UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2013

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending February 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 366,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 371,000. The 4-week moving average was 350,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 352,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending January 26, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 26 was 3,224,000, an increase of 8,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,216,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,211,000, an increase of 13,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,197,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 386,176 in the week ending February 2, an increase of 16,696 from the previous week. There were 401,365 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent during the week ending January 26, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,720,496, an increase of 41,570 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,678,926. A year earlier, the rate was 3.2 percent and the volume was 4,097,013.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending January 19 was 5,590,480, a decrease of 326,513 from the previous week. There were 7,663,608 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

Extended Benfits were not available in any state during the week ending January 19.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,370 in the week ending January 26, a decrease of 508 from the prior week. There were 2,256 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 484 from the preceding week.

There were 22,389 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending January 19, a decrease of 511 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 39,808, a decrease of 286 from the prior week.

States reported 1,826,098 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending January 19, a decrease of 288,471 from the prior week. There were 2,985,907 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 19 were in Alaska (6.6), Montana (4.4), Puerto Rico (4.4), Pennsylvania (4.2), New Jersey (4.1), Wisconsin (4.1), Connecticut (4.0), Idaho (4.0), Oregon (3.8), and Rhode Island (3.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 19 were in North Carolina (+2,030), Oregon (+491), Virginia (+461), and Vermont (+62), while the largest decreases were in California (-20,414), Texas
(-5,082), Illinois (-4,865), Florida (-3,570), and Michigan (-2,795).

RECENT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
A Marine Corps M1A1 Abrams tank provides suppressive fire against simulated insurgents during day 18 of the Integrated Training Exercise 13-1 on Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, Calif., Jan. 22, 2013. Marines take the training before deploying. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stephany Richards 　

U.S. troops and employees of the Farah Directorate of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter after a meeting in Lash-e Juwayn in Afghanistan's Farah province, Jan. 24, 2013. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Josh Ives

PENGUINS COPE WITH THE NEW WORLD CLIMATE ORDER

Photo: Adelie Penguins. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Adélie Penguins Cope With Climate Change
February 6, 2013

For decades, David Ainley, a National Science Foundation-funded researcher with the ecological consulting firm H.T. Harvey and Associates, has studied Adélie penguins in Antarctica. Ainley says the birds appear to be coping in different ways in response to climate change, but there is one question that begs an answer: What are their overall chances of survival?

In 2009, Ainley, a long-term polar researcher, received a five-year NSF grant to conduct research on how penguin populations cope with climate change and on how individual birds cope. He especially wanted to know why some penguins succeed in coping with climate change while others do not, and what qualities successful birds have.

NSF manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, through which it coordinates all U.S. research on the southernmost continent.

The Adélie is unique because researchers understand how the penguin relates to its land and ocean habitats in the current climate. Using data from the historical record and relating it to present day changes, scientists are able to predict how climate change will affect the penguins, principally through changes in sea ice. Also, researchers say paying close attention to successfully breeding penguins offers clues as to how penguins as a whole will cope in the future.

Every November David Ainley and his colleagues travel to the Antarctic for months to study Adélie penguins at Cape Royds and Cape Crozier. Ainley has been in the field doing this since 1996.

"We find these birds and use GPS and nest tags to note where they are, with the idea that we'll be coming back repeatedly during the season to keep track of their success or failures.

"In this particular project, which has gone on for 17 seasons now, we are up to 17-year-old penguins. So we are getting some idea of the mechanisms of their population regulation, like how breeding success and mortality affect their population growth rates, and how this changes with age and experience," says Ainley.

Each year, the Adélie penguins of Ross Island return from wintering at sea on ice floes to large bird colonies where they build nests and breed. The transition from ice floes to bird colonies is always a risky undertaking because of the harsh environment and predators.

Success during this transition for especially young penguins depends entirely upon the cooperation of both parents, for feeding and foraging. Adélie penguins must travel repeatedly from the colonies into the adjacent ocean to find food, which can be tricky and dangerous.

The yin and yang of sea ice

Adélie penguins are sea ice obligate birds, which means they exist only where there is sea ice, just as many song birds exist only where there are trees.

Icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves all originate on land, whereas the sea ice upon which Adélies depend is frozen ocean water. Sea ice forms, grows and melts in the ocean depending on the season.

Except when the wind blows sea ice away, these Antarctic seas are covered by ice floes--pack ice--and it is in these ice-covered waters that Adélie penguins find the fish and krill that they eat.

