Attorney General Holder Statement on Federal Court Ruling Against Texas Voter Identification Law

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement late Thursday after a federal district court ruled in favor of the Justice Department's lawsuit against Texas' voter identification law:

"We are extremely heartened by the court's decision, which affirms our position that the Texas voter identification law unfairly and unnecessarily restricts access to the franchise. Even after the Voting Rights Act was seriously eroded last year, we vowed to continue enforcing the remaining portions of that statute as aggressively as possible. This ruling is an important vindication of those efforts.

"We are also pleased that the Supreme Court has refused to allow Wisconsin to implement its own restrictive voter identification law.

"This Department will never yield in its commitment to protecting that most sacred of Americans' rights - the right to vote."

Texas Voters Win: Federal Court Blocks Stringent Photo ID Law

Restrictive ID Law is a Voting Barrier for African American and Latino Voters in Texas

Today, a federal judge in Corpus Christi ruled that Texas’s stringent photo ID law violates the United States creates a substantial burden on the fundamental right to vote, has a racially discriminatory purpose and effect, and constitutes a poll tax..  

“The court’s ruling will enable minority voters to more fairly participate in the electoral process,” said Jon M. Greenbaum, chief counsel and senior deputy director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan organization that represents two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.  “This is a great victory for democracy.”

Under the judge’s ruling, Texas must follow its pre-2012 identification law.   

“The Texas Legislature was determined to adopt the most restrictive photo identification law in the country and rejected repeated opportunities to reduce the law’s negative effects,” said Bob Kengle, co-director, Voting Rights Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.  “It should come as no surprise that the court found a violation of federal law.”

NASA's Hubble Maps the Temperature and Water Vapor on an Extreme Exoplanet

This is a temperature map of the "hot Jupiter" class exoplanet WASP 43b. The white-colored region on the daytime side is 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The nighttime side temperatures drop to under 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Image Credit: 

NASA/ESA

A team of scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has made the most detailed global map yet of the glow from a turbulent planet outside our solar system, revealing its secrets of air temperatures and water vapor.

Hubble observations show the exoplanet, called WASP-43b, is no place to call home. It is a world of extremes, where seething winds howl at the speed of sound from a 3,000-degree-Fahrenheit “day” side, hot enough to melt steel, to a pitch-black “night” side with plunging temperatures below 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Astronomers have mapped the temperatures at different layers of the planet's atmosphere and traced the amount and distribution of water vapor. The findings have ramifications for the understanding of atmospheric dynamics and how giant planets like Jupiter are formed.

“These measurements have opened the door for a new kinds of ways to compare the properties of different types of planets,” said team leader Jacob Bean of the University of Chicago.

First discovered in 2011, WASP-43b is located 260 light-years away. The planet is too distant to be photographed, but because its orbit is observed edge-on to Earth, astronomers detected it by observing regular dips in the light of its parent star as the planet passes in front of it.

“Our observations are the first of their kind in terms of providing a two-dimensional map on the longitude and altitude of the planet’s thermal structure that can be used to constrain atmospheric circulation and dynamical models for hot exoplanets,” said team member Kevin Stevenson of the University of Chicago.

As a hot ball of predominantly hydrogen gas, there are no surface features on the planet, such as oceans or continents that can be used to track its rotation. Only the severe temperature difference between the day and night sides can be used by a remote observer to mark the passage of a day on this world.

The planet is about the same size as Jupiter, but is nearly twice as dense. The planet is so close to its orange dwarf host star that it completes an orbit in just 19 hours. The planet also is gravitationally locked so that it keeps one hemisphere facing the star, just as our moon keeps one face toward Earth.

This was the first time astronomers were able to observe three complete rotations of any planet, which occurred during a span of four days. Scientists combined two previous methods of analyzing exoplanets in an unprecedented technique to study the atmosphere of WASP-43b. They used spectroscopy, dividing the planet’s light into its component colors, to determine the amount of water and the temperatures of the atmosphere. By observing the planet’s rotation, the astronomers also were able to precisely measure how the water is distributed at different longitudes.

Because there is no planet with these tortured conditions in our solar system, characterizing the atmosphere of such a bizarre world provides a unique laboratory for better understanding planet formation and planetary physics.

“The planet is so hot that all the water in its atmosphere is vaporized, rather than condensed into icy clouds like on Jupiter,” said team member Laura Kreidberg of the University of Chicago.

The amount of water in the giant planets of our solar system is poorly known because water that has precipitated out of the upper atmospheres of cool gas giant planets like Jupiter is locked away as ice. But so-called “hot Jupiters,” gas giants that have high surface temperatures because they orbit very close to their stars, water is in a vapor that can be readily traced.

