A sunbather applies sunscreen onto another in this file photo. The FDA announced it is delaying the release of new regulations for sunscreen manufacturers until December. (Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images)

Summer heat means more sun protection, but how can you tell if the product you buy actually does the job? New sunscreen standards that were supposed to go into effect next month are being held back until December by federal regulators.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, unprotected sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer. But because regulators have long classified sunscreens as a cosmetic, these products have largely avoided government oversight, making it difficult for consumers to determine which sunscreens work as they claim.

With skin cancer on the rise, the call for better testing and label requirements has grown louder. After years of deliberation, last June the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new regulations designed to distinguish genuine protection from empty promises.

“We want consumers to understand that not all sunscreens are created equal,” says Lydia Velazquez, of the FDA’s Division of Nonprescription Regulation Development.

In a statement, Velazquez says the new guidelines “will help consumers know which products offer the best protection,” but for now they remain a mystery. On May 11, the FDA announced that they need to wait a little more.

Since 1978, the FDA has been considering regulations targeting inaccurate sun-protection claims, and critics say they can’t afford to stall any longer. Legislators and consumer advocacy groups are trying to convince the agency to stick with the original timeline.

Leading the charge is Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who says the FDA needs “to stop dragging their feet” and give “consumers the protection they deserve.”

Sun protection has been an important issue for Sen. Reed, author of the Sunscreen Labeling Protection Act. In a recent letter, Reed and other Senate Democrats called the decision to delay regulations “a major step backward” and strongly urged the FDA to reverse it.

Lawmakers say regulations that would have gone into effect on June 18 were “a positive signal to Americans that they would not go another summer without critical protection from the sun. Unfortunately, delaying the implementation of these standards by six months (for some manufacturers, and 18 months for others) will allow the deceptive practices of the industry to continue.”

The new guidelines are sure to have an effect on the sunscreen market, and the FDA says they are postponing new rules to “avert a shortage.” But according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), regulators are simply caving to industry pressure. The consumer advocate says the Personal Care Products Council and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association are the real reason behind regulation delay.

Not that the EWG has been all that impressed with the new guidelines. The group previously accused federal regulators of submitting to industry demands when the FDA released their “low-bar” new rules last year.

EWG estimates that 90 percent of sunscreens on the market are already in compliance with what it calls the FDA’s “weak” regulations on efficacy and safety. For example, the groups says new rules will allow most products on the U.S. market to use the label ‘broad spectrum sunscreen,’ even though “some will not offer enough protection to assure Americans they can stay in the sun without suffering skin damage from invisible UVA radiation.”

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Eight additional states have decided to loosen ties with the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate on schools, the Department of Education said on Tuesday.

In exchange for other federal mandates, states can opt out of NCLB and still receive federal funds for their schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated in a conference call May 29.

The requirements states must meet are to develop plans that will “prepare all students for college and successful careers, focusing aid on the neediest students, and supporting effective teaching and leadership,” Duncan said.

To date, there are 19 states that have chosen not to use NCLB standards, with 18 more under review. The eight new states are Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

Duncan said that relieved of NCLB’s one-size-fits-all mandate, schools will now be able to create “locally catered solutions to meet their unique educational challenges.”

There are three main goals that states have to meet: have college and career ready standards; create a plan to strengthen, bring up, and support teachers and principals; and create an accountability system to find the lowest performing schools, or schools with the highest inequality in student performance, and focus on making them better.

No Child Left Behind, enacted in 2001, is the current reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” initiative. The program aims to ensure all children receive an equal education.

ESEA historically has been reauthorized every five years, but NCLB has been in place for over 10 years, yet to be reauthorized by Congress.

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The pumping of groundwater in arid regions of Texas and California for agricultural purposes may threaten overall U.S. food security, researchers said.

Researchers evaluated groundwater usage in the California’s main agricultural hub, the Central Valley, and the High Plains, according to a release from the University of Texas-Austin on Tuesday.

“We’re already seeing changes in both areas,” said Bridget Scanlon, senior research scientist the university and lead author of the study. “We’re seeing decreases in rural populations in the High Plains. Increasing urbanization is replacing farms in the Central Valley.”

The High Plains, which stretches from Texas to South Dakota, and the Central Valley are considered the main agricultural areas of the United States, producing a large amount of the country’s fruits and vegetables as well as grains, respectively.

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The head of the National Weather Service retired on Tuesday following an investigation that staff improperly redirected millions of dollars in budget resources to different accounts without congressional approval.

Jack Hayes stepped down on Friday, according to a note he sent out to staff members. He did not mention anything about the controversy, according to the Federal Times.

The investigation found that the money was not used for personal gain or for fraud but it “does not excuse, or reduce the seriousness of the employees’ actions,” Jane Lubchenco, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the National Weather Service, was quoted as saying.

The Service “operated with an unacceptable lack of transparency,” she added.

After the investigation, the agency asked Congress if it could relocate $36 million in its total spending for 2012 to local forecasting and equipment upgrades, reported Reuters, citing NOAA spokesperson Scott Smullen.

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Dr. Fernanda Mercade conducts a routine checkup on a patient in a community clinic in Miami, Fla., in March. Health professionals advocate more education, more engagement between patient and doctor, and more programs to encourage healthy lifestyles and drive down health care costs. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Chronic disease and costly testing are two big contributors to health care costs in the United States, with many diseases being preventable and many medical tests being unnecessarily performed. Addressing both issues could produce much-needed savings, say health care professionals. These issues were addressed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., at a discussion organized by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Alliance for Health Reform.

Chronically ill patients account for around three-quarters of the spending on health care in the United States, around $1.6 trillion a year, says Dr. Kenneth Thorpe, professor and chair of the department of Health Policy & Management at Emory University. He said that is it not only the biggest source of spending, but it is also the fastest growing. A number of chronic illnesses, like kidney disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, have risen over the last decade, he said.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, one of the sponsors of the D.C. forum, health care costs are also expected to grow faster than national income in the future. The foundation also notes that while Medicare covers the elderly and people with disabilities, and Medicaid provides coverage to low-income families, enrollment has grown in both—with aging baby boomers entering Medicare and the recession driving the needy to Medicaid. “In total, health spending accounted for 17.9 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010,” the Kaiser Family Foundation says on its website.

Chronic illnesses are not only a burden to the health care system, they also impact the economy directly through loss of productivity. Dr. Thorpe estimates that for every $1 spent on health care, $4 are lost in productivity as a result of chronic illnesses. He is most concerned about obesity. Directly linked to the rise in diabetes, obesity has doubled in the last decade, now affecting over 30 percent of the population.

In total, health spending accounted for 17.9 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2010.

—Kaiser Family Foundation

When comparing adults who are obese with those of average weight, the obese adults will spend 20 to 40 percent more on health care over the course of a lifetime, he said. Many chronic diseases like obesity are a result of lifestyle choices and are largely preventable under the right interventions, says Dr. Thorpe, but Medicare does not address those initiatives.

“We need to find ways to change the incoming health profile of people coming into the program [Medicare] because the benefits of interventions in a program like Medicare are enormous,” he said. According to Dr. Thorpe, the United States will spend $500 billion to $600 billion over the next decade on “readmission for things that we can potentially prevent.”

Costly Testing

High-tech medical equipment testing is also adding to the cost of health care. While Joseph Antos, health care expert with the American Enterprise Institute, defends those technological advances saying in many ways they have proved effective, he adds that it is in the routine procedures that he sees the waste. Costly and sometimes intrusive testing, like blood tests, X-rays, and scans, are done with constant regularity and with what seems to be disregard as to whether they are necessary.

“That is where the money is for the very sick people and obviously that is where the money is for the not very sick people,” he said at the Alliance for Health Reform discussion. “It is not in the major surgery … it is in the seemingly ordinary interventions that we are used to. That is where all the money is.”

Shannon Brownlee, a health policy specialist at the New America Foundation, says many people, and particularly the elderly, are subject to all sorts of testing without anyone assessing whether it is actually leading to better outcomes.

“Mindless testing that tends to happen without really thinking: What will the clinician do with the information? Will it change the course of treatment? Is it what the patient wants?” she told The Epoch Times.

“What is sometimes missed is the thing that has the greatest influence on us, that has nothing to do with hospitals,” she said, referring to good diets and exercise. “They have everything to do with whether or not we teach kids and adults about what to eat and how to eat, and why they need to get exercise, and how hard it is to get exercise.”

“In so many places, and we have made great strides in smoking, but obesity is going to swamp us,” she said.

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An elderly woman walks in San Jose on May 12. (RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/GettyImages)

Women past menopause should not take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) due to increased risk of disease, says a recent statement by a panel of preventive medicine experts.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a draft recommendation statement May 29 that found the potential harm of HRT, and its use of estrogen and progestin, greater than the potential benefit. The group suggests that HRT not only fails to protect against heart disease, it actually increases the risk of that and other ills.

The task force “recommends against the use of combined estrogen and progestin for the prevention of chronic conditions in postmenopausal women,” according to the draft statement.

Osteoporosis, a disease that causes loss of bone density and bone tissue, can be a debilitating, painful condition that impacts menopausal women over 50. Hormones were once touted as a fountain of youth, meant to keep bones strong, skin supple, brains smart, and hearts healthy.

Menopausal women over 50 have a lower risk of hip fractures and other fractures if they take hormones. “The USPSTF found convincing evidence that estrogen and progestin therapy is of moderate benefit in reducing the risk for fractures in postmenopausal women,” the USPSTF stated.

But according to the draft recommendation, the group “found adequate evidence that its use is also associated with moderate harms, including an increase in the risk for stroke, dementia, gallbladder disease, and urinary incontinence. There is convincing evidence of a small increase in the incidence of invasive breast cancer, and adequate evidence of a small increase in breast cancer deaths.”

The advice does not apply to women under 50. For them, estrogen alone can reduce the risk of breast cancer, although it is not yet understood why that is the case.

The task force used data from a Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) randomized, controlled trial, involving participants of an average age of 64—well past menopause.

Hormone replacement therapy had already fallen out of favor for post-menopausal women over evidence that it increases the risk of breast cancer.

It is possible that hormones can be safely used to help women make the transition through menopause, which can be associated with hot flashes, insomnia, and other discomforts. The task force recommends a black-box warning, advising doctors to prescribe the lowest possible dose for a limited time, for younger women than those in the trial.

Other credible sources recommend women avoid HRT altogether. “The American Heart Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend against the use of menopausal hormonal therapy for the primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease,” said the USPSTF. “The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend against the use of hormonal therapy in postmenopausal women for the prevention of chronic conditions.”

Controversy

The USPSTF has made controversial recommendations before, including fewer mammograms for women and abandoning the PSA prostate test for men, suggesting the two screenings may lead to false positives and overtreatment. The PSA is suspected of not accurately detecting prostate cancer.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) oversees and assists the work of the USPSTF. The task force, created in 1984, is made up of 16 volunteer members “from the fields of preventive medicine and primary care” charged with “making evidence-based recommendations

Being a draft statement, the findings are “distributed solely for the purpose of pre-release review” and do not “represent and should not be interpreted to represent an AHRQ determination or policy.”

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force invites the public to comment on its advice until June 26.

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Novelist Toni Morrison is presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Barack Obama during an East Room event May 29 at the White House in Washington, D.C. The Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, is presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The special commissioner of investigation (SCI)—the city’s independent investigator— found evidence that a New York teacher sexually harassed a female student. The Department of Education filed charges to fire the teacher.

At the end of the trial, the teacher received a 45-day paid suspension and kept his job. The hearing officer dismissed the actions as “hugging” and “tickling the waists.”

If the proposal passes, the Department of Education is preparing to file new charges against the individual based on more allegations.

