JUDGE IN 9-11 CASE LOOKS AT DEFENSE CLAIM

FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Military Commission Judge Mulls Probe of Defense Claim

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

FORT MEADE, Md., April 15, 2014 – The judge in the military commission proceedings for five suspects in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States called for a recess today to prepare an order allowing defense attorneys time to determine whether current or past defense team members were contacted by a government agency.

The proceedings began yesterday at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and a satellite feed here allows reporters unable to travel to Cuba to cover the case.

Court recessed today at about 11 a.m. when the judge, Army Col. James Pohl, said he will issue the order later today.

The order follows the defense team’s request this morning for an investigation after one of the defense attorneys disclosed yesterday that the FBI questioned a member of his team about the suspects.

Pohl told defense attorneys they have until 5 p.m. tomorrow to submit a request if they want the court to subpoena witnesses from agencies that have contacted past or existing defense members. Any information the defense teams find will be disclosed only to the lead defense counsel for each team, Pohl ordered.
“The lead counsel will use his or her professional judgment in bringing the issue to the judge,” explained Army Lt. Col. J. Todd Breasseale, a Defense Department spokesman.

The court order is to avoid a conflict with any nondisclosure agreement an agency might have required a member of the defense team to file, Breasseale said.
Pohl is considering a court investigation on agencies that contacted defense team members, based on requests from defense team members in today’s proceedings. Because of those requests, the judge told the defense teams to determine which witnesses they believe they need. As yet, there is no indication the judge will proceed with an investigation.

James Harrington, attorney for defendant Ramzi Binalshibh, told the court at the start of yesterday’s hearing that the FBI contacted one of his team members for information. He did not say why FBI agents recently questioned his defense team member, but said the individual handled classified evidence.

The four-day hearing was set to examine whether Binalshibh is mentally capable to stand trial. Court proceedings will resume April 17, Pohl said.

CONCERN REMAINS OVER INCREASED VIOLENCE IN UKRAINE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S., NATO Remain Concerned About Situation in Ukraine

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2014 – The United States is concerned about reports of increased violence in Ukraine, and continues to call on Russia to de-escalate the situation, Pentagon officials said today.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen echoed the U.S. concern during a media availability in Luxembourg today.

There has been no substantial change in the number or composition of the Russian forces on Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders, Army Col. Steve Warren, a Defense Department spokesman, told reporters at the Pentagon.

“The Russians continue to have tens of thousands of troops arrayed along the Ukrainian border,” he said, “and again I would like to reiterate that we have repeatedly called on the Russians to withdraw those troops from the border and help de-escalate the situation in Ukraine.”

Ukrainian troops are moving to flush pro-Russian militias from cities in the eastern part of the country. In a call with President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is not interfering in Ukraine, and that U.S. contentions that Russia is interfering are based on erroneous information.

“The American government is under no illusions that the Russian government continues to array its troops along the Ukrainian border,” Warren said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the evidence is compelling that Russia is supporting these efforts to destabilize Ukraine.

The United States continues to support Ukraine, Warren said, and U.S. officials have conducted defense consultations with Ukraine recently. The consultations did not address current operations, he added. The senior Defense Department representative at the talks was Evelyn Farkas, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.

Rasmussen said NATO is concerned about the continued violence by small groups of separatists, and Russia’s continued military pressure on Ukraine’s borders. “I call on Russia to de-escalate the crisis, to pull back its troops from Ukraine’s borders, to stop de-stabilizing the situation in Ukraine, and make clear that it doesn’t support the violent actions of pro-Russian separatists,” the secretary general said.

“Russia should stop being part of the problem, and start being part of the solution,” he added.

The NATO chief said the alliance is considering further steps to strengthen collective defense. This could include appropriate deployments, he said.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR APRIL 14, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

CONTRACTS

AIR FORCE

AECOM Technical Services Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., (FA8903-14-D-0001); Baker-Stanley-Cardno Joint Venture, Moon Townside, Pa., (FA8903-14-D-0002); OTIE-RS&H Joint Venture, Milwaukee, Wis., (FA8903-14-D-0004); Parsons Brinkckerhoff-FSB-H&A Joint Venture, Houston, Texas, (FA8903-14-D- 0005); Parsons Government Services Inc., San Antonio, Texas, (FA8903-14-D-0006), and LEIDOS Inc. (formerly SAIC), McLean, Va., (FA8903-14-D-0007) have been awarded a $950,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architect-engineering services to support military construction (MILCON), military family housing (MFH), and sustainment, restoration and modernization (SRM) programs worldwide. The work includes efforts to perform Title I, Title II, and other A-E services to administer, coordinate, and technically support the Air Force Civil Engineer's MILCON, MFH (to include military housing privatization initiatives, SRM program areas, and other areas of essential support worldwide. These programs could include work in various government installations in the United States, at various overseas government locations, at government territorial possessions, at Defense Logistics Agency fuel facilities worldwide, and at other worldwide locations of interest to the government that could include contingency operation, remote, austere and/or hostile locations. Work is expected to be complete by April 2021. This award is the result of a qualifications-based selection process in accordance with FAR 36.6 and the Brooks Act, Public Law 92-582 electronically through Federal Business Opportunities and 82 offers were received. Fiscal 2014 funds from a variety of types (Environmental Restoration Account/Environmental Compliance, Base Realignment and Closure, MFH, and operations and maintenance) in the amount of $3,000 are being obligated for the first task order for each of the contractors. 722 ESS/PKB, Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity.

Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Va. (FA8075-14-D-0002); Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio (FA8075-14-D-0003); Jacobs Technology Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn. (FA8075-14-D-0004); MacAulay-Brown Inc., Dayton, Ohio (FA8075-14-D-0005); MRI Global, Kansas City, Mo. (FA8075-14-D-0006); National Security Information Associates, Chantilly, Va. (FA8075-14-D-0007); Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, Va. (FA8075-14-D-0008); Leidos Inc., Reston, Va. (FA8075-14-D-0009); Scitor Corp., Colorado Springs, Colo. (FA8075-14-D-0010); TASC Inc., Andover, Md. (FA8014-14-D-0011); URS Federal Services Inc., Germantown, Md. (FA8075-14-D-0012); and Wyle Laboratories Inc., Houston, Texas (FA8075-14-D-0013) have been awarded a maximum $900,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Homeland Defense and Security Technical Area Tasks (HD TATs). The HD TATs multiple-award IDIQ contracts will provide research, development, test and evaluation, and advisory and assistance services related to research and development efforts for TATs within the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense, homeland defense and security, critical infrastructure protection, weapons of mass destruction, biometrics, medical, cultural studies and alternative energy focus areas. Location of performance will be cited on individual task orders. Generally, work will be performed at government facilities, and the period of performance is five years. The ordering period is a one year basic period with four one-year option periods with work expected to be completed by April 2019 if all option periods are exercised. Individual task orders, obligating fiscal 2014 research and development funds, will be issued against the basic contracts, in order to meet the minimum order guarantee. The multiple-award contracts were competitively procured by full and open competition along with a small business reservation via the Federal Business Opportunities website with 13 offers received. The Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity.

