North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued a new warning, saying his rockets are ready to "settle accounts" with the U.S. CBS News' Margaret Brennan reports.
Video (2:22)
North Korea readies rockets for U.S. targets - YouTube
Friday, March 29, 2013
Fmr. U.S. Soldier accused of fighting with terrorists - YouTube
An American Army veteran is accused of fighting with a Syrian rebel group linked to al Qaeda. Charlie Rose reports.
Video (0:42)
Fmr. U.S. Soldier accused of fighting with terrorists - YouTube
Video (0:42)
Fmr. U.S. Soldier accused of fighting with terrorists - YouTube
Little girl's infectious laugh - YouTube
The Feed compiles some of the week's best viral videos, including a bold high school prom proposal, the two-year-old "bedtime bandit" caught in the act and one man solves three Rubik's Cubes while juggling them. Plus, a little girl laughs hysterically when she "walks" the dog.
Video (3:02)
Little girl's infectious laugh - YouTube
Video (3:02)
Little girl's infectious laugh - YouTube
Pope Francis presides over first Holy Week - YouTube
Pope Francis is presiding over his first Holy Week. Charlie Rose reports.
Video (0:20)
Pope Francis presides over first Holy Week - YouTube
Video (0:20)
Pope Francis presides over first Holy Week - YouTube
Headlines: Iraq and Afghan wars to cost $4 to $6 trillion - YouTube
"CBS This Morning" takes a look at some of the day's headlines from around the globe.
Video (1:23)
Headlines: Iraq and Afghan wars to cost $4 to $6 trillion - YouTube
Video (1:23)
Headlines: Iraq and Afghan wars to cost $4 to $6 trillion - YouTube
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Prestigious award lights up Tsao’s wide-ranging career
Sandia Labs News Releases
March 12, 2013
Prestigious award lights up Tsao’s wide-ranging career
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Jeff Tsao has seen it all in his 29-year Sandia National Laboratories career, from research to management to entrepreneurship. But being an idea guy is what he likes best. “It’s what I naturally gravitate toward,” Tsao said.
Tsao is a researcher in the solid-state lighting group, working to cut back the worldwide cost of electricity by using semiconductor light-emitting diodes as sources of illumination instead of electrical filaments, plasma or gas.
Sandia's Jeff Tsao was recognized with an Asian American Engineer of the Year award for his technical achievement, leadership and public service. (Photo by Randy Montoya) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
This year Tsao became the 13th Sandia staff member honored with an Asian American Engineer of the Year (AAEOY) award. The prestigious recognition program was started in 2001 by the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA to honor outstanding Asian American professionals in science and engineering for their leadership, technical achievement and public service.
This year’s 12th annual event was held March 2 in Dallas as a finale to National Engineers Week. Albuquerque hosted the 2012 AAEOY last March with Sandia President and Laboratories Director Paul Hommert as keynote speaker.
Since 2002, some 160 engineers from leading U.S. technology corporations, research institutions and the U.S. Armed Forces have received the AAEOY award, including seven Nobel laureates.
“Getting this award is an amazing honor,” Tsao said.
Tsao is a Los Angeles native who attended Stanford University, earning in four years a bachelor’s in math and a master’s in electrical engineering. Grad school took him to the opposite side of the country and Harvard University.
“Harvard was great, but that first year was tough coming from perfect weather in California,” he said. “My first winter in Boston was the famous blizzard of ’78. The storm was so bad that Harvard had to shut down. Here I was this California kid wearing flip flops. I figured I’d better get some real shoes.”
With a doctorate in applied physics in hand, Tsao arrived at Sandia in 1984. He had a background in lasers, laser spectroscopy and quantum electronics, and a strong interest in materials science. He joined a project involving pulsed laser annealing of silicon to look at the dynamics of ultra-fast crystal growth. He later switched to a study of crystal growth on a slower time scale using a then-emerging technique, molecular beam epitaxy.
