Don't think that the NSA's bulk communication data collection is focused solely on the communications themselves. The Washington Post has published more Edward Snowden documents which reveal that the agency collects large volumes of contact lists from email and instant messaging users around the world. While the NSA gathers the information on foreign soil, its method reportedly prevents it from automatically screening out any Americans in the list. The NSA and anonymous officials argue that American laws prevent analysts from accessing data unless they believe there's a foreign target hidden with, but the strategy still has the government storing contacts for "millions" of people.
Yahoo customers are some of the most common targets of this surveillance, as the company doesn't normally encrypt webmail sessions. That's about to change, however. The internet firm tellsthe Post that its webmail service will default to using SSL encryption on January 8th, catching up with Facebook and Google. Yahoo isn't officially tightening its security in response to NSA activity, and using SSL won't necessarily stop interceptions when spies frequently have workarounds. However, the upcoming encryption will at least complicate any snooping -- whether or not it's part of an intelligence operation.
Josh Marks Mom Schizophrenia Diagnosis Killed My Son
Breaking News
"Masterchef" star Josh Marks was diagnosed with schizophrenia 24 hours before committing suicide ... so says his mother, who claims the thought of dealing with more mental issues put him over the edge.
Marks' mom Paulette Mitchell is saying the reality star completed an out-patient treatment program Thursday -- where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia ... according to a family rep.
Mitchell first told the Chicago Tribune the chef had finally come to terms with his bi-polar disorder ... but "couldn't bear the thought of another diagnosis."
Paulette claims Marks was upset about the doctors assessment ... so she spent the night with him and left the next afternoon to pick her daughter up from school.
A few hours later ... she received a phone call from a family member saying people had called saying Josh was walking through a nearby alley clutching a gun.
Mitchell says she rushed over to the alleyway to find him -- but instead discovered her son dead from a gunshot wound ... with a revolver at his side.
His mother also admits ... some of the Marks' delusions centered around Gordon Ramsay, and that's why he told cops back in July that the chef had possessed his body when he got arrested.
The family is hoping to start a foundation in his honor to help mental illness awareness.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. financial regulators proposed requiring lenders to accept private flood insurance on Friday as part of rules needed to implement a 2012 law that revamps a federal flood insurance program.
The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act called for changes to a government-run program that allowed many homeowners to buy subsidized flood insurance, after lawmakers decided the program's costs had become unsustainable.
Five agencies, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Farm Credit Administration, issued proposals to implement portions of the law.
They called for lenders to put in escrow all flood insurance payments and fees for loans secured by residential real estate and said lenders could charge for force-placed insurance if borrowers let their own flood insurance lapse.
Flood insurance has been a thorny problem for U.S. officials. Private insurance companies often do not offer it, so the federal program, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, allowed homeowners to buy government-backed insurance if their communities adopted floodplain management ordinances and set minimum construction standards.
The 2012 law, which was passed before "superstorm" Sandy devastated much of the U.S. east coast, attempted to cut the program's costs by making changes to flood insurance, flood hazard mapping and the floodplain management.
Some lawmakers since have said the changes could unfairly cause flood insurance premiums to spike.
The financial regulators said their proposals apply only to the portions of the law that fall under their jurisdiction. The proposal will be available for public comment until December 10.
(Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by L Gevirtz)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Top Federal Reserve officials differed on whether the U.S. central bank needs to be more aggressive in spurring economic growth, indicating another round of easing is far from certain.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans, one of the U.S. central bank's strongest advocates for further monetary policy easing, said Wednesday he is flummoxed by the Fed's timidity in the face of high unemployment and low inflation.
However, his colleague, Atlanta Fed leader Dennis Lockhart, said the Fed would only need to act further if the economy took a turn for the worse or if Europe's simmering debt crisis boils over.
"I don't think the conditions have developed that require us to bring out bigger guns quite yet," Lockhart said in an interview with Nightly Business Report.
Lockhart, who unlike Evans wields a vote this year on the Fed's policy-setting panel, said policymakers' most recent action, extending a program swapping shorter-term bonds it owns for longer-term ones to push down longer-term interest rates, serves to maintain the right level of help for the weak recovery.
An escalation of problems in Europe, a sudden slowing of U.S. economic growth, a spike in job layoffs, or the risk of a deflationary spiral might be triggers for more Fed action that could include another round of bond buying, Lockhart said.
"If the circumstances call for it, more stimulus could be provided," he said.