Jacobs Government Services Co., Oak Ridge, Tenn. (FA8903-14-D-0023); MWH-Cardno TEC Baker-A Joint Venture, San Antonio, Texas (FA8903-14-D-0024); and Zapata Inc., Charlotte, N.C. (FA8903-14-D-0025), have been awarded a $500,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architect-engineering services to include environmental projects consisting of planning and programming, restoration, quality (compliance and pollution prevention), and conservation as required by the Air Force Civil Engineering Center. These programs could include work in various government installations in the United States, at various overseas government locations, at government territorial possessions, at Defense Logistics Agency fuel facilities worldwide, and at other worldwide locations of interest to the government that could include contingency operation, remote, austere and/or hostile locations. Work is expected to be complete by April 2021. This award is the result of a qualifications-based selection process in accordance with FAR 36.6 and the Brooks Act, Public Law 92-582 electronically through Federal Business Opportunities and 37 offers were received. Fiscal 2014 funds from a variety of types (Environmental Restoration Account/Environmental Compliance, Base Realignment and Closure, MFH, and operations and maintenance) in the amount of $3,000 are being obligated for the first task order for each of the contractors. 722 ESS/PKB, Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity.

NAVY

Baldi Bros. Inc.,* Beaumont, Calif. (N62473-14-D-0043); Coffman Specialties Inc., San Diego, Calif. (N62473-14-D-0044); Flatiron West Inc., San Marcos, Calif. (N62473-14-D-0045); Granite Construction Co., Watsonville, Calif. (N62473-14-D-0046); Kiewit Infrastructure West, Co., Vancouver, Wash. (N62473-14-D-0047); and Reyes Construction Inc., Pomona, Calif. (N62473-14-D-0048); are each being awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award construction contract for airfield paving and heavy duty paving projects at various locations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility (AOR). The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years for all six contracts combined is $99,000,000. Types of projects may include, but are not limited to: paving of airfield runway, taxiway, apron, and support areas for aircraft; and heavy duty paving of areas intended for heavy military and other heavy operational vehicles and equipment. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work on these contracts will be performed within the NAVFAC Southwest AOR including, but not limited to, California (80 percent), Arizona (16 percent), Nevada (1 percent), Utah (1 percent), Colorado (1 percent), and New Mexico (1 percent). The terms of the contracts are not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of April 2019. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount of $30,000 are being obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as full and open unrestricted procurement with a Historically Underutilized Business Zone price evaluation preference in accordance with FAR 52.219-4 and one reserve for small business via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 20 proposals received. The reserve was met by award to Baldi Bros. Inc. These six contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.

BCF Solutions Inc., Arlington, Va. (N65236-14-D-4151); Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Va. (N65236-14-D-4152); Bowhead Science and Technology LLC, Alexandria, Va. (N65236-14-D-4153); CommIT Enterprises Inc.,* Hughesville, Md. (N65236-14-D-4154); Deloitte Consulting LLP, Alexandria, Va. (N65236-14-D-4155); TASC Inc., Andover, Mass. (N65236-14-D-4156); and Whitney, Bradley and Brown Inc., Reston, Va. (N65236-14-D-4157), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price, with provisions for cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders, performance based multiple award contract. The cumulative, estimated ceiling value of the base year is $83,333,333. The contracts are for the procurement of program management and financial management support services including non-inherently governmental services to perform analyses and research. These contracts include options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative ceiling value of these contracts to an estimated $250,000,000. This contract action merely establishes a potential ceiling value and does not obligate the Navy to fund to the ceiling. Work will be performed worldwide. Work is expected to be completed by April 2015. If all options are exercised, work could continue until April 2017. SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic Navy working capital funds in the amount of $15,000 will be obligated at the time of award as the minimum guarantee and will be split among the seven awardees; these funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract action establishes a potential ceiling value, in which funds are obligated on individual task orders for efforts that fall within the core competency areas. The multiple award contracts were competitively procured by full and open competition via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center e-Commerce Central website and the Federal Business Opportunities website, with 12 offers received. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity.

iRobot Corp., Bedford, Mass., is being awarded a $59,220,496 modification to previously awarded contract (N00174-11-D-0013) for the procurement of Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS) production systems, depot level repair parts, spare kits, depot repair services, parts supply, training, engineering enhancements, configuration management, and approved accessories. The MTRS is a small robotic vehicle used by explosive ordnance disposal technicians to conduct remote reconnaissance, render safe, and/or dispose of explosive devices. Work will be performed in Bedford, Mass., and is expected to be completed by April 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army and fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount of $720,500 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity.

Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP, Baltimore, Md., is being awarded a maximum amount $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract with for multi-discipline architect-engineering services in support of projects primarily in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The work to be performed provides for the following engineering and design services, but is not limited to building construction and addition of special projects and military construction facilities, general building renovation work, development of design-bid-build packages, development of design-build request for proposal packages, conducting life safety code studies, interior space planning/design studies, engineering and design site work, paving, landscaping, communications, fire protection, energy conservation systems, utilities and facility planning. Task order 0001 is being awarded at $157,886 for survey of sanitary and storm drain systems in Building 77L at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by August 2014. All work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities throughout the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic area of responsibility including, but not limited to, New Jersey (34 percent), New York (33 percent), and Pennsylvania (33 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of April 2019. Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital fund contract funds in the amount of $157,886 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance, Navy. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 18 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic Northeast, Integrated Product Team, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N40085-14-D-5205).
Insitu Inc., Bingen, Wash., is being awarded $10,222,289 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 0015 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-12-G-0008) for interim contractor services in support of the RQ-21A Unmanned Aircraft System, including all requirements necessary to support the system at the organizational level during planned and surge flight operations. Services include integrated logistics support, program planning and management support, field service technical support, data reporting, and hardware to maintain the RQ-21 production configuration during initial fielding. Work will be performed at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C. (80 percent) and Bingen, Wash. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2015. Fiscal 2014 procurement, Marine Corps funds in the amount of $10,222,289 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Golden Manufacturing Co., Inc.,* Golden, Miss., has been awarded a maximum $54,873,720 modification (P00102) exercising the first option period on a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-13-D-1047) with four one-year option periods for various Permethrin Army combat uniform coats. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Locations of performance are Mississippi and Georgia with an April 16, 2015 performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa. (Awarded April 9, 2014)

Dental Health Products,* New Franken, Wis., has been awarded a maximum $38,436,832 modification (P00002) exercising the second option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2DE-12-D-7459) with four one-year option periods for distribution of general dental supplies. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Wisconsin with an April 27, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

MedImmune Biologics Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., has been awarded a maximum $23,274,000 modification (P00101) exercising the first option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D0-13-D-0006) with one one-year option period for intranasal influenza vaccine spray. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Locations of performance are Maryland and Pennsylvania with a June 26, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

ARMY

Allison Transmission Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., was awarded a $51,444,025 modification (P00026) to multi-year contract W56HZV-08-D-0159 to acquire 99 X1100-3B transmissions for M1A2 Abrams tanks. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Ind. Estimated completion date is Sept. 30, 2015. Fiscal 2013 other procurement funds in the amount of $11,349,458 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity.

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

LEIDOS, Reston, Va., is being awarded a $7,294,064 modification (18) to firm-fixed-price contract (HQ0034-11-F-0080) to provide mission support services for court room and case preparation. Services required are linguistic, translation, transcription support, court reporters, and expert witnesses for commission hearings. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., with an expected completion date of April 14, 2016. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,294,064 are being obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, with one proposal received. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.