“Water is thought to play an important role in the formation of giant planets, since comet-like bodies bombard young planets, delivering most of the water and other molecules that we can observe,” said Jonathan Fortney, a member of the team from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In order to understand how giant planets form astronomers want to know how enriched they are in different elements. The team found that WASP-43b has about the same amount of water as we would expect for an object with the same chemical composition as our sun, shedding light on the fundamentals about how the planet formed. The team next aims to make water-abundance measurements for different planets.

The results are presented in two new papers, one published online in Science Express Thursday and the other published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on Sept. 12.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington.

NASA's Aqua Satellite Tracking Super Typhoon Vongfong in the Philippine Sea

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Super Typhoon Vongfong as it tracked through the Philippine Sea on Oct. 9. Instrument aboard Aqua captured visible and infrared images of the now Category 4 Super Typhoon.

Two instruments aboard NASA's Aqua satellite provided visible and infrared data on the Super Typhoon: The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument, respectively. MODIS captured a visible image of Super Typhoon Vongfong on Oct. 9 at 04:25 UTC (12:25 a.m. EDT) that showed two concentric eyewalls with the inner eye diameter at 26 nautical miles. Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that the eye remains symmetrical with sharp outlines - typical of very intense cyclones. The AIRS data showed the overall cloud top temperatures had warmed a little since yesterday, Oct. 8, indicating that the uplift in the storm may be weakening. AIRS also showed a thick band of powerful thunderstorms surrounded Vongfong's eye.

Vongfong weakened to a Category 4 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson scale on Thursday, October 9, with maximum sustained winds near 130 knots (149.6 mph/240.8 kph), down from a Category 5 typhoon on Oct. 8. Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center predict slow weakening over the next several days.

Vongfong was centered near 20.6 north and 129.5 east, about 384 nautical miles south-southeast of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. It is moving to the north-northwest at 7 knots (8 mph/12.9 kph) and generating 44 foot (13.4 meter) high seas. For warnings and watches, visit the Japan Meteorological Agency website at: http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/.

Vongfong is forecast to continue moving north through the Philippine Sea and is expected to pass just to the east of Kadena Air Base, then track over Amami Oshima before making landfall in Kyushu and moving over the other three big islands of Japan. Residents of all of these islands should prepare for typhoon conditions beginning on October 10.

DoD Highlights Programs to Prevent, Treat Domestic Violence

By Nick Simeone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2014 - October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Defense Department is working to increase awareness of what a senior department official calls a serious public health issue and one for which the military offers multiple options for prevention and treatment.

"The military is a microcosm of civilian society," Kathy Robertson, DoD's Family Advocacy Program manager, said today in a DoD News interview, noting that nearly 8,000 substantiated incidents of domestic abuse and intimate-partner violence were reported in the department during fiscal year 2013.

"Research shows we are similar in our statistics to the civilian community," Robertson said, "but one instance is too many."

DoD is working to prevent domestic violence

The department is working to increase awareness of support programs that are available to military and civilian employees to prevent domestic violence and to care for victims.

"DoD has taken a very strong stance," Robertson said, noting a memo that Jessica L. Garfola Wright, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, sent to all of the military departments. "Everyone has collaborated to continue to improve our prevention and response efforts," she added.

"Our goal is really to take the stigma out of reaching out and getting help," Robertson said, pointing out that confidential counseling is available around the clock, with neither law enforcement nor the command being notified. In cases in which victims feel as if they are in imminent danger, she added, military or civilian-issued protective orders can be obtained.

"I want people to know there are many resources available, and we can respect their privacy," Robertson said. "What's most important is their safety and their ability to seek help."

Pentagon Official Reviews Success in Counter-WMD Program

By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2014 - The Defense Department is like no other agency on the planet in terms of its capacity to get things done and to lead around the world, Andrew C. Weber, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said this week.

An escort ship pulls next to the U.S. ship MV Cape Ray in the Mediterranean Sea, July 5, 2014. The escort was part of an international task force to protect the ship, which was modified to dispose of Syrian chemical agents according to terms Syria accepted in late 2013. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Desmond Parks (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

During an Oct. 7 media roundtable at the Pentagon, Weber reviewed the success of the international effort to destroy Syrian chemical agents.

Weber is leaving the department this month after 18 years to support the State Department's Ebola response effort as deputy to Ambassador Nancy Powell, who last month was named to lead State's Ebola Coordination Unit. The current principal deputy assistant secretary of defense, Arthur "Tom" Hopkins, will be the office's acting assistant secretary.