Tsao wrote a book, “Materials Fundamentals of Molecular Beam Epitaxy,” and in the early 1990s became a manager in Sandia’s Microelectronics and Microsystems center. About seven years later, aware of the commercial potential of semiconductor materials and devices, he took an entrepreneurial leave of absence to work at a small Los Angeles startup company that made fiber optic communications components.
“I spent a year there,” Tsao said. “I wanted to see how the high-tech world functioned.”
He returned to Sandia in 2001 as a researcher in the solid state lighting group. “It was the beginning of a new field,” Tsao said. “At first nobody had a clue if it would take off. It was kind of a dream, but we could see the potential. Now nobody has any doubt it will pretty much replace every light bulb on Earth.”
Jerry Simmons, senior manager of Sandia’s Semiconductors and Optical Sciences department, said Tsao was one of the first people to push for a national initiative in solid-state lighting, coauthoring a white paper on the topic in 1999 with Jeff Nelson of Sandia and Fred Kish and Roland Haitz of Hewlett Packard.
In subsequent years, Tsao was instrumental in helping identify and articulate the major science and technology research challenges for solid-state lighting. Simmons said Tsao also did an “amazing” study on the consumption of light across several continents going back 300 years, showing that humanity tends to spend roughly 0.7 percent of its gross domestic product on lighting, regardless of its efficiency or of standard of living.
Tsao said his career has spanned a wide range of work, from in-the-lab experimental science to management and entrepreneurship to serving the larger research community through papers, roadmaps and forward-looking ideas.
“Most importantly, it’s been full of wonderful friends, colleagues, and managers,” he said. “And for that I am grateful.”
Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.
Santelli Explores High Frequency Trading
CNBC's Rick Santelli takes a look at a Harvard paper that suggests HFT removes liquidity in the markets.
Video (2:47)
Santelli Explores High Frequency Trading
Video (2:47)
Santelli Explores High Frequency Trading
Monday, March 11, 2013
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Multiple Teen Girls and Running a Child Exploitation Enterprise
FBI Washington Field Office Press Release:
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Multiple Teen Girls and Running a Child Exploitation Enterprise
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Multiple Teen Girls and Running a Child Exploitation Enterprise
| U.S. Attorney’s OfficeMarch 11, 2013 |
ALEXANDRIA, VA—Edwin Barcus Jr., aka “Boo,” 27, of Georgia, pleaded guilty to running a commercial sex business that prostituted at least seven juvenile girls in Herndon, Virginia, and other locations throughout Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, II; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Lt. Colonel James A. Morris, Acting Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.
Barcus pleaded guilty to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise and faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison when he is sentenced on June 7, 2013.
“Edwin Barcus made his living exploiting vulnerable young girls and luring them into prostitution,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Barcus saw these girls as his property—even making them get tattoos with his nickname. Thanks to the FBI, Fairfax County Police Department, and the members of our Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force, his operation is shut down and can no longer victimize these girls.”
“Recruiting, exploiting, and transporting juveniles for the purpose of underage prostitution is a cruel form of modern-day slavery,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “Prostitution is not a victimless crime. The FBI is committed to apprehending individuals who sexually exploit juveniles, and we will continue to work to identify these predators and their victims.”
According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, since August 2007, Barcus has led and organized a commercial sex organization that has prostituted at least 23 women, including at least four of whom were 16 years old and at least three of whom were 17 years old when Barcus began prostituting them. He targeted juveniles who had run away from home or lived in a broken home, sometimes making them believe that he or other members of the organization were romantically interested in them. Barcus also stated that he purchased clothing and shoes for girls he wanted to recruit as a means of luring them into the venture.
Barcus admitted that he used Backpage.com and other erotic Internet sites to advertise the girls’ services and to recruit girls to work for his organization. When the girls found it difficult to repeatedly have sex with strange men, Barcus and others provided them with alcohol and narcotics to make them more vulnerable and susceptible to prostitution.
Barcus and other conspirators carried and, when necessary, brandished firearms while engaging in prostitution-related activities, and Barcus battered at least three of the females working for his commercial sex enterprise. At times, Barcus had the women and girls he prostituted tattooed with his nickname “Boo.”