*Small Business

SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON ANNIVERSARY OF BOSTON TERRORIST BOMBING

Statement on One Year Anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing

Press Statement

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

April 15, 2014

---

I was thousands of miles from home when the bombs went off at the Boston marathon, but even from the glow of the television screen it was a sickening kick to the gut to see those familiar streets turned into a war zone in an instant. The very place where I had once cheered my own daughter on to the finish line became a blood-soaked scene from a war. Steps from Copley Square, perfect strangers bore victims to safety; police shielded downed runners; and doctors mended the injured around the clock. I will never forget the phone calls in the days that followed, hearing friends tell me about grandchildren, husbands and wives, struggling for life itself or fighting to save their limbs. Today, my thoughts and prayers remain with those we lost and those still struggling to recover, and today we give thanks for the grace and grit of so many who defied the odds to walk and even run again on new legs.

The horrors of Patriots’ Day 2013 reminded all of us of the worst and the best that mankind has to offer. It taught everyone exactly what the City of Boston was made of, a backbone of steel that runs through our city. But it also reminded us of a humanity that really is universal. And across the globe, people everywhere closed ranks and paid tribute. In London, a week later, marathon runners wore black ribbons on their bibs. In Toronto black signs printed with “04.15.13” lined the streets. Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa had crossed the finish line on Boylston Street two hours before chaos reigned. I met him months later in Addis Abbas where he vowed to give his medal back in solidarity with the victims. Lelisa was true to his word and returned to Boston that summer, medal in hand. And with 6,000 other triumphant runners, he ran 10K through Boston Commons and along Commonwealth Avenue. In Ethiopia, Lelisa told me that “sport should never be used as a battleground.”

Later this month, as runners once again take their mark in the Boston dawn, we will all be reminded that courage and empathy triumphed. That sports are not a battlefield, but an act of community, and that the bravery of police officers, firefighters, medics, runners, and bystanders turned heroes, made the phrase “Boston Strong” meaningful from Massachusetts to Europe to the Horn of Africa.

MAN SENTENCED FOR TRYING TO HIRE KKK TO KILL AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBOR

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, April 14, 2014

Alabama Man Sentenced for Attempting to Hire Ku Klux Klan to Kill Neighbor

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance for the Northern District of Alabama and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Shwein Jr. announced that a Talladega County, Ala., man was sentenced in federal court today for attempting to hire members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to murder an African-American neighbor

Allen Wayne Densen Morgan, 29, of Munford, Ala., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre on Oct. 24, 2013, to one count of using and causing someone else to use interstate facilities and travel with the intent to commit a murder-for-hire.  At today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Bowdre sentenced Morgan to serve 72 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Morgan previously admitted that in August 2013, he attempted to hire members of the KKK to murder his neighbor.  According to Morgan’s plea agreement, on Aug. 22, 2013, Morgan spoke on the phone with an undercover FBI agent, who identified himself as a KKK member.  The men arranged to meet three days later at an Oxford, Ala., motel to discuss payment for the murder.  In that phone conversation, Morgan used a racial slur to describe the man he wanted killed and bragged that he had just fired several shots toward the man to intimidate him.  Morgan also described, in detail, how he wanted the man to be “hung from a tree like a deer and gutted,” to have body parts cut off and to “die a slow, painful death.”  On August 25, Morgan met with FBI agents posing as members of the KKK.  Morgan offered a watch, a necklace and a gun as payment for the murder and gave explicit directions for the man’s torture and murder.

“The defendant attempted to have his neighbor tortured and murdered by the KKK,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Samuels.  “Today’s sentence demonstrates that the Justice Department will continue to aggressively prosecute those who act on their racial hatred by seeking to inflict such acts of violence on others.”

“Mr. Morgan detailed his calculated desire to end his neighbor's life through the most brutal and heinous means,” said U.S. Attorney Vance. “Today's sentence reinforces that vigilantism is not acceptable in our society and we will prosecute that crime.”

READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA MEETS WITH GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AT THE WHITE HOUSE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Readout of the President’s Meeting with the Global Development Council

Today the President met with members of the Global Development Council at the White House.  President Obama welcomed the opportunity to hear the Council’s views and reiterated his Administration's strong commitment to promoting development as a key component of our comprehensive approach to national security.  He urged members of the Council to develop additional actionable recommendations on how to catalyze private sector investment in development, leverage American innovation to help reduce poverty and boost economic growth, and increase agricultural production and food security without further accelerating climate change.

In addition to the President, meeting participants included:

U.S. Government Council Members

• John Kerry, Secretary of State
• Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense
• Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development
• Sarah Raskin, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
• Wendy Cutler, Acting Deputy United States Trade Representative
• Daniel Yohannes, Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge Corporation
• Elizabeth Littlefield, President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation 

Council Members

• Richard C. Blum (Richard C. Blum and Associates, Inc.)
• Esther Duflo (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
• Mohamed El-Erian, GDC Chair (formerly CEO Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC)
• Gargee Ghosh (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
• Sarah Kambou (President, International Center for Research on Women)
• James Manyika, GDC Vice-Chair (McKinsey and Company)
• Alan Patricof (Greycroft, LLC)
• Bill Reilly (TPG Capital, LP, former head of EPA)
• Steve Schwager (formerly of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.)
• Smita Singh (formerly of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation) 

White House Participants

• Susan Rice, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
• John Podesta, Counselor to the President
• Caroline Atkinson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics
• Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, National Security Council 

The Global Development Council is the first Presidential-level council devoted to global development policy. It was established in February 2012 by Executive Order 13600, consistent with the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development.  The mission of the Council is to inform and provide advice to the President and other senior U.S. officials on U.S. global development policy and practice.  

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON ANNIVERSARY OF BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE

  Statement by the President

A year ago, tragedy struck at the 117^th Boston Marathon.  Four innocent people were killed that week, and hundreds more were wounded.  Today, we remember Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, Martin Richard, and Sean Collier.  And we send our thoughts and prayers to those still struggling to recover.

We also know that the most vivid images from that day were not of smoke and chaos, but of compassion, kindness and strength: A man in a cowboy hat helping a wounded stranger out of harm’s way; runners embracing loved ones, and each other; an EMT carrying a spectator to safety.  Today, we recognize the incredible courage and leadership of so many Bostonians in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.  And we offer our deepest gratitude to the courageous firefighters, police officers, medical professionals, runners and spectators who, in an instant, displayed the spirit Boston was built on – perseverance, freedom and love.

One year later, we also stand in awe of the men and women who continue to inspire us – learning to stand, walk, dance and run again.  With each new step our country is moved by the resilience of a community and a city.  And when the sun rises over Boylston Street next Monday – Patriot’s Day – hundreds of thousands will come together to show the world the meaning of Boston Strong as a city chooses to run again.  

DISPLAYED: SPACE STATION'S VEGETABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEM EXPERIMENT

FROM:  NASA INTERNATIONAL 

The International Space Station's Vegetable Production System ("Veggie") experiment is on display in the News Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Veggie is a new investigation with "edible results" heading to the space station. Veggie is a deployable plant growth unit capable of producing salad-type crops to provide the crew with appetizing, nutritious and safe fresh food and support crew relaxation and recreation. It will serve as a new space station facility as well and will provide a venue for future plant growth research. To the right of the Veggie experiment is a model of the Space Launch System (SLS), the nation's next heavy-lift launch vehicle. NASA is developing the SLS and Orion spacecraft to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, with the flexibility to launch spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, including to an asteroid and Mars. The Veggie experiment is aboard SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft, scheduled to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. at 4:58 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 14, 2014. The SpaceX-3 mission is carrying almost 2.5 tons of supplies, technology and science experiments and is the third of 12 flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory. Read more about cargo launching to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX-3: > SpaceX’s Dragon Headed to Space Station to Create Astronaut Farmers > CASIS-Sponsored Research Heads to Space Station Aboard SpaceX-3 > International Space Station to Beam Video via Laser Back to Earth > NASA's Latest Smartphone Satellite Ready for Launch Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.

