ic 5 Ways In Which Mobile Learning Helps To Engage During Virtual Training By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 00:27:03 +0000 Virtual learning is effective in disseminating knowledge to learners. But, today, the requirement is not just to disseminate knowledge, but also to engage, retain and […] The post 5 Ways In Which Mobile Learning Helps To Engage During Virtual Training appeared first on e-Learning Feeds. Full Article eLearning News Learner Engagement Mobile Learning mobile learning benefits Virtual Learning Environment Virtual Reality Training Solution
ic 5 Reasons To Add Gamification To Your Company's Training Today By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 00:31:03 +0000 Making learning fun through gamification is now used for serious outcomes: building a team environment, making employees more engaged, aiding retention, and increasing profits. In […] The post 5 Reasons To Add Gamification To Your Company's Training Today appeared first on e-Learning Feeds. Full Article eLearning News #gamification corporate training employee engagement Employee Training Gamification Benefits
ic 6 articles you must read about personal productivity By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 02:26:10 +0000 Once again remote working has raised the importance of personal productivity development for the successful professionals of tomorrow. However, effective time management has always been […] The post 6 articles you must read about personal productivity appeared first on e-Learning Feeds. Full Article LMS
ic 7 Standard Player Menu Tips For Articulate Storyline By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 04:56:31 +0000 In this video, I'll show you seven tips for working with the standard menu in the Articulate Storyline player so you can work more efficient […] The post 7 Standard Player Menu Tips For Articulate Storyline appeared first on e-Learning Feeds. Full Article eLearning Authoring Tools Articulate Custom Player Articulate Storyline Articulate Storyline 360 Articulate Storyline Player Menu Articulate Storyline Players Articulate Storyline Restricted Navigation e-learning elearning Getting Started How To Customize The Player Menu In Articulate Storyline storyline 360 modern player Storyline 360 Player Properties Upward online learning upwardonlinelearning Video
ic You Won't Need to Buy These Games Twice With Xbox Series X Smart Delivery By www.ign.com Published On :: Sat, 9 May 2020 16:19:47 +0000 See the list of all games you can buy for Xbox One and get a free copy for the Xbox Series X. Full Article
ic Keep Your Data Backed up and Secure Wtih the Best NAS Devices By www.ign.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 02:00:03 +0000 Ever wanted a hard drive you could access from anywhere? Well Network-Attached Storage might be just right for you! Full Article
ic How to Beat the Final Boss in Gears Tactics By www.ign.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 03:00:10 +0000 Get intel on the boss's attacks and strategies to defeat it. Full Article
ic Officials searching for 2 Utah teens who went missing while tubing By www.nbcnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 06:32:00 GMT Priscilla Bienkowski, 18, and Sophia Hernandez, 17, have been missing since Wednesday when they were tubing on Utah Lake. Full Article
ic 'Chaotic disaster': Obama hits Trump's coronavirus response, warns of disinformation ahead of election By www.nbcnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 19:33:47 GMT The former president was also critical of the Justice Department directing prosecutors to drop their case against Michael Flynn, warning that the “rule of law is at risk.” Full Article
ic Brother of Lori Vallow died of natural causes, medical examiner says By www.nbcnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 20:33:07 GMT Lori Vallow, the Idaho mother jailed in connection to the disappearance of her two missing children, is also under investigation with her current husband in the death of his former wife. Full Article
ic 'We are so lucky to have had him': Michelle Obama, others honor Little Richard By www.nbcnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 19:55:24 GMT "With his exuberance, his creativity, and his refusal to be anything other than himself, Little Richard laid the foundation for generations of artists to follow," Michelle Obama tweeted. Full Article
ic The right to worship: Church and state clash over religious services in the coronavirus era By www.nbcnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 19:07:00 GMT Just this week, the Justice Department got behind a rural Virginia church's claim that the state improperly discriminated against it by limiting its gatherings. Full Article
ic Iceland uses coronavirus stimulus money to fight climate change By www.foxnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 21:22:04 GMT Last week, the Icelandic government rolled out several new environmental policies and proposals addressing climate change as part of the country's second COVID-19 economic stimulus package. Full Article 6c7676f9-61c3-5a55-b235-37aed2cac81c fox-news/science fox-news/science/natural-science fox-news/us/environment fox-news/us/environment/climate-change fox-news/world/environment/climate-change fox-news/science/planet-earth/climate fox-news/health/infectious-disease/coronavirus fox-news/us/economy fox-news/politics/finance fox-news/us/energy fox-news/science/planet-earth/energy fox-news/world/united-nations fox-news/world/environment/forests fnc fnc/science article Fox News Julia Musto
ic Obama says coronavirus response has been a ‘chaotic disaster,' blames ‘selfish’ mindset By feeds.foxnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 15:56:19 GMT Former President Barack Obama on Friday said that the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been an “absolute chaotic disaster” and blamed it on a “selfish” and “tribal” mindset that has become operationalized in government. Full Article c2250188-c3bd-5972-8c83-dbd2c87d56f1 fox-news/health/infectious-disease/coronavirus fox-news/person/barack-obama fox-news/person/joe-biden fox-news/person/donald-trump fnc fnc/politics article Fox News Adam Shaw
