The Weekly News Digest May13 FL

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is launching a new effort to rally the public around his hotly disputed health care law, a strategy aimed at shoring up key components of the sweeping federal overhaul and staving off yet another challenge from Republicans. The president will specifically target women and young people, groups that backed him over- whelmingly during his presidential campaigns. During a Mother's Day-themed event at the White House on Friday, Obama will promote the benefits of the law for women, including free cancer screenings and contracep- tives, and ask moms to urge their uninsured adult children to sign up for the health insurance "exchanges" that open this fall. The exchanges are the centerpiece of the landmark over- haul of the nation's health insurance system. Three years after it became law, the measure widely known as "Obamacare" remains controversial, with GOP lawmakers resolving anew to overturn it and many Americans unsure how they'll be affected. White House advisers acknowledge they struggled in explaining the complex law to the public when it passed in 2010. Now, with the final components being implemented, Obama allies see a fresh opportunity to sell the American peo- ple on the merits of measures that will be central to the presi- dent's legacy. "We're in the phase for the actual meat of the law to come online," said Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress, a liberal group aligned with the White House. "It's important for the public to recognize that the law has tangible benefits to people so they feel comfortable enrolling." Beginning Oct. 1, consumers can enroll in coverage through health insurance marketplaces called "exchanges" established by the states or the federal government. Coverage under the private plans begins Jan. 1, and nearly 30 million uninsured Americans are eventually expected to take part. But in order to keep insurance premiums down, young, healthy people will have to join up in order to counteract the costs from seniors and others with health problems. The uncertainty surrounding the exchanges has many Circulated Weekly In Florida Volume 002 Issue 19 Established 2012 May 16, 2013 OBAMA WADES BACK INTO THE HEALTH CARE Democrats nervous, including retiring Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., one of the architects of the overhaul. He said last month that the health care law is heading for a "train wreck" because of a bumbling implementation. The president conceded last week that there would be "glitches and bumps" as the final phases of the health care law - formally the Affordable Health Care Act - are rolled out. But he said most people will be unaffected by the changes that are still to come. "For the 85 to 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing has already happened," Obama said. "Their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, bet- ter, more secure than it was before. Full stop. That's it. They don't have to worry about anything else." Many Republicans strongly disagree, saying the full impact of the law will ripple throughout the economy. House Republicans announced this week that they planned to hold a vote on repealing the overhaul - the 37th time the House has voted to repeal all of part of the law. The Democratic-controlled Senate has ignored those votes each time. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, acknowledged that the move was largely political, noting that there were 70 new members of the House this year who haven't had an opportunity to register a vote against the health law. As for why Republicans are intent on repealing the law rather than trying to amend its pieces, Boehner said, "I don't believe there is a way to fix this and make it acceptable to the American people." Administration officials insist it's bad politics for Republicans to keep pressing for repeal. They say the American people don't want to harp on old issues, and cite the law's popularity among young people, blacks, Hispanics and women - all demographic groups the GOP has struggled to attract in recent elections. "It just demonstrates again how out of touch with what the American people want the House Republicans have become," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday. In reality, a massive number of people are actually unin- WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST THE President Barack Obama tours Applied Materials Inc., with Rick Gesing, left, Mike Splinter, center, and Mary Humiston, right, during a visit to the facilities in Austin, Texas, Thursday, May 9, 2013 TOp IRS OFFICIAL DIDN'T REVEAL TEA pARTY TARGETING WASHINGTON (AP) -- The IRS acting chief acknowl- edged Tuesday that the agency demonstrated "a lack of sensitivity" in its screen- ings of political groups seek- ing tax-exempt status, but he said those mistakes won't be repeated. In his first public comment on the case, Steven Miller said there was "a shortcut taken in our processes" for determining which groups needed special screening. Miller has emerged as a key figure in the controversy over the IRS' singling out of conser- vative groups for extra scrutiny. President Barack Obama said Monday that if the agency intentionally targeted such groups, "that's outrageous and there's no place for it." FREE GLOBAL NETWORK OF HACKERS STEAL $45M FROM ATMS BANGLADESH WORKERS FIND SURVIVOR IN FACTORY RUBBLE DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- A seamstress buried in the wreckage of a collapsed garment factory building for 17 days was res- cued Friday, a miraculous moment set against a scene of unimaginable horror, where the death toll shot past 1,000. Reshma survived, in remarkably good shape, by eating dried food that was in her area and drinking spare amounts of water with her. She was discovered on the second floor of the eight-story Rana Plaza building, where crews have been focused on recovering bodies, not rescuing survivors, for much of the past two weeks. "I heard voices of the rescue workers for the past several days. I kept hitting the wreckage with sticks and rods just to attract their attention," she told the private Somoy TV from her hospital bed as doctors and nurses milled about, giving her saline and checking her condition. "No one heard me. It was so bad for me. I never dreamed I'd see the daylight again," she said. "There was some dried food around me. I ate the dried food for 15 days. The last two days I had nothing but water. I used to drink only a limited quantity of water to save it. I had some bottles of water around me," she said. Once Reshma finally got their attention, the crews ordered the cranes and bulldozers to immediately stop work and used handsaws and welding and drilling equipment to cut through the iron rod and debris still trapping her. They gave her water, oxygen and saline as they worked to free her. When Reshma was freed after 40 minutes, the crowd erupted in wild cheers. She was rushed to a military hospi- tal in an ambulance, but her rescuers said she was in shockingly good condition, despite her ordeal. Abdur Razzak, a warrant officer with the military's engineer- ing department who first spotted her in the wreckage, said she could even walk. "She was fine, no injuries. She was just trapped. The space was wide," said Lt. Col. Moyeen, an army official at the scene. Reshma told her rescuers there were no more survivors in her area. Workers began tearing through the nearby rubble anyway, hoping to find another person alive. Continued on page 6 Continued on page 7 Continued on page 3 Continued on page 3 NEW YORK (AP) -- The sophistication of a global network of thieves who drained cash machines around the globe of an astonishing $45 million in mere hours sent ripples through the security world, not merely for the size of the operation and ease with which it was carried out, but also for the threat that more such thefts may be in store. Seven people were arrest- ed in the U.S., accused of operating the New York cell of what prosecutors said was a network that carried out thefts at ATMs in 27 countries from Canada to Russia. Law enforcement agencies from more than a dozen nations were involved in the investigation, U.S. prosecutors in New York said Thursday. "Unfortunately these types of cybercrimes involving ATMs, where you've got a flash mob going out across the globe, are becoming more and more common," said Rose Romero, a former federal prosecutor and regional director for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "I expect there will be many more" of these types of crimes, she said. Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, who called the theft "a massive 21st-century bank heist," announced the case Thursday in New York. Here's how it worked: Hackers got into bank databases, eliminated withdrawal limits on pre-paid debit cards and created access codes. Others loaded that data onto any plastic card with a mag- netic stripe - an old hotel key card or an expired credit card worked fine as long as it carried the account data and cor- rect access codes. A network of operatives then fanned out to rapidly withdraw money in multiple cities, authorities said. The cells would take a cut of the money, then launder it through expensive purchases or ship it wholesale to the global ringleaders. Lynch didn't say where they were located. It appears no individuals lost money. The thieves plun- dered funds held by the banks that back up prepaid credit Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, left, and Emir Yasser Yeje, pose with bun- dles of cash allegedly stolen using bogus magnetic swipe cards at cash machines throughout New York. Prosecutors in New York on Thursday, May 9, 2103 said that they are members of worldwide gang of criminals who stole $45 mil- lion in hours by hacking into a data- base of prepaid debit cards and draining cash machines around the globe President Barack Obama gestures during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Monday, May 13, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The president Obama said during the news confer- ence that the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups is "outrageous" and anyone involved needs to be "held fully a c c o u n t a b l e . "

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Alternative News, Interesting political and legal stories, Top stories of the week,

Transcript of The Weekly News Digest May13 FL

Page 1: The Weekly News Digest May13 FL

WASHINGTON (AP) --President Barack Obama islaunching a new effort to rally thepublic around his hotly disputedhealth care law, a strategy aimedat shoring up key components ofthe sweeping federal overhaul andstaving off yet another challengefrom Republicans.