U.S. MARINES LEAVE FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELARAM II FOR THE LAST TIME

FROM:  U.S. DEFENCE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Marines stand by their vehicles to depart Forward Operating Base Delaram II in Nimroz province, Afghanistan, for the last time as they head back to Camp Bastion in Helmand province, April 8, 2014. U.S. Marines. 

U.S. Marines prepare and ready their vehicles to depart Forward Operating Base Delaram II in Nimroz province, Afghanistan, as they head back to Camp Bastion in Helmand province, April 8, 2014. U.S. Marines Corps photo by Sgt. Frances Johnson.

ASSOCIATE AG WEST MAKES REMARKS AT NATIONAL INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION MEETING

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Associate Attorney General Tony West Delivers Remarks at the National Indian Child Welfare Association’s Thirty-second Annual Protecting Our Children Conference

~ Monday, April 14, 2014

Thank you, Theodore and Alex, for that kind introduction and for inviting me to join you today at this conference.  It is wonderful to be here with so many friends, colleagues, and supporters.  And it is an honor to share the stage this morning with two great partners, Assistant Secretary Washburn and Associate Commissioner Chang.

I would especially like to thank NICWA and its members for the work that you do -- day in and day out -- to strengthen Indian tribes, to support Indian families, and to protect Indian children in both state child-welfare and private-adoption systems throughout our nation.

And I think it's fitting that what brings us together this morning, this week -- from communities across this country -- is our commitment to children, particularly Native children.  I think it was the French philosopher Camus who wrote about this being a world in which children suffer, but maybe, through our actions, we can lessen the number of suffering children.

Indeed, what brings us to Ft. Lauderdale is that promise we make to all of our children: that their safety and well-being is our highest priority; that they are sacred beings, gifts from the Creator to be cherished, cared for, and protected.

It was that promise that, nearly forty years ago, led Congress to hold a series of hearings that lifted the curtain and shed light on abusive child-welfare practices that were separating Native children from their families at staggering rates; uprooting them from their tribes and their culture.  Roughly one of every three or four Indian children, according to data presented at those hearings, had been taken from their birth families and placed with adoptive families, in foster care, or in institutions that had little or no connection to the child's tribe.

And in the face of that overwhelming evidence, a bipartisan Congress acted and passed the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.

And in the four decades since, as everyone here knows, ICWA has had a dramatic impact.  Families, tribes, social workers, and Indian foster and adoptive parents have invoked ICWA’s core protections to stem the most flagrant abuses.

Tribes no longer face the prospect that a quarter to a third of their children will simply disappear, shipped off to homes halfway across the country.  Today, in many places, tribes and states have developed productive working partnerships to implement ICWA – partnerships that ensure that Indian families and cultures are treated with the respect they deserve.

And while it is right for us to recognize the landmark achievement that is ICWA, we also know that there is much work left to do.  There is more work to do because, in some states, Native children are still removed from their families and tribes at disproportionately high rates.

There's more work to do because nationwide Indian children are still two to three times as likely as non-Indian children to end up in foster care; in some states the numbers are even larger.

There's more work to do because every time an Indian child is removed in violation of ICWA, it can mean a loss of all connection with family, with tribe, with culture.  And with that loss, studies show, comes an increased risk for mental health challenges, homelessness in later life, and, tragically, suicide.

So, as far as we have come since ICWA became law in 1978, we have farther still to go.

You all know this is true from both professional and personal experience.  And I want you to know that President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder share your commitment to improving the welfare of Indian children and are committed to working with you to help achieve that goal.  Although ICWA speaks primarily to the responsibilities and roles of the states and the tribes, we believe there’s a constructive part for the federal government to play.

That's why the White House has directed the Departments of the Interior, Health and Human Services, and Justice to engage in an unprecedented collaboration to help ensure that ICWA is properly implemented.  I believe we will hear more about this effort from Assistant Secretary of the Interior Washburn in a few minutes.

For our part at the Justice Department, our main ICWA contributions have focused on precedent-setting litigation that can affect ICWA's reach and force.  One of ICWA’s most important provisions is its recognition that Indian tribes, as sovereigns, have presumptive jurisdiction over Indian child-custody proceedings.  And over the years we have worked hard to help protect this tribal jurisdiction by participating in federal and state court litigation as an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court.”

In Alaska, for example, we’ve participated in a line of cases over the last 20 years to ensure that Alaska tribes have jurisdiction over child-custody disputes.  Starting with the landmark John v. Baker case, we’ve filed multiple amicus briefs in the Alaska and U.S. Supreme Courts, successfully arguing that even tribes that lack “Indian country” retain jurisdiction to address child-custody disputes.

Of course, we've not always prevailed.  Last June's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, which narrowly interpreted ICWA and terminated the parental rights of a Cherokee father in connection with his daughter, was decided over our arguments in support of the father.

But even when we don't prevail, our legal arguments can have a major impact on the ultimate decision.  You'll recall that in Baby Girl, one of the arguments advanced by the adoptive couple was, essentially, that ICWA was unconstitutional -- that it "upset the federal-state balance," suggesting that Congress was prohibited from overriding state child-custody law when an Indian child was involved.

We countered that applying ICWA in that case raised no constitutional concerns, as Congress has plenary authority to protect Indian children from being improperly separated from Indian communities.  And on this point, we were successful:  even though we lost the ultimate issue and the High Court ruled against the Cherokee father, the Court did not rely on the adoptive couple's constitutional argument and did not rule that ICWA was unconstitutional.

Notwithstanding setbacks like the Baby Girl decision, we will continue to stand up for ICWA because, as we said in the Supreme Court, it's “a classic implementation of Congress’s plenary [trust] responsibility . . . for Indians.”  You see, for us, standing up for ICWA means standing strong for tribal sovereignty.  "Nothing could be more at the core of tribal self-determination and tribal survival,” we said during oral argument in the Baby Girl case, “than . . . [determining] tribal membership and . . .  [caring] about what happens to Indian children.”

This, of course, is completely consistent with the Administration's steadfast efforts to advance tribal sovereignty on a whole host of fronts.  It was our Nations’ Founding Fathers, the framers of our Constitution, who expressly acknowledged tribal sovereignty when they empowered Congress to regulate commerce not only “among the several States,” but also “with the Indian Tribes.”

It's a principle that was succinctly summed up by President Obama in 2009 when he observed:  "Tribal nations do better when they make their own decisions."

And for those of us privileged to serve in the Obama Administration, what does standing up for tribal sovereignty mean?

It means not only filing briefs in Indian-law cases that seek to preserve the victories tribes have won in the lower courts; but also seeking to change the law, where necessary.

Perhaps the best example of that is last year's fight to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA.  As you know, the same year Congress helped advance tribal sovereignty by passing ICWA, the Supreme Court, in the Oliphant case, held that tribes lacked criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians unless Congress said otherwise.  But for 35 years, Congress remained silent.

So even violent crimes committed by a non-Indian husband against his Indian wife -- in the presence of their Indian children, in their home on an Indian reservation -- he could not be prosecuted by the tribe.  So violent crimes went unprosecuted and unpunished, and violence against Native women escalated.

