PRESIDENT TRUMP: What an honor it is to be here in Vietnam -- in the very heart of the Indo-Pacific -- to address the people and business leaders of this region.
This has already been a remarkable week for the United States in this wonderful part of the world. Starting from Hawaii, Melania and I traveled to Japan, South Korea, and China, and now to Vietnam, to be here with all of you today.
Before we begin, I want to address all those affected by Typhoon Damrey. Americans are praying for you and for your recovery in the months ahead. Our hearts are united with the Vietnamese people suffering in the aftermath of this terrible storm.
This trip comes at an exciting time for America. A new optimism has swept all across our country. Economic growth has reached 3.2 percent, and going higher. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 17 years. The stock market is at an all-time high. And the whole world is lifted by America’s renewal.
Everywhere I’ve traveled on this journey, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the good news from America. But even more, I've had the honor of sharing our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific -- a place where sovereign and independent nations, with diverse cultures and many different dreams, can all prosper side-by-side, and thrive in freedom and in peace.
I am so thrilled to be here today at APEC, because this organization was founded to help achieve that very purpose. America stands as a proud member of the community of nations who make a home on the Pacific. We have been an active partner in this region since we first won independence ourselves.
In 1784, the first American ship sailed to China from the newly independent United States. It went loaded with goods to sell in Asia, and it came back full of porcelain and tea. Our first president, George Washington himself, owned a set of tableware from that ship.
In 1804, Thomas Jefferson sent the explorers, Lewis and Clark, on an expedition to our Pacific Coast. They were the first of the millions of Americans who ventured west to live out America’s manifest destiny across our vast continent.
In 1817, our Congress approved the first full-time Pacific development [deployment] of an American warship. That initial naval presence soon grew into a squadron, and then a fleet, to guarantee freedom of navigation for the growing number of ships, braving the high seas to reach markets in the Philippines, Singapore, and in India.
In 1818, we began our relationship with the Kingdom of Thailand, and 15 years later our two countries signed a treaty of friendship and commerce -- our first with an Asian nation.
In the next century, when imperialist powers threatened this region, the United States pushed back at great cost to ourselves. We understood that security and prosperity depended on it.
(read more on link source)
FROM OUR GOVERNOR, Jay Inslee...
For domestic flights, standard state licenses acceptable until fall 2020
Washington residents have until October 2020 to determine what type of identity document they will need to travel on commercial flights within the United States or to access certain federal facilities. This is when federal requirements will be enforced regarding what kinds of state-issued identification are acceptable.
The new identification requirements are part of the REAL ID Act passed by Congress in 2005. Currently, Washington state residents can obtain a standard driver’s license or ID, or an enhanced driver’s license or ID. Proof of identity and residence is required to obtain a standard card, while an individual must also show proof of U.S. citizenship to obtain an enhanced card.
Beginning in July 2018, Washington State must clearly mark its standard driver’s license and ID cards as noncompliant with federal requirements. By fall of 2018, the Washington State Department of Licensing expects to be in full compliance with the law, and it will apply for certification from the Department of Homeland Security. In October 2020, after REAL ID certification is granted, Washington residents flying domestically or accessing some federal facilities will be required to show an enhanced ID or other form of acceptable federal identification.
This timeline is part of the agreement state and federal officials have reached after several years of discussion.
DOL notes Washingtonians are not required to get an enhanced driver’s license or ID card, and encourages residents to consider their options and look at other forms of federally acceptable ID they may already have.
( read more on the link source)
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OUR HEALTH AND FITNESS
NEWS FROM THE FDA:Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. on new steps to improve FDA review of shared Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies to improve generic drug access
press release issued 11/ 8/ 17
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm584259.htm
To manage the risks associated with drugs, the FDA employs a range of tools. For drugs that are associated with serious risks, the FDA can require drug makers to develop a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks. REMS can contain a variety of tools – such as a Medication Guide or patient package insert with information specifically written for patients, a communication plan, and various “Elements to Ensure Safe Use” (ETASU). These elements may include requirements for prescriber training or patient counseling. These safety strategies are critical tools for the FDA to protect patient safety, which is why we want to help manufacturers apply these programs correctly, consistently, and efficiently.
