Justice official Perez to be nominated as labor secretary

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez previously was secretary of Maryland's labor department.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9affcNVhB1lgp8IzzhzMMurlYyI6IZWE_rdjzdyB19HeyiBk5tYhjmt2xl8MRbE441qul4NL3i4T0i1SgB3GpAw0x9DSAP4WCDx-ANWyRYSa-CrLf5XgAC6EU2Sq6lSPAMrru3fVJ9utH/s1600/perez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9affcNVhB1lgp8IzzhzMMurlYyI6IZWE_rdjzdyB19HeyiBk5tYhjmt2xl8MRbE441qul4NL3i4T0i1SgB3GpAw0x9DSAP4WCDx-ANWyRYSa-CrLf5XgAC6EU2Sq6lSPAMrru3fVJ9utH/s1600/perez.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />WASHINGTON — Seeking to fill yet another second-term Cabinet vacancy, President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Thomas Perez, an assistant attorney general, to be the next secretary of labor, the White House said.<br />If confirmed by the Senate, Perez, who has been head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division for 3½ years, would take over the Labor Department as Obama undertakes several worker-oriented initiatives, including an overhaul of immigration laws and an increase in the minimum wage.<br />Before taking the job as assistant attorney general, Perez was secretary of Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which enforces state consumer rights, workplace safety and wage and hour laws.<br />In choosing the 51-year-old Perez, the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Obama would be placing an already high-ranking Hispanic official in a Cabinet slot. Perez, a lawyer with a degree from Harvard Law School, would replace Hilda Solis, a former California congresswoman and the nation's first Hispanic labor secretary.<br />Perez's nomination has been expected for weeks, and comes with vigorous support from labor unions and Latino groups.<br />But a newly released report by the Justice Department's inspector general is likely to provide fodder for Republicans who say the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has been too politicized.<br />The report, released last week, said Perez gave incomplete testimony to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights when he said the department's political leadership was not involved in the decision to dismiss three of the four defendants in a lawsuit the Bush administration brought against the New Black Panther Party.<br />The report also concluded that Perez did not intentionally mislead the commission and that the department acted properly.<br />Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said Perez appeared to be "woefully unprepared to answer questions" from the Civil Rights Commission.<br />Lynn Rhinehart, general counsel at the AFL-CIO, said the report shows that Perez, who was first hired by the civil rights division as a career attorney under President George H.W. Bush, restored integrity to the voting rights program at the Justice Department.

Justice official Perez to be nominated as labor secretary

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez previously was secretary of Maryland's labor department. WASHINGTON — Seeking to fill yet anothe...

Sarah Palin urges Big Gulp to broaden message,or..?

or Sarah Palin urges GOP to broaden message.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWHsQ-9ruLUL6va6DaMC5iaMG908QrMqZuW3vHYF2_Jak02VxYGiIlvzvdKwZrEBMeJCOxfUCHL6Mnk-ZchXF5NwyI07oAczw0uCT38wQGtxiVz8dLvHmLgYTpl7-iK-cDZcUPSi_SB7J/s1600/palin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWHsQ-9ruLUL6va6DaMC5iaMG908QrMqZuW3vHYF2_Jak02VxYGiIlvzvdKwZrEBMeJCOxfUCHL6Mnk-ZchXF5NwyI07oAczw0uCT38wQGtxiVz8dLvHmLgYTpl7-iK-cDZcUPSi_SB7J/s1600/palin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="abs">Sarah Palin spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday and said the GOP needs to focus on rebuilding the middle class, not just the party.</div><div class="abs"> </div><section>OXON HILL, Md.— Returning to the national stage, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Saturday that the Republican Party must broaden its message to grow.</section><section>"We must leave no American behind," she said in a populist speech that electrified supporters at a conservative summit in suburban Washington. "And we must share our powerful message of freedom and liberty to all citizens — even those who may disagree on some issues."</section><section>Palin has maintained a low profile during last year's election. She is expected to play a limited role in the future of the GOP but shared several recommendations Saturday.</section><section><strong></strong> </section><section>Instead of focusing on rebuilding the Republican Party, she said that party leaders should focus on rebuilding the middle class.</section><section>She jabbed President Barack Obama and the Republican professional class alike, urging the crowd to reject the ideas of political consultants and pollsters, taking a not-so-subtle dig at Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and a co-founder of outside group Crossroads USA.</section><section>"The architects can head on back ... to the great Lone Star State and put their name on some ballot, though, for their sake, I hope they give themselves a discount on their consulting services," she quipped.</section><section>But Palin saved her most pointed criticism for Obama, likening him to Ponzi-scheme felon Bernie Madoff. Taking a shot at the president's call for universal background checks on gun owners, she said, "Dandy idea, Mr. President — should have started with yours."</section><section>Palin drew cheers when she paused in the middle of her remarks to sip soda from a "Big Gulp" — the type of supersized, sugary drink that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to ban. A New York judge this week struck down the mayor's pioneering 16-ounce limit on sodas and other nondiet sweet drinks for sale.</section><section><h4>"Oh, Bloomberg's not around," she mocked. "Our Big Gulp is safe. "</h4></section><section> </section><section><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></section><section> </section>