So in 2011, the Justice Department drafted federal legislation to fix this problem by restoring tribes’ criminal jurisdiction.  Last winter, that legislation was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Obama.  Today, the Justice Department and three Indian tribes -- the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, the Tulalip Tribes of Washington, and the Umatilla Tribes of Oregon -- are all actively implementing the first pilot projects under VAWA 2013.

And while VAWA 2013 is the best example of our trying to change the law's balance in favor of tribal sovereignty, it's not the only one.  When the Supreme Court's decision in the Carcieri case made it harder for the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for some tribes, we stood with the tribes and repeatedly pushed Congress to pass the Carcieri fix, so that tribes could put their land into federal trust regardless of when they were recognized.

In addition, in response to Carcieri, the Interior Department has analyzed what tribes were under federal jurisdiction in 1934, which in turn has enabled Interior to make positive land-into-trust decisions for many tribes.  And the Justice Department is vigorously defending those decisions when they are challenged in court.

Standing up for tribal sovereignty also means extending the benefits of that government-to-government relationship to every legitimate Native American group in the United States.  That’s why the Interior Department is currently revising its federal acknowledgment regulations, so that tribes that have been terminated or otherwise denied their proper status as sovereign nations can reestablish a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

Standing up for tribal sovereignty means supporting the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as this Administration does, declaring that all “[i]ndigenous peoples have the right to self-determination . . . [and to] freely determine their political status.”

And it means not overlooking one of our country’s largest indigenous communities:  the Native Hawaiian people.  In 2010, Attorney General Holder and then-Secretary of the Interior Salazar took the historic step of expressing this Administration’s strong support for a proposal that would lead to reestablishing and maintaining a government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiian community.

Tribal leaders in the continental United States have long proclaimed that Native Hawaiians deserve the same inherent rights to local self-government, self-determination, and economic self-sufficiency that other Native Americans enjoy.  And today we have a federal government willing to stand beside them and defend those core principles.

So standing up for tribal sovereignty means moving forward on all of these fronts, as well as many others, like continued support to improve public safety in tribal communities -- almost 1000 DOJ grant awards to tribes totaling nearly $400 million over the last four years.

Or working to identify ways to reduce the violence experienced by too many of our Native children, as our Task Force on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence is doing through convenings and listening sessions throughout the country, the next one occurring later this week here in Ft. Lauderdale.

Or improving the safety of tribal communities by more U.S. Attorney prosecutions of cases in Indian Country -- up by more than 50 percent in the last four years.

These are pragmatic, meaningful and significant measures in support of tribal sovereignty, and they are making a difference every day.

Let me close by saying this:  one of the great privileges of my office as the nation's Associate Attorney General has been the opportunity to delve into issues of tribal public safety and tribal sovereignty.  And over the last five years, my work has taken me to Indian Country more than a half-dozen times.

And for me, those visits are a reminder of the rich legacy that First Americans have bestowed upon this country, and that we are a stronger America because of that legacy.

They remind me of the important trust relationship between the United States and tribal nations, and that the struggle for tribal sovereignty and self-determination has too often been waged in the face of disruption and devastation caused by assimilation and termination policies pursued in the not-so-distant past.

They remind me of the Code Talkers, the Cold War Warriors, and the other Native American men and women who proudly wore the uniform and whose continued service today helps secure the freedoms we enjoy here, at this moment and in this place; and that, as important as is our shared history, so too is our common destiny: a future that is left in our hands to shape.

A future that can be defined by sovereignty and self-determination; by resilience and sustainability and economic opportunity; a future unclouded by violence, in which the Seventh Generation is healthy, happy and strong.

That is the vision of the future that unites all of us in this room.  It is our charge and our challenge; our collective mission.  And for all that you do to make real this promise to our children, know that I salute you, proudly stand with you, and will work alongside you, today and in all the days ahead.

Thank you very much.

CEO, MANAGING PARTNER OF WALL STREET BROKER-DEALER CHARGED IN CONSPIRACY TO BRIBE FOREIGN OFFICIALS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, April 14, 2014

CEO and Managing Partner of Wall Street Broker-Dealer Charged with Massive International Bribery Scheme

The chief executive officer and a managing partner of a New York-based U.S. broker-dealer were arrested today on felony charges arising from a conspiracy to pay bribes to a senior official in Venezuela’s state economic development bank.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York and Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos of the New York Office of the FBI made the announcement.

According to the indictment unsealed today, Benito Chinea and Joseph DeMeneses, who were the Chief Executive Officer and a managing partner, respectively, of a New York-based broker-dealer (Broker-Dealer), are accused of conspiring with others to pay and launder bribes to Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez de Hernandez, a senior official in Venezuela’s state-owned economic development bank, Banco de Desarollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES), in exchange for her directing BANDES’s financial trading business to the Broker-Dealer. DeMeneses was also charged with conspiring to obstruct an examination of the Broker-Dealer by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conceal the true facts of the Broker-Dealer’s relationship with BANDES.

Chinea, 47, was arrested today in Manalapan, N.J., where he resides, and DeMeneses, 44, was arrested today in Fairfield, Conn., where he resides.  In a separate action, the SEC announced civil charges against Chinea, DeMeneses and others involved in the bribery scheme.

“ These senior Wall Street executives are accused of paying six-figure bribes to an official in Venezuela to secure foreign business for their firm,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil.  “Today’s charges show once again that we will aggressively pursue individual executives, all the way up the corporate ladder, when they try to bribe their way ahead of the competition. ”

“These two defendants, senior executives at a U.S. brokerage firm, are the fifth and sixth people to be charged in an alleged conspiracy to corrupt the trading business of a state-run economic development bank of Venezuela,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara.   “They are alleged to have bribed a willing officer at the bank to steer its overseas trading business to the defendants’ brokerage firm, reaping millions for these defendants and their partners in crime.  This Office will not tolerate the kind of outright bribery and concealment that characterized this scheme.”

“As alleged in the indictment, Chinea and Demeneses bribed Gonzalez to secure bank Bandes's financial trading business,” said FBI ADIC Venizelos.   “Demeneses compounded the Broker-Dealer’s illegal activities by conspiring to obstruct an investigation by regulators.  The arrests today of Chinea and Demeneses should be a reminder to all those in the business community that engaging in bribery schemes to secure business and make a profit is illegal. Together with our law enforcement partners, the FBI will continue to investigate bribery and fraud at all levels.”

According to the allegations in the indictment unsealed today, as well as other documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court, Chinea and DeMeneses worked at the headquarters of the Broker-Dealer in New York City.   In 2008, the Broker-Dealer established a group called the Global Markets Group (GMG), which offered fixed income trading services for institutional clients in the purchase and sale of foreign sovereign debt.   One of the Broker-Dealer’s GMG clients was BANDES, which operated under the direction of the Venezuelan Ministry of Finance.   Gonzalez was an official at BANDES and oversaw the development bank’s overseas trading activity.   At her direction, BANDES conducted substantial trading through the Broker-Dealer.   Most of the trades executed by the Broker-Dealer on behalf of BANDES involved fixed income investments for which the Broker-Dealer charged the bank a commission.

