FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Release No: NR-018-15
January 16, 2015
DoD Releases 2013 Annual Report on Suicide
Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) released its 2013 calendar year Suicide Event Report (DoDSER), which details the number of suicide attempts and deaths for U.S. service members.
The DoDSER also includes detailed assessments of demographic information, behavioral health history, and deployment history for each suicide event. This comprehensive information informs DoD senior leaders as they make policy decisions to improve suicide prevention efforts.
In calendar year 2013, active component suicide totals and rates declined over 2012, while reserve components had a slight increase. There were 229 deaths by suicide among active component service members and 220 deaths by suicide among selected reserve component service members (87in the reserve and 133 in the National Guard).
The suicide rate per 100,000 in 2013 was 18.7 for active component service members, 23.4 for reserve component and 28.9 for National Guard.
“One suicide among our ranks is too many,” said Jackie Garrick, director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office. “Suicide is complex, and the better we understand these events in our community, the better we will be able to assist service members in crisis. We consider any measure that saves a life as one worth taking. ”
The department is actively engaged in suicide prevention efforts. Each of the services conducts suicide prevention awareness training for service members and families, and DoD has expanded access to mental health care by increasing the number of providers, embedding them at the unit level and training community clinicians in military cultural competence. Directors of Psychological Health are available for the National Guard.
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
EPA OFFERS $15 MILLION IN SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS TO CLEAN UP CONTAMINATED BROWNFIELDS
FROM: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA Announces $15 Million in Supplemental Funds to Clean up and Redevelop Contaminated Brownfields Sites Across the Country
WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced approximately $15 million in supplemental funding to help clean up contaminated Brownfields properties. The Revolving Loan Funding (RLF) will help 41 communities carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects. These projects will help communities create jobs while protecting people’s health and the environment.
“These funds – granted to communities who have already achieved success in their work to clean up and redevelop brownfields – will help boost local economies, create local jobs and protect people from harmful pollution by expediting Brownfield projects,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “The RLF supplemental recipients are some of the nation’s top performers. Collectively, these communities have already leveraged more than $2.5 billion in clean up and redevelopment investment – the RLF funding announced today will help sustain that incredible progress.”
Revolving loan funds specifically supply funding for grant recipients to provide loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. When these loans are repaid, the loan amount is then returned to the fund and subgranted or re-loaned to other borrowers, providing an ongoing source of capital within a community for additional cleanup of brownfield sites. The supplemental grants range in funding from about $200,000 to $400,000 with an average grant award of $300,000.
This year’s supplemental funds will support an array of cleanup and redevelopment projects across the country. For example:
The City of Brea, Calif., will use its supplemental funding to clean sections of a former rail line, which will be reused as a rails-to-trails project for alternative transportation and recreation options.
Cleanup of a downtown property in Great Falls, Mont., will allow Easter Seals Good Will to move forward with a $2.5 million redevelopment, which will create numerous construction and permanent jobs.
A loan from the Indiana Finance Authority will go toward cleanup of the former Carpenter Manufacturing site, which will be redeveloped into a business park redevelopment creating approximately 100 jobs.
The Land-of-Sky Regional Council will use the additional funding for cleanup at the former Chatham Mill in Salem, N.C. Once cleaned, developers plan to rehabilitate the 300,000 square foot structure into approximately 150 multifamily rental units.
In Nassau County, N.Y., funds will be used to address the last un-remediated parcel of Glen Cove’s 52 acre waterfront redevelopment area.
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA’s Brownfields program targets these sites to encourage redevelopment, and help to provide the opportunity for productive community use of contaminated properties. EPA’s Brownfields investments overall have leveraged more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from public and private sources and on average, $17.79 is leveraged for every EPA Brownfields grant dollar spent.
The funds have enabled the support of 90,000 jobs in cleanup, construction and redevelopment.
EPA Announces $15 Million in Supplemental Funds to Clean up and Redevelop Contaminated Brownfields Sites Across the Country
WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced approximately $15 million in supplemental funding to help clean up contaminated Brownfields properties. The Revolving Loan Funding (RLF) will help 41 communities carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects. These projects will help communities create jobs while protecting people’s health and the environment.
“These funds – granted to communities who have already achieved success in their work to clean up and redevelop brownfields – will help boost local economies, create local jobs and protect people from harmful pollution by expediting Brownfield projects,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “The RLF supplemental recipients are some of the nation’s top performers. Collectively, these communities have already leveraged more than $2.5 billion in clean up and redevelopment investment – the RLF funding announced today will help sustain that incredible progress.”
Revolving loan funds specifically supply funding for grant recipients to provide loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. When these loans are repaid, the loan amount is then returned to the fund and subgranted or re-loaned to other borrowers, providing an ongoing source of capital within a community for additional cleanup of brownfield sites. The supplemental grants range in funding from about $200,000 to $400,000 with an average grant award of $300,000.