Sarah Palin urges Big Gulp to broaden message,or..?

or Sarah Palin urges GOP to broaden message. Sarah Palin spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday and said the GOP ...

Hundreds checked for rabies after transplant death

<div class="abs">Health officials were trying to determine Saturday the extent of rabies risk for people in five states who came in contact with an infected organ donor and four transplant patients.</div><section><div class="first" data-class="float1"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffZ-9j7BM26MSFQaeu6JUZCA12maVM0sVdKPlUOHSDCbZPiiC25N9NhnP-yI3l0eIxX27WqRpzWAd3v1ly2xPrkuJX0EnQIJ_MPWccq_1haZ3K1Z8kL_HJn0dCNj_E61FbHJATTJOWOzF/s1600/maryland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffZ-9j7BM26MSFQaeu6JUZCA12maVM0sVdKPlUOHSDCbZPiiC25N9NhnP-yI3l0eIxX27WqRpzWAd3v1ly2xPrkuJX0EnQIJ_MPWccq_1haZ3K1Z8kL_HJn0dCNj_E61FbHJATTJOWOzF/s1600/maryland.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Public health agencies in five states are assessing the rabies risk for hundreds of people who may have had close contact with an infected organ donor and four transplant recipients, one of whom died, officials said Saturday.<br />About 200 medical workers, relatives and others were assessed for potential exposure in Maryland, where the man who received an infected kidney died, state veterinarian Katherine Feldman said. She said fewer than two dozen were urged to get the rabies vaccine as a preventive measure.<br />In Florida, about 90 people were identified as potentially exposed, and three were offered the rabies vaccine as of Friday, state health department spokeswoman Ashley Carr said.<br />Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said the only potential exposures there were people who worked with the patient or the transplanted organ. She said only the organ recipient is receiving rabies treatment.<br />Health officials in Georgia and North Carolina are also involved in the epidemiological investigation prompted by the Maryland man's death from rabies in late February, nearly 18 months after he got the kidney from a donor in Pensacola, Fla. However, officials in those states didn't respond to requests from The Associated Press about the number of people they're assessing.<br />Doctors in Florida didn't test the 20-year-old donor for rabies before he died in September 2011. His heart, liver and other kidney went to recipients in Florida, Georgia and Illinois. They started getting the vaccine this month, and none has had rabies symptoms. A rabies expert unconnected to the case, Dr. Rodney Willoughby of Milwaukee, said they have a strong chance of surviving since they haven't shown any symptoms.<br />Health officials say the virus can be spread through the infected person's saliva and mucous membranes, but human-to-human transmission is rare. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says there has been only one documented instance of transmission by a bite in the U.S.<br />Feldman said Friday that the search for potential exposure subjects in Maryland was wrapping up. She said medical workers typically take precautions, and "we don't share saliva with that many people in our day-to-day goings about."<br />CDC spokeswoman Melissa Dankel said investigators are still trying to learn how the transplant donor got infected with the raccoon rabies virus that was found in his brain tissue and that of the Maryland man. She said the donor was an outdoorsman who might have been bitten by a wild animal in his native North Carolina before moving to Florida and beginning training as an Air Force aviation mechanic 17 weeks before his death.<br />He visited a clinic at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in August 2011 for abdominal pain and vomiting and was transferred to a civilian hospital four days later, said Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia Smith. He later developed encephalitis, a brain inflammation that can have a host of causes, including rabies, but he wasn't tested for the disease, CDC officials say.<br />Smith said the airman died of severe gastroenteritis — inflammation of the stomach and small intestine — complicated by dehydration, electrolyte abnormalities and seizure. The Florida Department of Health said he died of encephalitis of unknown origin.<br />Federal rules require organ banks to disclose any known or suspected infectious conditions that might be transmitted by donor organs. CDC officials say they don't know what information was communicated.<br />Federal guidelines published last year for evaluating organ donors with encephalitis urge "extreme caution" if the suspected cause is a viral pathogen, such as rabies.<br />Dr. Michael Green, a University of Pittsburgh professor who heads the committee that wrote the guidelines, said the guidelines hadn't been published when the Florida patient died. He also said rabies transmission through solid organ transplants is rare. There have been just two other documented instances worldwide — one in Germany and a 2004 U.S. case in which all four recipients died. The CDC says there have been eight documented instances of rabies being transmitted by transplanted corneas.<br />"Nonetheless, if asked whether or not I would use organs where concern for rabies was active in the potential donor, I would urge extreme caution before using organs from this person," Green said.<br />One of the patients who died in the 2004 case was 18-year-old Joshua Hightower, of Gilmer, Texas, after a kidney transplant. He had kidney problems since he was a child. His mother, Jennifer, said Saturday that if rabies is suspected in a transplant donor, doctors should go ahead and transplant the organs, and then give recipients the rabies vaccine.<br />"The word has got to get out there and something's got to change," she said. "These people, like my son, he thought the transplant was going to give him a new life and a new opportunity to move forward, and it killed him — over somebody's negligence and their plain old stupidity, and that's what it is."</section>