In another case, SCI found that a teacher told a student “Baby, when you turn 18 years old, you could come to my home and we can have a real party.” The teacher also showed the student a pornographic photo from his phone and had inappropriate physical contact with multiple students.

The hearing officer only found evidence of the teacher calling the student “baby.” The teacher was allowed to return to the classroom after paying a $1,500 fine.

A Unilateral Power Shift

The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) says teacher and student sexual misconduct has been taken very seriously.

“Our contract already includes the toughest penalty in the state—automatic termination—for any teacher found guilty of this offense,” stated Michael Mulgrew, president of UFT.

“That is not an answer to the problem,” he said.

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A man exhales smoke from his cigarette. (OSCAR SIAGIAN/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK—The word “prohibited” on the no smoking signs in New York’s state parks will actually mean “voluntarily” for at least the next few months. The new meaning is based on a change that took place Friday May 25, while the New York State Parks Department fights the legality of their new smoking restrictions.

“We are going through a formal rule-making process and that will take a couple of months and in that time period, we will defer issuing any tickets,” a representative with the State Parks Department said Tuesday.

The reason for the legal action was because the rule did not go through the state Legislature, but was instead made directly by the Parks Department, something Audrey Silk of New York City CLASH, a smoker’s rights group, claimed was unconstitutional. Outdoor smoking bans in state parks have gone through the Legislature multiple times over the past 10 years, but none have passed.

In April, the State Parks Department announced the creation of outdoor smoke-free areas at state parks and historic sites where large numbers of people congregate, including around playgrounds and pools. Those caught breaking the rule would be issued a ticket, however no tickets have been issued in the nearly two months the ban has been in place.

Now, no tickets can be issued during this time, however, the signs, which say “smoking is prohibited” will remain up, something Silk claims is not right.

The Parks Department representative said the signs will not be taken down or covered.

New York City currently has a city smoking ban at parks, beaches, boardwalks, and public plazas, something Silk did not challenge because it went through the proper legal process.

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(From L to R) Rahul Merchant, Department of Information, Technology, and Telecommunications commissioner; Brett Robinson, deputy commissioner for financial management and administration; and general counsel Charles Fraser, at a City Council Executive Budget Hearing on Tuesday. (Zachary Stieber/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—At a time when the city is making a lot of cuts to social services like afterschool care, you start to wonder what really matters. Call centers meant to improve emergency response times, and the 311 system were examined by City Council Tuesday as part of continuing 2013 executive budget hearings.

The 911 call centers, officially Public Safety Answering Center I and II, were on the minds of many council members.

Two-thirds of the Department of Information, Technology, and Telecommunications’ (DoITT) May Capital Commitment Plan, approximately $600 million would be for the emergency communications project—including the call centers. The city has committed another $1.43 billion to the project.

In January, the NYPD’s 911 call takers moved to the third floor of the answering center, joining FDNY call takers and Emergency Medical Dispatch personnel, and marking the completion of the city’s first consolidated call-answering center.

The second call-answering center, being built in the Bronx would be able to separately handle the entire 911 system in case of an emergency.

An edited report released in early March—withheld by the city before a judge ordered the release, and pared down by about 80 pages from the unedited version before the release—points out errors in the 911 call-taking process, primarily from differences between the three call takers.

Councilwoman Gale Brewer asked DoITT Commissioner Rahul Merchant for a detailed breakdown of the approximately $2 billion, saying the council hasn’t been able to get a “project breakdown in a way that makes sense.”

Merchant said he would get back to the council with that information.

Councilman Vincent Ignizio also questioned Merchant.

“With regard to [call centers], with regard to emergency response overall, the taxpayers of the city of New York are going to spend $2 billion dollars at the end of the day,” he said. “Will this finally solve the radio, the communications, the 911 system problems that we have? Can I look at my constituents in the eye and say, ‘Yeah, there were issues in the past, and we learned some tragic lessons throughout the recent history about it, but this is the solution.’ Is this the solution?”

Merchant said he strongly believes in the program, and “after this program is completed we will solve all the issues that were outlined.”

One issue was accidental 911 calls. The report suggests a public awareness campaign.

311 Call System

The city’s 311 call system provides nonemergency help to residents for a wide array of issues. More than 12 million calls have been received by 311 in 2012, with a little more than 1.5 million in April alone. Three of the top five inquiries: looking up parking tickets, scheduling an appointment with the Department of Buildings, and finding a towed vehicle.

Waiting time on calls has gone up to 69 seconds per call, understandably so since 223 full-time call takers are now 167 after budget cuts.

DoITT suggests people ask their questions through text or the Internet, though Brewer said, “People aren’t going to text, they’re going to call.” As another way to decrease waiting time, the agency is aiming to have call takers spend less time with their customers.

The 2013 executive budget includes $43.5 million for the 311 system.

Another project, the New York City Wireless Network, started out as a public safety initiative. It already has nearly 800,000 devices and 10,000 users, encompasses automated readings of more than 800,000 water meters and 6,500 of the 10,000 traffic signals in the city, and provides live video streaming for the NYPD and other agencies.

Another 60,000 devices and 10,000 users are pegged to be added in the next two years, including 500 personal radiation detectors for the NYPD.

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Members of South Korean special warfare command parachute during a rehearsal for the Armed Forces Day south of Seoul, on Sept. 29, 2009. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images)

Following a news report claiming that U.S. and South Korean special forces had been parachuting into North Korea on intelligence-gathering missions, the U.S. military on Tuesday denied the report and told AFP that a source had been misquoted.

Brig. Gen. Neil Tolley, commander of special forces in South Korea, was quoted at a conference saying soldiers from the United States and South Korea had been dropped across the border into North Korea for “special reconnaissance” missions in the Tokyo-based current affairs magazine The Diplomat. Col. Jonathan Withington, public affairs officer for U.S. Forces Korea, said the report took Tolley, “completely out of context.”

“Quotes have been made up and attributed to him,” Withington told AFP, also denying that any U.S. or South Korean forces had parachuted into North Korea.

The Diplomat pulled the article offline on Tuesday saying that they are seeking corroboration

“While the author strongly disputes the contention that any quote was fabricated, we acknowledge the possibility that Brig. Gen. Tolley was speaking hypothetically, about future war plans rather than current operations. The author insists he heard no such qualification, but if there has been a misunderstanding then we regret any confusion,” wrote posted the Diplomat in lieu of the article.

The author of the article, South Carolina-based freelance journalist Dave Axe, denied the military’s accusations and tweeted Tuesday afternoon the “military is lying about general’s comments.”

Axe said that Kimberly Dozier, an Associated Press correspondent whom Tolley had spoken to in private after the conference that they attended, has confirmed the parachuting that Tolley spoke about in Axe’s story.

Steve Herman, Seoul bureau chief and correspondent of Voice of America, backed up Axe and tweeted “An experienced military reporter in the room in Tampa May 22 tells me @daxe did NOT misquote BGEN Tolley on SOF into #DPRK.”

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Graduating students celebrate at New York University's commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium on May 16, 2012 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

This year’s high school and college graduates are expected to get a generous send-off, with the total spending on graduation gifts expected to top $4.7 billion, the National Retail Federation estimated.

From simple greeting cards to gift cards to clothes and electronics, one-third of Americans will buy graduation gifts this year, a decent increase from last year’s 30.7 percent.

Over one third of families and relatives of fresh graduates who participated in the federation’s survey said they plan to give gift cards as their graduation gifts, a 5 percentage point increase from last year.

“The flexibility, convenience, and ease of purchasing gift cards makes this type of gift the ideal way for consumers to show their appreciation while also letting the graduate choose the perfect gift for them,” the federation said in a statement.

The federation also found that consumers’ average spending is continuing to rise, with Americans willing to spend as much as $99.94 on graduation gifts, $9 higher than last year.

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(Amal Chen/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—It’s this time of the year again—time for an urban miracle. The semi-annual Manhattanhenge, also known as Manhattan Solstice, will take place this Tuesday and Wednesday for the delight of all New Yorkers.

A half sun will align itself with the city’s east-west streets at 8:17 p.m. on Tuesday, creating a breathtaking view of the sunset along every Manhattan street of the 201-year-old grid. A full sun will shine through Manhattan’s concrete jungle on Wednesday at 8:16 p.m.

The next and only other Manhattanhenge for this year will fall on July 12 at 8:25 p.m. where half a sun will nestle on the grid. July 11 at 8:24 p.m. will see a full sun on the grid.

75th Golden Gate Anniversary fireworks at the Marin Headlands. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

The Golden Gate Bridge celebrated its 75-year anniversary this Memorial Day weekend on Sunday, May 27, with dance, song, and nighttime fireworks.

A bright orange beacon for immigrants and a proud symbol of the city’s heritage, the Golden Gate Bridge was completed on May 27, 1937 and has served as an icon of both the city and the United States.

More Photos Below!

Considered a modern “Wonder of the World” by the American Society of Civil Engineers, this Sunday the bridge was celebrated with Irish pipe music, sailing, face painting, classic automobiles from the 30′s, and fireworks from both below and on the bridge.

Tens of thousands of tourists and San Francisco natives walked or biked across the span of the world’s most iconic bridge throughout the day, while visiting the local heritage museum booths and events.

The festivities were well organized by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, with hundreds of volunteers and local police guiding traffic across the busy throughway.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a symbol of hope for the millions of immigrants who traveled past it as they entered the United States. It serves as the western shore equivalent of New York’s Statue of Liberty.

The Golden Gate Bridge is also a symbol of remembrance. With Memorial Day weekend in their minds, attendees reflect on the hardship that was endured by the construction workers during the bridge’s creation. In addition, the Bridge Rail Foundation set up a memorial stand displaying the now empty shoes of those who have committed suicide off the bridge, over 1,500 in total, as a solemn reminder of the past so we can better cherish our present.

Photographers and tourists set up chairs and sun umbrella’s hours before fireworks were set to go off so they could capture the beauty of the bridge and this moment in time. When the event was over, a photographer said, “Wow. That was worth it.”

With hope and jubilation in their hearts the people of San Francisco start the next 75 with a bang.

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The California Highway Patrol at Torpedo Wharf. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

75th Golden Gate Anniversary fireworks at the Marin Headlands. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

People stop to see and photograph "Happy 75th" written in stars in the sky. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

Shoe exhibit in remembrance of those that have jumped from the bridge. The Bridge Rail Foundation educated the community about suicide prevention. An estimated 1,558 people have died from jumping off the bridge. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

75th Golden Gate Anniversary fireworks at the Marin Headlands. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks during the Governor’s Hurricane Conference at the Broward County Convention Center on May 16 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He asked local residents to be careful and to help warn holiday tourists of storm dangers. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The first named tropical storm of the hurricane season made landfall at 12:10 a.m. near Jacksonville on Florida’s Atlantic coast on Monday, May 28, according to the National Hurricane Center. It caused power outages and travel troubles for thousands in Georgia and Florida, but no deaths or injuries have been reported.

At landfall it was close to hurricane strength, with winds near 70 mph. Tropical Storm Beryl immediately weakened to a tropical depression, meaning its sustained winds stayed under 38 mph. Tropical storm-force winds range from 39 to 73 mph.

Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore was closed. Memorial Day concerts, parades, and fireworks displays in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida were canceled. Riptides and rough surf led to beach closures. St. Augustine, Fla., canceled its planned Memorial Day jazz concert.

The good news is that Beryl is bringing rain to a parched area. South Georgia has been in an “extreme to exceptional drought, the two highest categories,” said Brian Edwards, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com.

About two-thirds of Georgia is suffering from drought right now, and Beryl’s anticipated four to six inches of rain are badly needed.

Unfortunately, when rain falls very quickly much of it runs off, rather than soaking into the ground, and according to Edwards, “runoff is causing some creeks to rise in Florida and Georgia,” and there may be more flooding. The storm will not be a drought buster, because more than a few days of rain are needed to end the six to eight month-long drought, he said.