In November 2012, Barcus was prostituting at least one juvenile in Herndon, Virginia, while another member of his organization was prostituting other females in Atlanta, Georgia. Because the venture was yielding substantial profits in Herndon, Barcus instructed the conspirator to bring two 17-year-old girls to Herndon. When one of the girls objected, she was told that “under the rules of the game” she had to go to Virginia. Barcus admitted that each girl servicing clients in Herndon could obtain $500 or more per day. All the money was turned over to Barcus or other members of the enterprise.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department, with assistance from the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Frank and Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant United States Attorney Marc J. Birnbaum are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies—along with nongovernmental organizations—dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.
Pennsylvania Prison Inmate Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Sending Threatening Letter to District Judge in Philadelphia
FBI Philadelphia Division Press Release:
Pennsylvania Prison Inmate Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Sending Threatening Letter to District Judge in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Prison Inmate Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Sending Threatening Letter to District Judge in Philadelphia
| U.S. Attorney’s OfficeMarch 11, 2013 |
TRENTON, NJ—An inmate in the Pennsylvania State Prison system today was sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending a threatening letter to a federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
William Brown, 22, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to count two of an indictment that charged him with threatening a U.S. District Court judge in Philadelphia. Judge Wolfson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Brown, who is currently serving a sentence of life in prison for a 2011 Pennsylvania conviction for first-degree murder and aggravated assault, sent the threatening letter from his prison cell. He admitted writing the letter, which contained expletives and threats against the judge’s life; smearing his fecal matter on it; and mailing it to the judge.
He was transferred to federal custody in June 2012 after the grand jury returned the indictment in this case.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Brown to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI in Philadelphia, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George C. Venizelos, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Nelson Thayer, Attorney in Charge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Otho Man Sentenced to Five Years on Child Pornography Charges
FBI Omaha Division Press Release:
Otho Man Sentenced to Five Years on Child Pornography Charges
Otho Man Sentenced to Five Years on Child Pornography Charges
| U.S. Attorney’s OfficeMarch 11, 2013 |
A man who distributed and received child pornography was sentenced March 7, 2013, to five years in federal prison.
Adam Stephenson, age 20, of Otho, Iowa, received the sentence after a September 27, 2012, guilty plea to one count of distributing child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography. At the guilty plea, Stephenson admitted he knowingly used the Internet to distribute and receive child pornography.
Stephenson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Stephenson was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $200 was imposed, and Stephenson must also serve a five-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Dodge Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 12-3016.
Friday, March 8, 2013
INHOFE, SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO EXEMPT SMALL FARMS FROM BURDENSOME FUEL STORAGE REQUIREMENT
News Release:
INHOFE, SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO EXEMPT SMALL FARMS FROM BURDENSOME FUEL STORAGE REQUIREMENT
March 8, 2013
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced a bill with a bipartisan group of Senators to amend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule and ease the regulator compliance for farms. Senators on the bill include Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.).
“As I have been saying for years, the EPA is doing everything it can to regulate America out of business, and Obama has his sights on the agriculture industry as well,” said Inhofe. “Forcing farmers to comply with oil spill regulations that were designed for refineries does not make any sense, making this bill absolutely necessary. It provides an exemption from the SPCC rule to any farmer who has less than 42,000 total gallons of oil storage capacity and no single tank larger than 10,000 gallons. This will exempt the vast majority of farmers from having to fill out volumes of paperwork, spend significant sums to buy new storage equipment, and protect them from the aggressive enforcement actions of the EPA. I am proud to work with Senator Pryor on this issue.”
Under the current EPA rule, farmers and ranchers who have property with tanks of any amount of gasoline or motor oil would have to obtain double walled tanks and build berms around the tanks to contain potential spills. Additionally, the farmers and ranchers would have to develop a spill plan to be approved by a professional engineer.