The president will specificallytarget women and young people,groups that backed him over-whelmingly during his presidentialcampaigns. During a Mother's Day-themed event at the WhiteHouse on Friday, Obama will promote the benefits of the lawfor women, including free cancer screenings and contracep-tives, and ask moms to urge their uninsured adult children tosign up for the health insurance "exchanges" that open this fall.

The exchanges are the centerpiece of the landmark over-haul of the nation's health insurance system. Three years afterit became law, the measure widely known as "Obamacare"remains controversial, with GOP lawmakers resolving anew tooverturn it and many Americans unsure how they'll be affected.

White House advisers acknowledge they struggled inexplaining the complex law to the public when it passed in2010. Now, with the final components being implemented,Obama allies see a fresh opportunity to sell the American peo-ple on the merits of measures that will be central to the presi-dent's legacy.

"We're in the phase for the actual meat of the law to comeonline," said Neera Tanden of the Center for AmericanProgress, a liberal group aligned with the White House. "It'simportant for the public to recognize that the law has tangiblebenefits to people so they feel comfortable enrolling."

Beginning Oct. 1, consumers can enroll in coveragethrough health insurance marketplaces called "exchanges"established by the states or the federal government. Coverageunder the private plans begins Jan. 1, and nearly 30 millionuninsured Americans are eventually expected to take part.

But in order to keep insurance premiums down, young,healthy people will have to join up in order to counteract thecosts from seniors and others with health problems.

The uncertainty surrounding the exchanges has many

Circulated Weekly In Florida Volume 002 Issue 19 Established 2012 May 16, 2013

O B A M A W A D E S B A C KI N T O T H E H E A L T H C A R E

Democrats nervous, including retiringSen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., one ofthe architects of the overhaul. He saidlast month that the health care law isheading for a "train wreck" because ofa bumbling implementation.

The president conceded lastweek that there would be "glitchesand bumps" as the final phases of thehealth care law - formally theAffordable Health Care Act - are rolledout. But he said most people will beunaffected by the changes that are still

to come.

"For the 85 to 90 percent of Americans who already havehealth insurance, this thing has already happened," Obamasaid. "Their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, bet-ter, more secure than it was before. Full stop. That's it. Theydon't have to worry about anything else."

Many Republicans strongly disagree, saying the fullimpact of the law will ripple throughout the economy. HouseRepublicans announced this week that they planned to hold avote on repealing the overhaul - the 37th time the House hasvoted to repeal all of part of the law. The Democratic-controlledSenate has ignored those votes each time.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, acknowledgedthat the move was largely political, noting that there were 70new members of the House this year who haven't had anopportunity to register a vote against the health law. As for whyRepublicans are intent on repealing the law rather than tryingto amend its pieces, Boehner said, "I don't believe there is away to fix this and make it acceptable to the American people."

Administration officials insist it's bad politics forRepublicans to keep pressing for repeal. They say theAmerican people don't want to harp on old issues, and cite thelaw's popularity among young people, blacks, Hispanics andwomen - all demographic groups the GOP has struggled toattract in recent elections.

"It just demonstrates again how out of touch with what theAmerican people want the House Republicans have become,"White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday.

In reality, a massive number of people are actually unin-

WEEKLY NEWS DIGESTTH

E

President Barack Obama tours Applied MaterialsInc., with Rick Gesing, left, Mike Splinter, center, andMary Humiston, right, during a visit to the facilities inAustin, Texas, Thursday, May 9, 2013

T O p I R S O F F I C I A LD I D N ' T R E V E A L T E Ap A R T Y T A R G E T I N G WASHINGTON (AP) -- The

IRS acting chief acknowl-edged Tuesday that theagency demonstrated "a lackof sensitivity" in its screen-ings of political groups seek-ing tax-exempt status, but hesaid those mistakes won'tbe repeated.

In his first public commenton the case, Steven Millersaid there was "a shortcuttaken in our processes" fordetermining which groupsneeded special screening.

Miller has emerged as a keyfigure in the controversy over the IRS' singling out of conser-vative groups for extra scrutiny. President Barack Obamasaid Monday that if the agency intentionally targeted suchgroups, "that's outrageous and there's no place for it."

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DHAKA,Bangladesh (AP) --A seamstress buriedin the wreckage of acollapsed garmentfactory building for17 days was res-

cued Friday, amiraculous moment

set against a scene of unimaginable horror, where thedeath toll shot past 1,000.

Reshma survived, in remarkably good shape, by eatingdried food that was in her area and drinking spare amountsof water with her. She was discovered on the second floorof the eight-story Rana Plaza building, where crews havebeen focused on recovering bodies, not rescuing survivors,for much of the past two weeks.

"I heard voices of the rescue workers for the past severaldays. I kept hitting the wreckage with sticks and rods just toattract their attention," she told the private Somoy TV fromher hospital bed as doctors and nurses milled about, givingher saline and checking her condition.

"No one heard me. It was so bad for me. I never dreamedI'd see the daylight again," she said.

"There was some dried food around me. I ate the driedfood for 15 days. The last two days I had nothing but water.I used to drink only a limited quantity of water to save it. Ihad some bottles of water around me," she said.

Once Reshma finally got their attention, the crews orderedthe cranes and bulldozers to immediately stop work andused handsaws and welding and drilling equipment to cutthrough the iron rod and debris still trapping her. They gaveher water, oxygen and saline as they worked to free her.

When Reshma was freed after 40 minutes, the crowderupted in wild cheers. She was rushed to a military hospi-tal in an ambulance, but her rescuers said she was inshockingly good condition, despite her ordeal.

Abdur Razzak, a warrant officer with the military's engineer-ing department who first spotted her in the wreckage, saidshe could even walk.

"She was fine, no injuries. She was just trapped. The spacewas wide," said Lt. Col. Moyeen, an army official at thescene.

Reshma told her rescuers there were no more survivors inher area. Workers began tearing through the nearby rubbleanyway, hoping to find another person alive.

Continued on page 6Continued on page 7

Continued on page 3

Continued on page 3

NEW YORK (AP) -- Thesophistication of a globalnetwork of thieves whodrained cash machinesaround the globe of anastonishing $45 million inmere hours sent ripplesthrough the security world,not merely for the size ofthe operation and ease withwhich it was carried out, butalso for the threat that moresuch thefts may be in store.