In the area of countering and reducing the threat of chemical weapons around the world, Weber cited successes in Libya and Syria.

"Some of the things we've been involved in [include] the destruction of Libya's chemical weapons -- 517 artillery shells filled with mustard that are gone and will never fall into the hands of terrorists," he said.

"In Syria, we've been involved in a major effort since 2011, anticipating and preparing for problems associated with the Syrian chemical weapons stockpile," Weber added, "and now a massive effort to destroy 1,300 tons of Syria's chemical weapons agents has been completed."

Strategic threat from Syrian chemical agents is eliminated

The strategic threat of Syria's chemical agents has been eliminated, the assistant secretary said. "For me," he added, "the best evidence of that is a decision earlier this year by the government of Israel to stop the distribution of gas masks to its public."

Though the Syrian regime may not have declared some small tactical chemical stockpiles, Weber said, "there's a system in place, led by the Nobel Prize-winning Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the OPCW, to work with the Syrian regime and the international community under the United Nations Security Council resolution to resolve any lingering discrepancies."

On Oct. 1, the OPCW announced that the OPCW-U.N. Joint Mission on eliminating Syrian chemical weapons had completed its mandate and that its operations drew to a close Sept. 30. In the same statement, the OPCW said it has signed an agreement with the U.N. Office for Project Services to provide safety, security and logistical support for the OPCW's continuing operations in Syria.

"The OPCW mission in Syria will continue to deal with the destruction of chemical weapon production facilities and clarification of certain aspects of the Syrian initial declaration," the statement said.

Confidential discussions

Weber said the department had confidential discussions about the chemical agent problem in Syria for a year before the Syrian attacks in August 2013. Experts, under the auspices of the U.S. National Security Council staff and the Russian security council, met on a confidential basis over the course of a year and developed the universal matrix -- a detailed plan for destroying Syria's chemical agents, the assistant secretary explained.

Intelligence on the Syrian chemical agentss stockpile was exquisite, he added, allowing the Defense Department to tailor a technology called the field deployable hydrolysis system, specifically to the Syrian chemical agent stockpile which was mostly in bulk liquid.

The advance work and planning made it easy when Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva in September 2013, Weber said.

"They had the plan off the shelf. They knew that we could remove these chemicals from Syria and destroy them outside Syria," he added.

Weber said Defense Department experts had "done the math early, in 2012, and determined that the entire [Syrian] stockpile would fit on fewer than 200 trucks and could be loaded up and driven across the border."

At the time, he added, "we were thinking perhaps of having a chemical weapons destruction capability available in Jordan."

Specific neutralization technology

The Syrian modus operandi was not to fill the munitions until just before use, Weber said, so most of it was in large one- and two-ton liquid containers, and that took a specific neutralization technology, called hydrolysis, that DoD designed to be usable anywhere in the world.

The field-deployable hydrolysis system was built in five months, beginning with a process from the former Aberdeen Chemical Demilitarization Facility that had been used a decade ago to neutralize 1,700 tons of mustard agents -- part of the destruction of the United States' own chemical stockpile.

"The heart of the system fits in two standard shipping containers," Weber said, "and we weren't sure when we invested in the capability whether it would be used inside Syria or in a neighboring country like Jordan.

In November 2013, according to a chemical engineer with the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, the decision was made to use two of the systems at sea aboard the 648-foot Cape Ray research vessel.

On Aug. 19, the Cape Ray teams completed destruction of 600 metric tons of Syrian chemical agents and precursor chemicals. The OPCW announced that the ship would transport the resulting low-level chemical waste to Finland and Germany for disposal at land-based facilities.

Working with partners to solve a problem

From the Syria experience, Weber said, "we learned the value of working with multilateral organizations, working with international partners, to solve a problem. This was a huge security problem to the region and the world came together after Syrian leader Bashar Assad killed over 1,000 innocent men, women and children."

Having the capability to move and destroy the stockpiles was critical in convincing the global community that removal from Syria was an option, he said.

Most people thought it was impossible to move 1,300 tons of chemical agents and that it would have to be done at the sites inside Syria, and in the middle of a civil war, and it would take many years to accomplish and be a very dangerous process," Weber said.

The 1,300 tons of sarin and mustard, about half destroyed aboard the Cape Ray, will never be used by the Syrian regime again against its own people or its neighbors, and will never fall into the hands of organizations like ISIL, the assistant secretary said.

"That's a huge accomplishment," he added, "and this department had a big role in contributing to the international effort that made that happen."

MEDIA ADDRESS #Obama

10/09/2014 01:37 PM CDT

President Barack Obama, center, addresses the media after meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, right, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and combatant commanders at the Pentagon, Oct. 8, 2014.