This bipartisan bill will exempt family farmers and ranches with tanks smaller than 10,000 gallons of fuel storage capacity and fewer than 42,000 gallons of total fuel storage capacity.
"We applaud Sen. Inhofe and his colleagues for working to ease the regulatory burden on farmers and ranchers,” said Mike Spradling, President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. “EPA regulations, and the SPCC rule in particular, are something Oklahoma producers have been concerned about for a long time. We believe that the exemption being sought by Senator Inhofe and his colleagues is exactly what Oklahoma’s farmers need."
“I want to thank Senator Inhofe for taking the lead in reducing EPA’s regulatory impact on Oklahoma’s farmers and ranchers,” said Terry Detrick, President of American Farmers and Ranchers. “The SPCC rule was designed for oil refineries – not for farmers – and it would have imposed significant and unnecessary costs on our community. The exemption being sought by Senator Inhofe is prudent and just what we need.”
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Thursday, March 7, 2013
Alcoa Shaping Future of Global Manufacturing with 2013 Manufacturing Leadership 100 Award
News Release:
Alcoa Shaping Future of Global Manufacturing with 2013 Manufacturing Leadership 100 Award
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today it was named a 2013 Manufacturing Leadership 100 Award (ML100 Award) winner in the Information Leadership Category by theManufacturing Executive and Manufacturing Leadership Council. The awards honor companies and individuals that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Alcoa was recognized for its SMART Manufacturing project implemented across several of its Global Primary Metals locations.
The Alcoa SMART Manufacturing project ties together information from all production and business sources within a plant and across the enterprise with a comprehensive, common technical architecture. In traditional manufacturing processes, data is often in many locations, not easily accessible and frequently in multiple versions. The SMART Manufacturing concept provides a common platform and tools, real-time data, and transparency, resulting in improved productivity, process improvements and lower costs.
"The challenges to stay competitive as a manufacturer are never ending," said Phil Morrissette, Chief Information Officer, Alcoa Global Primary Products. "Now, more than ever, improvements in process optimization and manufacturing performance are essential for competitive advantage in the marketplace. In simplest terms, the Alcoa SMART Manufacturing program is a robust system of compiling data to help target problems and more quickly identify solutions.
"Adopting SMART Manufacturing can eliminate or greatly reduce much of the manual data entry and paper routing, allowing the workforce to dedicate more time to productive operations or valued added work activities," Morrissette added.
SMART Manufacturing was deployed across six Alcoa locations in 2012; another six locations are scheduled for deployment this year.
ML100 winners in the Information Leadership category were selected based on specific project criteria including process and business impact, benefit to the bottom line, strategic value, and use of information technology as an enabler.
As a result of becoming an ML100 winner, Alcoa is now eligible for the program's High Achievers Award in the Information Leadership category as well as the 2013 Manufacturer of the Year Award and/or 2013 Project of the Year Award. Winners will be announced at a gala honoring the ML100 award winners on May 15 in Palm Beach, Florida.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 125 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 11 consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 30 countries across the world. For more information, visitwww.alcoa.com and follow @Alcoa on Twitter at twitter.com/Alcoa.
Alcoa Shaping Future of Global Manufacturing with 2013 Manufacturing Leadership 100 Award
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today it was named a 2013 Manufacturing Leadership 100 Award (ML100 Award) winner in the Information Leadership Category by theManufacturing Executive and Manufacturing Leadership Council. The awards honor companies and individuals that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Alcoa was recognized for its SMART Manufacturing project implemented across several of its Global Primary Metals locations.
The Alcoa SMART Manufacturing project ties together information from all production and business sources within a plant and across the enterprise with a comprehensive, common technical architecture. In traditional manufacturing processes, data is often in many locations, not easily accessible and frequently in multiple versions. The SMART Manufacturing concept provides a common platform and tools, real-time data, and transparency, resulting in improved productivity, process improvements and lower costs.