Seven people were arrest-ed in the U.S., accused ofoperating the New York cellof what prosecutors saidwas a network that carriedout thefts at ATMs in 27countries from Canada to

Russia. Law enforcement agencies from more than adozen nations were involved in the investigation, U.S.prosecutors in New York said Thursday.

"Unfortunately these types of cybercrimes involving ATMs,where you've got a flash mob going out across the globe,are becoming more and more common," said RoseRomero, a former federal prosecutor and regional directorfor the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"I expect there will be many more" of these types of crimes,she said.

Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, who called the theft"a massive 21st-century bank heist," announced the caseThursday in New York.

Here's how it worked:

Hackers got into bank databases, eliminated withdrawallimits on pre-paid debit cards and created access codes.Others loaded that data onto any plastic card with a mag-netic stripe - an old hotel key card or an expired credit cardworked fine as long as it carried the account data and cor-rect access codes.

A network of operatives then fanned out to rapidly withdrawmoney in multiple cities, authorities said. The cells wouldtake a cut of the money, then launder it through expensivepurchases or ship it wholesale to the global ringleaders.Lynch didn't say where they were located.

It appears no individuals lost money. The thieves plun-dered funds held by the banks that back up prepaid credit

Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, left, andEmir Yasser Yeje, pose with bun-dles of cash allegedly stolen usingbogus magnetic swipe cards atcash machines throughout NewYork. Prosecutors in New York onThursday, May 9, 2103 said thatthey are members of worldwidegang of criminals who stole $45 mil-lion in hours by hacking into a data-base of prepaid debit cards anddraining cash machines around theglobe

President Barack Obama gesturesduring a joint news conference withBritish Prime Minister DavidCameron, Monday, May 13, 2013, inthe East Room of the White Housein Washington. The presidentObama said during the news confer-ence that the Internal RevenueService's targeting of conservativegroups is "outrageous" and anyoneinvolved needs to be "held fullya c c o u n t a b l e . "

Page 2: The Weekly News Digest May13 FL

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S p I R E p E R M A N E N T L YI N S T A L L E D O N W T C T O W E R

NEW YORK (AP) -- A tall,

heavy spire was fully installed

atop One World Trade Center on

Friday, bringing the New York

City structure to its symbolic

height of 1,776 feet.

Loud applause and cries of

joy erupted from construction

workers assembled below as the

huge, silver spire was gently low-

ered and secured into place.

"It's a pretty awesome feel-

ing," Juan Estevez said from a

temporary platform on the roof of

the tower where he and other

workers watched the milestone.

"It's a culmination of a

tremendous amount of team work

... rebuilding the New York City skyline once again," said

Estevez, a project manager for Tishman Construction.

He said the workers around him were "utterly over-

joyed."

Installation of the 408-foot, 758-ton spire was complet-

ed after pieces of it had been transported to the roof of the

building last week. It will serve as a world-class broadcast

antenna and also as a beacon to ward off aircraft.

The building is at the northwest corner of the site where

the twin World Trade Center towers were destroyed in the

Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The 72-story 4 World Trade

Center is under construction at the southeast corner of the

site.

Lee Ielpi, whose firefighter son died after responding to

the attacks, watched workers secure the spire from his office

at the nearby 9/11 Tribute Center, which he co-founded.

"The building looks spectacular. ... I'm looking forward

to the day when the cranes come down and they light the

spire at night," he said. "It's sup-

posed to be a very moving experi-

ence."

The Port Authority of New

York and New Jersey, which owns

the site, said the LED-powered

light would be activated in the

next few months.

"It's going to have a light that

you can see from tens of miles

away," said Port Authority Vice

Chairman Scott Rechler. "And

that light will change colors and in

the next few months we are going

to be activating that light, and it

will be a beacon of hope just like

the Statue of Liberty."

The addition of the spire, and

its raising of the building's height to 1,776 feet, makes One

World Trade Center the tallest structure in the U.S. and third-

tallest in the world, although building experts dispute

whether the spire is actually an antenna - a crucial distinction

in measuring the building's height.

If it didn't have the spire, One World Trade Center would

be shorter than the Willis Tower in Chicago, which stands at

1,451 feet and currently has the title of tallest building in the

U.S., not including its own antennas.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a

Chicago-based organization considered an authority on such

records, says an antenna is something simply added to the top

of a tower that can be removed. By contrast, a spire is some-

thing that is part of the building's architectural design.

The tower is slated to open for business in 2014.

Tenants include the magazine publisher Conde Nast, the

government's General Services Administration and Vantone

Holdings China Center, which will provide business space for

international companies.

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Workers prepare to raise the silver spire atop the 1World Trade Center building in New York early FridayMay 10, 2013. The 408-foot spire will serve as a world-class broadcast antenna. An LED-powered light ema-nating from it will be seen from miles away. When it isfully installed on the building’s roof, it will bring the icon-ic structure to its full, symbolic height of 1,776 feet.

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U K B U D G E T A I R L I N E T O T E S TA S H C L O U D D E T E C T O RLONDON (AP) -- A U.K. budget airline will create an artifi-cial volcanic ash cloud over Europe this summer to testash detection technology. The experiment aims to avoidthe kind of chaos that paralyzed air traffic during eruptionsthree years ago.

Thursday's announcement was made by easyJet, whichacquired a ton of ash collected in Iceland by scientists inthe months after the 2010 eruptions for its test. Air travelwas virtually suspended for days in Europe and millions ofpassengers were left stranded because of fears the ashcloud could disrupt plane engines and was too dangerousto fly through.

EasyJet PLC said it is working with Airbus and NicarnicaAviation, a Norwegian research company, on developinginfrared technology fitted to planes that will feed images ofan ash cloud to pilots and control operators on the ground.The U.K.-based carrier said the system, which works like aweather radar for ash, will enable pilots to see an ashcloud up to 100 kilometers (60 miles) ahead of the aircraft.The pilot can then make small adjustments to the plane'sflight path to avoid it.

"There is currently no radar technology that can detectash, and even in daylight the pilot can't see it," said IanDavies, easyJet's engineering director. "The onboard tech-nology will allow us to give a 3D picture of where the ashcloud is and where it is moving."

To test the technology, an Airbus test plane will disperse aton of the collected volcanic ash, dried to the consistencyof fine talc, into the atmosphere to create an artificial ashcloud in August. A second Airbus fitted with the detectiontechnology will attempt to detect and avoid the cloud atmore than 30,000 feet (9,144 meters).

Davies said the experiment will take place over a quietarea yet to be determined, likely in France, and the amountof ash to be dispersed will be "like a teaspoon into theocean in terms of total amount." Relevant authorities andother airlines will be notified in advance.

If the technology works, it will complement satellite imagesto give a more accurate image of volcanic ash clouds. Thatcould open up airspace that would otherwise be closedand minimize disruption for travelers, easyJet said.

"We know the (volcanic) activity in Iceland is going to behigher in the next 30, 40 years, and we know there are twovolcanoes overdue for eruption," Davies said. "We havegot to be more prepared."