Bringing Back the Palestinian Refugee Question

With Palestinians increasingly doubtful that the refugee question can be resolved within a two-state framework, the Palestinian leadership should seek to reinvigorate refugee communities as well as to reclaim its representation of them. When diplomacy emerges from its hiatus, the leadership will be able to negotiate and implement a peace agreement only if it wins refugees’ support or at least acquiescence.

In its latest report, Bringing Back the Palestinian Refugee Question, the International Crisis Group examines what could be done on the Palestinian side, without compromising core Israeli interests, to mitigate the risk that the Palestinian refugee question would derail a future agreement. For most of the 66 years since the Arab inhabitants of historic Palestine were displaced with the establishment of Israel in what Palestinians call the Nakba (catastrophe), the refugee question was at the forefront of the Palestinian national agenda. It no longer is. Refugees feel alienated from the Palestinian Authority (PA), doubt the intentions of Palestinian negotiators, and resent the class structure that the PA and its economic policies have produced.

The report’s major findings and recommendations are:

• Calcified refugee camp leadership committees ought to be renewed by election or selection. While their predicament is largely a reflection of the dysfunction of the overall political system, the relative isolation of the camps could facilitate a more representative local leadership. Given the limited resources of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), credible local leadership is needed.


• Palestinian elites, particularly in the West Bank, should combat the notion that refugee political claims can be advanced only by isolating camps from the broader social fabric. Refugees increasingly have come to believe that socio-economic deprivation is not the only way to maintain identity; reinvigorating political structures to better represent them would be more effective and humane.


• Donors should continue to fund UNRWA. Its support cannot solve the refugee problem, but the precipitous decline of services could exacerbate it and provoke regional instability. Palestinian political elites should undertake measures to improve daily life for refugees and ensure that economic reforms benefit rather than further marginalise them.
  

“Only a Palestinian leadership perceived as legitimate, inclusive and representative by all Palestinians will be considered authorised to negotiate a compromise with Israel”, says Nathan Thrall, Senior Middle East Analyst. “The lull in talks gives the national movement a chance to reconstruct itself so Palestinians of all sorts, particularly refugees, can influence negotiating positions”.

“The Palestinian leadership, the Israeli government and the international community need to understand that their current approach to the refugee question is a recipe not only for failure and strife, but for further undermining the two-state solution”, says Robert Blecher, Middle East and North Africa Acting Program Director.

Water Quality Improves in Long Island Sound Nitrogen Pollution is Declining

 

 

Stamford, CT (October 9, 2014): For the second summer in a row, concentrations of dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound are higher than the long-term average, indicating improved water quality and improved ecological conditions for organisms that live in the Sound. Aquatic animals rely on oxygen that is dissolved in water to survive. When dissolved oxygen levels decline, this can cause some animals to move away, weaken, or even die. Low dissolved oxygen can occur when nutrients such as nitrogen enter a water body in excess, over stimulating plant growth. Nutrients such as nitrogen can enter a water body through discharges of sewage and from fertilizer runoff. In recent years, Connecticut and New York State have worked with the EPA to implement a nitrogen pollution reduction plan to improve the Sound’s dissolved oxygen levels, and to protect aquatic animals and public health. Much of the improvements in water quality is attributable to wastewater treatment facility upgrades and other measures are reducing nitrogen pollution to the Long Island Sound.

 

“The work New York, Connecticut, local governments and the EPA have done to build and upgrade sewage treatment plants has significantly reduced the nitrogen going into Long Island Sound,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Region 2 Administrator. “We need to make financial investments in sewage treatment plants, and work to reduce pollution from septic systems and fertilizers, which also degrade water quality in Long Island Sound.”

 

"We hope the trend of improved dissolved oxygen levels in Long Island Sound continues. Investments in clean water are essential to a healthier ecosystem, which also contributes to more resilient and economically vibrant communities," said Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator of the EPA's New England office

 

Every summer, levels of dissolved oxygen are reduced to a level that causes what is known as hypoxia, particularly in the western portion of the Sound and sometimes extending into central portions of the Sound. This happens when nutrients fuel the growth of algae blooms, and bacteria that then feed on the algae rob the water of oxygen. This hypoxia can be severe enough to force fish, crabs and lobsters to leave the area, and it can kill many species that cannot move away, such as shellfish.