"The challenges to stay competitive as a manufacturer are never ending," said Phil Morrissette, Chief Information Officer, Alcoa Global Primary Products. "Now, more than ever, improvements in process optimization and manufacturing performance are essential for competitive advantage in the marketplace. In simplest terms, the Alcoa SMART Manufacturing program is a robust system of compiling data to help target problems and more quickly identify solutions.
"Adopting SMART Manufacturing can eliminate or greatly reduce much of the manual data entry and paper routing, allowing the workforce to dedicate more time to productive operations or valued added work activities," Morrissette added.
SMART Manufacturing was deployed across six Alcoa locations in 2012; another six locations are scheduled for deployment this year.
ML100 winners in the Information Leadership category were selected based on specific project criteria including process and business impact, benefit to the bottom line, strategic value, and use of information technology as an enabler.
As a result of becoming an ML100 winner, Alcoa is now eligible for the program's High Achievers Award in the Information Leadership category as well as the 2013 Manufacturer of the Year Award and/or 2013 Project of the Year Award. Winners will be announced at a gala honoring the ML100 award winners on May 15 in Palm Beach, Florida.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 125 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 11 consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 30 countries across the world. For more information, visitwww.alcoa.com and follow @Alcoa on Twitter at twitter.com/Alcoa.
Verizon Invested More Than $545 Million in Massachusetts Wireline Communications, IT Infrastructure in 2012
News Release:
March 7, 2013
March 7, 2013
Verizon Invested More Than $545 Million in Massachusetts Wireline Communications, IT Infrastructure in 2012
Company’s Innovation and Broadband, Internet Protocol Investments Are Powerful Platforms for Economic Growth- Share
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BOSTON – Verizon’s powerful networks continue to meet the growing broadband, communications and information needs of Bay State consumers and businesses, as the company invested more than $545 million in its Massachusetts wireline networks and information technology infrastructure in 2012.
“The economic health of Massachusetts, and the people who live and work there, is increasingly tied to robust and modern communications networks, and Verizon’s significant infrastructure investments provide a prescription for growth,” said Allison G. Cole, Verizon region president for consumer and mass business markets in New England. “Advanced networks spur innovation, commerce, business development, learning and communication at an accelerated pace.
“Our infrastructure investment breaks down traditional technological boundaries, providing powerful solutions that enable people and businesses to connect however, whenever and wherever they want. This creates opportunities that are borderless and that bring great benefits to our customers, employees, suppliers and communities,” said Cole.
More than half of U.S. consumers say Internet service is their home’s most important convenience, according to the Verizon FiOS Innovation Index – a series of consumer research surveys. More than 50 percent of all survey respondents also indicated an interest in remote health monitoring and virtual medical visits, which are enabled by ultra-high-speed networks and innovative applications.
“Whether it’s touring the Louvre from your laptop, watching TV on your tablet, or monitoring blood pressure online, the power of our networks is helping consumers and businesses advance their own agenda and remove technological boundaries,” said Cole.
Innovation That Creates Consumer Choice, Delivers Rich Customer Experiences
Verizon’s major wireline infrastructure programs in 2012 included:
- Continued deployment of the company’s award-winning, 100 percent fiber-optic FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services. At year’s end, FiOS services were available to more than 1 million Massachusetts homes and businesses.
- The introduction of breakthrough speeds with FiOS Quantum Internet for consumers and small businesses, featuring download/upload speeds of 50/25, 75/35, 150/65 and 300/65 megabits per second (Mbps). The two highest downstream speed offers – 150 and 300 Mbps – and the new 65 Mbps upstream speed are some of the nation’s fastest mass scale Internet speeds available. (ThisFiOS Internet speed grid shows specific examples of the benefits of faster downstream and upstream speeds.)
- The rollout of Verizon FiOS Quantum 300/65 Mbps Internet speed throughout the company’s national footprint. The service was developed at the national Verizon Innovation Center in Waltham, Mass., one of only two such centers in the United States.
- Continued FiOS innovation:
- FiOS TV anytime, anywhere, on a variety of devices, including Flex View and FiOS TV Online, to which Verizon added 12 new brands, representing more than 50 channels, including Showtime, FOX, VH1, NFL Network and NFL RedZone.