ic Pelosi suggests moving DNC convention to 'gigantic' stadium By feeds.foxnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 17:32:38 GMT House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thinks the Democratic National Convention should be moved to a much bigger stadium so party faithful have space to social distance for Joe Biden's nomination. Full Article 4a52ab97-19b1-5127-ac70-ce42ed198592 fox-news/person/nancy-pelosi fox-news/politics/elections/democrats fox-news/politics/house-of-representatives/democrats fox-news/person/joe-biden fox-news/politics/elections/democratic-convention fox-news/politics/2020-presidential-election fnc fnc/politics article Fox News Marisa Schultz
ic Top House Republican issues 'call to arms' about Dems trying to 'steal' Calif. election; Trump joins effort By feeds.foxnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 23:28:53 GMT EXCLUSIVE: The leader of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) sent a memo to all House Republicans Saturday with an "urgent call to arms" that Democrats are trying to "steal" Tuesday's special election for California's 25th Congressional District Seat, Fox News has learned. Full Article d486fc96-24b1-5c02-960a-446ea0e61c7f fox-news/politics/2020-house-races fox-news/politics/house-of-representatives/democrats fox-news/politics/house-of-representatives/republicans fox-news/us/us-regions/west/california fox-news/person/donald-trump fox-news/politics/executive/white-house fox-news/health/infectious-disease/coronavirus fnc fnc/politics article Fox News Marisa Schultz
ic Obama White House may have seen 'opportunity to disrupt' Flynn, ex-FBI official says By www.foxnews.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 02:22:00 GMT It would be "abominable" if the Obama White House was behind the FBI's controversial interview of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a former assistant director of intelligence for the bureau said Friday night. Full Article 96b4f08d-9e3c-50bc-b7fd-4484dafb61a3 fox-news/shows/ingraham-angle fox-news/media/fox-news-flash fox-news/media fox-news/tech/topics/fbi fox-news/person/barack-obama fox-news/news-events/russia-investigation fox-news/person/donald-trump fox-news/politics/executive/national-security fnc fnc/media article Fox News Victor Garcia
ic Hannity blasts Obama, Schiff over Russia probe, Flynn case: 'This can't happen in America' By www.foxnews.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 03:19:45 GMT Sean Hannity blasted the Obama administration and Democrats on Saturday night for the Russia investigation and targeting of former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. Full Article 071b10e8-91b4-502f-b671-14527d239f5a fox-news/shows/watters-world fox-news/media/fox-news-flash fox-news/media fox-news/shows/hannity fox-news/news-events/russia-investigation fox-news/person/barack-obama fox-news/person/adam-schiff fnc fnc/media article Fox News Victor Garcia
ic Mike Rowe says many Americans workers feel labeled 'nonessential' by coronavirus lockdowns By www.foxnews.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 06:51:51 GMT The U.S. response to the coronavirus outbreak has led to "unintended consequences" -- including lost pride for many American workers, TV host Mike Rowe said Saturday night. Full Article d7a9bbc8-3739-5fa0-a1bc-5877509f226d fox-news/shows/watters-world fox-news/topic/fox-news-flash fox-news/media fnc fnc/media article Fox News Victor Garcia
ic Falcons' Ricardo Allen says idea of practice is 'nerve-racking' By feeds.foxnews.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 20:36:36 GMT Ricardo Allen didn't budge when Georgia was one of the first states to open businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Full Article 6385a607-8dab-5af9-8c1f-921bdf533eed fox-news/sports/nfl/atlanta-falcons fnc fnc/sports article Associated Press
ic Little Richard Put Wild Sex Into the Top 40 for Good By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 20:36:08 -0400 The self-described king and queen of rock-and-roll died today at 87. Full Article obits obituary little richard music a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom! a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop vulture homepage lede remembrances
ic Learn How to Pick the Perfect Suit With Melissa Villaseñor’s John Mulaney on SNL By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 01:34:45 -0400 The MasterClass of our dreams. Full Article last night on late night comedy saturday night live snl tv chloe fineman melissa villaseñor john mulaney
ic The Freefall Economy Will Scar These Americans Worst By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 14:49:11 GMT Jim Watson/GettyThirty-three million Americans have filed for unemployment since the coronavirus lockdowns began in earnest. Many more have tried and failed thanks to an extremely creaky system running on ancient software, easily overwhelmed by a tsunami of layoffs.But 20.5 million, the official number of jobs lost in April, according to a report released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a terrifying figure in its own right. That’s the worst single month for job losses in a data set that dates back to 1939. As in, when Franklin Roosevelt was president and the Great Depression was still fading in the rearview mirror.After weeks of mounting evidence of economic collapse, the official U.S. unemployment rate has spiked to 14.7 percent, and that number was biased down because 6 million people just gave up and dropped out of the labor market and were thus not counted in the jobless rate. That rate will almost surely go even higher from here.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Full Article U.S. News
ic Biden Campaign Is Secretly Building a Republican Group By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 23:42:16 GMT Saul Loeb/AFP/GettyAppearing in an Instagram live chat with soccer star Megan Rapinoe on April 30, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden made a spontaneous, vague statement about how he’s been “speaking to a lot of Republicans,” including “former colleagues, who are calling and saying Joe, if you win, we’re gonna help.”Then he showed his hand: “Matter of fact, there’s some major Republicans who are already forming ‘Republicans for Biden,’” the former vice president said. “Major officeholders.”The comment hardly received any attention at the time. But in declaring it, Biden ended up tipping off the earliest stages of a brewing effort that’s starting to get underway in certain Republican circles behind-the-scenes. Read more at The Daily Beast. Full Article Politics