Savannah is not used to being hit by storms, according to Georgia Power spokesperson Lynn Wallace. “Of course everybody down here is a little perplexed.”

The Georgia coast bends inward in a way that shelters it from ocean storms, she said. The worst storms often hit land in the Carolinas or Florida.

The weather left 7,100 people without power, but Georgia Power crews from around the region worked all night and all day, and restored power to all but 560 households by 5:30 p.m. on May 28, said Wallace. “They work fast.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked local residents to be careful and to help warn holiday tourists of storm dangers. He said in a statement that holiday travelers might not be paying attention to media, but “it is vital to continue to monitor local news reports and listen to the advice of local emergency management officials.”

“Hurricane hazards come in many forms, including storm surge, heavy rainfall, inland flooding, high winds, tornadoes, and rip currents,” according to the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service (NWS).

NWS predicts that Beryl will move north and northeast through Georgia and the Carolinas before heading to sea by Thursday.

May 27–June 2 is Hurricane Preparedness Week, marking the start of hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 through the end of November, according to NWS. The greatest threat to the United States from hurricanes happens from late August through October.

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A wildfire in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that started a week ago has burned 95 buildings, with no reports of injuries or deaths.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources in a statement on Monday said that while “inspections are ongoing,” damages for the entire fire have not been fully taken into account. The state agency said it investigated 31 properties, with some experiencing multiple structure losses.

The Duck Lake Fire, as it is called, has burned more than 20,000 acres in sparsely populated Luce County. Rain and moisture levels in the region have been consistently low this season, leading to the wildfire.

“Rainfall will help reduce the risk of wildfires in the short-term for those areas receiving precipitation,” said Bill O’Neill, the head of the state’s Forest Resources Division, in a statement.

“It’s important for the public to understand that the high risk of wildfire is expected to increase again in these areas,” he said.

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A bluefin tuna caught off the coast of California was discovered to have low levels of radioactive cesium from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, according to reports on Monday.

Fifteen bluefin caught in August, several months after the Fukushima meltdown, contained cesium-134 and cesium-137, which were traced back to the accident, according to researchers CNN reported.

“There were fish born around the time of the accident, and those are the ones showing up in California right now,” Stanford University marine ecologist Dan Madigan was quoted by CNN as saying. “Those have been, for the most part, swimming around in those contaminated waters their whole lives.”

However, Nicholas Fisher, a researcher in the study, told The Associated Press that scientists “were frankly kind of startled.”

“That’s a big ocean. To swim across it and still retain these radionuclides is pretty amazing,” Fisher told AP.

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A Chinese worker checks the circuit boards at a factory in Mianyang, southwest China's Sichuan province. A recent study found that a U.S. military chip manufactured in China—widely used in systems for weapons, nuclear power plants, and public transport—contains a built-in backdoor. (STR/AFP/GettyImages)

A recent study found that a U.S. military chip manufactured in China—widely used in systems for weapons, nuclear power plants, and public transport—contains a built-in backdoor that allows the Chinese regime access to critical U.S. systems.

“In other words, this backdoor access could be turned into an advanced Stuxnet weapon to attack potentially millions of systems. The scale and range of possible attacks has huge implications for national security and public infrastructure,” writes security researcher Sergei Skorobogatov on his blog. Skorobogatov is from U.K.-based Hardware Security Group at the University of Cambridge, the group that conducted the study.

The Stuxnet weapon he refers to was a piece of malware that was able to physically destroy nuclear centrifuges at an Iranian nuclear plant.

Going off claims from some of the world’s top intelligence agencies—among them MI5, NSA, and IARPA—that computer chips could be preloaded with potentially devastating malware, Hardware Security Group decided to put this to the test.

“We chose an American military chip that is highly secure with sophisticated encryption standard, manufactured in China,” Skorobogatov said. They used a new form of chip scanning technology to “see if there were any unexpected features on the chip.”

“U.K. officials are fearful that China has the capability to shut down businesses, military and critical infrastructure through cyber-attacks and spy equipment embedded in computer and telecommunications equipment,” he said, noting, “There have been many cases of computer hardware having backdoors, Trojans, or other programs to allow an attacker to gain access or transmit confidential data to a third party.”

Their complete findings will be published in September, in a paper called “Breakthrough silicon scanning discovers backdoor in military chip,” which Skorobogatov says “will expose some serious security issues in the devices, which are supposed to be unbreakable.”

The chip scanning technology is still relatively new, and thus, studies such as this are few and far between. Skorobogatov notes that 99 percent of chips are manufactured in China, and the prevalence of such malware is something he and his research group would like to investigate further.

Even so, the issue of the Chinese regime planting malware in exported technology is not unknown.

Back in July 2011, Greg Schaffer, acting deputy undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

After being pressed with questions around this, Schaffer admitted he was “aware of some instances” of foreign-made software and hardware being purposely embedded with malware, The Epoch Times reported.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) continued pressing Schaffer on this, and after trying to avoid the question or give vague responses several times, Schaffer admitted that he was aware of this happening, and said, “We believe there is significant risk in the area of supply chain.”

“This is one of the most complicated and difficult challenges that we have,” Schaffer said. “There are foreign components in many U.S. manufactured devices.”

Few details have been revealed since. Yet, in April 2011, the Commerce Department sent a survey to U.S. telecommunication companies—including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.—demanding “confidential information about their networks in a hunt for Chinese cyberspying,” Bloomberg reported in November 2011.

Built-in Spying

Among the information requested were details on foreign-made hardware and software on company networks, and it asked about any findings of “unauthorized electronic hardware” or anything else suspicious, Bloomberg reported.

There seemed to be a tight lid on this, even then. A senior U.S. official spoke to Bloomberg on anonymity, noting, they report, “The survey represents ‘very high-level’ concern that China and other countries may be using their growing export sectors to develop built-in spying capabilities in U.S. networks…”

This was further exposed a month later by author and freelance writer Robert McGarvey, reporting for Internet Evolution. He was told by Don DeBolt, director of threat research at the New York security-consulting firm Total Defense, that “China has been bugging our computers for a long time,” and “We have seen cases where malware is installed at the BIOS level. Security suites do not detect it.” Computers all have a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) chip that is sometimes hard-coded, meaning they can only be written once and contain information about the system’s hardware.

And just recently, on April 29, former U.S. counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke, who now runs his own cybersecurity firm, told Smithsonian Magazine that such Chinese malware even exists at the consumer level—in shocking prevalence—stating that everything from silicon chips, to routers, to hardware could be loaded with logic bombs, Trojan horses, and other forms of malware.

“Every major company in the United States has already been penetrated by China,” Clarke told Smithsonian Magazine.

“My greatest fear,” he continued, “is that, rather than having a cyber-Pearl Harbor event, we will instead have this death of a thousand cuts. Where we lose our competitiveness by having all of our research and development stolen by the Chinese.

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Richard Baldwin, a retired naval officer, was keen to talk about his father who is veteran of World War II, on Memorial Day. (Shar Adams/Epoch Times Staff)

Washington, D.C.—It’s a pageant, the Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. The military bands sport plumes, braid and brass sections blasting, and drums rat-a-tat-tatting, challenging all to ignore them. The streets around Constitution Avenue are clogged with military paraphernalia, hummers and jeeps, amphibious vehicles and helicopters, and most of all servicemen from all the forces and all the battles, from the Civil War to the modern military. But they are all there and they line up for something more serious, to pay their respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“It’s all about honoring the memory of the veterans who came before us and fought for our freedom and liberty, keeping the country together as one,” Jeffrey French, a plant program manager on Andrews Air Force Base, said from under his American Civil War regalia.

French said he felt “proud and honored” to be able to march in the parade. Memorial Day was a significant day, he said, providing an opportunity to remind people not only of the sacrifices those early soldiers made during the Civil War, but also of those who continue to lay their lives on the line for the United States.

“A lot of people since the Revolutionary War have sacrificed and shed their blood for us to have freedom and liberty,” French told The Epoch Times, “This is the least we can do to honor them.”

World War II

Richard Baldwin is a retired naval officer, but it was his father whom he was keen to talk about on Memorial Day.

A veteran of World War II, his father had been in a combat force in the Philippines when the Japanese surrendered and was in Tokyo Bay September 1945, when the Japanese signed the ‘Instrument of Surrender’ aboard the USS Missouri.

An American farm boy who, within a couple of months, had gone from working the fields with mules and lighting the nights with kerosene lamps, to becoming part of the U.S. combat force in the Western Pacific, his father had never spoken with Baldwin about his war years, despite their shared military background. That is, until last year.

“He is very relaxed about it—there is no trauma there, but he doesn’t elaborate very far from the question,” Baldwin said, adding that it is only since he has been doing his own research as part of a heritage project that he has found the right questions to ask his father.

Now Baldwin says he has to keep the questions coming, as he realizes the time is precious. His father is 84 years old.

The Korean War

Sitting high on a red-white-and-blue float were distinguished U.S. Air Force pilots from the Korean War. Long known as the “Forgotten War,” Korean War veterans had returned from their war service to a largely disinterested public.

“It means a heck of a lot to us veterans of the Korean War that the Department of Defense and the country have seen fit to continue to recognize what we put forth in that war,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland.

“Some people call it the ‘Forgotten War’ and I like every effort to make sure that is not true,” he said.

“It was a time after World War II, when the Marshall spirit had kind of gone away, and the armed forces had disbanded to a great degree,” he explained, “A lot of us felt our efforts were not fully appreciated, so it is so nice to know that, 50–60 years after the fact, that we are being appreciated.”

Ironically, the Korean War was particularly significant for the U.S. Air Force, as it was the first war in which the air forces fought as a separate service.

“We didn’t win that war ourselves, the Air Force, but we kept the army and marines from losing it,” he said.

Tuskegee Airmen

There are not many left, but representatives of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military aviators in the U.S. armed forces, were there. Ninety-three-year-old Cicero Satterfield a groundsman for the Tuskegee Airmen, said he was just happy to be still alive.

“I appreciate being here,” he told The Epoch Times as he sat proudly in his jeep, “Many of us have died. “

Satterfield entertained a continual stream of well-wishers, some of whom just thanked him for his service while others were armed with books about the famous airmen for him to sign.

Gold Star Families

For Gold Star families, Memorial Day does not have the same joy. Seated on a special float among other Gold Star ladies, Leslie Spencer holds up a poster of the son she lost in the Iraq War.

“His last words to me were ‘Mum, I never want to be forgotten,’” she said, adding: “All soldiers should never, ever be forgotten and Memorial Day should be in their memory.”

Spencer said she was displaying the photo of her son so that everyone “could see who Raymond Spencer was, and remember him.”

“You see the numbers come up, you know so-and-so was killed in Iraq, but it is not the same thing,” she said, “So here is a picture of who he really was.”

On the Gold Star float was Vivianne Wersel, president of the Arlington Chapter of Gold Star Wives.

“A day doesn’t day go by that I don’t think about my husband, Rich, so it is a bittersweet day,” she said. “It is great to see the community recognize them, but at the same time, it hurts.”

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Since Feb. 3, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the preliminary $68.7 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, negotiations have been taking place between the mayor’s administration and City Council.

Hearings have intensified over the past several weeks, with agency commissioners and other high-level officials going before the council to discuss finances and other issues.

According to the nonpartisan Independent Budget Office, negotiations usually conclude by June 5, with the council then voting to approve the budget, which must be balanced. This year, several delays in the process will place the last meeting on June 6, with a full City Council meeting on June 13. Not passing the budget rarely happens, according to the budget office. The 2013 fiscal year begins on July 1.

Transportation and technology expenses will be eyed on Tuesday in the next executive budget hearing, beginning at 11:15 a.m. at 250 Broadway.