But as I announced earlier this year as part of our Drug Competition Action Plan, we also need to make sure that REMS programs maintain their role in serving public health and don’t become a tool companies can use to delay or block competition from generic products entering the market. Today, we’re announcing that we are exploring a two-pronged approach to addressing shared REMS issues. First, we will continue to work to find ways to encourage the use of shared system REMS between all innovator and generic companies producing a drug. Second, we will explore new steps that the FDA can take to reduce the likelihood that branded drug companies can use the existence of REMS as a way to slow the entry of generic competition.
Current law requires that branded and generic companies try to reach agreement on the implementation of a single, shared system REMS rather than maintaining separate REMS for the branded drug and its generic competitor. Any generic drug application referencing a branded drug with a REMS with ETASU must use a single, shared system REMS with the innovator, unless the FDA waives that requirement and permits the generic drug to use a separate, comparable REMS program. But we know that negotiations to reach agreement on shared system REMS can take extended periods of time. This can block the timely entry of a generic competitor. I believe branded firms sometimes use these negotiations strategically, as a way to slow generic competitors.
Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on a practical approach to ensuring timely implementation of FDA’s menu labeling rule
Press release issued 11/ 7/ 17
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm584147.htm
As someone who enjoys eating out with my family and picking up the occasional take-out meal, I – like many Americans – want to know what’s in the food I eat. As FDA Commissioner, I also know that more people are eating meals away from home, and our diets are increasingly comprised of foods we get from restaurants or take-out meals. FDA is committed to leveraging nutrition to enhance health and reduce disease, and the agency soon will be announcing a broader policy effort in this area. One important step is ensuring consumers have access to reliable and actionable information about the foods they eat so that they can make more informed choices about their diets and health for themselves and their families.
But information about the foods we get in restaurants and in take-out meals isn’t consistently available. Often we’re left without good insight into how many calories we’re consuming away from our homes, or what type of nutrition we may receive. At a time when more than a third of U.S. adults are obese and more people are trying to make healthier lifestyle decisions, we know making informed choices about our diets has the potential to save and improve lives. For instance, it can help to reduce the risk of many obesity-related conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancer. This is why we’re seizing the opportunity to empower Americans to more carefully consider their food choices by providing access to uniform and consistent calorie and nutrition information for foods on display, menus and menu boards.
FDA takes seriously the authority Congress granted to us in overseeing federal food labeling standards, including our mandate to make calorie information available on menus. From the outset, the agency recognized the enormity of our responsibility, not only to implement this law in a way that meets the needs of American consumers, but doing so while being pragmatic and not overly burdensome to restaurants and similar retail food establishments. In considering how and what information to make available, we have taken into account the significant variation in the ways Americans purchase foods – ranging from traditional restaurant menus to the growth in grab-and-go foods at grocery and convenience stores. Importantly, our approach also makes sure that these provisions can be efficiently implemented by restaurants and similar retail food establishments and sustained for the long run.
When FDA first proposed a rule in 2011 to address what information should be provided in menus at restaurant chains and other similar retail food establishments, the agency understood this was just the first of many steps we would need to take to ensure that our regulations would be properly and effectively implemented. FDA also recognized that striking the appropriate balance would require a dialogue with the diverse parties impacted by our requirements to ensure we fully understood and considered the various concerns, challenges, opportunities and possible consequences of our regulations. We took that obligation seriously, and as we developed the final regulations, we were informed by hundreds of comments from consumers, industry representatives and other interested parties, along with insights captured during many meetings and discussions with a broad spectrum of stakeholders.
CDC: One in five US adults still using tobacco products in 2015
Press release issued 11/ 9/ 17
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1109-tobacco-product-usage.html
About 1 in 5 U.S. adults used some form of tobacco product in 2015, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
This is the first time CDC, in coordination with FDA, has used the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to assess the range of different tobacco products used by U.S. adults. The survey has been used to assess current (“every day” or “some day”) cigarette smoking among U.S. adults since 1965, but ongoing surveillance of other tobacco products began more recently.
About 42 million adults – more than 87 percent of the nation’s nearly 49 million tobacco product users – reported using a combustible product such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes (including hookahs and water pipes). The remaining adult tobacco users reported using e-cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, snuff, dip, snus, and dissolvable tobacco.