In 2010, European aviation authorities reacted to the April14 eruption at Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano by closingvast swaths of the continent's airspace for almost a week.More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding anestimated 10 million travelers worldwide.

Page 3: The Weekly News Digest May13 FL

Y E M E N ' S L E A D E R W A R N SO F A L - Q A I D A E X p A N S I O N

The Weekly News Digest, May 13, 2013 3

According to the participants, Hadi said that although hisgovernment has been going after al-Qaida militantsaround the country, dealing them some setbacks, "thegroup is recuperating" and sleeper cells are waiting forthe right time to carry out terrorist operations. One of theparticipants said Hadi told them that he was speaking"honestly" and that the security grip on the country wasnot as good as it should be. Hadi also told the gatheringthat al-Qaida was increasingly using modern technolo-gies to facilitate communications and avoid beingtracked.

Hadi said some political activities had been canceled inthe south because of security concerns for those wouldbe attending. He also said the government had told for-eign missions to exercise caution while moving aroundSanaa. Foreign missions already are required to getprior permission before traveling out of the capital.

Two Finns and one Austrian kidnapped in Yemen inDecember were released Thursday, according toFinland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

Hadi's comments about al-Qaida came on the same daythat suspected al-Qaida militants killed an intelligenceofficer in southern Lahj province and a day after threeYemeni air force pilots were shot and killed near an airbase in the south.

The participants said Hadi blamed some of the powerfultribes and members of the military and security, appar-ently in reference to loyalists to his predecessor, a com-mon complaint since he came to office in February lastyear.

In comments published by SABA, Hadi urged socialgroups to "denounce" the presence of terrorist groups intheir areas, and report them to authorities.

Hadi and his supporters have accused Saleh, the formerpresident of Yemen, of obstructing the current U.S.-backed Yemeni government as it tries to reform and fightan active al-Qaida branch in the impoverished Arabnation.

Since he took office, Hadi has tried to remove formerregime loyalists over concerns that Saleh was usingthem to further destabilize the nation. Last month, Hadiremoved Saleh's son and nephews from powerful secu-rity posts, a move hailed by his supporters as the mostdramatic yet to sideline figures from the previous regime

H E A L T H C A R E

SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- The president of Yemen onThursday warned that the al-Qaida branch in the countrywas expanding and using assassinations and abduc-tions of foreigners as a way to challenge the centralauthority.

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi issued his warningduring a closed session of the National Dialogue, whichbrings political, religious and other leaders together todecide on the country's political system before writing aconstitution.

The official SABA news agency said Hadi held an"exceptional" meeting, but offered few details on thepresident's remarks about security in the county.However, three people at the session agreed to relay hiscomments to The Associated Press on condition ofanonymity because of the private nature of the meeting.

They said Hadi told the participants that Yemen was at acrossroads, and pointed to a "very precarious" securitysituation in Yemen. One described Hadi's remarks asunusually frank.

The National Dialogue is part of a transfer of power dealthat led to the ouster of former president Ali AbdullahSaleh after a yearlong mass uprising. During the turmoil,militant groups affiliated with al-Qaida took advantage ofthe military's preoccupation with the political unrest andtook control of large areas of territory in the country'ssouth.

At the congressional hearing, Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, told Miller that some politically active tax-exemptgroups in his district had complained about being harassed.Marchant did not explicitly ask if tea party groups were beingtargeted. But he did ask how applications were handled.

Miller responded, "We did group those organizations togeth-er to ensure consistency, to ensure quality. We continue towork those cases," according to a transcript on the commit-tee's website.

Earlier, Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., had raised concernswith the IRS about complaints that tea party groups werebeing harassed. Boustany specifically mentioned tea partygroups in his inquiry.

But in a June 15, 2012, letter to Boustany, Miller said thatwhen the IRS saw an increase in applications from groupsthat were involved in political activity, the agency "took stepsto coordinate the handling of the case to ensure consisten-cy."

He added that agents worked with tax law experts "to devel-op approaches and materials that could be helpful to theagents working the cases."

Miller did not mention that in 2011, those materials includeda list of words to watch for, such as "tea party" and "patriot."He also didn't disclose that in January 2012, the criteria foradditional screening was updated to include references tothe Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by GOPRep. Dave Camp of Michigan, is holding a hearing on theissue Friday and Miller is scheduled to testify.

The Senate Finance Committee announced Monday that itwill join a growing list of congressional committees investi-gating the matter.

The IRS apologized Friday for what it acknowledged was"inappropriate" targeting of conservative political groups dur-ing the 2012 election to see whether they were violating theirtax-exempt status. In some cases, the IRS acknowledged,agents inappropriately asked for lists of donors.

The agency blamed low-level employees in a Cincinnatioffice, saying no high-level officials were aware.

When members of Congress repeatedly raised concernswith the IRS about complaints that tea party groups werebeing harassed last year, a deputy IRS commissioner tookthe lead in assuring lawmakers that the additional scrutinywas a legitimate part of the screening process.

That deputy commissioner was Miller, who is now the actinghead of the agency.

Camp and other members of the Ways and MeansCommittee sent at least four inquiries to the IRS, starting inJune 2011. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on theSenate Finance Committee, sent three inquiries. And Rep.Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House oversight com-mittee, sent at least one.

"This was a targeting of the president's political enemies,effectively, and lies about it during the election year so that itwasn't discovered until afterwards," Issa said Tuesday on

formed about the provisions of the law. A new poll from theKaiser Family Foundation showed more than 4 in 10Americans didn't know the Affordable Health Care Act was stilllaw or was being implemented. About half feel they don't haveenough information about the law to know how it will affectthem.

Under the law, virtually all Americans must carry healthinsurance starting next year, although most will just keep thecoverage they now have through their jobs, Medicare orMedicaid.

h t t p : / / w w w . n a t u r e . o r g

In an opinion piece in Tuesday's editions of USA Today, Millersaid conceded that the agency demonstrated "a lack of sen-sitivity to the implications of some of the decisions that weremade." He said screening of advocacy groups is "factuallycomplex, and it's challenging to separate out political issuesfrom those involving education or social welfare."

"The mistakes we made were due to the absence of a suffi-cient process for working the increase in cases and a lack ofsensitivity to the implications of some of the decisions thatwere made," Miller wrote.

Miller said the agency has implemented new procedures thatwill "ensure the mistakes won't be repeated."

On Monday, the IRS said Miller was first informed on May, 3,2012, that applications for tax-exempt status by tea partygroups were inappropriately singled out for extra scrutiny.Congress, though, was not told tea party groups were beinginappropriately targeted, even after Miller had been briefedon the matter.

At least twice after the briefing, Miller wrote letters to mem-bers of Congress to explain the process of reviewing appli-cations for tax-exempt status without disclosing that tea partygroups had been targeted. On July 25, 2012, Miller testifiedbefore the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee,but again did not mention the additional scrutiny - despitebeing asked about it.

Miller's op-ed, however, did not address why he did notinform Congress after he was briefed.

Continued from page 1

"CBS This Morning." The fact is this is the kind of investiga-tion that has to be open and transparent to the Americanpeople."

None of the agency's responses to Congress acknowledgedthat conservative groups had ever been targeted, including aresponse to Hatch dated Sept. 11, 2012 - four months afterMiller had been briefed.