The Atlanta Fed president's stance is as at the mid-point of Fed views that range from reluctance to further expand the central bank's underpinning of the modest recovery to those such as Evans who think more aggressive steps are urgently needed.
The Fed cut rates to near zero in December 2008 and has bought $2.3 trillion in bonds to pull the economy out of recession and spur an acceleration in growth. At its policy-setting meeting last week, Fed officials sharply slashed their gross domestic product forecasts for 2012 and 2013 and marked down the outlook for inflation.
Those changes to the U.S. central bank's summary of economic projections, suggest progress on its twin goals of full employment and stable prices is slowing if not stalled.
Instead of reacting with a new round of bond buying to boost jobs, the Fed took the much more modest step of adding six months to an existing program, known as Operation Twist, that is aimed at lowering long-term interest rates.
"I think if you look at our projections ... it's hard to understand why we wouldn't be willing to do more because the inflation outlook is lower than our objective," Evans told a small group of reporters at the Chicago Fed headquarters.
With unemployment at the "completely unacceptable" level of 8.2 percent and inflation set to fall, the Fed should be ramping up even more its already significant level of accommodation, Evans said. Extending Operation Twist is better than nothing, he said, but is likely to reduce 10-year Treasury yields by only about a tenth of a percent.
Although the Fed said in January it will take a "balanced approach" to meeting its goals, Evans suggested Wednesday the central bank should allow a bit more inflation in the pursuit of higher employment.
"I don't think we've clarified what we mean by ?balanced approach' at all," said Evans, who grimaced at times as he described an economy close to stall speed and faced with risks from Europe's crisis and elsewhere.
"I think that a balanced approach means I'd be willing to undertake accommodative policies at some risk of increased inflation - it's below our target - at some risk of increasing it above that by some amount," he said. "How much? How much? That's a fair question. We are not offering very much in delineating that."
The Fed last week kept its guidance that rates will stay low until at least late 2014, tying policy to the calendar in a fashion that virtually no Fed policymaker appears to support wholeheartedly.
Evans, for his part, said the Fed needs to provide more clarity around that guidance, and reiterated his view the central bank should promise to keep rates low until unemployment falls to 7 percent, or inflation threatens to rise above 3 percent.
It should also be clearer about how far inflation would need to deviate from the Fed's 2 percent inflation target, either above or below, before setting off alarm bells, he said.
Yet Evans suggested the Fed's communications sub-committee, of which he is a member, is not close to providing additional refinements to its current guidance.
"We are trying to understand the implications of what we've put in place, and whether or not there are simple enhancements, or alternative enhancements, that could improve things," he said.
Before committing to further quantitative easing, the Fed last week appeared to want to give European policymakers a chance to stabilize the crisis-stricken euro zone, warning of "significant downside risks to the economic outlook," including Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke also said he was watching to see if jobs data might improve before unleashing any new round of bond purchases.
(With additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Neil Stempleman)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Analyst Report) is set to bail out its cash-strapped Junius Real Estate Partners Fund by investing $110 million as the initial capital. This move was necessitated after the fund failed to generate adequate capital amidst tough financial backdrop.
In early 2011, JPMorgan?s asset management division had launched Junius Fund to earn good returns by focusing on identification and execution of new investment opportunities through a strong investment team backed by the solid infrastructure of the company?s asset management division. Currently, the fund is developing properties worth $465 million. These properties include a resort in Virginia, an equestrian farm, along with a shopping mall in Chicago and investments in an Ohio-based hotel chain
Prior to the recent crisis, several firms supplied capital to their real estate funds to keep them well-poised to execute any new investment opportunity that comes along. However, with crashing of the real estate market and the stringent regulatory landscape, the banks have become cautious of perilous investments. Moreover, in such a tough economic scenario, wary investors do not want to jeopardize their money by investing in a relatively inexperienced fund. Consequently, JPMorgan had to announce the slowdown in its efforts of building the $750 million fund.
With Junius in dearth of sufficient funds, the parent company had to pitch in for the rescue effort. JPMorgan?s plans to invest $110 million of capital may not comply with the Volcker rule. The rule suggests that banks should not invest more than 3% into their own funds. However, some solicitors are of the opinion that JPMorgan will unlikely be in trouble because the fund operates as a non-conventional real estate fund, and as a result does not fall within the purview of the rule.
The real estate market is not booming as it did prior to the crisis. This has prompted several big organizations to reduce their activities in this arena. Banking giant Citigroup, Inc.(C - Analyst Report) vended its real estate fund to Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO - Snapshot Report). Other big names like Morgan Stanley (MS - Analyst Report) have initiated new funds, but with a relatively lower target.