However, in certain instances, there can be too much ice. Penguins are really great at swimming but are slow at walking. Areas of open water allow the penguins to be more efficient at foraging and bringing back food to their chicks. For their size, Adélies can dive deeper and can hold their breath longer to reach farther under ice floes, than can penguin species that avoid sea ice.

Not surprisingly, then, the Adélie colonies are highly sensitive to minor changes in the amount of sea ice, which itself is responsive to changing climate.

"When the cover on the ocean reaches around 70 percent ice and there's only 30 percent water, conditions become more difficult for Adélies," says Ainley. "Above that point penguins begin to have problems with access to the sea and spend too much time walking. Around 20 percent ice cover is ideal for them."

In 2001 a huge iceberg, designated B15, broke from the Ross Ice Shelf and grounded against Ross Island. It hampered the summer disintegration of sea ice cover. This prevented Adélie penguins from reaching prey and ultimately from producing offspring. The penguin colony at Cape Royds also suffered significant losses.

"Because of the 50 miles of sea ice, the penguins had to walk across to get to open water. The young adults, returning to look for territories, after a short way decided that the walk wasn't worth the effort and began to visit colonies, such as at Cape Bird, closer to seas only partially covered by ice," said Ainley. "Adults who had nested at Royds before undertook the entire trip initially, but then deserted. After failing to breed for a couple of seasons even these adults began to look for nesting territories elsewhere."

The researchers were able to learn this about the penguins because each year at each of Ross Island's three penguin colonies the researchers band a large number of chicks just before they make their first trip to the sea.

Ainley and his colleagues place on the birds metal rings imprinted with numbers to identify individual penguins. Bands are placed around the penguins' flippers near their "arm pits." The researchers band 400 chicks each year at the small Royds colony and 1,000 at the other, larger colonies.

The bands can be read using binoculars from 20 feet away. Once banded, the penguin will never again need to be caught and handled. Much of the researchers' time is spent hiking and looking for these birds at all the Ross Island colonies.

Prior to the B15 Iceberg there were about 4,000 pairs of Adélie penguins at Cape Royds. By 2005, the last year the iceberg blocked access to the ocean, the population had decreased to 2,000 pairs, roughly equivalent to the numbers that were there in 1909-11, when British explorer Ernest Shackleton stayed at Cape Royds.

"These penguins ignored the rule of thumb that scientists believed for decades--that penguins are faithful to their colony of birth--and they began to emigrate to other colonies, not just as young recruits, but birds that bred previously in their respective colonies. This totally tore up the book on how penguins should relate to their chosen habitat," says Ainley.

Super penguins

Currently, Ainley and his fellow researchers are trying to determine why some penguins, year after year, are more successful than others. They discovered that only 20 percent of individuals are successful breeders for consecutive years. They dubbed this group of penguins "super breeders" and believe that these penguins will hold clues as to how the species will adapt to a changing ocean.

"We've been studying the foraging behavior of these super breeders, comparing it to other penguins, and we found that the super breeders are kind of the Michael Phelps of the penguin world. Their foraging trips are shorter, because they dive deeper, dive more rapidly with shorter rest periods at the surface, and ultimately bring back more food to their chicks," Ainley said.

Ainley was able to learn this about penguins because he had marked all the penguins in one group of nests at each colony using microchips injected under their skin. The chips are called "passively integrated transponders", or PIT tags.

In going from their nests to the sea and back again, the tagged penguins must walk through a hoop-shaped antenna, which reads the chip's electronic numbers--almost like "bar codes" on items at supermarkets. As they pass through the hoop, the penguins also cross an electronic scale that assesses their weight. The information is sent to a computer to be stored.

By knowing when penguin parents come and go from their nests, how much they weighed when they went to sea, and how much they weigh upon their return, researchers are able to determine the amount of food each penguin caught over what time period. In addition, using tape, Ainley applies small instruments to the back of penguins that record their diving behavior, and with the help of a satellite connection, pinpoints where they went to find food.

The ocean-going skills of the penguins are important when it comes to finding prey, and finding it quickly. The fish and krill that Adélie penguins pursue are often in just one school of fish, which they keep revisiting. If the penguins wait too long to catch their breath before diving again, their meal may have swum away or competitors may have eaten it. Then they must search for another school, which takes time and energy. If Adélie penguins are to be successful, efficient swimming and foraging skills are essential.