Hundreds checked for rabies after transplant death

Health officials were trying to determine Saturday the extent of rabies risk for people in five states who came in contact with an infected ...

Carnegie Mellon, NSA seek high school computer hackers

Carnegie Mellon and the government are having an online game competition to look for the next generation’s great computer minds.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFacODcK0H9TWBF8QaIIlfJj-gL0PqbA5Zw4IN6rFzxkDfJofn-z29PrCZ5uR-1_XWUUhsxkjj8Y-X1uovXD_sjJT3Uy3NmPDBMvUcPqiBrlZwOIWaqBGOro_1E2RTwOFX1oTj4VHQb4Tg/s1600/%2540Publimetro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFacODcK0H9TWBF8QaIIlfJj-gL0PqbA5Zw4IN6rFzxkDfJofn-z29PrCZ5uR-1_XWUUhsxkjj8Y-X1uovXD_sjJT3Uy3NmPDBMvUcPqiBrlZwOIWaqBGOro_1E2RTwOFX1oTj4VHQb4Tg/s1600/%2540Publimetro.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">PITTSBURGH — Bored with classes? Carnegie Mellon University and one of the government's top spy agencies want to interest high school students in a game of computer hacking.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Their goal with "Toaster Wars" is to cultivate the nation's next generation of cyber warriors in offensive and defensive strategies. The free, online "high school hacking competition" is scheduled to run from April 26 to May 6, and any U.S. student or team in grades six through 12 can apply and participate.</div><div style="text-align: left;">David Brumley, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon, said the game is designed to be fun and challenging, but he hopes participants come to see computer security as an excellent career choice.</div><div style="text-align: left;">At a glance of its webpage, the contest seems lightweight.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"When a robot from space crash lands in your backyard, it's up to your hacking skills to fix him and uncover the secrets he carries," the webpage says. But, it adds, students "will learn how to identify security vulnerabilities and perform real-world attacks" on computer. And there is the small tag that reads: "Sponsorship provided by the NSA."</div><div style="text-align: left;">National Security Agency representative Vanee Vines said the U.S. has a great need for cyber security professionals.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"America increasingly needs professionals with highly technical cyber skills to help keep the country safe today — and to help the country meet future challenges and adapt with greater agility," Vines said in an email to The Associated Press.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"When it comes to national security, there is no substitute for a dedicated, immensely talented workforce. We need the best and brightest to help us outthink and defeat our adversaries' new ideas."<br />The NSA, based in Maryland and part of the Defense Department, is responsible for code breaking, monitoring overseas communications, and protecting the U.S. from cyberattacks. Last month, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said cyberattacks are "the battlefield of the future," and security experts said massive amounts of data and corporate trade secrets, likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars, were being stolen from government and corporate computers.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"The government has a huge number of concerns," Brumley said. "Computer security isn't growing fast enough to keep up with all the threats. If you call any business, they're going to say we can't hire enough security people."</div><div style="text-align: left;">Carnegie Mellon released news of the hacker contest just days after the Obama administration's national security adviser called for China to take "serious steps" to stop cyber theft and after a top officer at the U.S. Cyber Command warned that the federal government and the private sector need to be more aggressive in building the country's cyber defenses.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"Toaster Wars" organizers acknowledge that world-class computer hackers don't get such skills just by going to class, but they also note that getting such know-how on one's own carries some legal concerns.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"Computer security is a difficult field to get into," the webpage says. "Those who are interested may find it hard to hone their skills legally."</div><div style="text-align: left;">Brumley described the contest as a capture-the-flag-type game. Pieces of information, called flags, are encrypted or hidden somewhere difficult to find. The game includes computer forensics, cryptography, web exploitation and binary exploitation, described as "the art of bending a computer program to your will."</div><div style="text-align: left;">Organizers say aspiring young hackers probably don't want to sit around and protect a server from outside attacks so the contest was developed to keep their interest.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"We do both offense and defense. We think that brings an additional level of excitement," Brumley said. "That's how you get intuition on how to solve problems."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauYf3LupDh5KFJP8V5R1KG1dQrmkjpdejfpjd5FHEDpJYLxfpmeD5KBnXdKvh4KYsEx6X_vVgslXi4a2UNOpMngBgkvCo0h31MlBrfgKJUO0LJ_s8xbTGssa6wx7yMFdtOoTaZZZUyH55/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauYf3LupDh5KFJP8V5R1KG1dQrmkjpdejfpjd5FHEDpJYLxfpmeD5KBnXdKvh4KYsEx6X_vVgslXi4a2UNOpMngBgkvCo0h31MlBrfgKJUO0LJ_s8xbTGssa6wx7yMFdtOoTaZZZUyH55/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Brumley said he is seeking corporate sponsors and hopes to offer a cash prize to the winners.</div>

