Friday evening news - July 10, 2015

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Friday evening news – July 10, 2015

Ray will bring you up to the minute with news you should be aware of tonight. He has chosen the five major news stories from today right up to this hour.

This is Ray Mossholder with the five major news headlines from around the world on Friday evening, July 7, 2015….. 

1. From the New York Times….. The Supreme Court, Hobby Lobby, and President Obama……

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration issued new rules today that allow closely held for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby to opt out of providing women with insurance coverage for contraceptives if the companies have religious objections.

But women enrolled in such health plans would still be able to get birth control at no cost through other channels, the administration said.

The rules were in response to a decision by the Supreme Court in June 2014. In that case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, the court said that requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage of contraception under the Affordable Care Act violated a federal law protecting religious freedom.

The administration had argued against that conclusion, saying there was no precedent for granting “a religious exemption” to commercial enterprises like the Hobby Lobby craft stores.

But under the rules issued by the administration today said certain for-profit businesses will be able to obtain an accommodation like the one already available to nonprofit religious groups, including Roman Catholic universities, hospitals and charities that object to covering contraceptives.

Contraceptive coverage has been the focus of fierce political debate for five years, as the administration struggled to meet the health needs of women while recognizing the concerns of people who have deep religious convictions against some or all forms of contraception.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, said today that the new rules would “secure women’s access to contraceptive services while respecting religious beliefs.”

Family planning advocates, usually supportive of the administration, criticized the final rules.

“While the accommodation is given on the grounds of protecting religious freedom, what it really does is allow some employers to restrict their employees’ access to basic health care,” said Clare Coleman, president of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, whose members provide services to low-income people and the uninsured.

Under the health care law, employers with 50 or more full-time employees are generally required to offer health coverage or pay substantial penalties. Under a sheaf of rules issued in the last few years, the employer-sponsored insurance must cover preventive services, including all forms of contraception approved for women by the Food and Drug Administration.

The new rules offer a dispensation to certain for-profit companies that have a religious objection to covering contraceptive services. If they report their objections, adhering to procedures described by the government, they can be excused from having to provide or pay for contraceptive coverage.

Relying on a definition used in federal tax law, the rules define a “closely held for-profit entity” as a company that is not publicly traded and that has a structure under which more than 50 percent of the ownership interest is held by five or fewer individuals.

All interests held by members of a family are treated as being owned by a single individual.

Based on available data, the administration said it believed that this definition would encompass all the for-profit companies that have challenged the contraceptive coverage requirement on religious grounds.

To qualify under the new rules, the “highest governing body” of a for-profit entity, such as the board of directors or trustees, must adopt a resolution certifying that “it objects to covering some or all of the contraceptive services on account of the owners’ sincerely held religious beliefs.”

 

In a related story from CBN News……

A U.S. federal court of appeals has denied Wheaton College a preliminary injunction in their religious objection to Obamacare’s contraception mandate.

The college will have to notify the government of its refusal to provide contraception, outsourcing that task to the government.

That means the government will find a birth control provider, but still at Wheaton’s expense.

Some of the types of contraception include methods that could abort a fertilized egg.

Wheaton is known as an explicitly Christian college, stating its mission is to “serve Jesus Christ and advance His Kingdom.”

In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Wheaton a reprieve from being forced to pay for the contraceptive coverage that violates its beliefs.

But the ruling this week by a federal appeals court says providing the coverage through the government doesn’t force the college to violate its beliefs.

Meanwhile, Houston Baptist University, East Texas Baptist University, and Westminster Theological Seminary are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect them from millions of dollars in fines if they don’t comply with the mandate.

The court is likely to consider all the petitions in late September or early October.

 

2. From LifeSiteNews….. The United Nations pushes Obama aside and blesses families worldwide…..

“Only a small number of countries backed the LGBT agenda… the United States [for example] lobbied with great energy against this resolution. Supporting the LGBT agenda is a primary objective of U.S. foreign policy. [But] the globe was with us on this resolution. This is unprecedented—a tremendous victory for the family.” -Austin Ruse, Center for Family and Human Rights

(Geneva, Switzerland)—A pro-family resolution has been passed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva of “unprecedented” force and reach, thanks to a coalition of African and other developing countries, China and Russia and a support group of socially conservative NGOs. (Photo via business-humanrights.org)

“This is unprecedented, a tremendous victory for the family,” Sharon Slater, the head of Family Watch International, told LifeSiteNews. “It is the first time ever in the history of the United Nations that a comprehensive resolution has been passed calling for the protection of the family as a fundamental unit of society, recognizing the prior right of parents to educate their children, and calling on all nations to create family-sensitive policies and recognize their binding obligations under treaty to protect the family.”

The voting on the “Protection of the Family” resolution was 27 for and 14 against, Slater noted. Those opposing the motion included the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland and other Western European countries, while its sponsors included Russia, China, Belarus, and more than a dozen Muslim and African countries. The four abstaining members of the council—Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Macedonia—probably were forced to do so by the rich countries opposing the bill.