- TV beyond the set-top box, featuring 75 live, linear channels delivered via Xbox, iPad and an array of Samsung and LG smart TVs and Blu-ray players.
- Content enhancement by adding 28 new channels, such as BBC HD and Cartoon Network HD; more than 17,000 video-on-demand titles, including free VOD from NBA TV; and a significant expansion to Verizon’s free on-demand offerings from TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Showtime. FiOS TV now offers more than 50,000 VOD titles each month.
- Investing in superior customer experiences: More than 200,000 Verizon customers nationwide who had repeat repair calls on their landline phone service moved their service from Verizon’s copper network to the company’s all-fiber infrastructure, which is less susceptible than copper to moisture and water damage and offers a better service experience.
- Continued deployment of fiber-optic links to wireless providers’ cell sites throughout Massachusetts as these carriers expand their infrastructure to meet ever-growing demand for wireless broadband and advanced 4G services. In 2012, Verizon deployed fiber optics to connect 358 of these sites in the state.
(NOTE: Verizon Wireless infrastructure investment information can be found athttp://news.verizonwireless.com/news/index.html?type=News+Releases.)
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with more than 98 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with nearly $116 billion in 2012 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 183,400. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
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Verizon Invested More Than $113 Million in Rhode Island’s Wireline Communications, IT Infrastructure in 2012
News Release:
March 7, 2013
March 7, 2013
Verizon Invested More Than $113 Million in Rhode Island’s Wireline Communications, IT Infrastructure in 2012
Company’s Innovation and Broadband, Internet Protocol Investments Are Powerful Platforms for Economic Growth- Share
-
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Verizon’s powerful networks continue to meet the growing broadband, communications and information needs of Ocean State consumers and businesses, as the company invested more than $113 million in its Rhode Island’s wireline networks and information technology infrastructure in 2012.
“The economic health of Rhode Island, and the people who live and work there, is increasingly tied to robust and modern communications networks, and Verizon’s significant infrastructure investments provide a prescription for growth,” said Allison G. Cole, Verizon region president for consumer and mass business markets in New England. “Advanced networks spur innovation, commerce, business development, learning and communication at an accelerated pace.
“Our infrastructure investment breaks down traditional technological boundaries, providing powerful solutions that enable people and businesses to connect however, whenever and wherever they want. This creates opportunities that are borderless and that bring great benefits to our customers, employees, suppliers and communities,” said Cole.
More than half of U.S. consumers say Internet service is their home’s most important convenience, according to the Verizon FiOS Innovation Index – a series of consumer research surveys. More than 50 percent of all survey respondents also indicated an interest in remote health monitoring and virtual medical visits, which are enabled by ultra-high-speed networks and innovative applications.
“Whether it’s touring the Louvre from your laptop, watching TV on your tablet, or monitoring blood pressure online, the power of our networks is helping consumers and businesses advance their own agenda and remove technological boundaries,” said Cole.
Innovation That Creates Consumer Choice, Delivers Rich Customer Experiences
Verizon’s major wireline infrastructure programs in 2012 included:
- Continued deployment of the company’s award-winning, 100 percent fiber-optic FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services. At year’s end, FiOS services were available to more than 436,000 (or 85 percent of) Rhode Island homes and businesses.
- The introduction of breakthrough speeds with FiOS Quantum Internet for consumers and small businesses, featuring download/upload speeds of 50/25, 75/35, 150/65 and 300/65 megabits per second (Mbps). The two highest downstream speed offers – 150 and 300 Mbps – and the new 65 Mbps upstream speed are some of the nation’s fastest mass scale Internet speeds available. (ThisFiOS Internet speed grid shows specific examples of the benefits of faster downstream and upstream speeds.)
- Continued FiOS innovation:
- FiOS TV anytime, anywhere, on a variety of devices, including Flex View and FiOS TV Online, to which Verizon added 12 new brands, representing more than 50 channels, including Showtime, FOX, VH1, NFL Network and NFL RedZone.