Ainley and colleagues hope to determine how age, experience and physiology affect the skill set of penguins in their pursuit of prey. Also, Ainley wants to know if experience or inheritance has critical bearing on breeding success for these penguin athletes. The next steps in his research relate to a penguin's breath-holding capabilities.

"We are interested in the capability of their blood to hold oxygen. So we are collecting a little bit of blood from a penguin after it goes on a foraging trip to look at its red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels, as measures of oxygen-storing capabilities," he says.

Ainley hopes that by investigating the foraging capabilities of super breeders, people can understand the much larger picture of how Adélie penguins will cope with climate change.

Ultimately, the amount of sea ice will dictate how the penguins respond. If the sea ice goes away entirely, the penguins will disappear, but more subtle changes before then will be important. With the unstable environment in which they live, Adélie penguins are being tested.

Attracting future scientists

In addition to studying penguins, David Ainley and educator Jean Pennycook run an online outreach program called Penguin Science in hopes of attracting future scientists into the field.

"I'm trying to encourage kids and students to stay in the sciences, technology, engineering and math fields, so they can have jobs like this. My job is very interesting and scientific work is fun; it takes you to extraordinary places around the world," says Pennycook.

Pennycook draws teachers and students from many countries into her living classroom in Antarctica. She chats with students over Skype from her tent about what it is like to be a researcher in the Antarctic, gives them a tour, and answers questions about wildlife.

Pennycook started a penguin postcard project in which students draw a picture of penguins on a self addressed postcard about penguins and give it to her so that they can receive their postcard with an Antarctic postmark. In addition, teachers and students can design a flag that will be flown in front of the PenguinCam that daily takes pictures of the Cape Royds penguin colony. Students can also follow the lives of eight penguin families while they raise their chicks.

"It's very exciting when I get notes from students who say they want to go to Antarctica when they grow up, and of course I work a lot with little kids that are 7 or 8 years old. Sometimes I get a letter from them saying 'I want to work with penguins' or 'I want to go to Antarctica' or maybe they want to work with seals or on the volcano, or they want to go on the boat. That's a big one, they want to be on the boat," says Pennycook.

Apart from engaging young students, Pennycook has had former students down in Antarctica. She used to run an intern program where students had a work-study experience at a research station. For Pennycook, she knows she's reaching students when they follow in her footsteps.

"It makes me proud, it makes me smile that the information I brought back to my students, just showing them this place, showing them how something they can do widens their horizons... I'm hoping to open doors and inspire them to do something fun with their lives," says Pennycook.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 7, 2013

FROM: NASA

 

WISE IMAGE OF ORION NEBULA

FROM: NASA

The Orion nebula is featured in this sweeping image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The constellation of Orion is prominent in the evening sky throughout the world from about December through April of each year. The nebula (also catalogued as Messier 42) is located in the sword of Orion, hanging from his famous belt of three stars. The star cluster embedded in the nebula is visible to the unaided human eye as a single star, with some fuzziness apparent to the most keen-eyed observers. Because of its prominence, cultures all around the world have given special significance to Orion. The Maya of Mesoamerica envision the lower portion of Orion, his belt and feet (the stars Saiph and Rigel), as being the hearthstones of creation, similar to the triangular three-stone hearth that is at the center of all traditional Maya homes. The Orion nebula, lying at the center of the triangle, is interpreted by the Maya as the cosmic fire of creation surrounded by smoke.

This metaphor of a cosmic fire of creation is apt. The Orion nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas where vast numbers of new stars are being forged. It is one of the closest sites of star formation to Earth and therefore provides astronomers with the best view of stellar birth in action. Many other telescopes have been used to study the nebula in detail, finding wonders such as planet-forming disks forming around newly forming stars. WISE was an all-sky survey giving it the ability to see these sites of star formation in a larger context. This view spans more than six times the width of the full moon, covering a region nearly 100 light-years across. In it, we see the Orion nebula surrounded by large amounts of interstellar dust, colored green.

Astronomers now realize that the Orion nebula is part of the larger Orion molecular cloud complex, which also includes the Flame nebula. This complex in our Milky Way galaxy is actively making new stars. It is filled with dust warmed by the light of the new stars within, making the dust glow in infrared light.