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The New York Philharmonic performs a free concert at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine on Memorial Day, May 28. (Michael DiVito)

NEW YORK—Several free concerts in the city entertained audiences and honored the armed forces on Memorial Day. 

In the evening, the renowned New York Philharmonic Orchestra performed it’s 20th annual free Memorial Day concert at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Morningside Heights. 

Tickets were given out on a first come, first served basis, compliments of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation. A line, which formed around 6 p.m., wrapped around the building as volunteers carefully counted people to fill the seats inside. The concert was also broadcast outside on the Pulpit Green to those who could not get in. 

The sounds of both a Debussy and Tchaikovsky, conducted by Alan Gilbert, filled the cavernous ceiling of the church. The show, which lasted almost an hour and a half, delighted the 2,200 in attendance, some who had never seen a symphony before.

The New York Philharmonic plans to hold the free concert again next year with muisc from Anton Bruckner.

Earlier in the day, the InterSchool Orchestras of New York Symphonic Band performed at Brooklyn’s Historic Green-Wood Cemetery. The group helps youth learn to play instruments and sharpen their skills through financial assistance and free music lessons, among other initiatives.

“This Memorial Day, as we enjoy music that celebrates the American experience, we are also reminded of all those brave patriots and heroes who paid the ultimate price so that we might live in freedom,” said Richard J. Moylan, president of Green-Wood Cemetery, in a release. “I would like to thank Brian Worsdale and the ISO Symphonic Band for helping us remember their sacrifices as we honor America.”

With additional reporting by Kristen Meriwether.

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Military personnel standing at attention for the Memorial Day service at the Intrepid Museum on May 28, in New York. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Some New Yorkers took time from their day on Monday to join veterans and active service members at various events throughout New York City, honoring those who have fallen while serving their country.

At a ceremony on Pier 86 next to the USS Intrepid, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. William D. French spoke.

“Those who serve and those who fall are not just simply wartime statistics,” French said. “They are not faceless men and women. They are real people. They are fellow citizens. They are America’s sons and daughters, your family, friends, and neighbors. So today is the day to remember them.”

During the ceremony, four wreaths were laid in the water. The first honored all U.S. military personnel lost in past and current conflicts, the second military personnel from allied nations, the third the crewmembers from the USS Intrepid who fell during action, and the fourth those lost in space exploration.

“Today we will lay four memorial wreaths in the Hudson River, in memory of all the brave men and women, heroes, who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their countries,” said Susan Marenoff-Zausner, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

After the wreaths were laid in the water, a 100-foot American flag was unfurled, held by veterans and active duty service members.

World War II Vet Holds Flag

One of those holding the flag was World War II veteran Rick Carrier. A first wave D-Day veteran, Carrier stormed the beaches of Normandy, served in five major battles and literally blew off the lock at Buchenwald, liberating the Jews held captive at the German concentration camp.

Carrier wore his vintage uniform, draped in metals. The one he wears around his neck is engraved with his image and that of a 14-year-old boy named Irving Roth whom he rescued upon entering Buchenwald on April 10, 1945.

Carrier has traveled the world telling his story, most recently in Poland. However, taking part in the Memorial Day in his hometown was special.

Carrier was holding firmly with both hands to the stars and stripes as the bugler played “Taps.” He got a little teary eyed recalling the friends he saw perish in World War II.

“I was choked up because I saw that—I saw so many of my friends going into the ground with an American flag on it,” Carrier said.

For Carrier, the flag represented not just freedom, but those lost fighting for it. “This flag is covering all the dead from all the American wars. Wherever these soldiers died, one of these is on their casket,” Carrier said.

“When I was on that flag, it meant I was a survivor of the war,” Carrier said. “It means I am alive and I am honoring the people that died. Holding the flag is an honor.”

“Too often we are caught up in the humdrum of the day, whether it be barbecues, parades, various shopping events, or sales, and allow ourselves to be distracted from a responsibility to remember,” French said.

“That responsibility and our duty is not to forget their commitment, their sacrifice, their loyalty, their heroism, to never forget what they have done for us and our children.”

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Three family members survived an airplane crash in a remote and mountainous part of Idaho, according to authorities on Monday.

Owyhee County Sheriff Daryl Crandall told Boise-based KTVB-TV that a couple and their daughter were in “surprisingly good condition” after their Cessna crashed. They were traveling from Sacramento, Calif., to Mountain Home, Idaho.

One of the passengers managed to use a cellphone to call 911 and reached Owyhee County authorities on Sunday morning, Crandall said.

The family had to wait 15 hours in the snow before being rescued, the KBOI radio station reported. One of the family members said they were suffering from head and back injuries in the crash.

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U.S. President Barack Obama (C) walks up to lay a commemorative wreath during a ceremony on Memorial Day at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on May 28, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. For Memorial Day President Obama is paying tribute to military veterans past and present who have served and sacrificed their lives for their country. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama on Monday paid tribute to war veterans at Arlington National Cemetery and reminded Americans that the nation is ending its decade-long war in Afghanistan.

After taking part in the traditional laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the president gave a speech before a large audience, promising war veterans that “we will be there for you.”

“These 600 acres are home to Americans from every part of the country who gave their lives in every part of the globe,” he said.

The president said the war in Iraq has ended after nine years and is “winding down” in Afghanistan. With many troops coming back home from their services, the president said the country needs to return the favor.

“We have to serve them and their families as well as they have served us,” Obama said in his weekly radio and online address. “By making sure that they get the health care and benefits they need; by caring for our wounded warriors and supporting our military families; and by giving veterans the chance to go to college, find a good job and enjoy the freedom that they risked everything to protect.”

Obama is scheduled to visit the Vietnam War Memorial later in the day. The White House said the gathering at the memorial would mark the beginning of a 13-year program to honor those who served during the Vietnam War.

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(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

U.S. military veterans bow their heads during a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of an unknown Union soldier who died during the Civil War, at the Congressional Cemetery May 25 in Washington, D.C.

The ceremony is part of weekend events marking the 25th anniversary of the Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom, a motorcycle rally in the nation’s capital.

Started in 1988 as a protest to bring more awareness to issues about POW/MIAs, Rolling Thunder now has 90 chapters across the United States and expects more than 900,000 veterans and their supporters to participate in the ride.

A re-enactment of the communist regime in China harvesting organs from Falun Gong practitioners at a public rally in Tokyo on Sept. 13, 2006. (Clearwisdom.net)

The U.S. State Department’s 2011 Human Rights Report, published on May 24, 2012, addressed the issue of illicit organ harvesting in China, mentioning Falun Gong practitioners and Uighurs. 

The report says: “In response to allegations that the organs of executed prisoners were harvested for transplant purposes, Vice Minister of Health Huang Jiefu in 2009 stated that inmates are not a proper source for human organs and prisoners must give written consent for their organs to be removed. Overseas and domestic media and advocacy groups continued to report instances of organ harvesting, particularly from Falun Gong practitioners and Uighurs.” 

Another action taken by the U.S. government to prevent people involved in the crime of forced organ harvesting from entering the country is a new question added last June to the USCIS non-immigrant visa application form DS-160. It asks whether the applicant “has participated in forced human organ transplantation.”

According to a State Department spokesperson, this question is based on Section 232 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act published on Sept. 30, 2002 (approved by Congress and signed by then president George W. Bush), denying entry to the United States to Chinese and other nationals engaged in coercive organ or bodily tissue transplantation. The same section is included in United States Code 8 USC1182f. 

The recent report is the first time the U.S. government’s human rights report has mentioned live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and Uighurs.

Editor’s Note: When Chongqing’s former top cop, Wang Lijun, fled for his life to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu on Feb. 6, he set in motion a political storm that has not subsided. The battle behind the scenes turns on what stance officials take toward the persecution of Falun Gong. The faction with bloody hands—the officials former CCP head Jiang Zemin promoted in order to carry out the persecution—is seeking to avoid accountability for their crimes and to continue the campaign. Other officials are refusing any longer to participate in the persecution. Events present a clear choice to the officials and citizens of China, as well as people around the world: either support or oppose the persecution of Falun Gong. History will record the choice each person makes.

Read the original Chinese article.

chinareports@epochtimes.com

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A wildfire in northern Michigan’s Upper Peninsula slightly decreased, according local officials, who said 20,000 acres have been burned.

Michigan authorities said that nearly half of the fire had been contained as of Sunday, according to MLive.com.

Overall, around 100 people were evacuated from nearby areas, Dean Wilson, a spokesperson for the fire management team, told The Associated Press.

Many of those evacuated were senior citizens who retired along the Pike Lake area. “They’re very stressed. The hospital is busy. They need to get their medicines,” evacuee Amy Witherspoon told MLive.

More than 40 structures have been threatened and six are confirmed to have been lost in the fire, but it is unclear if they are houses.

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A small, banner-towing plane crashed into the San Diego Bay, with both people on board the aircraft surviving, it was reported.

Officials told KTLA the plane crashed on Saturday. Boaters in the vicinity of the crash picked up the two people on board the plane from the water.

“Thanks to the quick actions of boaters who were in the area, the two men were only in the water for minutes after making the emergency landing,” said Sgt. Michael Haas, a spokesperson with the Coast Guard, according to the network. “Boaters took exactly the right actions.”

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

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People read the names of the 58,272 servicemen who died as a result of the Vietnam War. (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times)

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial (VVM) in Washington, D.C. is a moving experience at any time—but on Veterans Day and Memorial Day weekends, it is a complexity of emotions. At once heartbreaking and consoling, tragic and yet healing, it is both sacred and profound.

Thousands of Vietnam veterans, mothers and fathers, families and friends, descend upon the memorial on those days. They come to touch the sheer granite wall that is inscribed with the names of every serviceman who died, or was declared missing in action, as a result of the Vietnam War.

They track their loved ones from the four books encased at the entrance, moving down the wall, peering and stopping to gently trace their fingers over an etched name: Many weep; some lay memorabilia that is picked up at the end of the day and archived for eventual display; others go quietly down memory lane, visiting a past that for most has been too painful to revisit.

Vietnam veteran Mark Del Maestro at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times)

“You can spend some time with the brothers and introduce them to some people,” Vietnam veteran Mark Del Maestro told The Epoch Times at the memorial site. He tells the people, “This is the guy that I lost in Vietnam, I’d like to introduce him, he was 20.”

New Jersey-born Del Maestro served on the riverboats out of Da Nang and lived through the Tet Offensive. He lost five high school friends and three from the riverboats.

“Their names are on the wall. I can go and see their names,” he said, adding that for Vietnam veterans, “We can put a face to a name.”

Vietnam War

Del Maestro spoke openly about the Vietnam War and the memorial, now known simply as “the wall,” but it wasn’t always this way. For years Vietnam veterans were barely able to acknowledge they had fought in the war, let alone speak of their experience. When America’s servicemen returned from their duty in Vietnam, they were not met with the welcome that U.S. servicemen receive now. There were no welcome announcements at U.S. airports, nor any special recognition.

“We were literally and figuratively spat on when we came home,” said Tom Forbes, who was in the 1st Air Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War and who now serves as a docent at the VVM wall.

Returned servicemen paid the price for one of the most controversial wars in U.S. history. Protesters took to the streets and confrontations took place not only with police, but in neighborhoods and families, as well.

“The protesters were taught to spit on a soldier, when it was really Congress that was making the calls. We were just doing our job, and they took it out on a soldier,” said Del Maestro.

A Vietnam veteran takes a photo of the 60-foot pole and American flag, which, along with the sculpture of the “Three Servicemen”, was a compromise for those that did not agree with “the wall” as the official memorial. (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times)

Controversy and The Wall

It was seven years after the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War that the VVM wall was built. Its construction was also surrounded by controversy.

A competition had been set up to choose a design. There were four criteria: To be “reflective and contemplative in character; harmonize with its surroundings; contain the names of those who had died in the conflict or who were still missing; make no political statement about the war.”