In 2000, Connecticut and New York State developed a plan that contains a nitrogen pollution budget, called a Total Maximum Daily Load, to reduce the daily discharges of nitrogen by more than 58% from levels discharged in the early 1990s. Connecticut has reached its nitrogen reduction target for wastewater treatment facilities and New York is expected to reach its target by 2017. In 2013, Connecticut and New York wastewater treatment facilities in the Long Island Sound basin discharged 35 million fewer pounds of nitrogen compared to the amount discharged annually in the early 1990s, primarily due to advanced wastewater treatment upgrades that employ technologies to reduce nitrogen.

 

In 2013, the area of hypoxia was the third smallest since 1987. But in 2012, the area was one of the most severe years on record. While there is a general trend of improvement over the last decade, the difference between conditions in 2014 and 2012 highlights the high variability in hypoxia caused by factors such as temperature, wind, and precipitation.

 

In addition to causing low levels of dissolved oxygen, high levels of nitrogen and other nutrients can have other harmful effects. Coastal wetlands that protect coastal communities against flooding can be degraded by high nitrogen levels. High nitrogen levels can also contribute to harmful algae blooms, which threaten aquatic animals and can threaten public health. Today’s announcement comes just two months after the city of Toledo, Ohio, issued a do-not-drink order to its residents after an algae outbreak caused by high nutrient levels that contaminated the city’s drinking water.

 

The water quality information announced today comes from samples collected and analyzed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Long Island Sound Study Water Quality monitoring program, the University of Connecticut’s Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal Observing System, and the Interstate Environmental Commission’s Long Island Sound water quality monitoring program. The Long Island Sound Study provides funding support for each of these programs. To see a chart with the year by year measurement of the hypoxic area of the Sound since 1987, visithttp://longislandsoundstudy.net/indicator/area-of-hypoxia/.

 

The Long Island Sound Study, sponsored by the EPA and the states of Connecticut and New York, is a partnership of federal, state, and local agencies, universities, businesses, and environmental and community groups with a mission to restore and protect the Long Island Sound. Visit www.longislandsoundstudy.net for more information.

Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters endorses Proposition P to protect water, parks & neighborhoods across LA County

Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters (LALCV), the nearly 40-year-old local pro-environment organization, today announced its support for Proposition P - the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Gang Prevention, Youth and Senior Recreation, Beaches and Wildlife Protection Measure - in the November 4 elections. 

“Proposition P is critical to local priorities touching every community across L.A. County - from upgrading neighborhood parks and recreation centers, to protecting local drinking water, to continuing vital after-school programs that prevent crime and drug use," said LALCV President Tom Eisenhauer. "Whether you're 18, 81 or anywhere in-between, something you care about depends on Proposition P passing this November." 

Proposition P would prevent the expiration next year of the extraordinarily successful Proposition A that voters approved in 1992 to provide vital funding for local priorities shortchanged by state and federal cutbacks. It would be used for local parks, beaches and natural areas; safe and reliable local drinking water; recreation and senior centers; cultural facilities like zoos, aquariums and museums; and essential after-school, gang-prevention, drug-prevention and job-training services.

In a bipartisan vote, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors placed Proposition P on the November 4th. And it has broad support, including from L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, AARP California, People for Parks, The Trust for Public Land, Northeast Trees, the Los Angeles County Neighborhood Initiative, and Trust South Los Angeles.

For more information - and to support the campaign for Proposition P - please visitwww.ProtectParksAndWater.com. 

About the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters
Founded in 1976, the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters (LALCV) is dedicated to electing local leadership throughout Los Angeles County to preserve, protect and enhance the environment. LALCV has helped elect more than 100 pro-environment officials throughout the county. LALCV endorsements are determined by its all-volunteer Board, which is composed of Los Angeles County residents committed to advancing environmental priorities. For more information on LALCV, its endorsements and its additional political activities visit www.LALCV.org - and sign up for occasional email updates. And to get the latest LALCV news, please "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Chief Mountain (also named Ninaistako) in Glacier National Park...

10/09/2014 10:24 AM EDT

Chief Mountain (also named Ninaistako) in Glacier National Park stands tall above the golden aspen forest below. A spectacular monolith towering above the prairie along the eastern side of Glacier National Park, Chief Mountain can be seen for more than a hundred miles away.