“The developed countries probably put huge pressure on the others to stop the bill or insert amendments undermining its intent by threatening to withhold foreign aid,” said Slater. “We applaud those who were able to stand up for the family, and we ask people to write to them to thank them.” (FWI provides a webpage to help people send these supportive letters.)

Austin Ruse of the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM), also termed the resolution “a tremendous victory for the pro-family world” and a defeat for the small but powerful group of anti-family groups supported by developed countries and the United States.

Several attempts were made by feminist and pro-LGBT groups to first defeat and then amend the resolution by inserting “reproductive rights”—a euphemism for abortion, and by replacing “the family” with “families” and by inserting inclusive language to apply the resolution to sexual minorities.

The passage of the resolution was predictably condemned by feminist and sexual advocacy groups… Nonetheless, said Ruse, “The globe was with us on this resolution. Only a small number of countries backed the LGBT agenda. You can be certain the United States lobbied with great energy against this resolution. Supporting the LGBT agenda is a primary objective of U.S. foreign policy.”

The victory marks the growing impact of the UN Family Rights Caucus, a coalition of pro-family NGOs that supported the national delegations in Geneva.

 

3. From WND…… In the “What’s new about that?” category – Terrorists vow terror to America

The newest chief of al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen has put America on its hit list, saying there is no other target that takes precedence.

In his first speech since taking over the command post, Qassim al-Raymi – who succeeded Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the military commander of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula who was killed last month by U.S. drone strike – called for immediate attacks on the United States. The U.S.-based SITE watchdog was able to capture his comments on an audio tape, Reuters reported.

In his speech today, Raymi vowed allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the commander of al-Qaida, and said America must be hit.

 “All of you must direct and gather your arrows and swords [against] it,” he said, SITE reported. “God has helped you against this enemy, for not only did you reach its home, but with praise to God and His grace, you have reached the depths of its heart.”

And to Zawahiri, he said, Reuters reported: “”I pledge allegiance to you, to listen and obey, in times of difficulty.”

 

4. From The New York Times…… Cyber attacks cause too many attacks on Katherine Archuleta who, resigns under the pressure…..

WASHINGTON — Katherine Archuleta, the director of the Office of Personnel Management, resigned today under pressure, one day after the government revealed that two sweeping cyberintrusions at the agency had resulted in the theft of the personal information of more than 22 million people, including those who had applied for sensitive security clearances.

Ms. Archuleta went to the White House on this morning to inform President Obama that she was stepping down immediately. She said later in a statement that she felt new leadership was needed at the federal personnel agency to enable it to “move beyond the current challenges.”

Her resignation marked a swift reversal. Yesterday, Ms. Archuleta insisted in a conference call with reporters that she would stay on to address the vulnerabilities that led to the devastating cybertheft. But it did little to calm the aftershocks of the disclosure this week of what appears to be the largest such incident affecting the federal government.

Both attacks are believed to have originated in China, but administration officials have declined to name a culprit, other than to say that they believe the same actor carried out the two intrusions.

Mr. Obama and his administration struggled today to cope with the fallout from a breach that compromised the Social Security numbers, addresses, financial and health histories and other private details of millions of people, and to come to terms with the longer-term implications of a computer security lapse that has underscored severe weaknesses across the federal government.

Representative Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that he welcomed the news of Ms. Archuleta’s resignation that “I don’t think we can expect that a change of a single person can be a satisfactory answer to the problems at O.P.M.”

“Every other agency should have its head examined if it’s not taking steps to protect its data,” Mr. Schiff said. “Because if there’s a problem at one agency, there’s likely a problem at other agencies.”

Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said that Ms. Archuleta had resigned “of her own volition,” but he that Mr. Obama believed that new leadership at the agency was “badly needed,” and noted that she is not an expert in cybersecurity.

“She recognizes, as the White House does, that the urgent challenges currently facing the Office of Personnel Management require a manager with a specialized set of skills and experiences,” Mr. Earnest told reporters at a news briefing.

A White House official said Beth Cobert, the deputy director of management at the Office of Management and Budget and a former longtime management consultant at McKinsey & Company, would step in temporarily to replace Ms. Archuleta while a permanent successor is found.

“That’s something we’ll start working on today,” Mr. Earnest said.

Ms. Archuleta, who assumed her post in November 2013, had been under pressure from lawmakers in both parties to resign since last month, when she announced the first of two separate but related computer intrusions that compromised the personnel files of 4.2 million current and former federal workers.

On Thursday, she divulged the breach also had led to the theft of the personal data of 21.5 million people who had applied for government background checks, likely affecting anyone subjected to such an investigation since 2000.

On a conference call detailing the scope of the intrusion late Thursday afternoon, Ms. Archuleta, the first Latina director of the agency, insisted she would not step down despite calls from members of Congress that she do so.