The winning design was by 21-year-old Yale University architecture graduate, Chinese-American Maya Ying Lin.

The choice was not unanimous, however. Some wanted a statue, as tradition would have it; others felt a wall was demeaning, because it fell below ground level. Others did not like the black granite—it represented shame, some said. And one vet, who was too emotional to give his name, said it did not appeal because of the country of origin of the designer: “Asian,” he said.

Eventually, under the threat that the memorial would not go ahead, a compromise was reached—the VVM would include a statue and the American flag.

Healing Place

Today, the larger-than-life bronze statue of ‘Three Servicemen’ by Washington sculptor Frederick Hart, and a 12-foot by 18-foot American flag on a 60-foot pole, stand at the Lincoln Memorial entrance to the VVM wall. Young Maya Lin’s dream is also fulfilled.

Her vision was “to create a park within a park—a quiet, protected place unto itself, yet harmonious with the overall plan of Constitution Gardens,” according to the VVM website.

The bronze statue of the “Three Servicemen” (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times)

Amazingly, Ms. Lin received a B grade from Yale for the original design—Charlie, one of the veterans who works as a docent at the memorial, told The Epoch Times.

The black granite wall has a mirror-like surface that not only reflects the surrounding trees and monuments but, more specifically, reflects the viewer as he or she searches for that special name.

“It’s very powerful,” he said.

“The memorial has given dignity back to the families of the fallen because of the way they were treated then,” said Charlie, “And lets them know their loved ones will never be forgotten.”

Charlie did not want to give his last name. “It is not about me,” he said, but confessed that “the wall” had made a huge impact on him. When it was to be dedicated, Charlie had not wanted to go. “I had had enough arguments during the war,” he said. However, with his wife’s encouragement, he came to D.C. for the dedication in November 1982.

There were 250 thousand veterans in D.C. that day. Charlie had never seen so many servicemen together.

“The mantra was ‘welcome home’” he said, recalling the parade down Constitution Avenue that day. “We came around a corner and there was a World War I veteran standing there with his helmet on holding a sign saying ‘Thank You, Vets.’ There wasn’t a dry eye after that. It was just so powerful. You talked to people you didn’t know, told stories, and realized you were not alone.”

Charlie is a regular volunteer at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall now and is looking forward to Memorial Day this year, which not only celebrates the 30th anniversary of the wall, but also the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. He is also looking forward to Veterans Day in November when all 58,272 names inscribed on the wall will be read out.

“It is important for veterans to come here,” he said, “They will feel the support and realize they are not alone.”

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Tropical Storm Beryl strengthened slightly on Sunday, and is still moving west toward the Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina coasts, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which had wind speeds of 65 miles per hour, is expected to make landfall late Sunday night, according to the Center. Beryl is also expected to bring with it 3 to 6 inches of rain.

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, in a statement, said he signed a declaration of emergency on Sunday, closing down several parks and warned of potential bridge closures.

“We urge everyone to halt recreational water activity and strongly encourage business owners to close early today to allow their employees to prepare for the storm and get home safely,” Brown said.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (R) visits with troops March 14 at Forward Operating Base Shukvani, Afghanistan. Panetta said the United States is heading in the right direction by winding down the war in Afghanistan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Responding to criticism to wind down the decade-long war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the United States is heading in the right direction.

“We still have a fight on our hands. The American people need to know that. The world needs to know that we still have a fight on our hands,” Panetta said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “We’re still dealing with the

Taliban. Although they’ve been weakened, they are resilient.”

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney recently called President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan timeline problematic, saying the United States should not tell its enemies when they are going to pull out.

Romney’s description of Obama’s plan is merely “campaign rhetoric,” said Panetta, adding that the “50 nations in NATO … agree[d] to a plan in Afghanistan” in Chicago last week to pull out nearly all troops by the end of 2014.

“That is the plan that has been agreed to. And it’s a plan that is working,” he said.

Panetta said the time frame is the best way to draw down the number of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan and transfer power over to the Afghan army.

“The only way to get this accomplished—in terms of the transition that we have to go through—is to be able to set the kind of timelines that have been set here in order to ensure that we fulfill the mission of an Afghanistan that governs and secures itself,” he added.

The defense secretary also addressed Pakistan’s decision to sentence Dr. Shakil Afridi, the man who gave the CIA information about Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts, leading to the raid last May that killed the al-Qaeda leader.

“It is so difficult to understand and it’s so disturbing that they would sentence this doctor to 33 years for helping in the search for the most notorious terrorist in our times,” Panetta said.

The United States has called on Pakistan to release the doctor, but Islamabad has said any other government would have done the same, because he aided a foreign government’s intelligence agency.

Afridi ran a vaccination program at the behest of the CIA to collect DNA from bin Laden’s family to find his compound in the town of Abbottabad.

Panetta said, “This doctor was not working against Pakistan.”

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Beth Shapiro, executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels, at her office in Manhattan on May 15. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Mary used to ride elephants in the circus; and one man designed the first leather bomber jackets for the NYPD. Both of these elderly people are part of the fabric of New York and now rely on Beth Shapiro and Citymeals-on-Wheels.

“They are just real people who outlived their family, their friends, and their ability to care for themselves,” Shapiro said. She is the executive director at Citymeals-on-Wheels.

When sharing the stories of the people she meets in her work, Shapiro’s face lights up. Instead of taking credit for all the joy she has brought to the homebound elderly New Yorkers she has helped provide meals for, she looks at it in a different light. “I think it’s the other way. I think they touch our lives. They touch our lives but we hopefully sustain their lives,” she said from her office in mid-May.

Shapiro, who grew up in North Carolina, has an ever-so-slight southern drawl, nearly erased by the last 25-plus years in New York. Her family roots, however, run deep in the city, as both her parents grew up in Brooklyn.

“I’m sort of a southern girl with a New York heart,” she said.

Shapiro says her parents instilled a strong sense of respect for community as a youth, and two grandmothers provided strong female role models who helped shape her passion for helping others.

Beth Shapiro, executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels, holds a photo of Mamie, a woman she delivered a meal to during her first two months of working at Citymeals-on-Wheels. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

In 1986, Shapiro received a degree in journalism with a concentration in advertising at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She opted to pursue a career in advertising and moved to New York three days after her graduation.

After less than a month in the city, Shapiro secured a job in the promotions department at Ogilvy & Mather, a top advertising agency.

She started out at the front desk with aspirations of getting into the account executive training program to become an account manager.

While manning the front desk, Shapiro befriended Carolyn Fitzgerald, chief financial officer of Ogilvy & Mather Promotions. “She was also from the South and we just hit it off,” Shapiro said. Fitzgerald took Shapiro under her wing and moved her to the finance department, despite finance not being Shapiro’s strong suit.

“It was the best thing that happened because I learned the financial underpinnings of a pretty large organization, which at the time didn’t seem very important to me. But moving along it did, certainly here [Citymeals],” Shapiro said.

From finance, Shapiro moved up to traffic, the department responsible for budget estimates and routing of materials. “Again it set these underpinnings of how to get things done with estimating, with doing budgets, sticking to them, and keeping other people to them. It ended up a good launching pad. I had no idea where it would take me,” Shapiro said.

A year into her move to New York, her brother Ira died from AIDS, something that shook young Shapiro. “I think that that was really a catalyst of figuring out how to do a little bit more with my life. It took a while—it took 20 years after that,” she said.

Shaprio said after her brother’s death, “I realized that there was a deeper purpose, bigger purpose, and this [Citymeals] helps fulfill that.”

Nourishing the Soul

Shapiro spent 20 years in the advertising world before being hired as the director of marketing and communications at Citymeals in 2006. She took over as executive director in 2011. Even in the top spot at the organization, Shapiro continues to deliver meals, going out every six to eight weeks. She asks all her staff to join the delivery team at least twice a year. The hands-on approach helps Shapiro and her staff stay connected with the cause.

The food delivery trips have provided many highlights, but Shapiro fondly remembers her second delivery where she met a woman named Mamie, who happened to live near where Shapiro’s mother had grown up.

Mamie lived in a small, dark, cluttered apartment and was afraid to go outside due to the sound of gunshots. Her shoes were held together by duct tape. “She was a hardworking woman who was all alone,” Shapiro said. “I felt terrible.”

A photographer had joined Shapiro on the delivery. Shapiro said, “We started taking her picture and she [Mamie] said, ‘Should I strike a pose?’ I was in. I just fell in love.”

She still has the photograph of Mamie in her office, six years later. “It moved me and it still moves me. It’s why I’m here,” she said.

Many of the people she meets, not only touch her life, but teach her a lesson in return. On a video shoot for Citymeals, Shapiro met Stanley, who lived in the 4th floor Hell’s Kitchen apartment where he raised his family. Shapiro visited him often after the video shoot.

Stanley passed away in April 2011, an unfortunate reality when dealing with the elderly, but a reality that Shapiro acknowledges is never easy. “I get teary,” she said.

On July 1, funding for Citymeals will once again start at zero, and Shapiro will start to raise money for the new fiscal year. She will also continue to make deliveries with regularity, keeping her bank of stories full.

“I get these great stories and have this love for the people that we feed. To go out and to want to spend time with them to understand what we do, why we do it,” Shapiro said. “The people that we serve help build this city. And their stories are remarkable.”

The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.

A woman does pull-ups near a recruitment tent at Marine Day at Battery Park May 25.(Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—New York City feels like the safest city in the country thanks to the presence of an extra nearly 6,000 sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen from the United States and foreign military units who are in town for the annual Fleet Week through May 30.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the city hosting Fleet Week. With 21 Navy ships now docked around the city, Fleet Week is a time for citizens to celebrate the men and women in today’s active military sea services.

For the service members, many of whom are recently returning from tours in Afghanistan or Iraq, Fleet Week allows them to taken in the sights and sounds of the city. For some it is their first time in the “Big Apple.”

Marines pose during Marine Day at Battery Park May 25 as part of Fleet Week 2012.(Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

“Getting to come out here, for something like this, which most of us have never experienced, it is great. It is a check in the box for me because I have been in [the Marines] for a while and have never done anything like this,” Marine Sgt. Zachary Mendenhall said at Battery Park on Friday.

Marine 1st Lt. Michael Haft added, “It is a great opportunity for some of the young Marines from Middle America and other small towns to come see New York and interact with New Yorkers and show off the Navy-Marine team.”

Sgt. Mendenhall and 1st Lt. Haft returned from Afghanistan this past Christmas Day after a seven-month deployment in the Helmand Province in the Nawa District.

Marines pose with onlookers after a Martial Arts display during Marine Day at Battery Park May 25 as part of Fleet Week 2012.(Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

Recruitment Opportunity

Fleet Week includes demonstrations of service members parachuting into combat, a glimpse into life on a Navy ship, and a chance to meet active service members in events throughout the city.

This firsthand look at military life also gives recruiters a prime opportunity to make their pitch.

“We are accessing the whole entire world because a lot of people visit here,” Marine Sgt. Jin Hyun Lee, Marketing Public Affairs representative of recruiting station NY said at Battery Park on Friday. “It is a chance for us to show the public who we really are and the many facets of the Marine Corps.”

Marines pose during Marine Day at Battery Park May 25 as part of Fleet Week 2012.(Kristen Meriwether/The Epoch Times)

Sgt. Mendenhall and 1st Lt. Haft were demonstrating Marine Corps Martial Arts maneuvers, while their fellow Marines let onlookers hold display weapons, sit in a Humvee, and test how many pull-ups they could do.

“It is a very interactive environment. That is No. 1. We want the public to have as much access as possible,” Sgt. Lee said.