ic The Police Officer Who Killed 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Has Been Fired By www.motherjones.com Published On :: Tue, 30 May 2017 19:20:39 +0000 The police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in a Cleveland park in November 2014 has been fired, Cleveland's police chief said at a press conference on Tuesday. The decision comes two and a half years after Rice was killed. Officer Timothy Loehmann was fired not for shooting Rice but for lying on his job application about his disciplinary record at a previous police department, according to the termination documents. (Another officer who had been on the scene of the shooting was suspended for 10 days.) Loehmann, who started working for the Cleveland Police Department in early 2014, failed to disclose that although he voluntarily left his job at another department, he was allowed to resign after a series of incidents in which supervisors deemed him unfit for duty, according to Cleveland.com. He also did not disclose that he had failed a written exam for employment at a second police department. Loehmann shot Rice after he and his partner responded to a 911 call about a person in a park waving a gun. His death became an early touchstone for the Black Lives Matter movement. Video of the shooting showed that Loehmann shot the child, who was holding a toy pellet gun, within two seconds of arriving on the scene. A grand jury declined to charge the officers involved. A dispatcher who took the initial 911 call was suspended in March for failing to tell the responding officers that the caller had said the person with the gun might be a juvenile and that the gun could be fake. A June 2015 Mother Jones investigation revealed how that failure contributed to the child's death. Full Article Politics Crime and Justice
ic How Trump's War on Free Speech Threatens the Republic By www.motherjones.com Published On :: Fri, 02 Jun 2017 10:00:09 +0000 On May 17, while delivering a graduation speech to cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, a scandal-plagued President Donald Trump took the opportunity to complain, yet again, about the news media. No leader in history, he said, has been treated as unfairly as he has been. Shortly thereafter, when the graduates presented Trump with a ceremonial sword, a live mic picked up Homeland Security chief John F. Kelly telling the president, "Use that on the press, sir!" Kelly was presumably joking, but the press isn't laughing. Presidents have complained bitterly about reporters since George Washington ("infamous scribblers"), but Trump has gone after the media with a venom unmatched by any modern president—including Richard Nixon. At campaign rallies, Trump herded reporters into pens, where they served as rhetorical cannon fodder, and things only got worse after the election. Prior to November 8, the media were "scum" and "disgusting." Afterward, they became the "enemy of the American people." (Even Nixon never went that far, noted reporter Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame. Nixon did refer to the press as "the enemy," but only in private and without "the American people" part—an important distinction for students of authoritarianism.) On April 29, the same day as this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner (which Trump boycotted), the president held a rally in Pennsylvania to commemorate his first 100 days. He spent his first 10 minutes or so attacking the media: CNN and MSNBC were "fake news." The "totally failing New York Times" was getting "smaller and smaller," now operating out of "a very ugly office building in a very crummy location." Trump went on: "If the media's job is to be honest and tell the truth, then I think we would all agree the media deserves a very, very big, fat failing grade. [Cheers.] Very dishonest people!" Trump's animosity toward the press isn't limited to rhetoric. His administration has excluded from press briefings reporters who wrote critical stories, and it famously barred American media from his Oval Office meeting with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador to the United States while inviting in Russia's state-controlled news service. Before firing FBI Director James Comey, Trump reportedly urged Comey to jail journalists who published classified information. As a litigious businessman, the president has expressed his desire to "open up" libel laws. In April, White House chief of staff Reince Preibus acknowledged that the administration had indeed examined its options on that front. This behavior seems to be having a ripple effect: On May 9, a journalist was arrested in West Virginia for repeatedly asking a question that Tom Price, Trump's health secretary, refused to answer. Nine days later, a veteran reporter was manhandled and roughly escorted out of a federal building after he tried (politely) to question an FCC commissioner. Montana Republican Greg Gianforte won a seat in the House of Representatives last week, one day after he was charged with assaulting a reporter who had pressed Gianforte for his take on the House health care bill. And over the long weekend, although it could be a coincidence, someone fired a gun of some sort at the offices of the Lexington Herald-Leader, a paper singled out days earlier by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, who likened journalists to "cicadas" who "don't actually seem to care about Kentucky." Where is all of this headed? It's hard to know for sure, but as a lawyer (and former newspaper reporter) who has spent years defending press freedoms in America, I can say with some confidence that the First Amendment will soon be tested in ways we haven't seen before. Let's look at three key areas that First Amendment watchdogs are monitoring with trepidation. Abusive Subpoenas The First Amendment offers limited protections when a prosecutor or a civil litigant subpoenas a journalist in the hope of obtaining confidential notes and sources. In the 1972 case of Branzburg v. Hayes, a deeply divided Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not shield reporters from the obligation of complying with a grand jury subpoena. But the decision left room for the protection of journalists who refuse to burn a source in other contexts—in civil cases, for instance, or in criminal cases that don't involve a grand jury. Some lower courts have ruled that the First Amendment indeed provides such protections. The Constitution, of course, is merely a baseline for civil liberties. Recognizing the gap left by the Branzburg ruling, a majority of the states have enacted shield laws that give journalists protections that Branzburg held were