As alleged in court documents, from late 2008 through 2012, Chinea and DeMeneses, together with three Miami-based Broker-Dealer employees, Ernesto Lujan, Tomas Alberto Clarke Bethancourt and Jose Alejandro Hurtado, participated in a bribery scheme in which Gonzalez directed trading business she controlled at BANDES to the Broker-Dealer, and in return, agents and employees of the Broker-Dealer split the revenue the Broker-Dealer generated from this trading business with Gonzalez.   During this time period, the Broker-Dealer generated over $60 million in commissions from trades with BANDES.   In order to conceal their conduct, Chinea, DeMeneses and their co-conspirators routed the payments to Gonzalez, frequently in six-figure amounts, through third-parties posing as “foreign finders” and into offshore bank accounts.   In several instances, Chinea personally signed checks worth millions of dollars that were made payable to one of these purported “foreign finders” and later deposited in a Swiss bank account.

As further alleged in court documents, as a result of the bribery scheme, BANDES quickly became the Broker-Dealer’s most profitable customer.   As the relationship continued, however, Gonzalez became increasingly unhappy about the untimeliness of the payments due her from the Broker-Dealer, and she threatened to suspend BANDES’s business.   In response, DeMeneses and Clarke agreed to pay Gonzalez approximately $1.5 million from their personal funds.   Chinea and DeMeneses agreed to use Broker-Dealer funds to reimburse DeMeneses and Clarke for these bribe payments.   To conceal their true nature, Chinea and DeMeneses agreed to hide these reimbursements in the Broker-Dealer’s books as sham loans from the Broker-Dealer to corporate entities associated with DeMeneses and Clarke.

Court documents also allege that beginning in or around November 2010, the SEC commenced a periodic examination of the Broker-Dealer, and from November 2010 through March 2011, the SEC’s exam staff made several visits to the Broker-Dealer’s offices in Manhattan.   In or about early 2011, DeMeneses and others involved in the scheme discussed that the SEC was examining the Broker-Dealer’s relationship with BANDES.   DeMeneses and others agreed they would take steps to conceal the true facts of the Broker-Dealer’s relationship with BANDES, including by deleting emails, in order to hide the actual relationship from the SEC.

Chinea and DeMeneses were each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Travel Act, five counts of violating the FCPA, and five counts of violating of the Travel Act.   Chinea and DeMeneses were also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of money laundering. DeMeneses was further charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Previously, on Aug. 29 and Aug. 30, 2013, Lujan, Hurtado and Clarke each pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to violate the FCPA, to violate the Travel Act and to commit money laundering, as well as substantive counts of these offenses, relating, among other things, to the scheme involving bribe payments to Gonzalez.   On Nov. 18, 2013, Gonzalez pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to violate the Travel Act and to commit money laundering, as well as substantive counts of these offenses, for her role in the corrupt scheme.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.   The department appreciates the substantial assistance provided by the SEC.

Senior Deputy Chief James Koukios and Trial Attorney Maria Gonzalez Calvet of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry A. Chernoff and Jason H. Cowley of the Southern District of New York’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force are in charge of the prosecution.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolina Fornos is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.

LOOKING INTO LONG TERM SEA LEVEL TRENDS FOR MIAMI FLORIDA

Right:  Mean Sea Level Trend  Miami Beach, Florida

FROM  NOAA:  The mean sea level trend is 2.39 millimeters/year with a 95% confidence interval of +/- 0.43 mm/yr based on monthly mean sea level data from 1931 to 1981 which is equivalent to a change of 0.78 feet in 100 years.  The plot shows the monthly mean sea level without the regular seasonal fluctuations due to coastal ocean temperatures, salinities, winds, atmospheric pressures, and ocean currents. The long-term linear trend is also shown, including its 95% confidence interval. The plotted values are relative to the most recent Mean Sea Level datum established by CO-OPS. The calculated trends for all stations are available as a table in millimeters/year or a table in feet/century (0.3 meters = 1 foot).

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Long-term predictions for Miami sea level rise could be available relatively soon
City could know as early as 2020 how high sea level will go in the next century
Miami could know as early as 2020 how high sea levels will rise into the next century, according to a team of researchers including Florida International University scientist Rene Price.

Price is also affiliated with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, one of 25 such NSF LTER sites in ecosystems from coral reefs to deserts, mountains to salt marshes around the world.

Scientists conclude that sea level rise is one of the most certain consequences of climate change.

But the speed and long-term height of that rise are unknown. Some researchers believe that sea level rise is accelerating, some suggest the rate is holding steady, while others say it's decelerating.

With long-term data showing that global sea levels are steadily rising at 2.8 millimeters per year, and climate models indicating that the rate could accelerate over time, Price posed a question to colleagues: How soon will Miami residents know what sea levels will be in the year 2100?

"In Miami, we're at the forefront of sea level rise," Price says. "With the uncertainty in what we currently know, I was looking for information that could help us plan better for the long-term."

Price and a team of international researchers set out to answer the question.

They analyzed data from 10 sea level monitoring stations throughout the world.

They looked into the future by analyzing the past.

The researchers examined historical data to identify the timing at which accelerations might first be recognized in a significant manner and extended projections through 2100.

The findings are published in this week's issue of the journal Nature Communications.

"Sea level rise will have major effects on natural and built coastal environments," says David Garrison, program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences, which co-funds the NSF LTER network with NSF's Division of Environmental Biology.

"Being able to detect and predict the pace of sea level rise is critical to being able to adapt to future changes in coastal regions," says Garrison.

Price says the information provided should offer some comfort to those living with this uncertainty.

"Our results show that by 2020 to 2030, we could have some statistical certainty of what the sea level rise situation will look like," she says.

"That means we'll know what to expect and have 70 years to plan. In a subject that has so much uncertainty, this gives us the gift of long-term planning."

Conservative projections suggest that sea level could rise by .3 meters by 2100, but with acceleration, some scientists believe that number will be closer to 1 meter.

"Areas of Miami Beach could experience constant flooding," says Price.

"The Everglades and mangroves may not be able to keep up. Mangroves are very important to South Florida, and their loss would likely mean more land erosion.

"We could see large portions of the Everglades taken over by the ocean. Areas that are freshwater today could become saltwater by 2100."

As cities, including Miami, continue to plan for long-term solutions to sea level rise, Price says she was surprised to discover that in the span of 20 years, scientists would be in a position to predict the long-term situation for Miami and other coastal areas across the planet.

Scientists should continue to crunch the numbers every decade, says Price, creating more certainty in long-term planning--and helping develop solutions for a changing planet.

-NSF-

READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL WITH FRENCH PRESIDENT HOLLANDE

FROM:  THE WHITE  HOUSE

Readout of the President’s Call with President Hollande of France

President Obama spoke with French President Hollande today about the worsening situation in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists, seemingly with support and coordination from Moscow, have intensified their campaign to undermine and destabilize the Ukrainian government.  The leaders underscored that Russia will face significant additional costs if it continues this behavior.  President Obama noted that the government of Ukraine has acted with great restraint and praised the Ukrainian government’s efforts to unify the country by holding free and fair presidential elections on May 25 and pursuing an inclusive constitutional reform process.  The two leaders also discussed ongoing cooperation in our bilateral relationship.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY EXTENDS PASSOVER HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO PEOPLE OF ISRAEL

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

On the Eve of Passover

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

April 14, 2014

---

On this Passover eve, as Jews around the world recall the biblical Exodus from Egypt and welcome a new season of hope in our time, I extend my heartfelt holiday greetings to the people of Israel. This holiday is about balance: the joy of families gathering around the Seder table and the potent reminders of people of all faiths who are still denied the liberty to observe openly.