“We have a very aggressive push to enhance our cybersecurity and modernize our systems, and we will continue to do so,” she said Thursday. “I am committed to the work that I am doing at O.P.M.”

But just hours later, she was at the White House to inform Mr. Obama she would depart. In her statement on Today, Ms. Archuleta said working at the agency, where she prioritized diversity and planning for a technology upgrades, had been “the highlight of my career.”

Ms. Archuleta served in the Clinton administration, and later under Mr. Obama as the chief of staff of the Labor Department. When she started at the personnel agency in 2013, she unveiled a plan of action that included improvements to its antiquated computer systems and bolstering protections against cyberintrusions.

Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah and the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Ms. Archuleta’s decision was “the absolute right call.”

“O.P.M. needs a competent, technically savvy leader to manage the biggest cybersecurity crisis in this nation’s history,” Mr. Chaffetz said in a written statement. “This should have been addressed much, much sooner, but I appreciate the president doing what’s best now.”

Still, Ms. Archuleta’s departure was only the beginning of a crisis response by the administration to technology weaknesses that plague the entire federal bureaucracy.

Mr. Earnest said the administration was rushing to conduct a “rapid reassessment of the state of cybersecurity measures, and accelerate the implementation of reforms that need to be adopted.”

Those include the wider adoption of two-factor authentication, which requires anyone with the password to a system to use a second, one-time password to log in from an unrecognized computer, he said. The administration is also working to impose stricter curbs on “privileged users,” who have enhanced access to a computer system, limiting the number of such users and the capabilities they have, and better monitoring their conduct on government networks.

He said the government had not yet arrived at an estimate of the cost of the data theft, which has prompted O.P.M. to offer free credit reporting, monitoring and protection to the millions affected, something they said they wouldn’t do yesterday.

 

From Voice of Victory…… Blah Blah Blah to continue while Iran keeps working on its bomb.

5. Iran Nuclear Talks Extended to July 13

An interim nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers will be extended through Monday, to provide negotiators in Vienna more time for talks on a comprehensive deal, a senior U.S. State Department official said Friday.

“To allow for the additional time to negotiate, we are taking the necessary technical steps for the measures of the Joint Plan of Action to remain in place through July 13,” the official said.

Later Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said progress had been made in negotiations.

“We still have a couple of very difficult issues, and we’ll be sitting down to discuss those in the very near term,” Kerry said to reporters as he met with his team in Vienna. “But I think we have resolved some of the things that were outstanding and we’ve made some progress.”

Kerry met earlier Friday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union foreign-policy officials.

An interim nuclear agreement was reached in April and an original June 30th deadline for a final deal has already passed.

Negotiators missed a U.S. congressional deadline Friday morning, meaning the Republican-led U.S. Congress will now have 60 days, rather than 30, to review a deal, extra time U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration worries could derail it.

But talks have been continuing and the foreign ministers involved agreed to reconvene in Vienna Saturday.

“We are making progress, it’s painfully slow,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said before leaving Vienna Friday.

Echoing Kerry’s assessment of the talks, Hammond added, “There are still some issues that have to be resolved.”

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond talks to reporters in Vienna, Austria, July 10, 2015.

​Lower-level officials from the U.S., Britain and other participants in the talks are still meeting with Iran’s team, Hammond indicated, and said he is confident they will “clear some more of the text.”

Hammond said he and other foreign ministers would “regroup” in Vienna Saturday “to see whether we can get over the remaining hurdles.”

The sides remain divided over issues that include a U.N. arms embargo on Iran, which Western powers want to keep in place; access for inspectors to military sites in Iran, and access to Iran’s nuclear scientists to determine whether Tehran conducted research in the past on how to potentially weaponize its nuclear stockpiles.

As a 14th consecutive day of talks began in Vienna, even jokes meant to dispel tensions reflected the diplomats’ weariness, which has mostly been relieved only by brief rest breaks spent on the balcony of the ornate Palais Coburg hotel.

“We’re pushing,” said Kerry when asked if there would be a deal this weekend. “Off the balcony,” chimed in Federica Mogherini, European Union foreign policy chief.

Kerry smiled and jokingly reprimanded her with a wave of his finger.

“That’s a joke,” Mogherini said, giving a small laugh.

However, as the round of talks entered its second week, there were increasing signs of exasperation.

Late Thursday, Zarif late lashed out at “several countries” he said were shifting their positions and making “excessive demands.”

“Such issues have made the negotiations difficult. We want a dignified agreement and negotiations, and we will continue to negotiate. The deal would be within reach should the other side seek an honorable and balanced accord,” Zarif said, according to Iranian state media.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini takes a break on a balcony at the Palais Coburg hotel in Vienna, Austria, July 10, 2015.