“Too many Americans are harmed by cigarette smoking, which is the nation’s leading preventable cause of death and disease,” said CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. “CDC will continue to use proven strategies to help smokers quit and to prevent children from using any tobacco products.”
Key findings from analysis of tobacco use data
These data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey also found that 9.5 million American adults reported “every day” or “some day” use of two or more tobacco products. Among all adults, cigarettes were the most commonly used product (15.1 percent); followed by e-cigarettes (3.5 percent); cigars, cigarillos, or filtered little cigars (3.4 percent); smokeless tobacco (2.3 percent); and pipes, water pipes, or hookahs (1.2 percent).
Use of any tobacco product varied by sex, age, race/ethnicity, U.S. region, education, marital status, annual household income, sexual orientation, health insurance coverage, disability status, and presence of serious psychological distress.
HHS Names Patient Matching Algorithm Challenge Winners
Press release issued 11/ 8/ 17
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) today announced the winners of the Patient Matching Algorithm Challenge.
ONC selected the winning submissions from over 140 competing teams and almost 7,000 submissions using an ONC-provided dataset. “Patient matching” in health IT describes the techniques used to identify and match the data about patients held by one healthcare provider with the data about the same patients held either within the same system or by another system (or many other systems). The inability to successfully match patients to any and all of their data records can impeded interoperability resulting in patient safety risks and decreased provider efficiency.
“Many experts across the healthcare system have long identified the ability to match patients efficiently, accurately, and to scale as a critical interoperability need for the nation’s growing health IT infrastructure. This challenge was an important step towards better understanding the current landscape,” said Don Rucker, M.D., national coordinator for health information technology.
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2017/11/08/hhs-names-patient-matching-algorithm-challenge-winners.html
DOJ: Department of Justice Announces Significant Tool in Prosecuting Opioid Traffickers in Emergency Scheduling of All Fentanyls
The Department of Justice today announced that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) intends to take immediate action against the flow of illicit fentanyl analogues into this country and the alarming increase in overdose deaths linked to synthetic opioids by scheduling all fentanyl-related substances on an emergency basis.
When the DEA’s order takes effect, anyone who possesses, imports, distributes, or manufactures any illicit fentanyl analogue will be subject to criminal prosecution in the same manner as for fentanyl and other controlled substances. The action announced today will make it easier for federal prosecutors and agents to prosecute traffickers of all forms of fentanyl-related substances.
“President Trump has made it a cornerstone of his presidency to combat the deadly drug crisis in America, and today the Department of Justice is taking an important step toward halting the rising death toll caused by illicit fentanyls in the United States,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “By scheduling all fentanyls, we empower our law enforcement officers and prosecutors to take swift and necessary action against those spreading these deadly poisons. I also urge the many members of Congress who clearly share our concern and alarm over fentanyl’s role in our opioid overdose epidemic to do their part by permanently scheduling these lethal substances.”
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-announces-significant-tool-prosecuting-opioid-traffickers-emergency
AT THE STATE LEVEL
DOH PRESS RELEASE: State disciplines health care providers
OLYMPIA -- The Washington State Department of Health has taken disciplinary actions or withdrawn charges against health care providers in our state.
The department’s Health Systems Quality Assurance Division works with boards, commissions, and advisory committees to set licensing standards for more than 80 health care professions (e.g., medical doctors, nurses, counselors).
Information about health care providers is on the agency website. Click on “Look up a health care provider license” in the “How Do I?” section of the Department of Health website (doh.wa.gov). The site includes information about a health care provider’s license status, the expiration and renewal date of their credential, disciplinary actions and copies of legal documents issued after July 1998. This information is also available by calling 360-236-4700. Consumers who think a health care provider acted unprofessionally are encouraged to call and report their complaint.
https://www.doh.wa.gov/Newsroom/2017NewsReleases/17157DisciplineR1751NewsRelease
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MILKING THE SYSTEM
DOJ: New Orleans Woman Convicted for Role in $3.2 Million Medicare Kickback Schemehttps://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/new-orleans-woman-convicted-role-32-million-medicare-kickback-scheme
A federal jury found a New Orleans woman guilty today for her role in an approximately $3.2 million Medicare fraud and kickback scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans of the Eastern District of Louisiana, Acting Special Agent in Charge Daniel Evans of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office and Special Agent in Charge C.J. Porter of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Field Office made the announcement.