Color in this image represents specific infrared wavelengths. Blue represents light emitted at 3.4-micron wavelengths and cyan (blue-green) represents 4.6 microns, both of which come mainly from hot stars. Relatively cooler objects, such as the dust of the nebulae, appear green and red. Green represents 12-micron light and red represents 22-micron light. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

YEMENI NATIONAL DIALOGUE BEGINS MARCH 18, 2013

Map:  Yeman.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Yemen's National Dialogue
Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 7, 2013

The United States welcomes the announcement that the Yemeni National Dialogue will begin on March 18. This is a positive development, and we commend the leadership of President Hadi and the Preparatory Committee in working with all parties in Yemen to bring about this key element of Yemen’s political transition. The Dialogue’s launch will mark another significant step in implementing the political transition initiative brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council and in laying the groundwork for national elections in February 2014.

We urge President Hadi and all Yemeni parties to move expeditiously toward an inclusive, transparent, and constructive Dialogue. Full participation by all segments of Yemeni society – including Southerners, Houthis, women, civil society organizations, youth, rural populations, and others – is essential to address issues fundamental to Yemen’s future.

U.S. State Department Daily Press Briefing - February 7, 2013

Daily Press Briefing - February 7, 2013

RECENT U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. MARINE CORPSMarines provide supportive fire with the AT-4 shoulder-fired rocket launcher as part of movement-to-contact training during Exercise Iron Fist 2013 at aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Jan. 31, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Lonzo-Grei Thornton

　
Marines shoot shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapons during Exercise Iron Fist 2013 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Jan. 31, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Demetrius Morgan

President Obama Speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast | The White House

President Obama Speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast | The White House

JUSTICE CHARGES FIVE CORPORATIONS WITH IMPORTING AND SELLING HAZARDOUS TOYS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Five Individuals and Five Corporations Charged in New York for Importing and Selling Hazardous and Counterfeit Toys

Five individuals and five corporations have been charged in an indictment unsealed today in Brooklyn, N.Y., for allegedly importing hazardous and counterfeit toys from China for sale in the United States, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch; Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York James T. Hayes Jr.; Robert E. Perez, New York Field Operations Director of Customs and Border Protection (CBP); Chairman Inez Tenenbaum of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); and Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

The 24-count indictment charges Chenglan Hu, 51, Hua Fei Zhang, 52, and Xiu Lan Zhang, 60, all Chinese nationals and residents of Queens, N.Y., and Guan Jun Zhang, 29, and Jun Wu Zhang, 28, both naturalized citizens and Queens residents, along with their closely held companies Family Product USA Inc., H.M. Import USA Corp., ZCY Trading Corp., Zone Import Corp. and ZY Wholesale Inc., with importing and trafficking hazardous toys in violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) and toys bearing copyright-infringing images and counterfeit trademarks, smuggling, money laundering and structuring.

"The defendants are accused of importing and selling toys that posed significant health hazards to children or were the product of blatant intellectual property theft," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "They allegedly retooled their operations many times in order to avoid detection, and despite repeated citations by the authorities, they continued to peddle counterfeit toys featuring Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and other popular children’s characters. Today’s actions reflect a Justice Department focused on ensuring that consumers receive safe and legitimate goods."

"For years, the defendants sought to enrich themselves by importing and selling dangerous and counterfeit children’s toys without regard for the law or the health of our children," said U.S. Attorney Lynch. "Profits from the counterfeit items, as well as toys riddled with lead and choking hazards, went to provide the defendants with luxury cars. We stand committed to protecting the residents of our communities from those who would engage in such conduct."

The five individual defendants were arrested this morning, and a federal task force comprising HSI agents, other federal agents and NYPD officers, aided by CBP officers and CPSC investigators, executed four search warrants and nine seizure warrants. The agents, officers and investigators searched the defendants’ warehouse, two residences and an email account. In addition, three luxury vehicles, including a Porsche and Lexus, three personal bank accounts and three corporate accounts were seized. The agents also filed lis pendens on two of the defendants’ properties in Queens, N.Y. The defendants’ initial appearances are scheduled this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. in the Eastern District of New York.

The indictment charges that from July 2005 through January 2013 the individual defendants used their companies, the corporate defendants, to import toys from China that they sold, both wholesale and retail, from a storefront and warehouse in Ridgewood, N.Y., and other locations in Brooklyn and Queens.