I look forward to speaking soon with Prime Minister Netanyahu to convey my personal best wishes to him and his family and the people of Israel. I greatly appreciate the personal friendship we have built over many years and admire the leadership, courage, and commitment to peacemaking that he has shown in the face of difficult and complicated challenges in the past months. The story of Passover that will be read in Israel and around the world tonight reminds us that it has never been an easy feat leading the people of Israel to a better, safer place.

I am very pleased to be attending Ambassador Dermer’s Seder tomorrow night and joining in the spirit of this festival of spring and renewal. I hope we can all draw inspiration from the spirit of the ancient Hebrews who in the Exodus stood at the precipice of the Red Sea, trembling with terror but nevertheless filled with the hope that they too may enjoy freedom and fulfill their promise as a people. And as families and friends listen tonight as the youngest child asks the table, "Mah nishtanah? -- Why is this night different from all other nights?" I pray the answer will be: because this night will lead us into a year of renewed commitment to peace, freedom, and dignity for all of God's children.

USS DONALD COOK SPOTS RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT FLYING NEARBY IN BLACK SEA

Right:  Sailors man the rails as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook arrives at Naval Station Rota, Spain, Feb. 11, 2014. Donald Cook is the first of four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers to be stationed in Rota. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Edward Guttierrez III . 

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Russian Aircraft Flies Near U.S. Navy Ship in Black Sea

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2014 – A Russian attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the USS Donald Cook in international waters in the Black Sea on April 12, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

The USS Cook was patrolling in the western Black Sea when an unarmed Russian Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the Navy ship, Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters.

“The aircraft did not respond to multiple queries and warnings from Donald Cook, and the event ended without incident after approximately 90 minutes,” Warren said. “This provocative and unprofessional Russian action is inconsistent with international protocols and previous agreements on the professional interaction between our militaries.”

Two Russian aircraft were present, but only one took part in the provocative actions, Warren said. The aircraft flew from near sea level to a couple of thousand feet, he added, but never overflew the U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
“The Russian plane made a total of 12 passes,” he said.

The wingman stayed at a considerably higher altitude, Warren said.
Officials later said the aircraft approached within about 1,000 yards of the ship. The USS Cook was never in danger, Warren said.

“The Donald Cook is more than capable of defending itself against two Su-24s,” the colonel said.

Warren said he does not think this is an example of a young pilot joyriding. “I would have difficulty believing that two Russian pilots, on their own, would chose to take such an action,” he said. “We’ve seen the Russians conduct themselves unprofessionally and in violation of international norms in Ukraine for several months, and these continued acts of provocation and unprofessionalism do nothing to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, which we called on the Russians to do.”
The Cook arrived in the Black Sea on April 10. The ship is now making a port call in Constanta, Romania.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR APRIL 14, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
CONTRACTS

ARMY

L-3 GSS, Reston, Va., was awarded a $50,925,735 firm-fixed-price, multi-year contract to provide Automated Installation Entry hardware and software for up to 35 military installations. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is April 13, 2018. Bids were solicited via the Internet with four received. Army Contracting Command, Natick, Mass., is the contracting activity (W911QY-14-D-0005).

AAA General Contractors, LLC,* El Paso, Texas, (W912L2-14-D-0001); Blackhawk-MILCON Joint Venture, San Antonio, Texas (W912L2-14-D-0002); Briston Construction LLC,* Mesa, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0003); Cerrudo Services, Inc.,* Novato, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0004); Charpie Construction Co., Inc.,* Las Vegas, Nev. (W912L2-14-D-0005); Cherokee General Corp., Federal Way, Wash. (W912L2-14-D-0006); Direct Project Inc.,* Fontana, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0007); E-Corp., Layton, Utah (W912L2-14-D-0008); Fortis Networks, Phoenix, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0009); IEC-ALL Star LLC,* Kansas City, Mo. (W912L2-14-D-0010); Komada, Escondido, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0011); KWR Construction, Inc.,* Sierra Vista, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0012); Loven Contracting, Inc., Flagstaff, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0013); Marsh Development, Inc.,* Huachuca City, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0014); MIE, Inc.,* Apopka, Fla. (W912L2-14-D-0015); Menco Pacific, Inc.,* Escondido, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0016); MW Services Inc.,* Temecula, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0017); Northern Construction, LLC,* Ogden, Utah (W912L2-14-D-0018); Northwind Engineering, LLC , Shelocta, Pa. (W912L2-14-D-0019); OP Solutions, Chandler, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0020); Pace Pacific, Phoenix, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0021); Pacific Tech Construction, Inc., Kelso, Wash. (W912L2-14-D-0022); Power Services, Inc.,* Las Vegas, Nev. (W912L2-14-D-0023); PRE CON Industries, Inc.,* Santa Maria, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0024); RCDS Contractors, Inc.,* Glendale, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0025); R-CON Construction, Inc.,* Las Cruces, N.M. (W912L2-14-D-0026); Rore, Inc.,* Albuquerque, N.M. (W912L2-14-D-0027); Sigma Services, Ventura, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0028); Shanks Electric Corp., Helendale, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0029); S & L Construction LLC,* Gilbert, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0030); Sun Eagle Corp., Chandler , Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0031); Southwestern Dakotah, Inc.,* Tucson, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0032); TMG Services, Inc.,* North Kansas City, Mo. (W912L2-14-D-0033); Total Team Construction Services, Inc.,* West. Sacramento, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0034); Vernadero Group Inc.,* Phoenix, Ariz. (W912L2-14-D-0035); Women's Empowerment Partnership, Inc.,* Huntington Beach, Calif. (W912L2-14-D-0036), were awarded a $20,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite -delivery/indefinite -quantity contract to support sustainment/repair and maintenance construction and new military construction projects for the Arizona Army and Air National Guard. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is April 1, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with fifty-four received. National Guard Bureau, Phoenix, Ariz., is the contracting activity.
Design West Technologies Inc.,* Tustin, Calif., was awarded a $9,470,626 firm-fixed-price, multi-year contract for a maximum of 650 filter fan housing assemblies for Army collective and protection units which clean and purify air. Funding and work performance location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Oct. 8, 2020. Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-14-D-0055).

Pacchiosi Drill USA Inc., New York, N.Y., was awarded an $8,918,970 firm-fixed price contract to construct cutoff walls along the waterside slope of Sites R3A and L10 on the American River, Sacramento, Calif. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $8,918,970 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is April 29, 2015. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work will be performed in Sacramento, Calif. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting activity (W91238-14-C-0003).

AIR FORCE

Computer Sites Inc., Denver Colo., has been awarded a $47,057,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for emergency maintenance/preventive maintenance of Department of Defense power conditioning equipment and uninterruptable power supply systems. Performance locations (both continental United States and overseas) will be specified on individual delivery orders, and work is expected to be complete by April 13, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and three offers were received. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $87,922 are being obligated at time of award on the initial delivery order. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/PZZKA, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8217-14-D-0001).

NAVY

American Overseas Marine LLC, Quincy, Mass., is being awarded a $32,668,153 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed price contract (N00033-10-C-5300) to exercise a one-year option period for the operation and maintenance of seven large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships. These seven ships support the deployed military forces worldwide. Work will be performed worldwide at sea and is expected to be completed by April 2015. Working capital contract funds in the amount of $14,616,880 are being obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00033-10-C-5300).