not granted by the Constitution. Yet Congress, despite repeated efforts, has refused to pass such a law. This gives litigants in federal court, including prosecutors, significant leverage to force journalists into compliance. (In 2005, Judith Miller, then of the New York Times, spent 85 days in jail for refusing to reveal her secret source to a federal grand jury investigating the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. The source, Miller eventually admitted, was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.) Trump will almost certainly take advantage of his leverage. He and his innermost circle have already demonstrated that they either fail to understand or fail to respect (or both) America's long-standing tradition of restraint when it comes to a free press. During the campaign, Trump tweeted that Americans who burn the flag—a free-speech act explicitly protected by the Supreme Court—should be locked up or stripped of citizenship "perhaps." In December, after the New York Times published a portion of Trump's tax returns, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski declared that executive editor Dean Baquet "should be in jail." Trump took over the reins from an executive branch that was arguably harder on the press than any administration in recent history. President Barack Obama oversaw more prosecutions of leakers under the vaguely worded Espionage Act of 1917 than all other presidents combined, and he was more aggressive than most in wrenching confidential information from journalists. Over the course of two months in 2012, Obama's Justice Department secretly subpoenaed and seized phone records from more than 100 Associated Press reporters, potentially in violation of the department's own policies. Thanks to the rampant overclassification of government documents, Obama's pursuit of whistleblowers meant that even relatively mundane disclosures could have serious, even criminal, consequences for the leaker. Under Obama, McClatchy noted in 2013, "leaks to media are equated with espionage." One can only assume Trump will up the ante. His administration's calls to find and prosecute leakers grow more strident by the day. He and his surrogates in Congress have repeatedly tried to divert public discussion away from White House-Russia connections and in the direction of the leaks that brought those connections to light. It stands to reason that Trump's Justice Department will try to obtain the sources, notes, and communication records of journalists on the receiving end of the leaks. This could already be happening without our knowledge, and that would be a dangerous thing. Under current guidelines, the Justice Department is generally barred from deploying secret subpoenas for journalists' records—subpoenas whose existence is not revealed to those whose records are sought. But there are exceptions: The attorney general or another "senior official" may approve no-notice subpoenas when alerting the subject would "pose a clear and substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation." The guidelines are not legally binding, in any case, so there may be little to prevent Jeff Sessions' Justice Department from ignoring them or scrapping them entirely. Team Trump has already jettisoned the policies of its predecessors in other departments, and it's pretty clear how Trump feels about the press. The use of secret subpoenas against journalists is deeply problematic in a democracy. Their targets lack the knowledge to consult with a lawyer or to contest the subpoena in court. The public, also in the dark, is unable to pressure government officials to prevent them from subjecting reporters to what could be abusive fishing expeditions. As president, Trump sets the tone for executives, lawmakers, and prosecutors at all levels. We have already seen a "Trump effect" in the abusive treatment of a reporter in the halls of the Federal Communications Commission, the arrest of the reporter in West Virginia, and the attack by Congressman-elect Gianforte. We are also seeing the Trump effect in state legislatures, where the president's rants may have contributed to a spate of legislative proposals deeply hostile to free speech, including bills that would essentially authorize police brutality or "unintentional" civilian violence against protesters and make some forms of lawful protest a felony. A leader who normalizes the use of overly broad or abusive subpoenas against journalists could cause damage all across the land. Espionage Laws A second area of concern is the Espionage Act of 1917, a law that has been used for nearly a century to prosecute leakers of classified information—from Daniel Ellsburg and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. The government hasn't ever tried to use it to prosecute the journalists or media organizations that publish the offending leaks—possibly because it was seen as a bad move in a nation that enshrines press protections in its founding document. But free-speech advocates have long been wary of the possibility. The successful prosecution of a journalist under the Espionage Act seems unlikely—a long string of Supreme Court decisions supports the notion that reporters and news outlets are immune from civil or criminal liability when they publish information of legitimate public interest that was obtained unlawfully by an outside source. "A stranger's illegal conduct," the court's majority opined in the 2001 Bartnicki v. Vopper case, "does not suffice to remove the First Amendment shield about a matter of public concern." But like any appellate decision, the Bartnicki ruling is based on a specific set of facts. So there are no guarantees here. Litigious Billionaires Very, very rich people with grievances against the press are as old as the press itself. But the number of megawealthy Americans has exploded in recent years, as has the number of small, nonprofit, or independent media outlets—many of which lack ready access to legal counsel. In short, billionaires who wish to exact vengeance for unflattering coverage enjoy a target-rich environment. Trump did not create this environment. But from his presidential bully pulpit, he has pushed a narrative that can only fuel the fire. The Trumpian worldview holds that the media deserves to be put in its place; the press is venal, dishonest, and "fake" most of the time. It should be more subject to legal liability so that, in his words, "we can sue them and win lots of money." Win or lose, a billionaire with an ax to grind