According to the indictment, the defendants’ companies had children’s toys seized by CBP from shipping containers entering the United States from China on 33 separate occasions. Seventeen of the 33 seizures were of violative toys – toys prohibited from import into and distribution in the United States, under laws and regulations enforced by the CPSC, because of excessive lead content, excessive phthalate levels, small parts that presented choking, aspiration or ingestion hazards, and easily accessible battery compartments. Sixteen of the 33 seizures were of toys bearing copyright-infringing images and counterfeit trademarks, including knockoff versions of toys featuring a wide variety of popular children’s characters, such as Winnie the Pooh, Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, Betty Boop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Spiderman, Tweety, Mickey Mouse, Pokémon, as well as those from movies, such as the "Cars," "Toy Story" and "High School Musical."

The indictment charges that following each of the 33 seizures, the violator toy company was served written notice by CBP detailing the reason for the seizure, and a representative of the company signed a release form acknowledging the seizure and abandoning the seized goods. Additionally, the violator company and its principal were served written notice by CPSC of the specific safety violations of the toys, and each time a representative of the company signed a release form acknowledging the seizure and abandoning the seized goods.

Due to the number and volume of the seizures, the individual defendants allegedly shifted their use of the companies and alternated formal roles, in order to continue importing and distributing violative and infringing toys. Each time the number of seizures accumulated for one company, the individual defendants allegedly formed a new toy company to continue importing the violative and infringing toys.

"The people and companies involved in this illegal trade not only allegedly infringed on intellectual property rights, they placed the lives of innocent children in danger," said HSI Special Agent in Charge Hayes. "They allegedly sold toys with high lead content and cheap knock offs with substandard parts that break easily and pose a choking hazard. HSI is firm on using its unique customs expertise and law enforcement partnerships to put an end to the importation and sale of dangerous goods."

"Customs and Border Protection is on the forefront of intercepting unsafe, counterfeit products," said CBP New York Field Operations Director Perez. "We are proud to have done our part preventing these dangerous toys from getting in the hands of our children."

"Today’s action highlights the unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination among federal regulatory and law enforcement partners to keep U.S. consumers safe," said CPSC Chairman Tenenbaum. "The United States has some of the strongest toy standards and lowest lead limits in the world, and CPSC is committed to enforcing these child safety requirements at the ports and in the marketplace."

"When it comes to trademark infringement, don’t mess with Mickey or other American icons," said NYPD Commissioner Kelly.

In the indictment, the government is seeking forfeiture of the seized vehicles and bank accounts and the restrained properties, in addition to a money judgment to be determined at trial.

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

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Evan Williams of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Claire Kedeshian and William Campos of the Eastern District of New York. This case was jointly investigated by the HSI Intellectual Property Rights Group and the NYPD, through its participation in the New York Border Enforcement Security Taskforce, with the assistance of CPSC and CBP.

The enforcement action announced today is one of many efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force). Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation’s economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation, and hard work. The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders.

Uno sconosciuto nella notte: asteroide passa vicino alla Terra

Uno sconosciuto nella notte: asteroide passa vicino alla Terra

PRIMARY CARE WORKFORCE EXPANDING

Examination Room.   Credit:  U.S. DOD.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Health Service Corps expands the primary care workforce
Physicians to practice in communities that need them most

The National Health Service Corps awarded more than $10 million in funding for loan repayment to 87 medical students in 29 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, who will serve as primary care doctors and help strengthen the health care workforce, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

Made possible by the Affordable Care Act, the National Health Service Corps’ Students to Service Loan Repayment Program provides financial support to fourth year primary care medical students in exchange for their service in the communities that need them most.

"This new National Health Service Corps initiative is an innovative approach to encouraging more medical students to work in primary care, and to bring more primary care doctors to communities," Secretary Sebelius said. "This is an important part of the administration’s commitment to building the future health care workforce."

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Students to Service pilot program provides loan repayment assistance of up to $120,000 to medical students in MD and DO programs in their last year of education in return for their commitment to practice in the communities that need them most upon completion of their primary care residency.

"The average medical school debt is often more than $200,000," said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. "The Students to Service program help relieve a tremendous debt burden, allowing them to follow their passion for primary care." These newest NHSC providers must provide three years of full-time service or six years of half-time service in designated rural and urban areas.

As a result of historic investments in the Affordable Care Act and the Recovery Act, the numbers of National Health Service Corps clinicians are at all-time highs. The number of providers serving in the Corps has nearly tripled since 2008. Today nearly 10,000 National Health Service Corps providers are providing primary care to approximately 10.4 million people at nearly 14,000 health care sites in urban, rural, and frontier areas.