This year’s supplemental funds will support an array of cleanup and redevelopment projects across the country. For example:
The City of Brea, Calif., will use its supplemental funding to clean sections of a former rail line, which will be reused as a rails-to-trails project for alternative transportation and recreation options.
Cleanup of a downtown property in Great Falls, Mont., will allow Easter Seals Good Will to move forward with a $2.5 million redevelopment, which will create numerous construction and permanent jobs.
A loan from the Indiana Finance Authority will go toward cleanup of the former Carpenter Manufacturing site, which will be redeveloped into a business park redevelopment creating approximately 100 jobs.
The Land-of-Sky Regional Council will use the additional funding for cleanup at the former Chatham Mill in Salem, N.C. Once cleaned, developers plan to rehabilitate the 300,000 square foot structure into approximately 150 multifamily rental units.
In Nassau County, N.Y., funds will be used to address the last un-remediated parcel of Glen Cove’s 52 acre waterfront redevelopment area.
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA’s Brownfields program targets these sites to encourage redevelopment, and help to provide the opportunity for productive community use of contaminated properties. EPA’s Brownfields investments overall have leveraged more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from public and private sources and on average, $17.79 is leveraged for every EPA Brownfields grant dollar spent.
The funds have enabled the support of 90,000 jobs in cleanup, construction and redevelopment.
Friday, July 12, 2013
MORTGAGE AGENT CONVICTED IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME THAT NETTED $1.43 MILLION
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Las Vegas Agent Convicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
A Las Vegas mortgage agent has been convicted for his role in a “cash back at closing” mortgage fraud scheme that netted $1.43 million in fraudulent mortgage loans, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada, and Acting Special Agent in Charge William C. Woerner of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office.
After a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks in the District of Nevada, a federal jury convicted Jawad “Joe” Quassani, 42, on July 10, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and two counts of mail fraud.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Quassani participated in a scheme in which the prices of two homes were falsely inflated, mortgage loans were obtained through the submission of loan applications containing false and fraudulent information about the buyer’s income and intent to occupy the homes as primary residences, a portion of the loan proceeds was diverted at the close of escrow to the defendant’s co-conspirators, and commissions on the fraudulent loans were paid to Quassani and his co-conspirator. Evidence at trial established that Quassani, a licensed mortgage agent at Rapid Funding Group, conceived the scheme together with two of his co-conspirators, prepared one of the loan applications and arranged for the preparation of the other, and shared in the commissions generated by transactions that had no purpose other than to generate profits for the co-conspirators.
Co-conspirators Anita Mathur and Shirjil “Sean” Qureshi previously pleaded guilty in related cases in Las Vegas to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud. Both are awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Trial Attorneys Stephen J. Spiegelhalter and Gary A. Winters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
Today’s conviction is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants.
Las Vegas Agent Convicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
A Las Vegas mortgage agent has been convicted for his role in a “cash back at closing” mortgage fraud scheme that netted $1.43 million in fraudulent mortgage loans, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada, and Acting Special Agent in Charge William C. Woerner of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office.
After a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks in the District of Nevada, a federal jury convicted Jawad “Joe” Quassani, 42, on July 10, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and two counts of mail fraud.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Quassani participated in a scheme in which the prices of two homes were falsely inflated, mortgage loans were obtained through the submission of loan applications containing false and fraudulent information about the buyer’s income and intent to occupy the homes as primary residences, a portion of the loan proceeds was diverted at the close of escrow to the defendant’s co-conspirators, and commissions on the fraudulent loans were paid to Quassani and his co-conspirator. Evidence at trial established that Quassani, a licensed mortgage agent at Rapid Funding Group, conceived the scheme together with two of his co-conspirators, prepared one of the loan applications and arranged for the preparation of the other, and shared in the commissions generated by transactions that had no purpose other than to generate profits for the co-conspirators.
Co-conspirators Anita Mathur and Shirjil “Sean” Qureshi previously pleaded guilty in related cases in Las Vegas to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud. Both are awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Trial Attorneys Stephen J. Spiegelhalter and Gary A. Winters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
Today’s conviction is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Monday, December 3, 2012
NASA VIDEO: MOON PHASE AND LIBRATION 2013
FROM: NASA
Moon Phase & Libration 2013: Additional Graphics
This visualization shows the phase and libration of the Moon throughout the year 2013, at hourly intervals. Each frame represents one hour. In addition, this version of the visualization shows additional relevant information, including the Moon's orbit position, subsolar and subearth points, distance from the Earth, and more.
Moon Phase & Libration 2013: Additional Graphics
This visualization shows the phase and libration of the Moon throughout the year 2013, at hourly intervals. Each frame represents one hour. In addition, this version of the visualization shows additional relevant information, including the Moon's orbit position, subsolar and subearth points, distance from the Earth, and more.
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