Two Marines demonstrate Martial Arts maneuvers while onlookers snap photos during Marine Day at Battery Park May 25 as part of Fleet Week 2012. (Kristen Meriwether/The Epoch Times)

“I love hanging out with the kids. We are usually holed up in small, dark, dank places training hard, and it is refreshing to see these young people,” Haft said.

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(Courtesy of Friends of the Beacon Food Forest)

Seattle will soon be home to the nation’s largest urban food forest. Planted on a seven-acre plot of land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, the site will not only provide locally grown food to the area, but is viewed by those involved as a path to increased community cooperation and friendship. 

“There is a goodwill movement to grow organic food in public spaces for the health of the people and other species that are beneficial to our food chain,” said co-founder Glenn Herlihy, in an email statement. “This goodwill builds a stronger more resilient community, regenerates habitat on public lands and elevates many pressures on the environment with locally grown food.”

A food forest, or edible garden, is a manufactured forest that’s designed to mimic a woodland ecosystem, but with different varieties of edible trees, bushes, and flowers substituted.

The Beacon Food Forest will include hundreds of kinds of edible plants including walnut and chestnut trees, blueberry and raspberry bushes, apple and pear trees, pineapple, guava, persimmons, honeyberries, a variety of citrus, and various herbs, among others. 

Fruit and nut trees will be grown on the upper level canopy, while below will be berry shrubs, edible perennials, and annuals.

Most of what is to be planted in Seattle’s food forest will grow perennially, meaning that the plants will live for more than two years. Thus, the vegetation will, over time, become a large orchard capable of sustaining itself year after year. 

A handwritten mission statement is displayed at a forest design party in Beacon Hill, Wash., September 2011. (Courtesy of Friends of the Beacon Food Forest)

The food forest is specifically designed so that the layers of plants and the insects they attract benefit each other, to increase crop production and provide a resilient community.

The organizers see a comparison between the plant diversity and relationships in the forest and human diversity and cooperation in planting and maintaining it.

The modern ecological system known as permaculture, where a designed ecosystem is managed for diversity and sustainability, is based on the ancient concept of food forests. Permaculture promotes the sustainable relationships between plants and animals that are inherently found in natural forests or in other natural ecosystems.

Permaculture expert and a designer of the Beacon Food Forest, Jenny Pell, discussed the idea of food forests in an interview with the independent media program Living on Earth. “Permaculture, it’s an ethical framework with a lot of principles that give us a design methodology, really trying to get to sustainable, resilient human communities,” Pell said.

Creating relationships to form an ecosystem that is able to produce high yields of food with less maintenance requires putting plants together that are mutually beneficial. Many plants are even included only for their ability to attract insects for promoting a system of natural pest management. 

Glenn Herlihy, a co-founder of the Beacon Food Forest project, does the introductions at a forest design party in Beacon Hill, Wash., September 2011. (Courtesy of Friends of the Beacon Food Forest)

“We’re really good at picking things that are going to play well together,” said Pell. “And when we step back, those things are going to grow in their own relationships–nature kind of takes over at that point.”

The Friends of Beacon Food Forest community group received a $20,000 grant from Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods to hire a small design team that included Pell. In December of 2011, the project received $100,000 from the Department of Neighborhoods to begin phase one of the food forest plan. 

Designers hope to finish the first phase–a 1.75-acre test zone to be planted by the end of the year–and in the years to come they hope to convert the remaining acreage to fruit trees, according to Beacon Food Forest project committee member Glenn Herlihy on npr.org’s The Salt. 

Eventually being able to offer small plots for gardeners at around $10 a year is also in the plans, says Herlihy.

Urban Gardens

Seattle is not the first city to grow an edible forest. In Portland, Ore., a 2,600-square foot garden is now in its fifth season. In 2010, Atlanta expanded its botanical garden to include a one-acre edible garden.

Since 2007, Philadelphia has become home to 22 free to low-cost food forests that have sprouted up all over the city. Another Pennsylvania city, Pittsburgh, is preparing to grow its orchards in vacant parking lots. Other efforts to establish edible gardens as part of a free health clinic are nearing completion in Syracuse, N.Y.

In central Portugal, a nearly 20-acre forest garden system has been in cultivation since 2008.

For 28 generations, a single family in Vietnam has maintained a two-acre 300-year-old food forest.

For thousands of years, forest gardens have existed in Central and South America. To this day many food forests can still be found scattered throughout the Maya and Amazon rain forests. 

A 2,000-year-old food forest oasis in southern Morocco is maintained by over 800 people and still growing strong.

“But it’s been continually managed over time for 2,000 years,” says Pell. “So, I think what’s captured people’s imaginations so much about this project worldwide is that it’s so solutions oriented. And it’s so accessible.”

Though Seattle’s food forest is being grown to serve the local community, wherever edible gardens sprout up, the Beacon Hill developers hope that the motivation for growing food forests continues to spread far and wide.

“The reaction from the community, the country and many global regions has been very positive,” Herlihy stated. “We encourage all people to join a local food growing project and empower their community with healthy living.”

The ancient method of forest gardening is still in use today, and the Beacon Food Forest is one of its most modern demonstrations.

For more information, please visit beaconfoodforest.org

A US Border Patrol vehicle drives along the fence separating the US from Mexico, near the town of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, on July 31, 2010. Since the creation of CBP in March 2003, the U.S. Border Patrol more than doubled in size to a force today of 21,370 agents. (Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON—A House Homeland Security subcommittee heard testimony May 17 on incidents of misconduct and criminal behavior of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees. While no one would disagree that the vast majority of DHS employees are honest and dedicated civil servants, a small and growing number are betraying the public trust by engaging in illegal and unethical behavior.

Even though there are stacks of [federal] government manuals, training materials and yearly briefings about ethics, lapses continue.

—Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Chairman, House Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management.

“Since 2004, over 130 agents of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been arrested, charged, or otherwise prosecuted on corruption charges. Allegations and convictions include alien and drug smuggling, money laundering, and conspiracy,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management, said in his opening statement at the hearing.

Besides Customs and Boarder Protection personnel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees have also abused their positions, McCaul observed.

McCaul said an ICE agent in February pleaded guilty to illegally providing documents to individuals with ties to drug trafficking organizations. ICE agents have been convicted of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from immigrants seeking U.S. documentation, he said.

ICE personnel have been found guilty of filing fraudulent travel claims.

McCaul pointed to a 22-count indictment that “alleges TSA employees took payments to provide drug couriers unfettered access through Los Angeles International Airport so that drugs could be smuggled into the United States.”

“Even though there are stacks of [federal] government manuals, training materials, and yearly briefings about ethics, lapses continue,” McCaul said.

The drug trafficking organizations have turned to recruiting and corrupting DHS employees.

—Charles Edwards, Acting Inspector General, DHS

McCaul often expressed concern that breaches in security could permit terrorists entry into the United States. He declared that terrorists are seeking to infiltrate law enforcement employment. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee could be bribed to provide the necessary documentation for an alien terrorist to enter, or a TSA employee could allow illegal entry or an explosive device at one of the 450 airports it screens for passengers and baggage, or Customs and Border Protection personnel could do the same at the border.

Mexican Drug Cartels

Department of Homeland Security’s acting Inspector General Charles Edwards offered an explanation for the misconduct and criminal behavior that persists and flourishes, despite the vetting process for new employees and mandatory ethics training.

Edwards said that smuggling of people and goods across our borders has fallen into the hands of organized criminal enterprises. He said that the Mexican drug cartels today are more sophisticated and dangerous than any other organized criminal groups from the past.

“As the United States has enhanced border security with successful technologies and increased staffing to disrupt smuggling routes and networks, drug trafficking organizations have become not only more violent and dangerous, but more clever as well. The drug trafficking organizations have turned to recruiting and corrupting DHS employees.”

Edwards said that Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations are hampered by the “brutality the cartels use to control their organizations and coerce witnesses,” and the high-tech resources that “unlimited money” can buy.

According to Edwards, border patrol agents and customs and border protection officers whose jobs could facilitate smuggling are prime targets for the crooks; other employees are useful to the cartels for the intelligence they can provide such as ongoing investigative activities and whether their members are in law enforcement databases.

By fiscal year 2011, the number of complaints against customs and border protection employees rose 38 percent at the Office of Investigations from fiscal year 2004, Edwards said.

The urgent need for DHS agencies to hire many new personnel was cited often as another factor for the growth of misconduct and criminal behavior.

According to Thomas Winkowski, acting deputy commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, is the largest law enforcement agency in the country, deploying over 60,000 law enforcement officers and support personnel along the U.S. borders, at ports of entry and overseas.

“After the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol experienced a level of growth in personnel resources unprecedented in the history of U.S. law enforcement. Since the creation of CBP in March 2003, the U.S. Border Patrol more than doubled in size to a force today of 21,370 agents,” Winkowski says in written testimony.

A sign for a fallout shelter is on a building in the lower East-side of Manhattan on May 23. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

Fallout Shelters: Reminder of a Fearful Time

By Christian Watjen
Epoch Times Staff

NEW YORK—Walking around Manhattan with one’s gaze slightly lifted, it is easy to spot on older buildings small signs with yellow-black trefoil labeled “Fallout Shelter.” They are reminders of a time when the country was steeped in the fear of a nuclear war and its catastrophic consequences.

Starting in 1951, under President Truman and accelerated a decade later at the peak of the Cold War, the federal government promoted nuclear shelters as part of a public emergency response. Authorities believed that there was a way to survive the worst of nuclear fallout, resulting from an attack of nuclear bombs.

As a populous city and a financial and economic center, placed in the midst of the “vulnerable heart” of the United States, the New York metropolitan area was seen as a prime target for an enemy attack.

Federal scientists in the 1960s estimated that community shelters placed in existing buildings could protect half of the population in big cities. Until the early 1970s, some estimates indicate that more than 200,000 buildings in New York City were designated shelters.

Even though shelters were the primary objective of civil defense, the planners at that time “understood that the shelters were of minimal help,” said Dr. Laura McEnaney, professor of American history at Whittier College.

McEnaney points out that authorities at that time also had other reasons for constructing and promoting shelters to the population rather than physical protection only.

“There was a psychological benefit to trying to convince the population that they could survive nuclear war. There was a political benefit to convincing the population that if the country was going to choose atomic weaponry as their basis of their foreign policy that people could survive that choice if worse came to worse,” McEnaney said.

The New York State Defense Emergency Act defines a nuclear fallout shelter as a “building, structure, or other real property, or an area or portion thereof, so constructed, altered, or improved as to provide protection against harmful radiation resulting from radioactive fallout.”

Fallout shelters were for radiation protection only and not meant to shield against a blast. It was stocked with food supplies so that inhabitants could survive for two weeks inside.

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Former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz received the Henry Kissinger Prize at the Foreign Ministry on May 24 in Berlin, Germany. The award is given annually by the American Academy in Berlin in recognition of outstanding contribution to transatlantic political relations. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Standards that would have closed cybersecurity holes may have never been implemented by the American Gas Association (AGA) due to costs. Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) responded to these allegations with an open letter detailing the threats and requesting a response from AGA president and CEO Dave McCurdy.

American’s network of gas supply and delivery systems is among the “critical infrastructures” often referred to in cybersecurity documents. Critical infrastructures are private industries that are crucial to economy and safety of the United States; industries where a well-placed cyber-attack could have potentially devastating consequences. The financial and energy sectors are other example of critical infrastructures.

In the letter, Rockefeller addressed the AGA and the suppliers it represents. “Many Americans likely take for granted the service your industry provides, given its dependability and ubiquity,” he states. “A prolonged disruption to this energy supply, whether through a cyber-attack or other catastrophe, would be disastrous.”

After the initial review in 2006, the AGA published a report stating, “there are credible [cyber] vulnerabilities that threat agents could exploit.”

The report states that “with little effort,” an attacker could scan AGA communications from different sites—including between control centers. It adds that a hacker could also access its systems and change software used by field device operations.