Earlier Thursday, Kerry warned if difficult decisions are not made soon, his negotiators are ready to “end this process.”

“We will not rush and we will not be rushed” into reaching an agreement, Kerry told reporters in Vienna. He indicated that “real progress” is being made toward a comprehensive deal, and that the quality of any deal is the main concern.

The White House echoed Kerry’s comments, saying President Barack Obama would bring back from Vienna the U.S. negotiating team if talks do not appear to be constructive.

“The fact that we’ve been very clear about our expectations for a final agreement makes it unlikely that the talks will drag on for many more weeks.  But, again, I wouldn’t speculate on the outcome,” spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday.

On Friday, Congressman Edward Royce, a prominent Republican in the House of Representatives who heads the influential Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized what he has seen from the negotiations to this point.

Although Royce noted there is no agreement yet, he said indications are that Iran will prevail on many of its major demands.

“How is that a deal?” the California congressman asked rhetorically in a television interview.

Western countries accuse Iran of seeking the capability to build nuclear weapons, while Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes, such as medical research and generating power.

 

And from CNN, this look at something happening next week……

Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama next week will become the first sitting President to visit a federal prison, the White House announced Friday.

Obama will visit El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma, next Thursday, where he will meet with inmates and law enforcement officials, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

At the prison, Obama will also conduct an interview with VICE that will be a part of a documentary airing this fall on HBO focusing on America’s “broken criminal justice system,” according to a press release from VICE. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, El Reno is a medium security federal correctional institution.

At a news conference last week, Obama said reforming the criminal justice system was a top priority for his remaining time in office.

On Tuesday, Obama will speak at the 106th Annual NAACP Convention in Philadelphia, where Josh Earnest said the President will outline “injustice” in the system and highlight ideas for reform.

The visit to El Reno will be a part of a two-day trip to Oklahoma. On Wednesday, the President will start his visit in Durant, where he will speak to the Choctaw Nation and make remarks on expanding economic opportunity.

 

 

In other of today’s headlines……

 

Detroit cancer doctor Dr. Farid Fatah was sentenced to 45 years in prison for collecting millions of dollars from insurance companies while poisoning more than 500 patients through needless treatments that wrecked their health.

 

The Confederate flag is gone from the state capital building in South Carolina. Meanwhile, Walmart is melting down all class rings that bear a symbol of the Confederate flag and will not complete any orders for them.

 

Defense in the Colorado theater shooting trial rests its case.

 

The romantic star of Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia star, Omar Sharif, dies at 83.

 

The CEO of Reddit, one of the most highly trafficked websites in the world, has resigned in a torrent from readers unhappy with her.

 

And finally…… Hair today, gone tomorrow…..

An Italian artist had to finish an artwork within two hours in order to have it displayed at an important art gallery. The artist from Milano was horrified to find that he had run out of paintbrushes. He was in too much of a hurry to go to a store, but he came up with a workable solution. He cut off his hair and with it made a workable paintbrush. The art gallery director immediately sold the painting for $20,000.…… That’s ingenuity for you!

 

Here’s the thought for the day:

A nation of people blind to what’s happening is like a fly deciding to stay put while a flyswatter is hurtling through the air to smash it.

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So until the next newscast this is Ray Mossholder, praying for you my friend. Have a miraculous day!

 

Friday evening news – July 10, 2015

Friday evening news - July 10, 2015

After Midnight News: Top 5 stories 7/10/15

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From the headquarters of Reach More Now in Fort Worth, Texas, this is Ray Mossholder and this is the evening news for Friday, July 10, 2015

• Here are the five major news stories of this day and add an extra one to make you laugh.……..
  
  

1. From the Associated Press…..Greece appears to be melting in the euro frying pan……

ATHENS — Greece finally met a deadline that counted on Thursday and made a series of sweeping proposals that its creditors needed by midnight to set off a mad rush toward a weekend deal to stave off a financial collapse of the nation.

The package met longstanding demands by creditors to impose wide-ranging sales-tax hikes and cuts in state spending for pensions that the left-leaning Greek government had long resisted.

It raised hopes that Greece can get the rescue deal that will prevent a catastrophic exit from the euro after key creditors said they were open to discussing how to ease the country’s debt load, a long-time sticking point in their talks.

In the text of proposals sent by Athens late Thursday, the government conceded to demands it had previously refused to accept — mostly on moving various categories of goods and services to higher sales tax rates — in exchange for a new 53.5 billion-euro ($59 billion) bailout package.

The government said the proposals would be voted on by Greece’s parliament late Friday before an emergency summit Sunday of all 28 European Union leaders.

After months of foot-dragging despite impending chaos, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met a midnight deadline with more than an hour to spare. The spokesman for eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem tweeted that it was “important for institutions to consider these (proposals) in their assessment” of the Greek situation.