In several letters to members of Congress, Miller went intopainstaking detail about how applications for tax-exempt sta-tus were screened. But he never mentioned that conserva-tive groups were being targeted, even though people work-ing under him knew as early as June 2011 that tea partygroups were being targeted, according to an upcoming reportby the agency's inspector general.

The IRS issued a statement Monday saying that Miller hadbeen briefed on May 3, 2012 "that some specific applicationswere improperly identified by name and sent to the (exemptorganizations) centralized processing unit for further review."That was the unit in Cincinnati that handled the tea partyapplications.

Miller became acting commissioner in November, afterCommissioner Douglas Shulman completed his five-yearterm. Shulman had been appointed by President George W.Bush.

On June 29, 2011, Lois G. Lerner, who heads the IRS divi-sion that oversees tax-exempt organizations, learned at ameeting that groups were being targeted, according to a draftof the report by the Treasury inspector general for tax admin-istration.

At the meeting, Lerner was told that groups with "Tea Party,"`'Patriot" or "9/12 Project" in their names were being flaggedfor additional and often burdensome scrutiny, the reportsays. Lerner instructed agents to change the criteria for flag-ging groups "immediately."

However, when Lerner responded to inquiries from theHouse oversight committee, she didn't mention the fact thattea party groups had ever been targeted. Her responsesincluded 45-page letters in May 2012 to Issa and to Rep. JimJordan, R-Ohio, who chairs a subcommittee.

Lerner also met twice with staff from the House Ways andMeans oversight subcommittee to discuss the issue, inMarch and in May 2012, according to a timeline constructedby committee staff. She didn't mention at either meeting thatconservative groups had been targeted, according to thetimeline.

On Monday, President Barack Obama said he first learnedabout the issue from news reports on Friday. White Housespokesman Jay Carney said the White House counsel'soffice was alerted the week of April 22 that the inspector gen-eral was finishing a report concerning the IRS office inCincinnati. But, he said, the counsel's office did not get thereport and the president did not learn the focus until Friday.

"If, in fact, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practicesthat had been reported on and were intentionally targetingconservative groups, then that's outrageous and there's noplace for it," Obama said Monday at a press conference.

Continued from page 1T E A p A R T Y

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F L O R I D A A C C I D E N T S T A T I S T I C SData From the Official Website of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. www.flhsmv.gov

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______________________________________ The Weekly News Digest, May 13, 2013 5

F L O R I D A A C C I D E N T S T A T I S T I C S

http://www.aging-research.org

Age of Drivers in Crashes*

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6 The Weekly News Digest, May 13, 2013________________________________________________________

M E T A L S I N G E R C H A R G E D W I T HS O L I C I T I N G W I F E ' S M U R D E R

"Reshma told me there were three others with her. Theydied. She did not see anybody else alive there," said Maj.Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, the head of the localmilitary units. "We will continue our search until a survivoror a dead body is there."

The woman survived for more than two weeks in tempera-tures that touched the mid 90s (mid 30s Celsius). Shescrounged for whatever food she could find, Suhrawardysaid.

Then, when the workers with bulldozers and cranes gotclose to the area where she was trapped, she took a steelpipe and began banging it to attract attention, Razzak said.The workers ran into the dark rubble, eventually gettingflashlights, to free her, he said.

Reshma's mother and her sister, Asma, rushed to the hos-pital to meet her.

Hundreds of people who had been engaged in the grim jobof removing decomposing bodies from the site raised theirhands together in prayer for her survival.

"Allah, you are the greatest, you can do anything. Pleaseallow us all to rescue the survivor just found," said a manon a loudspeaker leading the supplicants. "We seek apolo-gy for our sins. Please pardon us, pardon the person foundalive."

Workers at the site had been clearing the rubble since thecollapse April 24. More than 2,500 people were rescued inthe immediate aftermath of the disaster. However, no sur-vivors had been found in the wreckage since April 28, whenShahin Akter was found amid the wreckage. As workerstried to free her, a fire broke out and she died of smokeinhalation.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, called Reshma in the hospi-tal, and the rescued woman began crying on the phone,Suhrawardy said. She told Hasina: "I am fine, please prayfor me," he said.

Hasina, whose government has come under criticism for itslax oversight over the powerful garment industry, was rac-ing to the hospital by helicopter to meet her, and congratu-lated the rescuers, officials said.

"This is an unbelievable feat," Hasina was quoted as say-ing by her assistant, Mahbubul Haque Shakil.

The death toll from the disaster soared past 1,000 Friday,with officials confirming that 1,038 bodies had been recov-ered from the rubble of the fallen building, which hadhoused five garment factories employing thousands ofworkers.

The disaster has raised alarm about the often deadly work-ing conditions in Bangladesh's $20 billion garment industry,which provides clothing for major retailers around theglobe.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder, an army offi-cial overseeing the recovery work said the bodies beingrecovered were badly decomposed and identification wasdifficult.

F A C T O R Y R U B B L EContinued from page 1

"We are working carefully," he said. "If we get any ID cardor mobile phone with them, we can still identify them. Oursincere effort is to at least hand over the bodies to the fam-ilies."

Brig. Gen. Azmal Kabir, a top official of the military's engi-neering section, said more than half of the estimated 7,000tons of debris have been removed from the site but he didnot know when the work would be finished.

recently become obsessed with bodybuilding and hadstarted acting dangerously distracted around his children,his wife said in divorce papers.

Tim Lambesis was charged late Wednesday with onefelony count of solicitation of murder, San Diego Countydistrict attorney spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said. He wasscheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.

Lambesis' estranged wife, Meggan Lambesis, said in thecourt papers obtained by The Associated Press that herhusband had fallen asleep while caring for the couple'sthree children near a pool and had begun spending end-less hours at a gym. He had also begun to spend thou-sands of dollars on tattoos, she said in the papers filedlast fall.

Meggan Lambesis didn't express any concern in the doc-uments for her own safety, however.

Police say her husband tried to hire a hitman to kill her,but the person he approached was actually an undercov-er detective taking part in a sting operation set up follow-ing a tip to law enforcement last week.

The 32-year-old frontman of the Grammy-nominatedband was taken into custody Tuesday at a store inOceanside.

The musician's wife also said in court papers thatLambesis toured six months a year and had taken twolast-minute trips in a month to see his then-girlfriend inFlorida.

She said he owned two "high-end" Harley Davidsonmotorcycles, dined out for almost every meal and lived ina spacious suite at his parents' $2 million home.

She asked the court to order an expert to examine theirmusic-related businesses and other assets. She submit-ted a tax return showing the couple grossed $233,000 in2010 but did not specify an amount she was seeking forspousal support.

The couple adopted the children - ages 4, 8 and 10 -from Ethiopia, and Tim Lambesis continued to see themfor about 10 hours a week when he was not on tour,even though the couple was no longer living together,according to court documents.

Meggan Lambesis said in the court papers that he wouldignore the children while texting or talking on the phone.The stay-at-home mom said the children need a stableparent to help them adjust to their new life.

She said they would try private mediation to work out thechildren's custody and visitation issues.