After a three-day trial, Sandra Parkman, 61, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, two counts of health care fraud and five counts of accepting kickbacks. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who presided over the trial.
According to evidence presented at trial, from 2004 to 2009, Parkman and others engaged in a scheme to provide medically unnecessary durable medical equipment, including power wheelchairs, to Medicare beneficiaries in and around New Orleans. The evidence showed that Parkman received kickback payments from the equipment supply company in return for providing eligible Medicare beneficiaries’ personal information to the company, as well as to obtain physican signatures on order forms.
As a result of the scheme, Parkman’s co-defendant, Tracy Richardson Brown, caused Medicare to pay over $3.2 million based on those illegally obtained referrals, the evidence showed.
Brown was previously convicted following a trial in June 2016 and was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG. Trial Attorneys Kate Payerle and Jared Hasten of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.
Justice Department Sues Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. in Bellevue, Washington, for Illegally Foreclosing on Homes of at Least 28 Servicemembers
Press release issued 11/ 9/ 17
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-northwest-trustee-services-inc-bellevue-washington-illegally
The U.S. Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging that Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. (Northwest) violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The complaint alleges that since 2010, Northwest completed foreclosures on at least 28 homes owned by servicemembers without obtaining the required court orders.
The SCRA protects the rights of servicemembers on active duty by suspending or modifying certain civil obligations. The law prohibits foreclosing on the home of a servicemember during active military service and one year thereafter without a court order if the mortgage originated prior to the servicemember’s period of military service.
The department launched an investigation into Northwest’s practices after United States Marine veteran Jacob McGreevey of Vancouver, Washington, submitted a complaint to the department’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative in May 2016. Northwest had foreclosed on McGreevey’s home in August 2010, less than two months after he was released from active duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. McGreevey sued both PHH Mortgage (his mortgage servicer) and Northwest in 2016, but a U.S. District Court Judge accepted PHH and Northwest’s argument that McGreevy had waited too long to file his case, and dismissed the case on that basis. The department’s investigation revealed that, in addition to McGreevey, NWTS had foreclosed on other homes of SCRA-protected servicemembers in violation of the SCRA since 2010.
“As we reflect this Veterans Day on the great debt we owe to those who have fought so hard for our freedom, we also reaffirm our commitment to protecting the rights of those who serve,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our men and women in uniform make immense personal sacrifices to keep our country safe. Losing their home to an unlawful foreclosure should not be one of them.”
“The loss of a home is a devastating blow for anyone – but far worse for active duty service members often called to war zones far from Western Washington,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Our investigation revealed that Northwest Trustee Services repeatedly failed to comply with laws that are meant to ensure our service members do not have to fight a two front war – one on behalf of all of us, and the other against illegal foreclosures. My office will continue to work closely with our colleagues in the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. to protect Western Washington service members from this kind of misconduct.”
In addition to monetary damages for affected servicemembers, the SCRA provides for civil monetary penalties of up to $60,788 for the first offense and $121,577 for each subsequent offense. The department will also seek injunctive relief to prevent future foreclosures that violate the SCRA.
Former Department of Veterans Affairs Employee Indicted on Charges of Wire Fraud, Bribery and Theft
Press release issued 11/ 9/ 17
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-department-veterans-affairs-employee-indicted-charges-wire-fraud-bribery-and-theft
A federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia returned an indictment yesterday charging a former Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official with a scheme to steal benefit money for veterans in need from the VA.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
Russell M. Ware, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was charged with four counts of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal more than $66,000 from the VA. Ware was also charged with one count of bribery and one count of theft of government property.
According to the indictment, between September 2013 and May 2014, Ware devised a scheme to steal more than $21,000 in VA disability benefit money, which he had wired to his own bank account. The indictment further alleges that from October 2014 to February 2015, Ware directed additional disability benefits totaling almost $46,000 to a friend, Jacqueline Crawford, 33, of Gulfport, Mississippi, who was not entitled to receive the money. Crawford then kicked back more than $13,000 to Ware, at Ware’s direction, usually through the use of Walmart2Walmart money transfers. Crawford pleaded guilty in February 2017, to an information charging her with a single count of theft of government property related to the scheme, and is awaiting sentencing.