At the control centers, SCADA systems write data to a master database, which is in turn used by other systems. “This interface also may be compromised, giving the attacker access to either SCADA operations or to sensitive data used by business operations,” the report states.

Now, in English, that means quite a bit. SCADA systems are often used to control industrial systems, such as moving parts, opening and closing valves, and controlling other vital functions. SCADA systems can also be hacked to speed up and physically destroy these systems, or to open a valve and release more of a substance than intended.

The Stuxnet worm, for example, was used to physically destroy nuclear centrifuges at an Iranian nuclear plant. Similarly, in April 2000, a man by the name of Vitek Boden hacked SCADA systems at a sewage treatment plant in Queensland, Australia, and dumped millions of gallons of raw sewage into creeks, parks, and a hotel.

It has been widely known for years that our critical infrastructure is vulnerable and that the threats are real. Yet, while the threats have grown, the vulnerabilities remain.

—Senator John Rockefeller

The AGA formed a working group to close the security holes found in its study, and created a set of standards, dubbed “AGA-12.” These were intended to guard data as it was sent by control systems. The AGA-12 went through testing, and won the support of both government agencies and private organizations, among them the Department of Energy and the Gas Technology Institute.

Yet, Dennis Holstein, an independent researcher who helped develop AGA-12, recently told the Christian Science Monitor that the standards were never used.

“What I think killed AGA-12 more than anything else was the cost of it. It was a success. But nobody was willing to pay $500 for a bump in the wire solution even if it radically improved security. I haven’t seen any deployment of it,” Holstein said.

This is what prompted Rockefeller to confront the AGA president and CEO in his letter.

Phone calls to the AGA were not returned by press deadline.

Sen. Rockefeller is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, but he notes that as the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, “I am well aware of both the gravity and likelihood of cyber threats that could do great damage to the United States.”

“It has been widely known for years that our critical infrastructure is vulnerable and that the threats are real. Yet, while the threats have grown, the vulnerabilities remain,” he states.

Rockefeller is currently proposing the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, which would create a partnership between the private sector and the federal government, to guard critical infrastructure. He introduced the bill on Feb. 14, alongside Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) and Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

“I fear that the business justification for securing critical infrastructure will not come until it is too late, after a cyber-attack does great damage to our economy, or worse, cause a mass casualty event. At that point, the private sector will have little choice but to make the necessary investments in cybersecurity,” Rockefeller states.

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The 175-year-old New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper will scale back publishing to only three days per week.

New Orleans’ only daily paper announced on Thursday that it will become part of a new company, the NOLA Media Group, which will oversee the newspaper and the affiliated website, NOLA.com.

The publication “will significantly increase its online news-gathering efforts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while offering enhanced printed newspapers,” it said.

The New York Times reported late on Wednesday that cuts to the Times-Picayune’s staff will be scheduled, but did not elaborate further.

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Councilwoman Diana Reyna asks questions on Thursday at a Department of Youth and Community Development budget hearing. (Zachary Stieber/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Parents quitting jobs. Latch-key kids. Increased crime. These are some of the more severe potential effects of proposed cuts to after-school programs, according to City Council members and advocates.

Total funds in the proposed fiscal year 2013 budget for youth services have dropped from $329 million to $244.8 million. The biggest cuts would be to Out-of-School Time, or after-school programs. In 2009, $121 million from city, state, and federal sources paid for more than 75,000 slots; proposed funding for the upcoming budget has $73 million funding 27,000 slots.

City funding alone would decrease from $212 million to $150 million if the proposed budget were to pass.

“These cuts are downright foolish, and every penny that we save on after-school programs today is not only a lost educational opportunity, it’s a lost economic opportunity—and it’s probably a cost to the criminal justice system down the road,” said Councilman Lewis A. Fidler, at a Thursday hearing on the issue.

In a report issued on Thursday by advocacy group Campaign For Children, based on a survey filled out by parents, 36 percent of parents (1,274) who responded said they would quit their job to stay home with their child or children if the proposed budget cuts to after-school programs are passed.

Out of the 4,000 responses, another 16 percent (576) would leave their child or children home alone, while 21 percent (749) would leave them with a relative.

Councilwomen Diana Reyna (L) and Letitia James ask questions on Thursday at a Department of Youth and Community Development budget hearing. (Zachary Stieber/The Epoch Times)

“We will restore this money, one way or another, together with the administration,” said Councilman Fidler. “We’re going to have to figure out how to do that so that every neighborhood in New York has after-school programs—ample after-school programs.”

The budget, first outlined by the mayor, must go through negotiations with the city council before getting passed by July 1. It must be balanced, with no debt.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office declined to comment on the issue, deferring to the Department of Youth and Community Development, which had officials testify at the meeting.

“As you have reduced resources, you have to make tough decisions,” said Jeanne B. Mullgrav, commissioner of the department.

One after-school program, a chess program at a Brooklyn middle school, garnered attention in April after winning the National High School Chess Championship. They also previously won the National Junior High Chess Championship. After winning, the team from IS 318 met with the mayor and Department of Education chancellor Dennis Walcott. A few short weeks later, they were told their program would likely be cut.

The chess team from IS 318, a middle school in Brooklyn, won the National High School Chess Championship in April. The after-school program is one of many that would be cut if the current version of the proposed fiscal year 2013 budget is passed. (Courtesy of Elizabeth Spiegel)

“At the moment, we have no money at all for next year: nothing for after-school, Saturdays, or travel,” said Elizabeth Spiegel, team coach, via email. “I’m very sad that the program we have put so much work into building over the years is about to be gone, but it looks like it will be. “

The city also expects more than 131,000 applications to its Summer Youth Employment Program this year, but projects being able to accept only 30,000 applicants.

Having “tens of thousands of kids who have nothing to do will jeopardize public safety,” said Councilman Jumaane D. Williams.

“In each [police] precinct that I went to, the commanding officer sitting there knew exactly what it would mean to have two-thirds of the after-school programs in the city of New York close,” said Councilman Fidler.

The NYPD didn’t return an email requesting comment.

Council members told Mullgrav that she should go back to the mayor and demand more funding. Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez even said he would not pass the budget if the youth service cuts weren’t removed.

George Sweeting, deputy director of the Independent Budget Office, said during a phone interview that council members often threaten to not pass the budget. The only action they can take—other than finding cuts in other places or raising the property tax—is to prepare their own council budget and pass that instead of the mayor’s budget.

“It’s never been really resolved how the council could force the mayor to spend money,” said Sweeting. “They avoided having a final court decision.”

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New York police and FBI agents remove pieces of concrete after digging up a basement believed to contain clues to the unsolved disappearance 33 years ago of 6-year-old Etan Patz, in New York. On Wednesday a man from New Jersey confessed to the murder of the boy. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK—A man has confessed to the murder of Etan Patz, a boy who disappeared in Manhattan exactly 33 years ago on May 25, 1979, according to local media, citing the New York Police Department.

The suspect admitted to strangling the boy after luring him into a basement, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a press conference on Thursday evening, according to NBC New York.

The confession is a new development in an investigation that has spanned more than three decades. The unknown fate of the boy triggered a nationwide missing children movement that included putting his photo on milk cartons and sparked a discussion on the safety of children in public.

After following a tip, a man named Pedro Hernandez, 51, was arrested in New Jersey on Wednesday and questioned at Manhattan’s district attorney’s office.

“In the years following Etan’s disappearance, Hernandez had told a family member, and others, that he had ‘done a bad thing’ and killed a child in New York,” Kelly said.

In 1979, the year of Patz’s disappearance, Hernandez was 18 years old and worked as a stock clerk in the same neighborhood, according to CBS New York.

He confessed to luring the boy with a soda into the basement of the bodega where he worked, and strangling him there. He put the corpse into a plastic bag, and disposed it with the trash, Kelly said.

Hernandez will be charged with second-degree murder, while it is “unlikely” that the body ever will be found, Kelly said.

“This was a tragedy that broke the hearts of millions of people, especially parents across this nation,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a press conference on Thursday, according to the Gothamist.

Six-year–old Etan Patz vanished on his way to the school bus in the SoHo neighborhood, the first time he had walked alone. In April 2012, the NYPD excavated a Manhattan basement following a fresh lead, but found no evidence.

Hernandez was already questioned in 2010 when the case was reopened but statements he made then had contradicted known facts.

“There is no rest for a parent who has lost a child, and there should be no rest for any of us who are in a position to help. There may not be any words we could offer that would ease their pain, but we can and will offer our support—and all the tools at our disposal to help families of missing and exploited children,” Deputy Attorney General James Cole said on Wednesday at a ceremony at the Justice Department marking the day.

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Beach goers enjoyed a sunny day at Coney Island last summer. Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city's beaches will open on Saturday. (Kristen Meriwether/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—It’s time to dig out the beach towels and sunscreen—New York City beaches are opening for the season.

“Let me make it official,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said from Coney Island on Thursday. “All of the city’s 14 miles of free public beaches will be open for the season this Saturday.”

The opening of the city’s eight beaches in four boroughs will kick off Memorial Day weekend and mark the unofficial start of summer.

“When I was a kid, summer meant one thing and it wasn’t the Hamptons. It was the beach and fun at Coney Island,” Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said. “Coney Island is a special New York summer treat with all the best family entertainment and it is the only amusement park that is just a subway ride away.”

In 2009, the city proposed an investment of over $150 million toward infrastructure improvements on Coney Island, the iconic beach and amusement park it has owned since 1938.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced all city beaches would open for the summer on Saturday. He spoke on a gloomy Thursday on Coney Island. (Photo courtesy the Mayor's Office)

As part of the improvements, visitors to Coney Island can enjoy two new thrill rides, Boardwalk Flight and Coney Island Raceway in the Scream Zone.

Visitors to the iconic boardwalk can once again frequent Coney Island staples Paul’s Daughter, Ruby’s, and Lola Star that made upgrades to their businesses.

After soaking in the sunshine and enjoying a world famous Nathan’s hotdog, visitors can take in the free fireworks every Friday night.

Despite an outlook for a fun summer season at all the city’s beaches; the mayor did warn beachgoers to be safe. Lifeguards will be on duty from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily with swimming strictly prohibited outside of those times.

“Without lifeguards, it is hazardous. We would like to have a great summer where everyone has a great time, and not have any tragedies,” Bloomberg said.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe advised swimming with a buddy.

“On a busy day on Coney Island there are a million people on the beach. Our lifeguards, as good as they are, can’t watch everyone,” Benepe said.

“If New Yorkers simply pick it up and take it to our litter stations here on Coney Island, and the other beaches, you will be helping us take care of 1,300 cubic yards of litter that we pick up each day,” Benepe said.

Despite the gloomy weather during the announcement, Bloomberg, in his best weatherman impression, said the weekend forecast called for temperatures in the 80s and sunny skies.

City beaches will stay open through Labor Day, Sept. 3.

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The tall ship from Ecuador Guayas passes the World Trade Center on May 23 in New York. The tall ship is participating in Fleet Week events in New York. (Don Emmert/AFP/GettyImages)

It’s official: The sailors have returned.

As Fleet Week 2012 celebrates the bicentennial of the War of 1812, sometimes known as the “Second War of Independence,” the week from May 23 to 30 is full of traditional as well as new commemoratory nautical activities.

Free ship tours will take place every single day at at least two of Pier 90 and 92, Stapleton Pier on Staten Island, and Port Authority Piers in Brooklyn, until Tuesday, while the Memorial Day weekend will feature Times Square performances, Governors Island Family Fest, and Staten Island Music Festival.