and a fleet of expensive lawyers can cause enormous damage to a media outlet, particularly one with limited means (which, these days, is most media outlets). Some lawsuits by deep-pocketed plaintiffs, like the one filed against Mother Jones by Idaho billionaire Frank VanderSloot (a case I helped defend), are ultimately dismissed by the courts. Others, such as Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media—funded by Silicon Valley billionaire and Trump adviser Peter Thiel—succeed and put the media outlet out of business. Another recent suit, filed by Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson against a Wall Street Journal reporter, ultimately settled. Regardless of the outcome of such cases, the message to the media is clear: Don't offend people who have vast resources. Even a frivolous lawsuit can stifle free speech by hitting publishers where it hurts (the wallet) and subjecting them to legal harassment. This is especially so in the 22 states that lack anti-SLAPP statutes—laws that facilitate the rapid dismissal of libel claims without merit. The VanderSloot lawsuit is instructive. Although a court in Idaho ultimately threw out all the billionaire's claims against Mother Jones, the process took almost two years. During that time, VanderSloot and Mother Jones engaged in a grueling regimen of coast-to-coast depositions and extensive and costly discovery and legal motions. Along the way, VanderSloot sued a former small-town newspaper reporter and subjected him to 10 hours of depositions, which resulted in the reporter breaking down in tears while VanderSloot, who had flown to Portland for the occasion, looked on. VanderSloot also deposed the journalist's ex-boyfriend and threatened to sue him until he agreed to recant statements he had made online. Victory did not come cheap for Mother Jones: The final tab was about $2.5 million, only part of which was covered by insurance. And because Idaho lacks an anti-SLAPP statute, none of the magazine's legal costs could be recovered from VanderSloot. Despite his threats, Trump has not brought any libel lawsuits as president—but his wife has. First lady Melania Trump sued the Daily Mail in February over a story she said portrayed her falsely "as a prostitute." The Daily Mail retracted the offending article with a statement explaining (a) that the paper did not "intend to state or suggest that Mrs. Trump ever worked as an 'escort' or in the sex business," (b) that the article "stated that there was no support for the allegations," and (c) that "the point of the article was that these allegations could impact the U.S. presidential election even if they are untrue." So which billionaire will be next to sue, and who will the target be? The question looms over America's media organizations like a dark cloud. That is an unacceptable situation in a nation whose Constitution guarantees "robust, uninhibited and wide-open" discussion of public issues, as Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote in the landmark First Amendment case New York Times v. Sullivan. Trump has yet to act on his most outrageous rhetorical attacks on the media and free speech, but it's likely only a matter of time. When he does act, it will be important to remember that constitutional protections are quite broad, and that there's only so much any White House can do to the press without the backing of Congress or the courts. Such cooperation is hardly out of the question, though. Stranger things have already happened in this strangest of political times. The author's views do not necessarily reflect those of the First Amendment Coalition's board of directors. Full Article Politics Congress Donald Trump Media Top Stories
ic Trump Is Waiving His Own Ethics Rules to Allow Lobbyists to Make Policy By www.motherjones.com Published On :: Thu, 01 Jun 2017 22:26:21 +0000 It seems clear now why the Trump administration fought so hard to avoid making public the details of the waivers it granted to White House staffers who might otherwise have been in violation of the president's self-imposed ethics rules. They show that President Donald Trump, who made "drain the swamp" a campaign battle cry, has enlisted numerous swamp-dwellers—former lobbyists, consultants, corporate executives—to staff key positions in his White House and has granted them broad exemptions to work on issues directly related to their former jobs and clients. After repeatedly slamming DC lobbyists during the campaign, Trump used one of his first executive orders to lay out ethics rules for his new administration. The January 28 order barred Trump officials from working on issues related to their former employers for at least two years, and these rules applied not only to lobbyists, but to anyone who worked for a business or organization potentially affected by federal policy decisions. The prohibitions were not absolute: Waivers would be available in certain cases. The Trump administration initially balked when the Office of Government Ethics demanded the White House hand over the waivers it had granted. But after a standoff the administration relented late Wednesday and released about 14 waivers covering White House staffers. They make clear that Trump's ethics rules are remarkably flexible and that his top staffers don't need to worry too much about staying on the right side of them. On paper, Trump's rules are similar to those imposed by President Barack Obama, but it appears that Trump is far more willing to hand out exemptions. At this point in the Obama administration, just three White House staffers had been granted ethics waivers. So far, Trump has granted 14, including several that apply to multiple people. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and adviser Kellyanne Conway were both granted waivers to deal with issues involving their previous employers. In the case of Priebus, this narrowly applies to the Republican National Committee. But Conway is now free to work on issues involving her ex-clients from her previous life as an operative and pollster—clients that included political campaigns, nonprofit activist groups, and corporations. Conway's relationships with these clients were murky to begin with; she was never required to disclose who she worked for. We do know that she repped virulently anti-immigration and anti-Muslim groups. The names of some of her corporate clients also have trickled out, including Major League Baseball, Hasbro, American Express, and Boeing. The waiver may have been granted to help smooth the way for Conway after evidence emerged that she continued to operate own her polling and consulting company even after she'd gone to work in the White House—a possible violation of conflict-of-interest laws that drew the attention of congressional Democrats who have begun probing her relationship with the company. Conway's waiver was not retroactive, but there is another that specifically allows White House employees to communicate freely with former employers and coworkers at media organizations—and applies back to January 20. Trump's executive order didn't simply prohibit any of his hires from working on matters relating to a former employer—it specifically covered "any meeting or communication relating to the performance of one's official duties." This means at least two of Trump's top aides, former Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon and his assistant Julia Hahn, would be prohibited from chatting with their former colleagues at Breitbart about anything work-related—a rule that Bannon appears not to have followed. While not named, it seems likely that protecting the Breitbart alums from ethics complaints was the aim. Another takeaway from Trump's waivers is that they appear to be far less restrictive than Obama administration waivers. Many Obama waivers (there were only 10 total granted to White House employees during his administration) were very narrowly tailored. For example, James Jones, Obama's national security adviser, was granted a waiver to allow him to introduce Bill Clinton at an event for the Atlantic Council, even though Jones had previously worked for the group. John Brennan, at the time one of Obama's deputy national security advisers, had previously worked for The Analysis Company, and he was granted a waiver to use the company's data while investigating the so-called "Underwear Bomber" incident. Brennan was not cleared to talk to any of the company's employees, however. Trump's waivers, on the other hand, are broad. For instance, Trump granted a waiver to Michael Catanzaro, who is the president's most senior energy policy aide, allowing him to work freely on "broad policy matters and particular matters of general applicability relating to the Clean Power Plan, the WOTUS [Waters of the United States] rule, and methane regulations." Catanzaro worked as a registered lobbyist for several oil and gas companies as recently as January, which made the waiver necessary. On his most recent lobbying disclosure form—filed on behalf of one of his clients, natural gas company Noble Energy—Catanzaro wrote that he was working on "EPA and BLM's proposed and final regulations covering methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas facilities." Nearly identical language appears in his most recent lobbying disclosure on behalf of another natural gas company, Encana. In other words, Catanzaro is now making policy on the very issues he was paid by corporations to lobby on. There are no restrictions in Catanzaro's waiver relating to his previous clients. Another lobbyist turned Trump aide is Shahira Knight, who was previously employed as vice president of public policy for mutual fund giant Fidelity and now serves as Trump's special assistant for tax and retirement policy. Her waiver grants her permission to work on "matters of general applicability relating to tax, retirement and financial services issues." Fidelity's most recent lobbying report—filed while Knight ran its lobbying shop—lists the main issue areas targeted by the company's lobbyists: finance, retirement, banking, and taxes. While the Obama administration reluctantly granted waivers for narrow sets of circumstances, the Trump waivers appear to be written to carefully exempt the previous lobbying work done by White House aides. And this is just the beginning. The administration released only the waivers granted to White House employees—the release does not include waivers granted to administration officials who work for federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency or the Treasury Department. The White House will turn those waivers over to the Office of Government Ethics on Thursday, but it's not clear when they will be made public. Full Article Politics Donald Trump
ic Trump WH: Birth Control Mandate Is Unnecessary Because of Planned Parenthood, Which We’ll Also Defund By www.motherjones.com Published On :: Thu, 01 Jun 2017 21:13:41 +0000 The Trump administration's argument for letting lots of employers opt out of covering birth control is…not exactly bulletproof. Yesterday, Vox reported that the Trump administration is considering a broad exemption to Obamacare's mandate on contraceptive coverage, according to a leaked draft of the proposed rule. If passed, the rule would allow virtually any employer, not just a religious one, to remove birth control coverage from its insurance plan if contraception violates the organization's religious beliefs or "moral convictions"—a broad and murky standard. But, in a curious twist, part of the Trump administration's justification for the move hinges on the existence of hundreds of Planned Parenthood clinics, many of which the White House is actively trying to close by "defunding" Planned Parenthood. As the draft text explains, the administration believes the past rationale for Obamacare's contraception mandate is insufficient. The document lists several reasons why this is the case. Here's one of them: "There are multiple Federal, state, and local programs that provide free or subsidized contraceptives for low-income women, including Medicaid (with a 90% Federal match for family planning services), Title X, health center grants, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. According to the Guttmacher Institute, government-subsidized family planning services are provided at 8,409 health centers overall. Various state programs supplement Federal programs, and 28 states have their own mandates of contraceptive coverage as a matter of state law. For example, the Title X program, administered by the HHS Office of Population Affairs (OPA), provides voluntary family planning information and services for clients based on their ability to pay. ... "The availability of such programs to serve the most at-risk women identified by IOM [Institute of Medicine, now known as the National Academy of Medicine] diminishes the Government's interest in applying the Mandate to objecting employers." The implication here is that since there are already programs like Medicaid and Title