Statement on the Attacks on the US Facilities in Benghazi, Libya before the Senate Armed Services Committee

Statement on the Attacks on the US Facilities in Benghazi, Libya before the Senate Armed Services Committee

USS COLE BOMBER SUSPECT HEARINGS DELAYED

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Mental Health Test Delays Cole Bombing Suspect Hearings
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service


FORT MEADE, Md., Feb. 7, 2013 - Pretrial hearings for the suspected USS Cole bomber are on hold until mid-April as doctors assess his mental competency and the military commission determines how that will affect future proceedings.

The latest round of hearings for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri kicked off Jan. 4 at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and had been scheduled to conclude today.

However, that schedule got derailed after the prosecution requested a mental-health assessment, challenging the defense claim that Nashiri suffers from long-term post-traumatic stress allegedly caused by enhanced interrogation techniques the CIA used on him before he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

Members of the defense questioned what such an assessment would provide, telling the commission judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, they lack faith in any medical practitioner the convening authority might appoint to conduct it. Pohl authorized the exam, but granted the defense's request that Dr. Vincent Iacopino, a member of the Physicians for Human Rights organization with expertise in torture, be called on to provide advice on how to conduct it without "doing harm."

Iacopino testified via teleconference Feb. 5, explaining special requirements for mental health exams on torture victims. He acknowledged that he has neither met nor examined Nashiri.

Dr. Sondra Crosby, who reportedly has examined hundreds of torture victims as director of medical care at the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, is expected to conduct the exam.

Pohl told the court Feb. 4 that he would not take up other legal and administrative issues surrounding the case until after the mental-health assessment is complete. He recessed the court following Iacopino's testimony, and proceedings are expected to continue in mid-April.

Nashiri is the alleged mastermind behind the attack off the Yemeni coast that killed 17 sailors. He is charged with perfidy, murder in violation of the law of war, attempted murder in violation of the law of war, terrorism, conspiracy, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects and hazarding a vessel.

The charges arise out of an attempted attack on the USS The Sullivans in January 2000, the actual attack on the USS Cole in October 2000, and an attack on the motor vessel Limburg -- a civilian oil tanker -- in October 2002.

Nashiri is a Saudi-born member of al-Qaida. U.S. officials allege he was under the personal supervision of Osama bin Laden, and that bin Laden personally approved the attacks on the U.S. Navy ships.

SEQUESTRATION WILL CUT B-52 FLYING HOURS BY 10%



A B-52 Stratofortress flies April 20, 2011, during an eight-hour sortie to practice bomb-dropping sequences and aerial refueling. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Andy M. Kin)

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Air Force Nuclear Force Anticipates Budget Constraints
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2013 - The Air Force Global Strike Command predicts budget cuts triggered by sequestration will reduce B-52 flying hours by 10 percent and lead to a 20 percent reduction in overall flying hours should the law kick in on March 1, Air Force Lt. Gen. James M. Kowalski said.

Kowalski, the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, spoke to reporters at the Defense Writers Group here today.

The command handles two parts of the nation's nuclear triad: manned bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The general said he's satisfied with readiness in the command today, but the fiscal problems confronting the military in the months and years ahead would, at best, cause readiness to level off or decline.

"As we look downstream at the continuing impacts of both the continuing resolution and sequestration, it's pretty clear there's going to be some degradation there," he said.

The biggest and most disturbing impact for the command is on flying hours, Kowalski said.

"We are looking at up to a 20-percent reduction in flying hours," he said.

One defense is to keep the sortie count high, Kowalski said, because the importance of flying hours is not just the time in the air for aircrews. Sorties exercise the entire process, he said, generating aircraft, fueling aircraft, arming bombs, recovering the aircraft, the maintenance of the aircraft and so on.

"All of that is exercised because that's what we pick up and deploy to a forward operating base," Kowalski said. "What we want to do is maintain the sortie count to maintain readiness across all of those."

The general said he's carefully keeping an eye on personnel issues in the command as well. There is an issue with airmen in the missile fields, he said, noting this is remote duty and there are concerns about the suicide rate among these personnel.

Reenlistment has not been a problem within Global Strike Command to date, Kowalski said. Part of the willingness to reenlist may be tied to the state of the economy, he said, and part of it is because the young airmen believe in the mission.

"All of those folks are going to continue to do a great job, but they need to know what to do and they need to know that what they are doing is important," Kowalski said. "We have been very active in reminding them of the job's importance."

The force structure may change in the command, the general said, but it doesn't change the basic mission for the command.