Carnegie Mellon, NSA seek high school computer hackers

Carnegie Mellon and the government are having an online game competition to look for the next generation’s great computer minds. PITTSBURGH ...

NRA chief attacks gun background checks

<div class="abs">The NRA's Wayne LaPierre argues that background checks for gun buyers would let the government tax gun owners or take their weapons. </div><div class="abs"> </div><section><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MuDysjmiNMb3iEq5R3UZcDg84JYN1hh8DRwk070PRtrrKwsCTn904lZw-1qrowT5oeYsjO_NmnAwvPDpZLNGWtXYnpkfo75fWgHAJKk1NisUNK-Kg6UD2Ly7jBs_KLt_biZCl1BUV98i/s1600/nra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MuDysjmiNMb3iEq5R3UZcDg84JYN1hh8DRwk070PRtrrKwsCTn904lZw-1qrowT5oeYsjO_NmnAwvPDpZLNGWtXYnpkfo75fWgHAJKk1NisUNK-Kg6UD2Ly7jBs_KLt_biZCl1BUV98i/s1600/nra.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />OXON HILL, Md. — The head of the National Rifle Association is attacking President Barack Obama's call for mandatory background checks for gun owners.<br />The NRA's Wayne LaPierre says those who favor mandatory background checks may be, in his word, "insane."<br />LaPierre says background checks won't make schools safer. Instead, he says, the checks will let the government tax gun owners or take their weapons. He spoke to activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday in suburban Washington.<br />Obama has called on Congress to tighten gun laws following the Connecticut school shooting that killed 26 children and educators. The president supports a series of reforms, including mandatory background checks and a renewal of the assault weapons ban.<br />Conservatives say they are increasingly confident Congress will reject any reforms.</section><br /><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-XwsyFH0y_s0%2FUUOq29UQLfI%2FAAAAAAAAAr4%2F6Uak_e7hjJs%2Fs1600%2Fnra.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MuDysjmiNMb3iEq5R3UZcDg84JYN1hh8DRwk070PRtrrKwsCTn904lZw-1qrowT5oeYsjO_NmnAwvPDpZLNGWtXYnpkfo75fWgHAJKk1NisUNK-Kg6UD2Ly7jBs_KLt_biZCl1BUV98i/s1600/nra.jpg" -->

NRA chief attacks gun background checks

The NRA's Wayne LaPierre argues that background checks for gun buyers would let the government tax gun owners or take their weapons.   O...