Tim Lambesis' comments about his Grammy-nominatedband's latest album, "Awakened," indicate he may havebeen struggling. The singer, who has a degree in reli-gious studies, is known for his growled vocals and philo-sophical lyrics, which he has said are written from hisperspective as a Christian.

The band's website says the album - released the samemonth his wife filed for divorce after eight years of mar-riage - is a "far darker, more pessimistic beast" than pre-vious albums.

"On this record, I wasn't purposefully trying to be nega-tive, but I think sometimes we have to be honest withsome of the darker and more difficult times of our lives toget back to that positivity," Lambesis is quoted as saying.

A man who answered the phone at a number listed in thesinger's name in Del Mar said the family was not com-menting at this time, and Lambesis' attorney could not bereached for comment.

As I Lay Dying formed in San Diego in 2000 and hasreleased six albums, including 2007's "An OceanBetween Us," which reached No. 8 on Billboard's charts.A single from the album, "Nothing Left," was nominatedfor a Grammy for top metal performance.

The band, which plays in an aggressive style that fea-tures metal guitar riffs at the furious pace of hardcorepunk, was scheduled to tour the country this summer.

Its record label, Metal Blade, said in a message postedto the band's fans that there are many unansweredquestions.

"We'll keep you informed as best we can," the messagesaid. "Our thoughts right now are with Tim, his family,and with everyone else affected by this terrible situation."

soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The lead singer of heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, whois charged with plotting to kill his estranged wife, had

VISTA, Calif. (AP) -- Prosecutors say a heavy metalsinger slipped an envelope containing $1,000 in cash toan undercover agent with detailed instructions on how tokill his estranged wife.

The disclosure came in a San Diego-area courtroom onThursday after 32-year-old Tim Lambesis pleaded notguilty to solicitation of murder.

A judge set bail at $3 million. If convicted, Lambesiscould face up to nine years in prison.

A prosecutor said Lambesis met earlier this month withthe agent, who posed as a hitman.

Prosecutors say Lambesis gave the agent a photographof his wife, her address, security gate code and dates hewould be with his children to give him an alibi.

Lambesis, lead singer of the band As I Lay Dying, wasaccused of meeting the agent after telling someone athis gym that he wanted his wife dead.

A defense attorney told reporters that it appears thesinger was set up by the man at the gym.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back

Tim Lambesis, the lead singer for the Metal band As I Lay Dying,is escorted by a San Diego sheriff deputy into Superior Court forhis arraignment on charges he allegedly attempted to hire a hitman to kill his wife in Vista, Calif., Thursday, May 9, 2013.Lambesis was charged late Wednesday with one felony count ofsolicitation of murder, San Diego County district attorney spokes-woman Tanya Sierra said.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Food andDrug Administration investigation intothe safety of caffeine-added foodshas prompted Wrigley to take its newcaffeinated gum off the market forthe time being.

Wrigley said Wednesday that it willtemporarily halt sales and marketingof Alert caffeinated gum after discus-sions with the FDA. President CaseyKeller said the company made the

move "out of respect" for the agency, which said it wouldinvestigate the health effects of added caffeine on childrenand adolescents just as Wrigley rolled out Alert late lastmonth. A stick of the gum has an amount of caffeineequivalent to half a cup of coffee.

"After discussions with the FDA, we have a greater appre-ciation for its concern about the proliferation of caffeine inthe nation's food supply," Keller said in a statement to TheAssociated Press. "There is a need for changes in theregulatory framework to better guide the consumers andthe industry about the appropriate level and use of caf-feinated products."

Keller said the company has paused production and salesof the gum to give the agency time to regulate the caf-feine-added products.

Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner of foods,said Wrigley's decision to stop production for now "demon-strates real leadership and commitment to the publichealth."

"We hope others in the food industry will exercise similarrestraint," Taylor said.

Food manufacturers have added caffeine to candy, nutsand other snack foods in recent years. Jelly Belly"Extreme Sport Beans," for example, have 50 milligramsof caffeine in each 100-calorie pack, while Arma EnergySnx markets trail mix, chips and other products that havecaffeine.

The companies say they are marketing the products toadults, but critics say that's not enough when the caffeineis added to items like candy that are attractive to children.Many of the energy foods are promoted with social mediacampaigns, another way they could be targeted to youngpeople.

WRIGLEY TAKES NEWCAFFEINATED GUMO F F T H E M A R K E T

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C A L I F O R N I A E X C H A N G EG R A N T E D S E C R E C YLOS ANGELES (AP) -- A California law that created anagency to oversee national health care reforms grantedit sweeping authority to conceal spending on the contrac-tors that will perform most of its functions, creating a bar-rier from public disclosure that stands out nationwide.

The degree of secrecy afforded Covered Californiaappears unique among states attempting to establishtheir own health insurance exchanges under PresidentBarack Obama's signature health law.

An Associated Press review of the 16 other states thathave opted for state-run marketplaces shows theCalifornia agency was given powers that are the mostrestrictive in what information is required to be madepublic.

In Massachusetts, the state that served as the model forObama's health overhaul, its Health Connector program isspecifically covered by open-records laws, rather than pro-viding exemptions from them, as is the case for contractingin California.

In Idaho, where its exchange was established as a private,nonprofit corporation, and in New Mexico, agencies specifi-cally must comply with open-records laws. The MarylandLegislature subjected its exchange to the state's public infor-mation act, but protected some types of commercial andfinancial information.

In California's case, the exclusions may run afoul of thestate constitution, one legal expert said. Exchangespokesman Dana Howard said the agency complies with thelaw but declined to discuss in detail how it determines whatis public and what is not.

"I'm not going to go down item by item, about how it is andwhat kinds of meetings and what was talked about," he said.

It's routine in government to keep bids secret until contractsare awarded, so one vendor does not get an unfair advan-tage over others. After a bid is awarded, contracts generallybecome fully public.

In setting up the California exchange, lawmakers gave it theauthority to keep all contracts private for a year and theamounts paid secret indefinitely. "Except for the portion of acontract that contains the rates of payment, contractsentered into pursuant to this title shall be open to inspectionone year after their effective dates," reads the code specify-ing what exchange records are exempt from public disclo-sure.

According to agency documents, Covered California plans tospend nearly $458 million on outside vendors by the end of2014, covering lawyers, consultants, public relations advis-

ers and other functions.

Other exchange records that are allowed to be kept secretinclude those that reveal recommendations, research, strat-egy of the board or its staff, or those that provide instruc-tions, advice or training to employees. Minutes of the boardmeetings also are exempt from disclosure.

The indefinite ban on releasing rates of pay to companiesand individuals receiving contracts also goes beyondexemptions for other state health programs, such as HealthyFamilies, which withholds rates of pay from disclosure for upto four years, but not permanently.

If the Legislature wants to limit access, the state constitutionrequires that it produce findings that demonstrate the needfor shielding information from the public. In the bill thatauthorized the exchange, the Legislature devoted two sen-tences to address that issue. It argued the cloaked spendingwas "necessary" to protect "powers and obligations to nego-tiate on behalf of the public."

Those provisions are vulnerable to being declared unconsti-tutional, said Terry Francke, head of Californians Aware, agroup that promotes government transparency. He said theLegislature simply made a statement in the law, with nodetails or evidence to support it.