- TV beyond the set-top box, featuring 75 live, linear channels delivered via Xbox, iPad and an array of Samsung and LG smart TVs and Blu-ray players.
- Content enhancement by adding 28 new channels, such as BBC HD and Cartoon Network HD; more than 17,000 video-on-demand titles, including free VOD from NBA TV; and a significant expansion to Verizon’s free on-demand offerings from TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Showtime. FiOS TV now offers more than 50,000 VOD titles each month.
- Investing in superior customer experiences: More than 200,000 Verizon customers nationwide who had repeat repair calls on their landline phone service moved their service from Verizon’s copper network to the company’s all-fiber infrastructure, which is less susceptible than copper to moisture and water damage and offers a better service experience.
- Continued deployment of fiber-optic links to wireless providers’ cell sites throughout Rhode Island as these carriers expand their infrastructure to meet ever-growing demand for wireless broadband and advanced 4G services. In 2012, Verizon deployed fiber optics to connect 78 of these sites in the state.
(NOTE: Verizon Wireless infrastructure investment information can be found athttp://news.verizonwireless.com/news/index.html?type=News+Releases.)
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with more than 98 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with nearly $116 billion in 2012 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 183,400. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
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Cornyn Bill to Eliminate Nationwide Rape Kit Backlog Signed Into Law
News Release:
Mar 07 2013
WASHINGTON— Today U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) issued the following statement after the President signed The Violence Against Women Act into law, which includes Sen. Cornyn’s Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act to reduce the national rape kit backlog:
“An unacceptable national backlog of untested rape kits has compounded the pain for too many victims of sexual assault over the years. Today, we take a significant step toward reducing that backlog.
“I’m pleased with the wide bipartisan support the SAFER Act received and with the President’s signature today, law enforcement can begin working immediately to test outstanding kits and see that justice is served.”
The SAFER Act will audit and reduce the backlog of untested rape kits sitting in the possession of law enforcement agencies across the country, which experts have pegged as high as 400,000. Endorsed by key national victims’ rights groups, this deficit-neutral bill will provide funding for state and local governments to conduct audits of untested DNA evidence and create a national reporting system to help track and prioritize untested rape kits.
Background on SAFER Act
- Provides state and local governments with funding to conduct a one-year audit of the untested sexual assault evidence in their possession.
- Creates a national reporting system to help track these audits, prioritize the analysis of untested rape kits and better target existing Debbie Smith Act appropriations.
- Amends current law to require that at least 75% of Debbie Smith Act funds be spent directly on either analyzing untested DNA evidence or increasing the capacity of labs.
- Allows the Department of Justice to publish a report on advisory protocols and practices used in cases that include untested sexual assault evidence, and allows SAFER Act grantees to use existing funds to implement those guidelines.
- Prohibits grantees from holding funds in offshore accounts and using funds for conferences and lobbying, and limits the amount of funds that may be used for administrative costs.
Organizations that Support the SAFER Act
- Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN)
- Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
- National Organization for Women (NOW)
- Concerned Women for America (CWA)
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
- National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV)
- National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA)
- Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA)
- Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV)
Bank of America Provides Estimates From 2013 Stress Test Results
News Release:
Bank of America Provides Estimates From 2013 Stress Test Results
CATEGORY:
Thursday, March 7, 2013 5:23 pm EST
Bank of America today made available the results of the 2013 Dodd-Frank Act Annual Stress Test on the Bank of America Investor Relations website at http://investor.bankofamerica.com.
The estimates for Bank of America Corporation do not include the impact of potential capital actions in excess of the company’s current common share dividends (and contractually obligated payments on other regulatory capital instruments) and should not be regarded as forecasts of actual financial results for either Bank of America or its selected subsidiaries. Investors in securities issued by Bank of America should not rely on the Stress Test results as being indicative of expected future results.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 53 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,500 retail banking offices and approximately 16,300 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 53 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,500 retail banking offices and approximately 16,300 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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