Conclusion
JPMorgan?s efforts to keep the fund balanced are credible. The company hired some of the prominent faces of the real estate world to manage the fund. Moreover, it was ready to provide 3% of the fund?s capital requirement and had supported it strongly through its flagship asset management division. However, with the sluggish economic recovery, especially the real estate market showing no signs of betterment, the fund was in danger of running into trouble. Therefore, we believe that JPMorgan?s rescue effort is justified.
Currently, JPMorgan retains a Zacks #4 Rank, which translates into a short-term Sell rating. Considering the fundamentals, we also maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.
SAGE releases SAGE Knowledge platform for eBook delivery -- Unlimited simultaneous usage of SAGE eBooks
London (21 June, 2012) SAGE, the world's leading independent academic and professional publisher today announced the full launch of SAGE Knowledge: the ultimate social sciences online library.
Launching with more than 2,500 titles, SAGE Knowledge includes an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including encyclopedias, handbooks, advanced textbooks, scholarly monographs, and professional development titles. The platform allows researchers to cross-search and seamlessly access a wide breadth of must-have SAGE book and reference content from one source. SAGE Knowledge also includes selected works from Corwin and CQ Press.
Available in Beta since March, more than 1000 institutions have already trialed SAGE Knowledge, including current SAGE Reference customers who will be migrated onto the new platform.
"We are receiving enthusiastic feedback from beta-testing," said Karen Phillips, Editorial Director, SAGE. "Readers have commented on the excellent range of titles in SAGE Knowledge, user-friendly interface and easy navigation, and are particularly excited by the 'related content' feature, which will seamlessly link users to similar content within SAGE Knowledge and across other SAGE platforms. This functionality is powered through our partnership with Temis, making search and discovery more advanced for SAGE Knowledge."
For readers, SAGE Knowledge offers titles in full text HTML as well as pdf download. In addition to quick and advanced search options, titles can be browsed through book portal pages and table of contents. Content is discoverable by major search engines at the title and chapter level to ensure students find SAGE content no matter where they start their search. Personalization features are provided to create reading lists and save searches. Functionality to enable easy social sharing of materials and citation options are also provided.
Libraries are being offered a range of flexible purchasing options, including mix and match of titles as well as collection and subject bundles. MARC Records and COUNTER reports will available. All DOIs are registered for each title and chapter and deposited in CrossRef.
"Librarians involved in beta testing have commented on the provision of unlimited simultaneous usage of eBooks on the SAGE Knowledge platform," said Karen Phillips. "We're conscious that librarians want to get demonstrable value from new digital resources. Flexible pricing was a key discussion in our initial planning, and we're pleased to be able to offer a variety of options including subscription as well as purchase."
###
Launch demonstrations and trials will be available at the ALA conference in Anaheim this weekend. For further information visit the SAGE booth at 1476 or see http://www.sagepub.com/knowledge.sp
SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets. Since 1965, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students spanning a wide range of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, and medicine. An independent company, SAGE has principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. www.sagepublications.com
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The ultimate social sciences online library is now livePublic release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
SAGE releases SAGE Knowledge platform for eBook delivery -- Unlimited simultaneous usage of SAGE eBooks
London (21 June, 2012) SAGE, the world's leading independent academic and professional publisher today announced the full launch of SAGE Knowledge: the ultimate social sciences online library.
Launching with more than 2,500 titles, SAGE Knowledge includes an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including encyclopedias, handbooks, advanced textbooks, scholarly monographs, and professional development titles. The platform allows researchers to cross-search and seamlessly access a wide breadth of must-have SAGE book and reference content from one source. SAGE Knowledge also includes selected works from Corwin and CQ Press.
Available in Beta since March, more than 1000 institutions have already trialed SAGE Knowledge, including current SAGE Reference customers who will be migrated onto the new platform.
"We are receiving enthusiastic feedback from beta-testing," said Karen Phillips, Editorial Director, SAGE. "Readers have commented on the excellent range of titles in SAGE Knowledge, user-friendly interface and easy navigation, and are particularly excited by the 'related content' feature, which will seamlessly link users to similar content within SAGE Knowledge and across other SAGE platforms. This functionality is powered through our partnership with Temis, making search and discovery more advanced for SAGE Knowledge."
For readers, SAGE Knowledge offers titles in full text HTML as well as pdf download. In addition to quick and advanced search options, titles can be browsed through book portal pages and table of contents. Content is discoverable by major search engines at the title and chapter level to ensure students find SAGE content no matter where they start their search. Personalization features are provided to create reading lists and save searches. Functionality to enable easy social sharing of materials and citation options are also provided.