U.S., Partners Continue Airstrikes Against ISIL Terrorists

Compiled from U.S. Central Command News Releases TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 9, 2014 - U.S. and partner-nation military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists, U.S. Central Command officials reported. Using bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft, U.S. forces conducted five airstrikes south of Kobani in Syria yesterday and today, damaging an ISIL training camp and destroying an ISIL support building and two ISIL vehicles. The strikes also hit a small ISIL unit and a large ISIL unit, officials said. Meanwhile, Centcom continues to monitor the situation in Kobani closely, officials said, and indications are that Kurdish militia there continue to control most of the city and are holding out against ISIL. In eight airstrikes yesterday near Kobani, U.S. and partner-nation forces destroyed five ISIL armed vehicles, an ISIL supply depot, an ISIL command and control compound, an ISIL logistics compound and eight ISIL barracks. Another barracks was damaged. Another strike, southwest of Raqqah, destroyed four ISIL armed vehicles and damaged two more, officials said. U.S. bomber and fighter aircraft deployed to the Centcom area of operations conducted the strikes, officials said, adding that Jordan participated. Separately, U.S. military forces used attack and fighter aircraft yesterday to conduct three airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq. An airstrike northwest of Ramadi destroyed an ISIL checkpoint, a strike in Mosul destroyed four ISIL vehicles and damaged two others, and a strike south of Kirkuk destroyed two ISIL fighting positions. All aircraft exited the strike areas safely, Centcom officials said.

U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN GRACE NAPOLITANO ENDORSES BEN ALLEN FOR STATE SENATE

Congresswoman Cites Allen as Future Leader in Education and Job Creation

Santa Monica, CA—Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board Member Ben Allen has earned the endorsement of U.S. Congresswoman Grace Napolitano in Allen's campaign for California's 26th State Senate District. "Ben Allen's deep roots in the community, his evident leadership skills, and ability to seek common-sense solutions to any problem make him the most qualified candidate. For these reasons, I recommend Ben and support his candidacy for California's 26th State Senate District," said U.S. Congresswoman Grace Napolitano.   “I am so fortunate to have the endorsement and support of Congresswoman Napolitano, who has been a long-time advocate for Southern California.  Throughout her many years of public service, she has been a powerful leader on important issues like improving access to mental health services, reducing gun violence, building a strong state infrastructure system, and protecting our precious natural resources. I look forward to joining her in that work,” said Ben Allen.   First elected to U.S. Congress in November 1998, Congresswoman Napolitano is now serving her eighth term in Congress, currently representing California’s 32nd Congressional District.  Since her election into the House of Representatives, she has held many notable positions, including serving as a co-chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, a former chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a long-time member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and a senior member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  Prior to serving in Congress, Napolitano was a member of the California State Assembly for six years. She began her career in public service on the Norwalk City Council in the Los Angeles area, serving six years, including two as Mayor. With her endorsement, Napolitano joins a long list of well-respected elected officials who are backing Allen for the State Senate, the only candidate who grew up in the District and who has represented Californians as a public servant at the state and local levels. He has earned the endorsements of some of the region's most popular and respected leaders, including U.S. Representative Henry Waxman and former U.S. Representatives Anthony Beilenson, Howard Berman, Yvonne Burke, and Mel Levine; Los Angeles County Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and former Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman; State Senators Jerry Hill and Fran Pavley; former State Senators Tom Hayden and Alan Sieroty; Assemblymembers Richard Bloom, Steven Bradford, Isadore Hall, III, and Adrin Nazarian; former Assemblymembers Terry Friedman, Warren Furutani, Richard Katz, Tony Mendoza, and George Nakano; Los Angeles City Councilmembers Paul Koretz, Paul Krekorian, and Tom Labonge. For the full list of Ben Allen's endorsements, please click here. Ben Allen placed first among a crowded field in the open primary for the 26th State Senate District, held on June 3, 2014.     The 26th State Senate District consists of the cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, El Segundo, Avalon, Lomita, Torrance, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills; the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Westchester, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Westwood, Westwood Village, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Little Holmby, Sunset Hills, Beverly Grove, Mar Vista, Mid City West, Miracle Mile, Larchmont Village, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Fairfax, Carthay, Fremont Place, Hancock Park, and Windsor Square; and the unincorporated Los Angeles County communities of Marina Del Rey, San Clemente Island, Santa Catalina Island, Franklin, Centinela, and Ocean View.

#OBAMA REMARKS

10/09/2014 10:35 AM CDT

President Barack Obama, center, addresses the media after meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, not shown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and combatant commanders at the Pentagon, Oct. 8, 2014.

The 3 Major Sins of Sales Management

CEOs Must be Aware of How They’re Using 

Key People, Says Sought-After Speaker

It’s a simple fact of business: Without sales, no one else downstream can do their jobs, says veteran sales manager and business speaker Jack Daly. Because of how vital sales are to a company, CEOs frequently tend to misuse their best people, he says.

“There are three sins that minimize the sales management role, which ultimately holds the company back from achieving its growth,” says Daly, author of “Hyper Sales Growth,” (www.jackdaly.net).

