PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 10/ 11/ 17 (link source)
Decision flies in the face of science and basic reason, made with no public input or hearings for Washington state fishermen or business groups
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (WA-09), Denny Heck (WA-10), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), and 36 of their Senate and House colleagues sent a forceful letter to President Trump urging him listen to Washington fisherman and businesses before removing the science-based environmental rules that protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay and the livelihoods of thousands of Washington state fishermen who fish in the watershed.
Removing the existing clean water protections allows for the construction of Pebble Mine, an open-pit copper and gold mine that could have a depth equivalent to as much as two and a half Trump Towers. The mine would be an unmitigated catastrophe for the Bristol Bay watershed and the 40-60 million salmon who return to it every year. A three-year Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study in 2014 found that the proposed mine would, even in the course of normal, safe mine operations, destroy 24 to 94 miles of salmon-producing waterways and pristine environment.
The University of Alaska Institute of Social and Economic Research found that the Bristol Bay fishery supports more than 14,000 jobs and adds $674 million of economic activity to the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. The region also supports a prolific outdoor recreation industry; anglers from around the world take roughly 37,000 fishing trips annually to Bristol Bay, generating $60 million in economic activity.
“The EPA’s plan to reverse clean water safeguards is egregious and inconsistent with science, and frankly, inconsistent with basic logic,” wrote the members of Congress. “The Pebble Mine directly threatens our maritime economy and thousands of American jobs that rely on this world class fishery. We ask you to listen to America’s fishermen and businesses and reverse EPA’s decision to undo strong protections and clean water safeguards in Bristol Bay.”
The members of Congress note the process that established the current clean water safeguards were the result of rigorous scientific analysis and peer review, over one million public comments, and eight public hearings.
In stark contrast, the Trump Administration’s recent decision to roll back the protections has no scientific basis and has been carefully removed from the public eye. There has been no input from stakeholders such as the fishing and tourism industries. Only two public hearings have been noticed, neither of which is scheduled for Washington, Oregon or California where many Bristol Bay fishermen and sports fishermen reside.
In their letter, the members of Congress also called for public hearings, a 90-day extension of the public comment period, and other transparency measures to ensure the public is allowed to make their voices heard. Restrictions on mining have the support of 90% of local Bristol Bay residents.
Senator Cantwell successfully led the fight to save Bristol Bay when Pebble Mine was first proposed. In 2011, she urged the EPA to use authority under the Clean Water Act to block large scale development in Bristol Bay. She continued the drumbeat through 2014, when she rallied supporters at Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle to urge President Obama and the EPA to continue to prevent mining in the area.
Cantwell, Murray 25 Colleagues Urge National Institutes of Health to Renew Funding for Firearm Violence Research
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 10/ 11/ 17 (link source)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) joined 25 of their Senate colleagues in urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to renew a recently-lapsed funding opportunity for firearm violence research.
Following the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, President Obama directed the Department of Health and Human Services to research the causes of gun violence and how it can be prevented, resulting in the creation of a new funding opportunity to support research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute of Mental Health, among other parts of NIH. From 2014 to 2017, NIH provided $18 million to 22 projects to study violence prevention, including gun violence, which the American Medical Association has described as a "‘public health crisis' requiring a comprehensive public health response and solution."
In a letter to NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, the senators cited NIH leadership and researchers who noted the importance of this funding in furthering the agency's mission to promote and improve health outcomes, and in understanding "how science can save lives." Despite calls from numerous public health experts to renew the program, the funding opportunity closed on January 8, 2017, and NIH has yet to release a timeline for its decision on renewal of the funding.
"With 93 Americans dying per day from gun-related fatalities, it is critical that NIH dedicate a portion of its resources to the public health consequences of gun violence," wrote the senators. "We strongly urge you to renew the gun violence research program as soon as possible."
Gun violence, a leading cause of death in the United States, has historically been underfunded and understudied, due in part to the Dickey Amendment, which has effectively banned federal funding for research on the issue at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services. In their letter, the senators noted that while the amendment does bar research promoting gun control, it does not prohibit objective, scientific inquiries into prevention.
NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT REPORT
WH: Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with Dr. Henry Kissinger
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 10/ 10/ 17 (link source)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Henry Kissinger has been a friend of mine. I've liked him, I've respected him. But we've been friends for a long time, long before my emergence in the world of politics, which has not been too long.
But we have been really in, I guess you'd say, the New York scene a little bit -- but we got to know each other very well. He's a man I have great, great respect for. He's also somebody -- usually I say, "Have you ever been in the Oval Office?" And with Henry Kissinger, I didn't bother asking that question because he has been in this office many, many times.
But it's an honor to have Dr. Kissinger with us, a man of immense talent, and experience, and knowledge. And I'm going to talk to him for a while, and we're going to learn a lot. But I can say from a world standpoint and with many of the countries that Henry and I would talk about before the election -- because I would talk with Henry before the election -- we've made a lot of progress with many of them. We have some outstanding, and we'll handle that as we have to handle it.
But we've made a lot of progress in the Middle East with ISIS and so many other things. It's a much calmer place. But, Henry, I say often, I inherited a mess, but we're fixing it.
So you may want to say something. And thank you for being here, Henry. Thank you very much.
DR. KISSINGER: Mr. President, I didn't expect this opportunity. It's always a great honor to be in this office, and I'm here at a moment when the opportunity to build a constructive, peaceful world order is very great.
And the President is leaving on a trip to Asia, which I think will make a big contribution to progress and peace and prosperity.