Libraries are being offered a range of flexible purchasing options, including mix and match of titles as well as collection and subject bundles. MARC Records and COUNTER reports will available. All DOIs are registered for each title and chapter and deposited in CrossRef.
"Librarians involved in beta testing have commented on the provision of unlimited simultaneous usage of eBooks on the SAGE Knowledge platform," said Karen Phillips. "We're conscious that librarians want to get demonstrable value from new digital resources. Flexible pricing was a key discussion in our initial planning, and we're pleased to be able to offer a variety of options including subscription as well as purchase."
###
Launch demonstrations and trials will be available at the ALA conference in Anaheim this weekend. For further information visit the SAGE booth at 1476 or see http://www.sagepub.com/knowledge.sp
SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets. Since 1965, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students spanning a wide range of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, and medicine. An independent company, SAGE has principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. www.sagepublications.com
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
FILE - This April 13, 2012 photo shows Rodney King posing for a portrait in Los Angeles. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
FILE - This April 13, 2012 photo shows Rodney King posing for a portrait in Los Angeles. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
FILE - This March 6, 1991 file photo shows Rodney King showing bruises he sustained at the hands of four Los Angeles police officers. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)
FILE - In this April 30, 1992 file photo, a Los Angeles police officer takes aim at a looter in a market at Alvarado and Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles during the second night of rioting in the city. Rodney King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47.(AP Photo/John Gaps III, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? On the afternoon of April 29, 1992, after a harrowing three-month trial of four police officers in the Rodney King beating case, jurors sent word that they had reached verdicts.
I was apprehensive as I entered the courtroom with other reporters. The verdict was being televised and we knew the announcement would surely be the biggest story of the day. But we could not know how big.
When the clerk's voice rang out with the verdicts ? four counts not guilty and one deadlock ? there was a collective gasp of astonishment in the courtroom.
I remember shouts of dismay from the audience and then the reporter seated next to me said in a matter-of-fact voice: "I guess we'll have to go cover the riots now."
Little did she know that within minutes, violence would be breaking out at Florence and Normandie Avenues about 40 miles away in Los Angeles. Before long, the city would be a war zone.
By the time I had finished filing my verdict story, roads to Los Angeles were closed. I had been staying in Simi Valley for the trial and that's where I remained, gathering reaction and trying to find out if I would still have a home when I returned. A neighbor told me of standing on her terrace watching the city burn. But it did not reach our area.
Marooned in Simi Valley, I went out in search of jurors and found one who said she had prayed, wept and fasted during deliberations hoping to sway other panel members to reach at least one guilty verdict. That story was a sensation and cast the verdicts in a new light. But it was too late to make a difference.
Although he was not the defendant, the trial that lit the spark for the worst riots in Los Angeles history would always be known as the Rodney King trial. We reporters thought of it that way even though King never appeared at that trial and may have never even visited the town of Simi Valley where it was held.
He was an ever present figure on videotape, a beating victim whose repeated assault by police officers with batons, boots and a stun gun was shown so many times that it seemed like a recurring nightmare. Defense attorneys dissected it, frame by frame, trying to show that King had incited his own beating.
The case had been moved on a change of venue because of saturation publicity in Los Angeles. But Simi Valley was an odd choice, a police officers' bedroom community with a predominantly white population. There were no blacks on the jury. The brand new courthouse had no other cases under way, and it seemed as if the trial was being held in a cocoon away from the urban pressures that spawned the case.
In 1993, the U.S. Justice Department held another trial in Los Angeles in which the same officers were charged with civil rights violations. King testified in that trial, a handsome, hesitant but well-spoken and well-dressed man who described his beating and said he was taunted with racial epithets.
Verdict day was tense because of what had gone before. Mounted police surrounded the federal courthouse on a Saturday when the civic center was quiet. This time there were convictions and two officers went to prison. There was no violence.
By the time King's federal civil suit against the City of Los Angeles was tried in 1994, everyone seemed tired. I was one of the few reporters to cover all three trials and the courtroom no longer drew standing room only crowds. The jury ultimately awarded King $3.8 million in compensatory damages, far lower than his lawyer had expected, and they gave him no punitive damages.
Three years after King was beaten, the court cases finally were over. But the city would be dealing with the aftermath for decades.
___
Linda Deutsch has covered trials for The Associated Press for 45 years.
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Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
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