Finance officials from the European institutions and the International Monetary Fund were to fine-comb through the proposals on Friday before the 19 eurozone finance ministers assess them on Saturday.In ideal circumstances, a summit of the full European Union would be able to approve them on Sunday.

Earlier Thursday, Donald Tusk of Poland, who chairs the EU summits, indicated that European officials would make an effort to address Greece’s key request for debt relief.

“The realistic proposal from Greece will have to be matched by an equally realistic proposal on debt sustainability from the creditors. Only then will we have a win-win situation,” Tusk said.

Greece has long argued its debt is too high to be paid back and that the country requires some form of debt relief. The International Monetary Fund agrees with the premise, but key European states like Germany have resisted the idea.

On Thursday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the possibility of some kind of debt relief would be discussed over coming days, though he cautioned it may not provide much help.

“The room for maneuver through debt reprofiling or restructuring is very small,” he said.

Making Greece’s debt more sustainable would likely involve lowering the interest rates and extending the repayment dates on its bailout loans. Germany and many other European countries rule out an outright debt cut, arguing it would be illegal under European treaties.

Tsipras met with finance ministry officials and his cabinet throughout the day Thursday to finalize his country’s plan, a day after his government requested a new three-year aid program from Europe’s bailout fund and promised to immediately enact reforms, including to taxes and pensions, in return.

The last-minute maneuvers come as Greece’s financial system teeters on the brink of collapse. It has imposed restrictions on banking transactions since June 29, limiting cash withdrawals to 60 euros ($67) per day to stanch a bank run. Banks and the stock market have been shut for just as long.

The closures, which have been extended through Monday, have led to daily lines at ATM machines and have hammered businesses. Payments abroad have been banned without special permission.

“Can you see anybody in the shop? Nobody’s coming in, because everyone’s living off a drip,” said Magda Petridi, a fortune teller who runs a shop selling good luck charms, aromatic oils and trinkets. “Until a month ago business was going pretty well.”

Pensioners without bank cards have been particularly hard hit as they have struggled to access their accounts. Some branches have been opened so the elderly and unemployed without bank cards can withdraw a maximum weekly sum of 120 euros each. Hundreds lined up outside banks Thursday morning, many facing hours-long waits in the heat.

Meanwhile, many ATMs had a shortage of 20 euro notes, effectively reducing the daily withdrawal limit to 50 euros.

If Tsipras does not get a deal, Greece faces an almost inevitable collapse of the banking system, which would be the first step for the country to fall out of the euro.

“I believe he will have to get an agreement. We will pay dearly for it, but at least we’ll get an agreement,” said mechanic Pantelis Niarchos, walking down the street in central Athens.

After months of fruitless negotiations with Tsipras’ government, elected in January on promises to repeal bailout austerity, the skeptical eurozone creditor states had insisted they wanted to see a detailed, cost-accounted plan of reforms.

Greece’s financial institutions have been kept afloat so far by emergency liquidity assistance from the European Central Bank. But the ECB has not increased the amount in days, leaving the lenders in a stranglehold despite capital controls.

German ECB governing council member Jens Weidmann argued Greek banks should not get more emergency credit from the central bank unless a bailout deal is struck.

He said it was up to eurozone governments and Greek leaders themselves to rescue Greece.

The central bank “has no mandate to safeguard the solvency of banks and governments,” he said in a speech.

The ECB capped emergency credit to Greek banks amid doubt whether the country will win further rescue loans from other countries. The banks closed and limited ATM withdrawals because they had no other way to replace deposits.

Weidmann said he welcomed the fact that central bank credit “is no longer being used to finance capital flight caused by the Greek government.”

____

2. From WND…… If you were a Federal employee since the year 2000, check your wallet and your bank account right now.

At least 21 million Social Security numbers were compromised in the second massive cyberbreach of federal records – reportedly executed by China – which exposed sensitive information of U.S. intelligence and military personnel.

The first major hack in June comprised a separate 4.2 million Social Security numbers.

The Office of Personnel Management, the agency the runs the twice hacked database, announced Thursday that the compromised Social Security numbers include not only those belonging to prospective, current and past employees, but also the numbers of family members and other third parties.

Of the 21.5 million records accessed, 19.7 million belonged to applicants seeking federal security clearances, according to OPM.

Another 1.8 million records belonged to applicants’ family members and other individuals.

The hackers also had access to 1.1 million sets of fingerprints in addition to sensitive background information, including:

• job history,
  


• addresses,
  


• drug and criminal histories,
  


• health and mental conditions,
  


• educational history,
  


• information about immediate family members (names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers),
  


• information about personal and business acquaintances,
  


• financial history
  


• information from background investigations,
  


• usernames and passwords used to fill out investigation forms and other information.
  

Any person who underwent a federal background check after the year 2000 is “highly likely” to have had the personal information compromised by the massive hack, OPM said Thursday. However, individuals investigated before 2000 may still be affected by the breach.