Alion Science and Technology Corp., Washington, D.C., is being awarded a $25,002,968 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-12-C-4401) for additional professional support services in support of the Surface Warfare Directorate. This modification will continue professional support services in support of SEA21 Surface Warfare Fleet Support. Specific services include, but are not limited to: program management, engineering, logistics, technical, planning and readiness, fleet introduction training and financial management support services. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (56 percent), Norfolk, Va. (23 percent), San Diego, Calif. (6 percent), Pascagoula, Miss. (6 percent), Bath, Maine (3 percent), Mayport, Fla. (2 percent), Japan (2 percent), and other locations less than 1 percent (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount of $24,762,968 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.

The Haskell Co., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $6,883,727 firm-fixed-price modification to increase the maximum dollar value of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N40085-11-C-4019) for the mitigation of unsuitable soils under the taxiway apron for apron expansion, Phase II, parallel taxiway, hangar, and Marine vertical 22 maintenance hangar at Marine Corps Air Station New River. The work to be performed provides for design and construction to mitigate unsuitable soils by providing cement stabilization and installation of an underdrain system under the apron. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $151,304,423. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, N.C., and is expected to be completed by March 2015. Fiscal 2010 military construction, Navy contract funds in the amount of $6,883,727 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems Information & Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Greenlawn, N.Y., is being awarded a $6,715,693 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of 16 AN/UPX-41 (C) Digital Interrogators for the U.S. Navy (14) and the government of Japan (2) and 45 Mode 5 Identification Friend or Foe field change kits for the U.S. Navy (33) and the government of Japan (12). Work will be performed in Greenlawn, N.Y., and is expected to be completed in December 2015. No funds are being obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated against individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($5,399,417; 80.4 percent) and the government of Japan ($1,316,276; 19.6 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-D-0004).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Brothers Produce Inc.,* Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $6,666,666 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full line fresh fruit and vegetable support. This is a competitive acquisition, and three offers were received. This is an 18-month base contract with two 18-month option periods. Location of performance is Texas with an Oct. 6, 2015 performance completion date. Using service is Department of Agriculture school customers. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Va., (SPE300-14-D-S602).
*Small Business

EX-IM BANK EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

FROM:  EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 

Ex-Im Bank and MBDA Announce Expansion of its Partnership

Washington, D.C. – The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) have announced an expansion of their partnership to help small minority- and women-owned export businesses obtain loans so they can have greater access to foreign markets.

MBDA Business Centers in Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Phoenix can now process loan applications for export financing as Originators for the Ex-Im Bank’s Global Credit Express program, designed to help small businesses that do not enjoy access to conventional financing markets.

"Ex-Im Bank welcomes the MBDA Business Centers in Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Phoenix to the growing list of Originators for the Global Credit Express (GCE) Direct Loan Program," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "The success of the GCE Program is based on knowledgeable referral sources like our MBDA partners, who can help us identify qualified small-business exporters that need pre-shipment working capital to expand their export sales. In FY 2013 alone, Ex-Im Bank authorized $815.6 million to support 761 export transactions by small- and medium-sized minority- and/or women-owned businesses in the U.S. In other words, approximately one in five Ex-Im transactions directly benefited minority-owned or woman-owned small businesses. This partnership will help more companies reach the other 95 percent of the world's customers that live overseas and support jobs here at home."

Through this new partnership, small- and medium-sized export businesses may be eligible for a 6- or 12-month revolving line of credit of up to $500,000 by way of Ex-Im Bank’s Global Credit Express program.

"The expansion of this partnership effort will build upon the access to capital resources available to help MBDA minority-business enterprise firms expand their global footprint," said Joann Hill, Chief of MBDA’s Office of Business Development.

ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER'S REMARKS ON WEEKEND SHOOTINGS IN KANSAS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, April 14, 2014

Statement by Attorney General Holder on Weekend Shootings in Kansas

WASHINGTON—U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Monday regarding the tragic shootings in Kansas yesterday:

 “I was horrified to learn of this weekend's tragic shootings outside Kansas City. These senseless acts of violence are all the more heartbreaking as they were perpetrated on the eve of the solemn occasion of Passover.
 
“Justice Department prosecutors will work with their state and local counterparts to provide all available support and to determine whether the federal hate crimes statute is implicated in this case.

“No matter what, we will do everything in our power to ensure justice is served in this case on behalf of the victims and their families. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by these heinous acts.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS SHOOTING

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE

Statement by President Obama on Shooting in Kansas

This afternoon we heard reports of a horrific shooting in Overland Park, Kansas.  Michelle and I offer our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends who lost a loved one and everyone affected by this tragedy.  I have asked my team to stay in close touch with our federal, state and local partners and provide the necessary resources to support the ongoing investigation. While we do not know all of the details surrounding today’s shooting, the initial reports are heartbreaking. I want to offer my condolences to all the families trying to make sense of this difficult situation and pledge the full support from the federal government as we heal and cope during this trying time.

U.S. MARINES FIRE HOWITZERS DURING SSANG YONG 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Above Photos:  U.S. Marines fire rounds from a howitzer during Ssang Yong 2014 on Su Seung-ri range in South Korea, April 3, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lena Wakayama.

FTC CHARGES PAYDAY LENDERS WITH ATTEMPTING TO GARNISH WAGES WITHOUT COURT ORDER

FROM:  FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Payday Lenders That Used Tribal Affiliation to Illegally Garnish Wages Settle with FTC

Settlement Requires Defendants to Pay Nearly $1 Million

A South Dakota-based payday lending operation and its owner will pay $967,740 to the U.S. Treasury as part of a settlement resolving FTC charges that they used unfair and deceptive tactics to collect on payday loans and forced debt-burdened consumers to travel to South Dakota and appear before a tribal court that did not have jurisdiction over their cases.

“Debt collectors cannot garnish consumers’ wages without a court order, and they cannot sue consumers in a tribal court that doesn’t have jurisdiction over their cases,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Regardless of tribal affiliation, debt collectors must comply with federal law.”

 According to the complaint filed by the FTC, Webb and his companies offered short-term, high-fee, unsecured payday loans of $300 to $2,525 to consumers throughout the country, advertising on television and online.  The FTC charged that defendants illegally tried to garnish consumers’ wages without a court order, and sought to manipulate the legal system and force borrowers to appear before the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court in South Dakota, which did not have jurisdiction over their cases.  The defendants also attempted to obtain tribal court orders to garnish consumers’ wages, according to the agency.

Under the terms of the settlement, Martin A. Webb and his companies have agreed to a $550,000 civil penalty for violating the Credit Practices Rule – which prohibits payday lenders from requiring borrowers to consent to have wages taken directly out of their paychecks in the event of a default. Following a partial judgment in favor of the FTC in September 2013, the defendants surrendered $417,740 in ill-gotten gains stemming from their prior practice of attempting to garnish consumers’ wages without court orders.  

In addition to the monetary payment imposed on the defendants, the settlement prohibits them from further unfair and deceptive practices, and bars them from suing any consumer in the course of collecting a debt, except for bringing a counter suit to defend against a suit brought by a consumer.

For consumer information regarding payday loans see: Payday Loans.

In addition to Webb, the FTC’s complaint and amended complaint named as defendants Payday Financial, LLC, Great Sky Finance, LLC, Western Sky Financial, LLC, Red Stone Financial, LLC, Financial Solutions, LLC, Management Systems, LLC, 24-7 Cash Direct, LLC, Red River Ventures, LLC, and High Country Ventures, LLC.

The Commission vote approving the settlement was 4-0.  On April 4, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota approved the settlement and entered a final order and judgment.