X to help low-income women afford contraception, the requirement that most employers provide no-cost birth control is less pressing. But there are a couple of glaring contradictions here: First of all, of the 8,409 health centers that provide Medicaid and Title X family planning services, as cited in the rule, 817 of them are run by Planned Parenthood—the very group that Congress and the administration are trying to exclude from using Title X and Medicaid funds to provide health care. Trump has already signed a bill into law allowing states to exclude Planned Parenthood and other providers who offer abortions from receiving Title X family planning funding—never mind that Title X funding is used exclusively for nonabortion services. Beyond that, there are several more proposals moving through government—including in the House's American Health Care Act and in the Trump budget proposal—to withhold Medicaid and other federal dollars, including Title X, specifically from Planned Parenthood. The problem with the White House's logic boils down to this: As the nation's largest provider of federal Title X-funded care, in 2015 Planned Parenthood centers served more than 40 percent of women nationwide using Title X-funded family planning care—a whopping 1.58 million patients. But if Planned Parenthood can no longer receive a single federal dollar to provide contraception and other family planning care—an oft-repeated goal of the Trump administration—then these nearly 1.6 million low-income patients will suddenly lose their family planning care. And now their employers may not cover that care either. Full Article Politics Reproductive Rights
ic Republican Congressman on Suspected Islamic Radicals: "Kill Them All" By www.motherjones.com Published On :: Mon, 05 Jun 2017 15:21:09 +0000 In response to the London terror attack, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) had an extreme proposal: kill anyone suspected of being an Islamic radical. On his campaign Faceboook page, Higgins, a former police officer, posted this message: The free world…all of Christendom…is at war with Islamic horror. Not one penny of American treasure should be granted to any nation who harbors these heathen animals. Not a single radicalized Islamic suspect should be granted any measure of quarter. Their intended entry to the American homeland should be summarily denied. Every conceivable measure should be engaged to hunt them down. Hunt them, identity them, and kill them. Kill them all. For the sake of all that is good and righteous. Kill them all. The post went up early on Sunday morning. On Saturday evening, suspected terrorists killed seven people during an attack on London Bridge. ISIS has claimed credit for these murders. With his declaration that Christendom is "at war with Islamic horror," Higgins was embracing a theme of the far right: the fight against extremist jihadists is part of a fundamental clash between Christian society and Islam. And in this Facebook post, he was calling for killing not just terrorists found guilty of heinous actions, but anyone suspected of such an act. He did not explain how the United States could determine how to identify radicalized Islamists in order to deny them entry to the United States. It was unclear whether his proposal to deny any assistance to any nation that harbors "these heathen animals" would apply to England, France, Indonesia, Spain, and other nations where jihadist cells have committed horrific acts of violence. Higgins office refused to allow a Mother Jones reporter to speak to a spokesman for the congressman. But in an email, his spokesman confirmed the Facebook post was authentic. In late January, Higgins delivered a fiery floor speech attacking Democrats and the "liberal media" for opposing President Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban. He declared that "radical Islamic horror has gripped the world and…unbelievably…been allowed into our own nation with wanton disregard." Shortly before running for Congress, Higgins resigned from his post as the public information officer of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, where he had earned a reputation as the "Cajun John Wayne" for his tough-talking CrimeStopper videos. Higgins abruptly quit after his boss, the sheriff, ordered him to tone down his unprofessional comments. "I repeatedly told him to stop saying things like, 'You have no brain cells,' or making comments that were totally disrespectful and demeaning," the sheriff said. "I don't do well reined in," Higgins noted at the time. "Although I love and respect my sheriff, I must resign." Update: Higgins' campaign spokesman, Chris Comeaux, told Mother Jones in an email: "Rep. Higgins is referring to terrorists. He's advocating for hunting down and killing all of the terrorists. This is an idea all of America & Britain should be united behind." Full Article Politics Congress Crime and Justice Foreign Policy International National Security
ic CompTIA launches a new cybersecurity analyst certification worldwide By www.itbusiness.ca Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 15:12:44 +0000 The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) has updated its cybersecurity analyst (CySA+) certification exam, the association announced this week. The new exam applies behavioural analytics to the information technology (IT) security market, validating an IT professional’s ability to defend and continuously improve the overall state of organizational security. It addresses changes in the cybersecurity environment,… Full Article Education Security compTIA
ic ICANN rejects private equity purchase of .org By www.itbusiness.ca Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 14:48:34 +0000 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this weekend announced that it has voted down the proposed change of control and entity conversion request submitted to it by the Public Interest Registry (PIR). ICANN, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to ensuring the secure and stable operation of the internet’s unique identifier systems, noted in… Full Article Leadership ICANN Internet.org
ic Mastercard study finds a significant rise in the use of contactless payments amid COVID-19 By www.itbusiness.ca Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 15:26:42 +0000 There has been a significant surge in contactless payments for everyday purchases since the onset of COVID-19, according to a new study. The Mastercard global consumer study conducted from April 10 to 12 says that in Canada, 76 per cent of consumers say contactless payments are now their preferred way to pay when making in-store… Full Article Finance contactless payment mastercard