While OPM has offered credit monitoring to the federal employees and security-clearance applicants, the government considers it to be applicants’ responsibility to alert third parties listed on the background check forms.

Those third parties will not be offered the identity-protection services.

According to OPM Director Katherine Archuleta’s testimony before Congress, the massive May 2014 hack was not discovered until May 2015. Archuleta was the political director for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

Andy Ozment, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress that a January security update stopped most of the data extraction.

In June, federal contractor CSID was tasked with informing and providing identity protection services to the 4.2 million employees impacted by the first hack. However, a company spokesman told the National Journal that CSID won’t be involved in the process for the larger data breach.

CSID has been criticized after federal employees who called with questions about identity protection services were forced to wait for hours for answers.

OPM claims there is no apparent indication that the hacked information has been “misused” or shared.

On Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee asked FBI Director James Comey to provide a specific number of individuals impacted by the breach, but he refused to give one. But Comey confirmed the hack was “enormous” and included his own personal information.

Congressmen on both sides of the aisle have demanded the resignations of OPM Director Katherine Archuleta and OPM Chief Information Officer Donna Seymour since the hackings were discovered in June.

On Thursday, House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, repeated his call for the two “to resign or be removed” from their positions.

“Since at least 2007, OPM leadership has been on notice about the vulnerabilities to its network and cybersecurity policies and practices,” Chaffetz said. “Director Archuleta and Ms. Seymour consciously ignored the warnings and failed to correct these weaknesses. Their negligence has now put the personal and sensitive information of 21.5 million Americans into the hands of our adversaries. Such incompetence is inexcusable. Again, I call upon President Obama to remove Director Archuleta and Ms. Seymour immediately.”

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, demanded that Archuleta step down.

“The technological and security failures at the Office of Personnel Management predate this director’s term, but Director Archuleta’s slow and uneven response has not inspired confidence that she is the right person to manage OPM through this crisis,” Warner said in a Thursday night statement. “It is time for her to step down, and I strongly urge the administration to choose new management with proven abilities to address a crisis of this magnitude with an appropriate sense of urgency and accountability.”

Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va. – whose own information was compromised in the breach – echoed Warner’s call.

Comstock said Archuleta showed “complacency, apathy … and incompetence” after the hacking was discovered.

“It goes to the top,” she told the National Journal. “This is a failure of leadership on her part, and if the president does not have the leadership to do this, I think she should step aside.”

Reps. Ted Lieu and Jim Langevin, both Democrats, called for Archuleta’s removal.

Lieu and Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., are reportedly drafting legislation that would task another agency “that has a better grasp of cyberthreats” with handling the security-clearance database instead of OPM.

However, Archuleta, in a Thursday press call, claimed she and her staff should be commended for their efforts to improve cybersecurity since November 2013.

“It is because the efforts of OPM and its staff that we’ve been able to identify the breaches,” she said.

Archuleta said she and Seymour will not resign.

Also on Thursday, a White House spokesman re-confirmed support for Archuleta.

3. From CNN…… The United States Army announces a forced reduction of 40,000 troops.

Washington (CNN)The Army will cut 40,000 troops from its ranks by 2017 as part of a new round of reductions brought on by constraints in the federal budget, the Army’s director of force management said Thursday.

“Unfortunately under sequestration under sequestration and automatic budget cuts, today’s announcement may not be the last,” Brigadier General Randy George told reporters about the current fiscal environment that will reduce the Army’s ranks from its current state of 490,000 soldiers to 450,000.

If automatic budget cuts known as sequestration take place later this year, the Army says it would have to likely reduce its ranks by an additional 30,000 soldiers beyond the numbers announced Thursday, potentially crippling its ability to fight.

“The resulting force would be incapable of simultaneously meeting current deployment requirements, and responding to overseas contingency requirements of the combatant commands,” George said.

Reductions would affect nearly every installation in the force and will also include cutting approximately 17,000 civilian employees from the Army’s payroll. Many of the civilian cuts will come through the 25 percent cut across all of the Army headquarters, though the force does not expect to have greater specificity on those cuts for an additional sixty to ninety days.

And while the Army says some of the reductions will come through attrition and planned retirements, there will be many forced separations as part of the cuts.

“I have had to look captains, majors, soldiers in the eyes, good soldiers, and tell them that we are reducing,” George said. “Those are tough things to do.”

The largest single unit cuts will impact installations like Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Hood in Texas and Joint Base Elmendorf in Alaska. Brigade Combat Team units at both Fort Benning and Joint Base Elmendorf which each currently number approximately 4,000 would be reduced to infantry battalion task forces numbering just over one thousand in each unit.

There will also be cuts to enabler forces like logistics, signal corps and military police units across the entire Army.

Some analysts who follow the Defense Department say such cuts make sense in a new era where the United States is no longer fighting two large land wars, but point to looming difficulties for the communities that host Army bases.