Justice Department Settles with Montgomery County, Maryland, After School Program to Ensure Compliance with the ADA
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 10/ 10/ 17 (link source)
The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Bar-T Year Round Programs for Kids (Bar-T), located in Montgomery County, Maryland, to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, including child care centers, from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and those associated with them. Bar-T is the largest provider of before and after school programs in Montgomery County, operating at approximately 30 Montgomery County public school locations.
The department investigated whether Bar-T discriminated against a student with a disability, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and her parents when it expelled the student on the basis of behaviors associated with ASD, without properly considering whether Bar-T staff could implement reasonable modifications to permit the student to remain enrolled. The settlement agreement requires Bar-T to adopt a nondiscrimination policy; designate staff at each operating location to address ADA issues; implement a process for parents or guardians of children with disabilities to request reasonable modifications and for Bar-T to conduct an individualized assessment of each request; provide ADA training to staff; and report on compliance with the agreement. Bar-T will also pay $13,500 in compensatory damages to the student and her parents.
“Through this agreement, Bar-T is taking important steps to make sure that all children in its programs, including children with disabilities, will be given the opportunity to have a positive and successful experience in a supportive after school environment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division.
“Children with disabilities deserve equal opportunities to attend after school programs. The policies Bar-T has agreed to implement will ensure that its programs provide an inclusive environment for all students,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning.
To read the settlement agreement or for more information on the ADA, visit www.ada.gov. For more information about the ADA, including how to file a complaint, call the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.
FBI TEN MOST WANTED: MURDER VICTIMS D’Iberville, Harrison County, Mississippi October of 2011
Law enforcement authorities are seeking information in connection with a triple murder in Mississippi. On October 5, 2011, the victims were found stabbed to death in their home in D'Iberville, Mississippi. The victims were Rong Chen, a 40-year-old Asian male; Mei Rong Li, a 40-year-old Asian female (Rong Chen's wife); and Mei Jin Li, a 53-year-old Asian female (Mei Rong Li's sister).
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/murder-victims-1
FEMA Approves More Than $140 Million in Assistance to Puerto Rico
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 10/ 11/ 17 (link source)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved more than $44 million for assistance to individuals and more than $96 million for emergency work in response to hurricanes Irma and Maria.
FEMA continues to take registrations from residents of Puerto Rico who incurred damages to their homes and personal property as a result of hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Individuals and households in Puerto Rico can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov, or by calling 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585. FEMA teams are also on the ground meeting face-to-face with disaster survivors and helping with registrations.
FEMA awarded the Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority (PREPA) $54.6 million for emergency work.
PREPA is an autonomous agency of the Government of Puerto Rico that produces and distributes electricity to more than 1.5 million customers and is a not-for-profit public corporation. During the incident period that began on September 17, strong winds, storms, floods, debris and fallen trees associated with Hurricane Maria caused severe damages and the collapse of the electrical power system throughout Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Relief Update–Secretary DeVos Visits Impacted Florida Schools, Department Maintains Close Contact with Affected Area Officials
US DEPT. of Education press release issued 10/ 11/ 17
Washington — As states and territories recover and rebuild from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate, the U.S. Department of Education continues to provide assistance to the impacted students, schools and institutions. On Friday Oct. 6, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visited two impacted schools in southern Florida—Everglades City School in Everglades City and Pinecrest Elementary in Immokalee—to speak with students and hear directly from teachers and administrators about their communities' recovery efforts and needs.
"Witnessing the destruction brought by these hurricanes is heart-breaking, but it is even more heartening to see the resilience shown by those seeking to rebuild," said Secretary DeVos. "As these communities continue to return to normality, I am committed to reducing bureaucratic red-tape so that those affected can get the relief they need expeditiously."
On Sept. 22, the Department of Education released new non-regulatory guidance to help Department grantees and program participants remove barriers to restoring teaching and learning environments and to expediting the recovery process for all those impacted by the recent hurricanes.
The following are further updates on the Department's relief actions:
The Department has provided all guidance and relief information in Spanish online.
The Department continues to maintain active and ongoing communications with state and local elementary and secondary school system officials, charter school associations and private schools in the impacted states and territories.
The office of Federal Student Aid has established and maintains communication with all 965 affected institutions of higher education.
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/hurricane-relief-update-secretary-devos-visits-impacted-florida-schools-department-maintains-close-contact-affected-area-officials
WORLD AND NATIONAL HEADLINES FROM REUTERS
How a homemade tool helped North Korea's missile programSEOUL, (Reuters) - In 2009, a pop video from North Korea celebrated a new national hero - one that outside experts would later realize was at the heart of the secretive state’s banned nuclear and missile programs.
Erdogan says U.S. sacrificing strategic ally Turkey
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States on Thursday of mistreating a strategic ally, in a blistering speech which appeared to rule out swift resolution to a dispute between two NATO members jointly fighting Islamic State.
Trump signs order to weaken Obamacare, boost bare-bones insurance
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to weaken the Obamacare law and make it easier for Americans to buy bare-bones health insurance plans, but the action faces possible legal challenges.
Democrats rising? Early statehouse wins test new faces
(Reuters) - Democrats desperate to rebuild after losing the White House last year have scored a string of election victories for statehouse seats, testing a new generation of candidates and activists eager to resist President Donald Trump’s conservative agenda.
Daily Bible Verse: [ Shun Evil Counsel ] My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.
Proverbs 1:8-9 NKJV
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