He said, in essence, lawmakers are saying they need itbecause they need it. The Legislature should haveanswered the questions, "Why couldn't the exchange do itsjob without this secrecy? What's the worst that could hap-pen?" Francke said.

In response to an AP public records request, the agencyreleased information on a dozen competitively bid contractsissued since early 2011. They included $14 million for an 19-month contract with Ogilvy Public Relations for marketing

and other services; $400,000 for PricewaterhouseCoopers for a four-month deal developing a small busi-ness program; and $327 million for a five-year dealwith consulting giant Accenture to develop a web portaland enrollment system for those who will seek cover-age.

Those contracts also are accessible on the agency'swebsite, along with about two dozen requests for serv-ices the agency has published. But it's not clear howmany contracts the agency has executed, for howmuch or with whom. Staff counsel Gabriel Ravel saidin an email that the agency "exercised its discretion towaive this exemption" for the contracts it released toAP. However, "all other existing contracts are confiden-tial and privileged," he wrote.

The closeted spending was quietly authorized in a bun-dle of amendments added to the bill just days before it waspassed by the Senate and Assembly during a blitz of activityin August 2010, when California was sprinting to become thefirst state to embrace the most extensive health carechanges since Medicare.

Legislative staffers who worked on the technical language inthe bill discussed the possibility of limiting the scope of therecords exemption but settled on making it comprehensiveafter concluding it was not practical to try to determine whatshould be left out.

No public hearing was held on the provision because leg-islative leaders did not consider it substantive enough tosend the bill back to committee for an airing, according tothe office of Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles.

Statements issued to the AP by his office said the bill metthe constitutional test and "contains the relevant findings,"while striking a practical balance between the need for confi-dential rate negotiations with medical plans and a board thatmeets in public and is covered by open-meetings law.

"At the time of the drafting of the bill in 2010, this was a non-controversial, technical provision modeled on the sameexemption long provided to successful government healthinsurance programs, including the state's Healthy FamiliesProgram," one statement said.

Perez's account that there was agreement on the confiden-tiality rules in the Senate Health Committee was disputed byformer Sen. Sam Aanestad, a Republican on the panel whosaid he opposed those blanket privacy rules as well as thebroader bill creating the exchange.

"This is such an untested field, there has to be strict illumi-nation and oversight from day one," said the retired oral sur-geon. Empowering bureaucrats to make unilateral decisionson access to contracting records "bodes for disaster."

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cards, not individual or business accounts, Lynch said.

Ori Eisen, a cybercrime expert and founder of 41stParameter, a fraud detection and prevention firm, said the$45 million heist was on the "high-end" of what can bedone by cybercriminals who exploit banking systems con-nected to the Internet.

"Given the scale of the global credit card networks, it isalmost impossible to detect every kind of attack," he said."This attack is not the last one, and if the modus operandiproves to be successful crooks will exploit it time andagain."

There were two separate attacks in this case, one inDecember that reaped $5 million worldwide and one inFebruary that snared about $40 million in 10 hours withabout 36,000 transactions. The scheme involved attackson two banks, Rakbank in the United Arab Emirates andthe Bank of Muscat in Oman, prosecutors said.

Such ATM fraud schemes are not uncommon, but the $45million stolen in this one was at least double the amountinvolved in previously known cases, said Avivah Litan, ananalyst who covers security issues for Gartner Inc.

Middle Eastern banks and payment processors are "a bitbehind" on security and screening technologies that aresupposed to prevent this kind of fraud, but it happensaround the world, she said.

"It's a really easy way to turn digits into cash," Litan said.

Some of the fault lies with the ubiquitous magnetic stripson the back of the cards. The rest of the world has largelyabandoned cards with magnetic strips in favor of ones withbuilt-in chips that are nearly impossible to copy. Butbecause U.S. banks and merchants have stuck to cardswith magnetic strips, they are still accepted around theworld.

Lynch would not say who masterminded the attacks glob-ally, who the hackers are or where they were located, cit-ing an ongoing investigation.

The New York suspects were U.S. citizens originally fromthe Dominican Republic who lived in the New York Citysuburb of Yonkers. They were mostly in their 20s. Lynchsaid they all knew one another and were recruited togeth-er, as were cells in other countries. They were chargedwith conspiracy and money laundering. If convicted, theyeach face 10 years in prison.

The accused ringleader in the U.S. cell, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, was reportedly killed in the Dominican Republic latelast month, prosecutors said. More investigations continueand other arrests have been made in other countries, butprosecutors did not have details.

An indictment unsealed Thursday accused Lajud-Penaand the other seven New York suspects of withdrawing$2.8 million in cash from hacked accounts in less than a

day.

Arrests began in March.

Lajud-Pena was found dead with a suitcase full of about$100,000 in cash, and the investigation into his death iscontinuing separately. Dominican officials said they arrest-ed a man in the killing who said it was a botched robbery,and two other suspects were on the lam.

The first federal study of ATM fraud was 30 years ago,when the use of computers in the financial community wasgrowing rapidly. At the time, the Bureau of Justice Statisticsfound nationwide ATM bank loss from fraud ranged from$70 and $100 million a year.

By 2008, that had risen to about $1 billion a year, said KenPickering, who works in security intelligence at CORESecurity, a white-hat hacking firm that offers security tobusinesses.

He said he expects news of the latest ring to inspire othercriminals.

"Once you see a large attack like this, that they made offwith $45 million, that's going to wake up the cybercrimecommunity," he said.

"Ripping off cash, you don't get that back," he said. "Thereare suitcases full of cash floating around now, and that'sjust gone."

H A C K E R S S T E A L

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CHICAGO (AP) -- When Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph

of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Gore was

paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, yet

he rises from his wheelchair to his full 6-foot-2-inches and

walks across the room with help from a lightweight wearable

robot.

The technology has many nicknames. Besides "wearable

robot," the inventions also are called "electronic legs" or

"powered exoskeletons." This version, called Indego, is

among several competing products being used and tested in

U.S. rehab hospitals that hold promise not only for people

such as Gore with spinal injuries, but also those recovering

from strokes or afflicted with multiple sclerosis and cerebral

palsy.

Still at least a year away from the market, the 27-pound

Indego is the lightest of the powered exoskeletons. It snaps

together from pieces that fit into a backpack. The goal is for

the user to be able to carry it on a wheelchair, put it togeth-

er, strap it on and walk independently. None of the products,

including the Indego, are yet approved by federal regulators

for personal use, meaning they must be used under the

supervision of a physical therapist.

Gore, 42, of Whiteville, N.C., demonstrated the device this

week at the American Spinal Injury Association meeting in

Chicago, successfully negotiating a noisy, crowded hallway

of medical professionals and people with spinal injuries in

wheelchairs.

When he leans forward, the device takes a first step. When

he tilts from side to side, it walks. When Gore wants to stop,

he leans back and the robotic leg braces come to a halt.

Gore uses forearm crutches for balance. A battery in the hip

piece powers the motors in the robotic legs.

"Being able to speak with you eye-to-eye is just a big emo-

tional boost," Gore said to a reporter. "Being able to walk up

to you and say hello is not a big thing until you cannot do it."