“When they misallocate key players, small to medium-sized businesses tend to go into one of two directions. They either stay small to medium, or they go out of business. When you ask why, it most often comes down to a violation of one or more of these three sins of sales management. Having the right people in important spots is absolutely the secret to success.”

To ensure continued growth, Daly says the people at the top must avoid the following:

Sin No. 1 … is committed when the CEO or owner wears the hat of the sales manager. If you are doing that, you’re essentially relegating both the CEO job and the sales manager job to part-time status. In effect, you’re saying, “I’m going to grow my business part time.” If you want your business to grow, you must grow your sales force, and you need someone doing that full time.

Sin No. 2 … is to make the best salesperson the sales manager. It can work, but seldom does. The usual scenario, however, is you lose your best salesperson and get a mediocre sales manager. The role and the responsibilities are entirely different. A salesperson’s role is to win new customers and nurture the ones you have, thereby differentiating you from your competitors. The sales manager’s job involves recruiting, training, coaching, building and developing. Being effective at one of those jobs is not an indicator that a person will be equally effective in the other. Salespeople are used to immediate gratification, involving a deal-to-deal routine. Sales managers, by contrast, must take their time to recruit, train and coach. A salesperson might easily become disenchanted with the pace of the new role and look for another sales job, perhaps with your competitor.

Sin No. 3 … is probably the most grievous of all. The best salesperson is made a sales manager, but he or she is also required to continue booking business. It’s absolutely ruinous. The person’s focus will remain fixed on the customer, as that is how their compensation is driven. Accordingly, the sales team will be underserved, missing the opportunity for leveraged growth.

The key to growth is to put the right people in the right places, Daly says.
“Since sales drive business, it’s essential to match skills and personality types to the jobs, and to ensure the people can focus on their roles,” Daly says.

About Jack Daly

Jack Daly, author of “Hyper Sales Growth,” (www.jackdaly.net), is an experienced and inspirational sales trainer and sales coaching expert who, as a sought-after speaker, motivates audiences to take action in the areas of sales planning and training, and customer loyalty. Daly draws upon more than 20 years of business experience, with several successful stints as the CEO of fast-growing companies. He has a Bachelor’s in Science degree in accounting, a Master of Business Administration degree, was a Captain in U.S. Army and is an accomplished author with audio and DVD programs.

Congressman Xavier Becerra Endorses Jeffrey Prang for Los Angeles County Assessor

 

 

LOS ANGELES - Rep. Xavier Becerra, the highest-ranking Latino in Congress and longtime member of the powerful Ways and Means committee that formulates our nation's tax laws, announced his endorsement of Jeffrey Prang for Los Angeles County Assessor.

 

 

Congressman Becerra (D-CA-34) released the following statement encouraging voters to support Prang in the upcoming November 4th General Election:

 

"I am proud to endorse Jeffrey Prang for Los Angeles County Assessor. Jeff is a creative leader who helped make West Hollywood one of California's most successfully managed cities," Becerra said. "Jeffrey Prang's experience as a reformer, his competence as an administrator and his integrity are just what the Assessor's office needs at this critical point in time." 

 

Jeffrey Prang has the expertise to lead property assessment operations across the vast and diverse communities within Los Angeles County. Under his leadership, the Assessor's office has banned campaign contributions to Assessor candidates from tax agents doing business with the office, as well as from Assessor employees. Jeffrey Prang also implemented recommendations that support fiscal and management audits.

Former County Assessors Rick Auerbach, Kenneth P. Hahn and Robert Quon have endorsed Jeff Prang. Other endorsements include top law enforcement officials, including California Attorney General Kamala Harris, as well as State Controller John Chiang; Mayor Eric Garcetti; Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky, Mark Ridley-Thomas; City Attorney Mike Feuer; and the Mexican America Bar Association PAC; and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

 

Please join Congressman Xavier Becerra and these extraordinary local leaders in supporting Jeffrey Prang for Assessor on November 4th!

 

Two NASA Satellites Get Data on Category 5 Super Typhoon Vongfong

Two NASA satellites provided data on clouds, rainfall and the diameter of the eye of Super Typhoon Vongfong as it turned north in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Typhoon Vongfong formed on October 2, 2014 southeast of Guam. Typhoon Phanfone, that recently pummeled Japan, formed near the same area in the western Pacific Ocean.

Vongfong had wind speeds of about 120 knots (138 mph) when the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite flew above the intensifying typhoon's eye on October 7, 2014 at 0800 UTC (4 a.m. EDT). TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) showed that powerful storms in Vongfong's eye wall were producing very heavy rainfall. TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) show that multiple rain bands spiraling into Vongfong were also dropping rain over a large area.