"This is one of the most important missions in the military -- to make sure that the nuclear inventory remains safe, secure and effective," Kowalski said.

EPA REQUIRES GOLD MINERS IN NEVADA TO CORRECTLY REPORT TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASES

Photo:  Nevada Landscape.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA Requires Nevada Gold Mining Companies to Correct Reporting Violations

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) settled with three gold mining companies, all subsidiaries of Barrick Gold Corporation, for failing to correctly report toxic chemical releases and waste management activities as required by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

"The Toxic Release Inventory program is a vital tool for tracking toxic releases across the country, providing transparency about chemicals in communities," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "The program is undermined if companies do not report or misreport the use or release of chemicals at their facilities."

The companies, Barrick Cortez, Inc., Barrick Gold US, Inc. and Homestake Mining Company, agreed to pay a total of $278,000 in penalties and spend an additional $340,000 to conduct an environmentally beneficial project.

The violations involved incorrect reporting under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) at the Cortez Gold Mine near Crescent Valley, the Ruby Hill Gold Mine near Eureka, and the Bald Mountain Gold Mine near the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, all in Nevada.

After EPA inspectors analyzed the mines’ records they found that the facilities failed to submit timely, complete and correct Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, for toxic chemicals. These chemicals include cyanide compounds used to extract gold from the ore mined at the facilities, and lead and mercury compounds produced during the extraction process. Under the settlement, the Barrick gold companies will audit and correct their TRI reports for 2005 through 2011 to comply with EPCRA. There is no evidence to suggest that the violations posed any immediate danger to workers at the facilities or local communities.

The agreement requires a $340,000 supplemental environmental project at the Cortez mine to identify the metal compounds formed in its oxide mill process. The gold companies will also perform audits at other Barrick facilities in the U.S. (in Nevada and Montana), correct reporting violations, if any, and pay a $10,000 penalty per violation, not to exceed $250,000.

Under EPCRA, facilities that manufacture, process, or use toxic chemicals over certain quantities must file annual reports estimating the amounts released to the environment, treated or recycled on-site, or transferred off-site for waste management. These reports are submitted to EPA and the State or Tribe with jurisdiction over the facility. EPA compiles this information into a national TRI database and makes it available to the public.

Metal ore mining accounts for 98 percent of total TRI releases reported to EPA in Nevada. This investigation and enforcement are part of an ongoing national effort that began in 2008 to ensure that gold mining facilities are in compliance, and that the public has accurate and complete information about the facilities in their community. Barrick gold mining facilities in the U.S. produced approximately 3.38 million ounces (105.6 tons) of gold in 2011, and the Cortez Gold Mine is the second largest gold mine in the world.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) returns to homeport at San Diego after a six-month independent deployment to the U.S. 7th and 5th Fleet areas of responsibility. Gridley conducted eight successful Strait of Hormuz transits, escorting high value units in and out of the Arabian Gulf and conducted six high-visibility operations in the East and South China Seas to maintain U.S. maritime presence and improve regional stability. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Rosalie Garcia (Released) 130205-N-DH124-020

Sailors man the forecastle during a sea and anchor detail aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) as the ship departs Norfolk. Mesa Verde is on its way to New Orleans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stuart Phillips (Released) 130204-N-NL541-080

 

Leon Panetta At Georgetown University

Georgetown University

RBS SUBSIDIARY AGREES TO GUILTY PLEA IN LIBOR INTERST MANIPULATION CASE

FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Wednesday, February 6, 2013
RBS Securities Japan Limited Agrees to Plead Guilty in Connection with Long-Running Manipulation of Libor Benchmark Interest Rates
Second Financial Institution to Plead Guilty to Libor Fraud and Pay Substantial Criminal Penalties; RBS Parent Company Also Admits Fault in Deferred Prosecution Agreement

RBS Securities Japan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS), has agreed to plead guilty to felony wire fraud and admit its role in manipulating the Japanese Yen London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading benchmark used in financial products and transactions around the world, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott D. Hammond of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Special Agent in Charge Timothy A. Gallagher of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division announced today.

A criminal information, being filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, charges RBS Securities Japan with one count of wire fraud for engaging in a scheme to defraud counterparties to interest rate derivatives trades by secretly manipulating Yen LIBOR benchmark interest rates. RBS Securities Japan has signed a plea agreement with the government admitting its criminal conduct, and has agreed to pay a $50 million fine.