“It’s hard to justify the force size we had at the peak of Iraq and Afghanistan given the deployments and commitments that we have today,” said Todd Harrison with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “When you cut four or five thousand people from a particular base, that also means there’s going need to be fewer people working at the grocery stores, fewer teachers at the school, and so the economic impacts will expand out from the base.”

Following a “long, thoughtful, deliberate” process over the last 18 months, George said the reductions will take into account the current demands of the force around the world in order to maintain a force structure that can also take into account any unknown contingencies around the globe.

Confronted by budget cuts in an uncertain fiscal environment, the Obama administration has looked for ways to cut the size of the military, at one time pledging to scale the Army back to its lowest troop level since before World War II.

With a peak force of 570,000 troops following the 9/11 attacks, the resulting 450,000 troops will represent a drop of 120,000 troops since 2012 or 21 percent of the force.

 

4. From Fox News…..My name is Sue. How do you do?!

The list of things 15-year-olds are not legally allowed to do in Oregon is long: Drive, smoke, donate blood, get a tattoo — even go to a tanning bed.

But, under a first-in-the-nation policy quietly enacted in January that many parents are only now finding out about, 15-year-olds are now allowed to get a sex-change operation. Many residents are stunned to learn they can do it without parental notification — and the state will even pay for it through its Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan.

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“It is trespassing on the hearts, the minds, the bodies of our children,” said Lori Porter of Parents’ Rights in Education. “They’re our children. And for a decision, a life-altering decision like that to be done unbeknownst to a parent or guardian, it’s mindboggling.”

In a statement, Oregon Health Authority spokeswoman Susan Wickstrom explained it this way: “Age of medical consent varies by state. Oregon law — which applies to both Medicaid and non-Medicaid Oregonians — states that the age of medical consent is 15.”

While 15 is the medical age of consent in the state, the decision to cover sex-change operations specifically was made by the Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC).

Members are appointed by the governor and paid by the state of Oregon. With no public debate, HERC changed its policy to include cross-sex hormone therapy, puberty-suppressing drugs and gender-reassignment surgery as covered treatments for people with gender dysphoria, formally known as gender identity disorder.

HERC officials refused repeated requests by Fox News for an interview and even gave Fox News inaccurate information about the medical director’s work schedule.

Oregon Health Authority officials directed Fox News to their website. It shows transgender policy was discussed at four meetings in 2014. It was passed without any opposition or even discussion about teenagers’ new access to undergoing a sex change.

Gender dysphoria is classified by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental disorder in which a person identifies as the sex opposite of his or her birth. It is rare, affecting one out of every 20,000 males and one out of every 50,000 females.

According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “most children with gender dysphoria will not remain gender dysphoric after puberty.”

Dr. Paul McHugh, who led the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Department and still practices, said Oregon’s policy amounts to child abuse. “We have a very radical and even mutilating treatment being offered to children without any evidence that the long-term outcome of this would be good,” McHugh said.

Dr. Jack Drescher, a member of the APA who worked on the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group, says treatment for gender dysphoria has received a lot more attention in recent years. He said this year New York changed its policy to cover cross-sex hormone drugs and sex-reassignment surgery for Medicaid recipients who are at least 18 years old. He thinks Oregon is offering the treatment too early.

“Children age 15 may not fully understand all the consequences of the procedures they are undergoing,” he said.

Jenn Burleton disagrees. She underwent a sex-reassignment surgery and started the Portland non-profit group TransActive. She said requiring parental consent would lead to more suffering and teen suicide attempts.

“Parents may not be supportive,” Burleton said. “They may not be in an environment where they feel the parent will affirm their identity, this may have been going on for years.”

The science is unsettled. A 2010 Murad study concluded “very low quality evidence suggests sex reassignment … improves gender dysphoria and overall quality of life.” The authors admitted the evidence was “sparse and inconclusive.”

Lisa Maloney, a parent and Scappoose, Ore., School Board member, is outraged.

“To know that taxpayers are now on the hook for that, that a child can do that without their parent’s knowledge or information or consent, parents have absolutely no say, that’s appalling,” Maloney said.

The Oregon Health Authority could not say how many Medicaid recipients have been treated for gender dysphoria since the new policy took effect in January. Oregon has 935,000 people enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan. HERC assumes between 14 and 112 of them may be gender dysphoric. It estimates the total cost of adding cross-sex hormone therapy, puberty-suppressing drugs and sex reassignment surgeries to the coverage will be no more than $150,000 per year.

But HERC also believes the state will save money due to fewer suicide attempts. It estimates there will be one less suicide attempt per year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the average cost per suicide attempt in the U.S. is $7,234.

But Dr. McHugh says a sex-change operation, especially for young people with gender dysphoria, is never appropriate.

“We can help them if we begin to explore with them and their families what they’re fearing about development, what they’re fearing about being a young boy, a young adolescent appropriate to themselves.”