On Oct. 8 at 02:15 UTC (Oct. 7 at 10:15 p.m. EDT), the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Super Typhoon Vongfong's wide cloud extend and the storm's wide circular eye. 

On Oct. 8 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Vongfong had maximum sustained winds near 145 knots (167 mph/268.5 kph) making it a Category 5 Super Typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It was centered near 18.7 north and 130.7 east. It was centered about 510 nautical miles (586 miles/944.5 kph) south-southeast of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Vongfong was moving to the north at 7 knots (8 mph/13 kph). It was creating extremely rough seas in the Philippine Sea, with wave heights to 50 feet (15.2 meters).

According to the U.S. Kadena Airbase, on Oct. 8, a combined Japanese-U.S. Air Force rescue team recovered the body of the third Airman who had been swept out to sea on Oct. 5 from Typhoon Phanfone.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicts that Vongfong is predicted to weaken slightly while moving toward the islands of southern Japan.

EPA Finalizes Greenhouse Gas Permit for Victoria Power Station Expansion

$200 million project will create 80 construction jobs

 
DALLAS – (Oct. 9, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final greenhouse gas (GHG) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) construction permit to Victoria WLE to expand the Victoria Power Station. The expansion will allow the Victoria County, Texas, facility to add equipment and capacity to its combined-cycle electricity generating unit.

 

“Texas continues to play a key role in our nation’s diverse energy mix,” said Regional Administrator Ron Curry. “As the economy grows, facilities like the Victoria Power Station will provide low-carbon sources of energy.”

 

The additional natural gas-fired combustion turbine will result in a combined-cycle generating unit in a 2x2x1 configuration, meaning two combustion turbines, two heat-recovery steam generators, and a steam generator. The $200 million project will create about 80 temporary jobs and four to six permanent jobs.       

 

In June 2010, EPA finalized national GHG regulations, which specify that beginning on Jan. 2, 2011, projects that increase GHG emissions substantially will require an air permit.

 

EPA believes states are best equipped to run GHG air permitting programs. Texas is working to replace the federal implementation plan with its own State program, which will eliminate the need for businesses to seek air permits from EPA. This action will increase efficiency and allow industry to continue to grow in Texas.

 

EPA has finalized 55 GHG permits in Texas, proposed an additional four permits, and currently has 10 additional GHG permits in development in Texas.

 

For all of the latest information on GHG permits in Texas please visit:http://yosemite.epa.gov/r6/Apermit.nsf/AirP

 

EPA is taking a variety of actions to cut Greenhouse Gas emissions and address the impacts of climate change. Most recently, EPA released a Clean Power Plan for existing power plants to cut carbon pollution by 30 percent below 2005 levels. Learn more about EPA’s actions at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/.

#OBAMA #VISIT

10/08/2014 05:36 PM CDT

President Barack Obama addresses reporters after meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and combatant commanders at the Pentagon, Oct. 8, 2014.

Obama Meets at the Pentagon with Hagel, Military Commanders

By Nick Simeone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2014 - President Barack Obama has discussed a series of pressing issues affecting U.S. security, including the battle against Sunni terrorists in the Middle East as well as U.S. efforts to stop the spread of Ebola in Africa during a meeting at the Pentagon today with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the military's top commanders.

"I think at a time when there's so much turbulence in the world, never during my presidency has it become more apparent how good our military is," Obama said after holding what he called a "periodic check-in" with Pentagon leaders including the combatant commanders.

Obama called the U.S.-led effort to degrade and destroy Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria a difficult mission that will take time.

"The good news is, there is a broad-based consensus not just in the region but among nations of the world that ISIL is a threat to world peace, security and order, that their barbaric behavior has to be dealt with," and he said he is confident progress in the fight against the group which holds a large swathes of territory spanning the Iraq-Syria border will continue.

Obama said discussions also included the U.S. effort to stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa. As many 4,000 U.S. military personnel are expected to be deployed in Liberia as part of Operation United Assistance, the military mission supporting U.S. and international efforts to stop the spread of a virus that has already killed more than 3,300 people across the region.

"Our military is essentially building an infrastructure that does not exist in order to facilitate the transport of personnel and equipment and supplies to deal with this deadly epidemic," he said, and emphasized that the safety of U.S. military personnel remains his top priority.

Obama said today's discussion also included the defense budget, hard hit by cuts mandated by the budget sequester which is set to return in 2016 if current law is not changed, cuts he described as "draconian." At the same time, he said the military has worked to make itself "leaner, meaner, more effective, more tailored to the particular challenges that we're going to face in the 21st century."