In addition, the government is filing a criminal information in the District of Connecticut which charges parent company RBS as part of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). The information charges RBS with wire fraud for its role in manipulating LIBOR benchmark interest rates, and with participation in a price-fixing conspiracy in violation of the Sherman Act by rigging the Yen LIBOR benchmark interest rate with other banks. The DPA requires the bank to admit and accept responsibility for its misconduct as described in an extensive statement of facts, to continue cooperating with the Justice Department in its ongoing investigation and to pay a $100 million penalty beyond the fine imposed upon RBS Securities Japan.

Together with approximately $462 million in regulatory penalties and disgorgement – $325 million as a result of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) action and approximately $137 million as a result of a U.K. Financial Services Authority (FSA) action – the Justice Department’s criminal penalties bring the total amount of the resolution with RBS and RBS Securities Japan to approximately $612 million.

"As we have done with Barclays and UBS, we are today holding RBS accountable for a stunning abuse of trust," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "The bank has admitted to manipulating one of the cornerstone benchmark interest rates in our global financial system, and its Japanese subsidiary has agreed to plead guilty to felony wire fraud. The department’s ongoing investigation has now yielded two guilty pleas by significant financial institutions. These are extraordinary results, and our investigation is far from finished. Our message is clear: no financial institution is above the law."

"RBS secretly rigged the benchmark interest rates upon which many transactions and consumer financial products are based," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hammond. "RBS’ conduct not only harmed its unsuspecting counterparties, it undermined the integrity and the competitiveness of financial markets everywhere."

"The manipulation of LIBOR by RBS and its subsidiary directly affected the rates referenced by financial products held by and on behalf of American companies and investors. The FBI works to uncover wrongdoing such as this in order to protect American consumers and the integrity of financial markets," said Special Agent in Charge Gallagher. "Today’s announcement is the result of the hard work of the FBI special agents, financial analysts, and forensic accountants as well as the prosecutors who dedicated significant time and resources to investigating this case."

According to court documents, LIBOR is an average interest rate, calculated based upon submissions from leading banks around the world, reflecting the rates those banks believe they would be charged if borrowing from other banks. LIBOR serves as the primary benchmark for short-term interest rates globally, and is used as a reference rate for many interest rate contracts, mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other consumer lending products. The Bank of International Settlements estimated that as of the second half of 2009, outstanding interest rate contracts were valued at approximately $450 trillion.

LIBOR, published by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), a trade association based in London, is calculated for 10 currencies at 15 borrowing periods, known as maturities, ranging from overnight to one year. The LIBOR for a given currency at a specific maturity is the result of a calculation based upon submissions from a panel of banks for that currency (the Contributor Panel) selected by the BBA. From at least 2006 through 2010, RBS has been a member of the Contributor Panel for a number of currencies, including Yen LIBOR and Swiss Franc LIBOR, which are the focus of the plea agreement and DPA.

According to the filed charging documents, at various times from at least 2006 through 2010, certain RBS Yen and Swiss Franc derivatives traders – whose compensation was directly connected to their success in trading financial products tied to LIBOR – engaged in efforts to move LIBOR in a direction favorable to their trading positions. Through these schemes, RBS allegedly defrauded counterparties who were unaware of the manipulation affecting financial products referencing Yen and Swiss Franc LIBOR. The alleged schemes included hundreds of instances in which RBS employees sought to influence LIBOR submissions in a manner favorable to their trading positions in two principal ways: internally at RBS through requests by derivatives traders for Yen and Swiss Franc LIBOR submissions, and externally through an agreement with a separately charged derivatives trader to request Yen LIBOR submissions. The trader, Tom Alexander William Hayes, was formerly employed by a Japanese subsidiary of another Contributor Panel bank, UBS AG (UBS).

According to court documents, RBS employees engaged in this conduct through electronic communications, which included both emails and electronic chats.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
Sailors muster for quarters on the flight deck aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson is underway conducting sea trials as the final stage of a six-month planned incremental availability. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Giovanni Squadrito (Released) 130202-N-DI878-097

130205-N-ZK021-001 JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (Feb. 5, 2013) Master-at-Arms Seaman Christopher Rivera, assigned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Military Working Dogs (JBPHH MWD) Section, runs his K-9 partner Asga through an obstacle course at the base kennel. MWD provides explosive/narcotic detection capabilities and performs patrol functions both on JBPHH and in support of worldwide contingencies. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nardel Gervacio/Released)