ic Microsoft announces Surface Go 2 and Surface Book 3 By www.itbusiness.ca Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 13:03:13 +0000 Microsoft this week revealed the new Microsoft Surface Go 2 and Surface Book 3 convertible tablet PCs. Microsoft Surface Go 2 Microsoft’s Surface Go fills the role of an affordable tablet PC that can run the full Windows 10 operating system. Its lower pricing was especially attractive to the education and front-line sectors. The Surface… Full Article Hardware Microsoft microsoft surface
ic Cyber Security Today – World Password Day advice, GoDaddy hosting accounts hacked and WordPress sites under attack By www.itbusiness.ca Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 13:30:14 +0000 World Password Day advice, GoDaddy hosting accounts hacked and WordPress sites under attack. Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Wednesday May 6th. I’m Howard Solomon, contributing reporter on cybersecurity for ITWorldCanada.com. Tomorrow is World Password Day. So follow safe password practices so you don’t help criminals steal data. How bad are you? Here’s are few… Full Article Privacy Security cyber security today cybersecurity podcasts
ic How to Implement a Software-Defined Network (SDN) Security Fabric in AWS By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 19:30:00 GMT Join SANS and AWS Marketplace to learn how implementing an SDN can enhance visibility and control across multiple virtual private clouds (VPCs) in your network. Full Article computing computing/networks Sponsored
ic Can Electric Cars on the Highway Emulate Plane-to-Plane Refueling? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 16:00:00 GMT On-the-road peer-to-peer charging depends on steerable booms to make the connection Full Article energy energy/batteries-storage
ic ‘Hydrogen-On-Tap’ Device Turns Trucks Into Fuel-Efficient Vehicles By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 14:16:00 GMT An Indiana startup is retrofitting five pickup trucks with its novel hydrogen-producing system Full Article transportation transportation/alternative-transportation
ic Back to Work: Wearables Track Social Distancing and Sick Employees in the Workplace By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 19:27:00 GMT As companies re-open, employees may don wearable tech to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Full Article biomedical biomedical/devices
ic How Medical Robots Will Help Treat Patients in Future Outbreaks By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 16:20:00 GMT Teleoperated robots can help perform patient care tasks while keeping healthcare workers safe Full Article robotics robotics/medical-robots
ic Coding for COVID-19: Contest Calls on Developers to Help Fight the Pandemic By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 13:47:00 GMT IBM’s Call for Code names three winners and promises support for digital tools designed to aid in the coronavirus response Full Article computing computing/software
ic Boston Dynamics' Spot Robot Gets Even More Capable With Enhanced Autonomy, Mobility By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 14:00:00 GMT Spot Release 2.0, launching today, includes improvements to navigation, autonomy, stair climbing, and more Full Article robotics robotics/industrial-robots
ic Physical Modeling of Supercapacitors and Lithium-Ion Capacitors By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 17:30:00 GMT Learn how researchers are exploring new hybrid devices that can exploit features of both supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Full Article energy energy/batteries-storage Sponsored
ic ThereCraft’s Lifting Body Drone Acrobatically Delivers Packages With Pinpoint Accuracy By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 18:45:00 GMT A unique drone design promises aircraft payload with helicopter precision Full Article robotics robotics/drones
ic Statement Regarding the Ethical Implementation of Artificial Intelligence Systems (AIS) for Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 19:30:00 GMT The document addresses 10 issues Full Article the-institute the-institute/ieee-news
ic 6 Tips to Help Your Startup Survive the Coronavirus Pandemic By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 15:00:00 GMT Don’t panic, be compassionate, and help others Full Article the-institute the-institute/ieee-products-services
ic Rock 'n' roll pioneer Little Richard dies at age 87 By feeds.reuters.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 15:31:17 -0400 Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87. Full Article domesticNews
ic In leaked call, Obama describes Trump handling of virus as chaotic By feeds.reuters.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 02:18:25 -0400 Former President Barack Obama described President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as "chaotic" in a conference call with former members of his administration, a source said on Saturday. Full Article domesticNews
ic Three key U.S. coronavirus officials in self-quarantine after COVID-19 exposure By feeds.reuters.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 03:07:21 -0400 Three senior officials guiding the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic were in self-quarantine on Saturday after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for the disease, their agencies and spokesmen said. Full Article domesticNews
ic Rahul Gandhi Demands Audit of PM-CARES Fund, Says 'Record of Money Received & Spent Should be Made Available to Public' By in.news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 12:57:04 -0500 New Delhi, May 9: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should ensure an audit of PM-CARES. Rahul Gandhi said that PM-CARES fund received huge contributions from public sector units (PSUs) and organisation, including Indian Railways. Full Article
ic Scientific Consensus Shows Covid-19 'Not Genetically Engineered', India Funding Vaccine Development: DBT Secretary By in.news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 22:46:00 -0500 Ministry of Science and Technology's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Dr Renu Swarup says that based on the latest WHO consensus, Covid-19 as a 'lab release' theory is likely to be false. Full Article