoop water into its mouth, using its highly curled tongue. The amount of water ingested depends on the lapping frequency, and the size of the air cavity created by its tongue.

Both animals create columns of water when they do this, but only the dog's tongue uses a scooping motion.

"Cats and dogs have a mouth structure very different from us," Jung says. "They have incomplete cheeks. Humans don't have a large mouth opening, but have a complete cheek. We drink water, rather than lap. But cats and dogs have incomplete cheeks, so they can't lower the pressure inside their mouths. If they did, they would just suck air. So they developed a lapping mechanism."

Their research could influence the future design of water pumps, Jung says. There are two main types used today, pressure-driven pumps and inertia-driven pumps. The former involves sucking water up through a tube, while the latter uses a moving part--a water wheel, for example--to move water from a low place to a high place.

The water drinking methods used by dogs and cats are examples of inertia-driven pumps. "Their tongues are the moving parts," Jung says. "There may be places where you cannot use a pressure driven pump. Perhaps we can design some bio-inspired pump by learning how cats and dogs drink water."

Jung and his colleagues are conducting their research with a grant from NSF's Physics of Living Systems program, which supports theoretical and experimental research exploring the most fundamental physical processes that living systems use to perform their functions in dynamic and diverse environments. The focus is on understanding basic physical principles that underlie biological function.

As part of their experiments, the team will create artificial three-dimensional tongues of both dogs and cats and plans to "actuate these artificial tongues in rotational motion, mimicking what cats and dogs do, to understand the fluid dynamics," Jung says. "We want to see how fluids move due to the tongues' motion, and how water is transported upward."

Along with water drinking, the scientists also are studying how some animals--lizards and frogs, for example--move effortlessly across a water surface or jump from it to capture insects for food. The idea is to gain new insights about locomotion and propulsion.

"Since there are no engineered systems that operate under conditions similar to these reptiles and amphibians, we have an opportunity to learn how nature effectively uses the interaction of these forces," Jung says.

In addition to faster dipping and coating processes, their findings also could produce "water-walking robots," he says.

"Nature is very smart," he adds. "In nature, animals both move around a lot and also drink fluids. Those two are everyday essential behaviors. Most animals have evolved to optimize these behaviors, and their methods can teach us quite a bit."

-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
John Socha
Sunghwan Jung
Pavlos Vlachos
Related Institutions/Organizations
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

FOUR VIOLENT ROVING JEWELRY ROBBERS PLEAD GUILTY

FROM:  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Four Members of Jewelry Theft Ring Plead Guilty

Four men have pleaded guilty for their roles in a highly sophisticated and violent organization that targeted jewelry couriers in Georgia and Texas.   The defendants were caught as part of a national effort to find and prosecute roving groups of robbers who travel around the country targeting jewelry couriers and other business people.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman and U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia made the announcement.

Honorio Sanchez-Valencia, 46, of Gwinnett, Ga., and Jose Vicente Ramirez-Rodriguez, 38, John Rodriguez, 37, and Ali Alejandro Godoy-Maximo, 25, each of Los Angeles, Ca., pleaded guilty this week in the Northern District of Georgia to Hobbs Act robbery for participating in the robbery of a jewelry courier on Jan. 31, 2013, at a QuikTrip gas station in Buford, Ga.   The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.   In addition, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a handgun, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.   Sentencing has not been scheduled.

Court records show that on Jan. 31, 2013, as part of a plan to identify and rob a jewelry courier, the courier-victim was followed by Ramirez-Rodriguez to a QuikTrip gas station.   As he was following the courier, Ramirez-Rodriguez contacted Sanchez-Valencia to help him with the robbery.   Sanchez-Valencia, in turn, contacted the other defendants, all of whom came to the gas station together.   When the courier was putting gas in his vehicle, two of the defendants approached him, with one restraining him with a knife while another smashed the vehicle window and took a briefcase containing over $125,000 in assorted jewelry.

Sanchez-Valencia also admitted his involvement in a similar robbery that occurred in Dallas on Aug. 27, 2012.   In that robbery, two jewelry couriers were at a restaurant when Sanchez-Valencia briefly came into the restaurant to conduct surveillance on them and to determine the layout of the restaurant.   Within a few minutes after Sanchez-Valencia left, three masked men with a gun came into the restaurant and robbed the jewelry couriers of two briefcases containing over $500,000 of jewelry.   Some of that jewelry was recovered during the execution of a search warrant at a storage unit rented by Sanchez-Valencia.

This case was investigated by the FBI, ICE and the Gwinnett County Police Department, with assistance from the Dallas Police Department.   This case is being prosecuted by Laura Gwinn of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Dammers of the Northern District of Georgia.

'INVISIBLE WOUNDS' TREATMENT

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Director Discusses Innovations in 'Invisible Wounds' Treatment
By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2013 - The Military Health System acknowledges that U.S. troops in previous conflicts haven't been subjected to the circumstances that surround 12 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior Defense Department physician said here yesterday during a panel discussion at a warrior-family symposium.

Dr. James Kelly, director of the Defense Department's National Intrepid Center of Excellence, talked about his center's advancements in post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury – signature wounds from the wars - in a panel discussion titled, "Innovative Mental Health Solutions – Today and Tomorrow."

The annual symposium is sponsored by the Military Officers Association of America and the National Defense Industrial Association.

Kelly cited problems that stem from the pattern of repeated deployments and training between deployments, combined with an all-volunteer force composed of members put themselves in harm's way time and time again. "It is not the pattern we've previously had in our military," he said.

The idea that the younger generation is somehow softer or in some ways more vulnerable doesn't hold water, Kelly said. "These people are tough as nails," he said to a round of applause from hundreds of audience members.

"What we need to do is innovate, look more in depth, and understand them as people and individuals that have been engaged in ways [for which] we simply have no good track record to point to and say, 'Here's what this is about, and here's what to do about it,'" he said.

Kelly said he and his staff learn as they go at the center, conducting research and treating service members in an intensive four-week program.

In a previous interview with American Forces Press Service, Kelly explained that when service members with severe traumatic brain injury do not respond to conventional medical treatment, they can be referred to the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, but they must also have a co-existing psychological health issue, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or anxiety.

Kelly became NICoE's director five years ago. The center got underway when Defense Department officials invited him -- a former neurology consultant for the Chicago Bears football team -- to join a group of doctors to examine how to treat service members who were exposed to blast injuries and other head trauma.

He and the other doctors were "willing volunteers" drawn to military health care and working with service members coming back from both wars because of blast-related injuries and a variety of other causes of concussions, Kelly said.

The need for innovation in research and in treating service members led to a concept of using "virtual reality war," with service members are immersed in a setting with a vision of what happens when they're inside a Humvee going down a road. The seat begins to vibrate as a bomb goes off, and the smell of burning rubber wafts into the vehicle. The hope, Kelly explained, is that while the service members are in a safe clinic setting, the experience can help them get past the traumatic events they brought back from deployments.

This use of virtual reality shows quantifiable metabolic changes deep inside the brain when it's dealing with stress, Kelly said.

"That's just one of the examples of the kinds of things that we're engaged in that is really novel, innovative," he added. "[It] bridges into areas of the mind ... in ways that traditional medicine -- certainly traditional neurology -- hadn't previously."