Fleet Week Schedule

Friday, May 25

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free Ship Tours
Where: Pier 90 and 92, 51st St/West Side Highway
Where: Stapleton Pier, Staten Island

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
U.S. Marine Corps Day in Battery Park
Where: Battery Park

USMC Aviation Events
Where: Hackensack High School, Hackensack, N.J. 9:30 a.m.
Where: Forrest Hills High School, Queens 10 a.m.
Where: East Islip High School, Long Island 12:30 p.m.
Where: Paramus Middle School, Paramus, N.J. 12:30 p.m.
Where: Orchard Beach, Bronx 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 27

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free Ship Tours
Where: Pier 90 and 92, 51st St/West Side Highway
Where: Stapleton Pier, Staten Island
Where: Port Authority Piers, Brooklyn

9a.m. to 6 p.m.
USMC Day in Times Square
Featuring performance by the Navy Band NE and USMC Band
Where: Times Square

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Air and Land Demonstrations
Where: Eisenhower Park (East Meadow, N.Y.)

Noon to 4 p.m.
Governors Island Family Fest
Where: Governors Island

1 p.m.
Staten Island Music Festival
Where: Staten Island

Sunday, May 27

Free Ship Tours
Where: Stapleton Pier, Staten Island
Where: Port Authority Piers, Brooklyn

USMC Aviation Events
Where: Flushing Meadows Corona Park 10 a.m.
Where: Randall Park, Freeport 2 p.m.
Where: Playland Park, Rye, NY 2 p.m.

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Staten Island War of 1812 Commemoration Event
Where: Ft. Wadsworth

2 to 6 p.m.
Military Bands in Times Square
Where: Times Square

Monday, May 28

Free Ship Tours
Where: Pier 90 and 92, 51st St/West Side Highway
Where: Stapleton Pier, Staten Island
Where: Port Authority Piers, Brooklyn

9 a.m.
USMC Aviation Event
Where: Clove Lake Park, Staten Island

Tuesday, May 29

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free Ship Tours
Where: Pier 90 and 92, 51st St/West Side Highway
Where: Stapleton Pier, Staten Island

1 p.m. USN Aviation Event
Where: New Dorp High School, Staten Island

Wednesday, June 1

Ships and service members depart New York City.

For more information, please visit sifleetweek.com.

Two high school students cry during the reading of emotional letters between "dead" students and their parents at the end of the Every 15 Minutes program at West Covina High School May 2002 in Los Angeles, Calif. Every 15 Minutes teaches teens how someone is killed in an alcohol-related car crash every 15 minutes. (David McNew/Getty Images)

NEW YORK—A new hotline will work to prevent accidents caused by intoxicated underage drivers during the high-school graduation and prom season, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday.

“Our communities must work with law enforcement to keep our young citizens safe by preventing underage drinking and its needless resulting tragedies,” New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said.

New York State Police have joined forces with the governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, and the Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services to promote the newly created “It’s Your Community, It’s Your Call” hotline.

At the number 1-866-UNDER21, callers in New York state can anonymously report friends and relatives engaged in underage drinking and driving of motor vehicles.

While constituting only 5 percent of drivers, drivers under 21 are involved in more than 12 percent of lethal crashes in New York state.

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Rear Adm. Rick Breckenridge said in a statement that the fire on the U.S.S. Miami was “successfully extinguished.” The vessel was docked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

“I repeat, the fire is out,” reiterated Breckenridge.

The submarine’s nuclear reactor has been shut off for the past two months and remains in safe and stable condition. There were no weapons on board, the statement said.

“The fire and subsequent damage was limited to the forward compartment spaces only, which includes crew living and command and control spaces,” Breckenridge said. “The nuclear propulsion spaces were physically isolated.”

The heat and smoke within the confined area inside the vessel “made it challenging for fire-fighters to combat the blaze,” Breckenridge added. The injuries suffered were minor, he said, emphasizing “the heroic actions” of the local firefighters in battling the blaze.

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Hurricane Wilma, the last major hurricane to hit the East Coast, is shown from space Oct. 23, 2005, just before coming ashore in South Florida. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season produced a record-breaking number of severe hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina. (NOAA via Getty Images)

U.S. weather forecasters said Thursday that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season will be “near-normal.”

That means the coming season will produce between nine and 15 tropical storms, with four to eight turning into at least Category 1 hurricanes, with wind speeds of at least 74 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA predicted one to three storms will turn into major hurricanes with winds above 110 mph.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30. It encompasses the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. However, major storms can form outside of this time frame, if weather conditions are favorable. Based on data from 1981 to 2010, in a typical season there are an average of six hurricanes.

Tropical Storm Alberto was the first named storm of this season after it formed off the coast of South Carolina on April 19. It was later downgraded and then vanished into the Atlantic. Whenever it appears, the next storm will be named Beryl.

“NOAA’s outlook predicts a less active season compared to recent years,” said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco, in a statement.

One to three storms will turn into major hurricanes with winds above 110 mph.

—NOAA

Last year’s season, including Hurricane Irene—which made its way up the East Coast to New York City and beyond—was considered to have been of above-average activity. There were seven hurricanes and 13 tropical storms in 2011.

However, the agency said it cannot predict how many storms will actually hit land. “Regardless of the outlook, it’s vital for anyone living or vacationing in hurricane-prone locations to be prepared,” Lubchenco added. She recommended forming evacuation plans and stocking up on supplies like food and water.

A major hurricane has not hit the United States since the record-breaking 2005 hurricane season, which produced both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma.

The hurricane season could be affected by two factors, including cooler ocean temperatures in the eastern Atlantic and strong wind shear, NOAA said. It added that the El Nino phenomenon could also affect the formation of hurricanes, if the weather pattern develops in the late summer to early fall.

El Nino is the cyclical warming of the Pacific Ocean that has far-reaching effects on the global climate. La Nina, which came to an end recently, is the cooling cycle of Pacific Ocean waters. Both weather cycles can cause extreme weather, including droughts and floods, throughout the world.

“In that case, conditions could be less conducive for hurricane formation and intensification during the peak months (August–October) of the season, possibly shifting the activity toward the lower end of the predicted range,” lead NOAA forecaster Gerry Bell said.

Earlier this month, the AccuWeather website predictions were close to NOAA’s predictions, with 12 named storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. Similarly, the Weather Channel predicted 11 named storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes.

We may be expecting a run-of-the-mill hurricane season, but it never hurts to be prepared. “Another big storm is possible for the East Coast with heavy, flooding rain,” Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather’s lead long-range forecaster, said in late April after the website released its predictions.

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The BP refinery in Whiting, Ind., in this file photo. BP, under pressure from environmental groups, agreed to spend $400 million in pollution control upgrades to treat future emissions.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CHICAGO—On the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan is the small town of Whiting, Ind.—home to the largest inland oil refinery in the United States, and the recent conclusion of a big environmental controversy.

BP’s Whiting Refinery has been in operation since 1889, even before the advent of the automobile, and the big oil company has been working to expand the facility for years. The state of Indiana gave the go ahead in 2008, but environmental and community groups have been fighting permits for expansion ever since.

The struggle appears to have reached an end. This week BP North America Inc. agreed to pay an $8 million penalty and invest more than $400 million to install state-of-the-art pollution controls in order to continue the Whiting Refinery’s multibillion-dollar expansion project.

The expansion will allow Whiting to process the thick and heavy crude of what is known as tar sands oil. According to BP, the unconventional and significantly dirtier crude oil source is “critical to America’s future energy security.”

The settlement calls for pollution monitoring equipment to address increased emissions associated with the largely Canadian tar sands. BP will be forced to observe the strongest requirements seen anywhere in the industry, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the controls will eliminate more than 4,000 tons of regulated pollutants annually.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), BP North America had it coming. The big oil company had not lived up to its obligations under an earlier settlement agreement, while the Whiting facility had committed new violations of the Clean Air Act. But the new settlement, which includes another $9.5 million on projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, puts the big oil company in the clear.

A driving force behind complaints that the state permit for the Whiting expansion would significantly harm the environment for neighboring residents was the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

According to NRDC’s Ann Alexander, lead attorney for groups opposing the expansion permit, the settlement will ensure that local communities are protected from plant pollution.

“The permit that BP and the state of Indiana drafted did not reflect reality,” said Alexander in a statement. “And as the country wakes up to the mess being made by tar sands all over the country, it will be harder and harder for them to keep trying to play these games.”

But in order for the state’s largest-ever industrial project to go forward, environmentalists are expected to back down. As part of the agreement, petitioners say they won’t challenge the new permit. The settlement, signed by the state of Indiana, BP, the DOJ, EPA, and environmental groups, will go into effect following a brief public comment period.

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A Sheriff deputy's vehicle is parked in front of Chardon High School where a shooting took place on February 27, 2012 in Chardon, Ohio. T.J. Lane opened fire inside the high school cafeteria. (David Dermer/Getty Images)

The Ohio teenager accused of the shooting deaths of three high school students will be tried as an adult, according to reports.

T.J. Lane, 17, could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty, said Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Grendell, who handed down the decision, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Lane, however, cannot be sentenced to death because it is against the constitution to execute a juvenile.

Deputy Jon Bilicic said that when he arrested Lane, the teenager told him after the shooting took place that he “killed a bunch of people,” according to News Net 5.

When he was asked why, Bilicic recalled Lane saying, “I have no idea. I don’t really understand it myself.”

Furthermore, he said he did not shoot the students out of anger. “I have no problem with people,” he added.

As a result of the Feb. 27 shooting, Lane is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of felonious assault.

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The wind blows a plastic bag around the beach near the Manhattan Beach Pier August 21, 2008 in Manhattan Beach, Calif., in this file photo. Los Angeles became the largest city in the country to adopt a ban on single-use plastic bags, passing the ordinance May 23.(David McNew/Getty Images)

Los Angeles became the largest city in the country to do away with plastic bags in supermarkets after the city council passed a ban on them May 23. The council passed the restriction by a 13–1 vote.

The ban will be phased in over a 12-month period, and will impact an estimated 7,500 stores, according to the L.A. Times. Council members, as well as supportive environmental groups and advocates, praised the measure.

This is a great day for the city of Los Angeles, - 

Adrian Martinez of the Natural Resources Defense Council

“This is a great day for the city of Los Angeles,” said Adrian Martinez of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in a blog posting. “The environmental and economic problems with these bags far outweigh any limited benefit they may have,” he added.

Martinez expounded on the problems in a May 22 NRDC blog posting, leading up to yesterday’s council vote. “The Los Angeles Department of Public Works reports that only 5 percent of the 2.3 billion plastic bags used each year in the city of Los Angeles are recycled,” he wrote, pointing to additional risks to wildlife, and “the high cost of removing these bags from our land and waterways.”

According to Martinez, 43 municipalities in the state had already adopted ordinances restricting single-use plastic grocery bags.

Some want to see the ban expanded. “Let’s get the message to Sacramento that it’s time to go statewide,” said Councilman Ed Reyes, according to the L.A. Times report.

A spokesperson representing plastic bag manufacturers decried the city’s ban.

“By voting to ban plastic shopping bags, the city of Los Angeles put in motion a misguided and onerous policy that threatens the jobs of hundreds of Angelenos employed by the industry, and nearly 2,000 statewide, while pushing residents to less environmentally friendly reusable bags, which are produced overseas and cannot be recycled,” said Mark Daniels, chair of the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), in a press release statement Wednesday.

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The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday released a report saying spending cuts that will take place at the beginning of next year will drain $607 billion from the U.S. economy in the 2013 fiscal year.

The figure amounts to 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and “the resulting weakening of the economy will lower taxable incomes and raise unemployment, generating a reduction in tax revenues and an increase in spending on such items as unemployment insurance,” the nonpartisan CBO said.

The office projects the economy to contract during the first half of 2013 at an annual rate of 1.3 percent and will expand at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the second half.

“Given the pattern of past recessions … such a contraction in output in the first half of 2013 would probably be judged to be a recession,” the CBO said.

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