The devices won't replace wheelchairs, which are faster.

None of the devices are speedy enough, for example, for a

paralyzed person to walk across a street before the light

changes, said Arun Jayaraman of the Rehabilitation Institute

of Chicago, who is testing a number of similar devices.

"None of them have fall prevention technology," Jayaraman

said. "If the person falls, they can hurt themselves badly. If

you fall down, how do you get off a robot that is strapped

into you?" They need to be even lighter and have longer-

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W E A R A B L E R O B O T S G E T T I N GA N D L I G H T E R , M O R E p O R T A B L E

lasting batteries, he said.

Still, Jayaraman said, the devices might help prevent pres-

sure sores from sitting too long in a wheelchair, improve

heart health, develop muscle strength, lift depression and

ultimately bring down medical costs by keeping healthier

patients out of the hospital.

Companies in Israel, New Zealand and California make

competing devices, and all the products are becoming less

bulky as they are refined. The Indego was invented at

Vanderbilt University in Nashville and tested at the Shepherd

Center, a rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta. It's now licensed

to Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp., which makes

precision engineered products like aircraft wheels and

brakes.

Like many other research participants in clinical studies,

Gore receives a stipend for his participation from Vanderbilt

University.

It's unclear exactly how much the devices will cost if they

become available for personal use. Some technology news

media reports have said $50,000 to $75,000. Indego's mak-

ers want to bring the cost below that, said co-inventor Ryan

Farris of Parker Hannifin. Experts say it will take years of

research to prove health benefits before Medicare and pri-

vate insurance companies would consider covering the

expense.

Paul Tobin, president of the nonprofit advocacy group United

Spinal, said wearable robots present an exciting opportunity

but that patients should keep their expectations realistic.

"It's going to be critical that people have a thorough medical

evaluation before trying something like this, especially if

they've been injured for some time," Tobin said. "It won't be

appropriate for everyone. For some people, it will be a god-

send."

E L O N M U S K ' S S p A C E X S I G N SL E A S E A T N M S p A C E p O R T

she said. Traditional rockets burn up on re-entry.

Officials said they were unsure how many jobs would belocated in New Mexico. SpaceX employs more than 3,000 inCalifornia, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Florida, accordingto a news release.

Richard Branson's space tourism company, Virgin GalacticLLC, is the anchor tenant at the spaceport.

Also on Tuesday, Virgin Galactic announced that it has hiredtwo new pilots as the testing moves into the final stages forits spacecraft for taking tourists into space at $200,000 ahead.

Anderson called the dual announcements "great milestones"for the spaceport, which has struggled to attract other busi-nesses. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved legislation tolimit liability lawsuits for the industry in an effort to be morecompetitive.

Virgin Galactic last year publicly expressed concerns aboutthe state's inability to attract more businesses to the projectand had hinted it could leave if lawmakers refused for a thirdyear in a row to expand liability exemptions for the commer-cial space industry.

Anderson said SpaceX will be paying $6,600 a month tolease a mobile mission control facility and will pay the state$25,000 per launch.

Virgin Galactic started paying rent of $1 million a year thisyear. The rest of its fees are based on the number of flightsand passengers it launches into space, although there areminimum flight payment requirements.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Another space industryheavyweight has signed on to use New Mexico's SpaceportAmerica - Elon Musk's Space Exploration TechnologiesCorp., or SpaceX, Gov. Susana Martinez announcedTuesday.

It agreed to a three-year lease to do testing of its"Grasshopper" reusable rocket in southern New Mexico.

SpaceX is one of the leading developers of rockets andspacecraft and is one of the companies the $209 million tax-payer-built spaceport project has been trying to recruit.

"We've done a lot of work to level the playing field so wecan compete in the space industry," Martinez said in a state-ment. "This is just the first step in broadening the base outat the Spaceport and securing even more tenants. I'm proudto welcome SpaceX to New Mexico."

Spaceport America Executive Director Christine Andersonsaid the Grasshopper project is moving from McGregor,Texas, to New Mexico because the rocket needs to be test-ed at higher altitudes. The reusable rocket could revolution-ize the commercial space industry by greatly reducing costs,

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Michael Gore, center, who is paralyzed from a spinal injury, walkswith the use of the Indego wearable robot under the supervisionof physical therapist Clare Hartigan during a meeting of theAmerican Spinal Injury Association at a downtown hotel inChicago. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waistdown in a workplace accident, but with the aid of the 27-poundgadget that snaps together from pieces that fit into a backpack hestands and walks with the assistance of science and engineering.The device is among several competing products that hold prom-ise for people with spinal injuries, like Gore, and for people withmultiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy or for those recovering fromstrokes

Eating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil cap-sules does not help people at high risk of heart problemswho are already taking medicines to prevent them, alarge study in Italy found.

The work makes clearer who does and does not benefitfrom taking supplements of omega-3 fatty acids, thegood oils found in fish such as salmon, tuna and sar-dines.

Previous studies have suggested that fish oil capsulescould lower heart risks in people with heart failure or whohave already suffered a heart attack. The AmericanHeart Association recommends them only for people whohave high levels of fats called triglycerides in their blood,says the group's president, Dr. Donna Arnett of theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham.

Fish oil capsules failed to prevent flare-ups of atrial fibril-lation, a common heart rhythm problem, in a large studyin 2010.

The new study was led by the Mario Negri Institute forPharmacological Research in Milan. It tested 1 gram aday of fish oil versus dummy capsules in 12,513 peoplethroughout Italy. They had not suffered a heart attack butwere at high risk of having one because of diabetes, highblood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity orother conditions. Most already were taking cholesterol-lowering statins, aspirin and other medicines to lowertheir chances of heart problems.

Researchers at first planned to compare the rate ofdeath, heart attacks and strokes in the two groups, butthese were less frequent than anticipated. So they start-ed measuring how long it was before people in eithergroup suffered one of these fates or was hospitalized forheart-related reasons. After five years, the rate was thesame - about 12 percent of each group had one of these

problems.

"They're very high-risk people and so the level of othertreatments was very high," Arnett said. "When you'rebeing aggressively treated for all of your other risk fac-tors, adding fish oil yielded no additional benefits."

Results are published in Thursday's New EnglandJournal of Medicine. Makers of fish oil supplementshelped pay for the study.

Eating fish is known to help protect against heart dis-ease, and the Heart Association recommends it at leasttwice a week.

"People who choose to eat more fish are more likely toeat heart healthier diets and engage in more physicalactivity," and studies testing the benefit of supplementsmay not be able to completely adjust for differences likethese, said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the cardiovas-cular nutrition lab at Tufts University in Boston.

The results do show that people can't rely on a pill tomake up for a bad diet, she said.

"It is sort of like breaking a fish oil capsule over a hotfudge sundae and expecting the effect of the caloriesand saturated fat to go away," she said

S T U D Y: F I S H O I LD O E S N ' T H E L pp R E V E N TH E A R T A T T A C K S

the new Spaceport America hangar in Upham, N.M. Gov. SusanaMartinez Tuesday May 7,2013 announced that Elon Musks’Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, has signed a three-year lease to do testing of its “Grasshopper” reusable rocket insouthern New Mexico, adding a second company at Spaceport.