Massachusetts Business Owner Charged with Tax Crimes
Allegedly Concealed More than $4 Million in Business Receipts
Press release issued 11/ 9/ 17
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/massachusetts-business-owner-charged-tax-crimes
A business owner was charged by a federal grand jury in Boston, Massachusetts, with attempting to obstruct the internal revenue laws, aiding and assisting in the filing of fraudulent corporate, personal, and employment tax returns, tax evasion, and structuring financial transactions, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the indictment, Nicholas Boulas, of North Reading, owned and operated Nick’s Painting Service Inc. (NPS), which provided painting services to residential and commercial customers in the Boston area. From 2009 through 2014, Boulas allegedly concealed approximately $4 million in business receipts by cashing approximately $2.7 million in checks and directing a substantial number of customers to write checks to him personally, which he cashed and deposited using multiple personal bank accounts. According to the indictment, he structured cash transactions to involve less than $10,000 in currency in order to evade the banks’ reporting requirements – banks are required to file reports with the U.S. Treasury for transactions involving more than $10,000 of currency, conducted by or on behalf of the same person on the same day.
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NEWS STORY COMMENTARY
See I told you so...Two stories this week that are related mostly having to do with the issue with fluoridation in the Peninsula Daily News regarding the election results that wasn't to surprising.
PDN: Fluoride foes want more action from Port Angeles council
Fluoridation opponents spent little time basking in victory over a Nov. 7 general election advisory ballot that recommends the city's municipal water supply should stay unfluoridated, which it has been since August 2016.
They want the Port Angeles City Council to guarantee fluorosilicic acid will stay out of the water by passing a resolution making it so, anti-fluoridation activist Mike Libera said Wednesday
Related story: Second-class-city measure resoundingly rejected---PDN
PORT ANGELES Voters ensured that the city of Port Angeles would not become the first city in Washington to change from a code city with home-rule powers to a second-class city without those powers
" Of course it was worth it. It was a great strategy. We got rid of fluoride. Our Water, Our Choice! chair Eloise Kailin of Sequim called the change in government a solution in a Jan. 22 Peninsula Daily News interview. We think now that the change of government is not necessary, she said Wednesday."
Editorial Comment: I knew when the issue of fluoridation was placed on the ballot, that many would see the issue of changing the form of government would be a pointless venture, since the voters repeated their disdain for fluoride in their our water supply, after a citizen advisory vote by utility customers were ignored by the current city council, that lead to the three ring circus all last year of ethics complaints, and the bright idea of changing the government structure. I imagine many like me who signed that petition to change the government, changed their minds and voted against it. From what I read many of the anti fluoride folks changed their minds also regarding changing a second class city. Now, the question is will the city honor the decisions of the voters to be rid of fluoridation for good? Is it any wonder there are called to have a resolution to that effect, after they ignored the will of the people on that citizen advisory vote last year?
WORLD AND NATIONAL HEADLINES FROM REUTERS...
Trump distances himself from remarks on Putin over election meddling
HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday attempted to clear up confusion over whether he accepts Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials of meddling in the U.S. election last year.
How Saudi Arabia turned on Lebanon's Hariri
BEIRUT (Reuters) - From the moment Saad al-Hariri’s plane touched down in Saudi Arabia on Friday Nov. 3, he was in for a surprise.
Texas town holds first burials after church massacre
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (Reuters) - The tiny Texas town reeling from a gun massacre that killed 26 churchgoers buried the first of the victims on Saturday, in a remote cemetery where a series of funerals is being held this week.
Trump arrives in Philippines for Asian leaders' summit
MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in the Philippine capital Manila on Sunday to attend an annual gathering of leaders from East and Southeast Asian countries.
THIS WEEK'S BIBLE STUDY
Gospel Way: What Name Should Jesus' Church Wear?
Does it matter what name the church wears? Some people seek to justify all the different denominational names by saying, "There is nothing in a name. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!"
Some names may not matter much, but is this always true? Suppose Mrs. John Doe began telling everyone she was Mrs. Tom Smith. What do you suppose Mr. Doe and Mr. Smith would think about that?
https://www.gospelway.com/topics/church/church-name.php