 

5. From Time online…..The Confederate flag will be removed by tomorrow morning:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill into law Thursday that will bring down the Confederate flag outside the Statehouse, a move that seemed unthinkable only a month ago in this Deep South state that was the first to secede from the Union.

The law requires the battle flag to be gone within 24 hours; her staff said it would be removed during a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday and relegated to the state’s Confederate Relic Room.

“The Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse,” Haley said. “We will bring it down with dignity and we will make sure it is stored in its rightful place.”

The flag first flew over the Statehouse dome in 1961 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Civil War and was kept there as a symbol of official opposition to the civil rights movement. Mass protests decades later led to a compromise in 2000 with lawmakers who insisted that the flag symbolized Southern heritage and state’s rights.

They agreed then to move it to a 30-foot pole next to a Confederate monument out front. But even from that lower perch, the historic but divisive symbol remained clearly visible in the center of town, and flag supporters remained a powerful bloc in the state.

The massacre 22 days ago of nine people inside their historic black church in Charleston suddenly changed this dynamic, not only in South Carolina but around the nation.

Police said the shootings inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church were racially motivated, and by posing with the Confederate flag before the shootings, suspect Dylann Storm Roof, who has not yet entered a plea to nine counts of murder, re-ignited a debate over the flag’s history as a symbol of white superiority and racial oppression.

Haley moved first, calling on South Carolina lawmakers to vote the flag down, and very quickly thereafter, other Republican lawmakers who have long cultivated the votes of Confederate flag supporters were announcing that other Civil War symbols no longer deserve places of honor.

“These nine pens are going to the families of the Emanuel Nine,” Haley said after signing the bill into law. “Nine amazing individuals who have forever changed South Carolina history.”

South Carolina’s flag removal bill passed easily in the Senate, where state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor gunned down at the church, had served, but was stalled by debate in the House as dozens of amendments were proposed. Any changes to the Senate bill could have delayed the flag’s removal by weeks or months, perhaps blunting momentum that has grown since the massacre.

House members deliberated well into the night, amid anger, tears and shared memories of Civil War ancestors.

Supporters of the flag talked about grandparents passing down family treasures. Some lamented that the flag had been “hijacked” or “abducted” by racists.

Rep. Mike Pitts recalled playing with a Confederate ancestor’s cavalry sword while growing up. He said that for him, the flag is a reminder of how many dirt-poor Southern farmers fought Yankees, not because they hated blacks or sought to preserve white supremacy, but because their land was being invaded.

Black Democrats, frustrated at being asked to honor the Civil War soldiers who also fought to preserve slavery, offered their own family histories as a counterpoint. Rep. Joe Neal talked about tracing his ancestry back to four brothers who were brought to America in chains. A slave owner named Neal bought them, changed their last names and pulled them apart from their families.

“The whole world is asking, is South Carolina really going to change, or will it hold to an ugly tradition of prejudice and discrimination and hide behind heritage as an excuse for it?” Neal said.

Rep. Jenny Horne, a white Republican who said she is a descendent of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, scolded her party members for stalling.

“I cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful such as take a symbol of hate off these grounds on Friday. And if any of you vote to amend, you are ensuring that this flag will fly beyond Friday. And for the widow of Sen. Pinckney and his two young daughters, that would be adding insult to injury and I will not be a part of it!” Horne screamed into the microphone.

The bill ultimately passed 93-27 in the House — well above the two-thirds supermajority needed to make changes to the state’s “heritage” symbols. Some lawmakers hugged, cried and high-fived, while others snapped selfies and pumped their fists.

 

6. Pitching the Wu in Taiwan

Hsinchu, Taiwan: The renter of a house worth NT$30 mn (US$960,000) in Taiwan’s Hsinchu City changed his name by deed poll to match that of his landlord, and then sold the house to 7 unsuspecting victims, 5 of which were real estate agents.

The perp, Mr Wu, already shared the same surname as the home’s owner, Mr Wu. The bad Mr Wu just had to change his given name to match that of his landlord and the evil scheme was ready to proceed. The renter was able to get 7 potential buyers to pay a deposit to purchase the home, which was valued at nearly US $960,000, by offering the property for sale at a deep discount of just $500,000 American.

Sensing a once in a lifetime bargain, the crafty Mr Wu was able to fool 7 prospective buyers into paying a deposit – which included 5 real estate agents – and ended up with proceeds that in Taiwan was valued at $4 million or $128,000 American.

Despite his early success, the whole plan collapsed after the buyers got in touch with the real Mr Wu and asked when they could sign the documents. The game was up for the fake Mr Wu and the real Mr. Wu pitched the Wu. The latest news from EBC is that the phony Wu is now facing more than 4 years in prison for the scheme.

 

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So until tomorrow morning’s “After Midnight” newscast this is Ray Mossholder, praying for you my friend. Have a miraculous day!

After Midnight News: Top 5 stories 7/10/15