Teen pot use could hurt brain and memory, new research suggests
Brian Alexander, NBC News
Teenage pot smokers could be damaging brain structures critical to memory and reasoning, according to new research that found changes in the brains of heavy users.
Research released Monday in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin showed the brains of young heavy marijuana users were altered in so-called sub-cortical regions — primitive structures that are part of the memory and reasoning circuits. And young people with such alterations performed worse on memory tests than non-using controls, despite the fact that the heavy users had not indulged for more than two years, on average, before the testing.
In legal terms, a federal judge’s decision Monday questioning the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s massive call-tracking program seems almost certain to have no practical significance.
In political terms, it comes at a critical time for the NSA and President Barack Obama.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon’s ruling that the NSA’s metadata program appears to violate the Fourth Amendment was issued just three days after a review group established by Obama delivered its report proposing more than 40 changes to the federal government’s surveillance programs. (Gerstein/Politico)
House Report: Ill-Trained Obamacare Navigators Encouraging Fraud, Jeopardizing Private Info
The Obama administration decided that Obamacare Navigators, tasked with helping Americans enroll in a health insurance plan, would not undergo mandatory background checks. Now, in the ten weeks since the launch of Healthcare.gov, the ill-trained Navigators have put Americans’ sensitive health and tax information at risk.
Breitbart News has obtained a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee report on the Obamacare Navigators that will be released Monday. It has found that Obamacare Navigators have been giving Americans misinformation and, in some cases, actively encouraging enrollees to commit fraud in order to raise their subsidies. To complicate matters further, there is no way for Americans to find out whether their Navigators are properly certified.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a Congressional hearing that it was “possible” for convicted felons to become Navigators. The report, titled Risks of Fraud and Misinformation with ObamaCare Outreach Campaign: How Navigator and Assister Program Mismanagement Endangers Consumers, concludes that is only one of many worries Americans should have about Navigators.
The Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), and HHS actually learned that “poorly-trained Navigators gave consumers incorrect information about the health care exchanges, violated HHS rules and procedures, and even encouraged applicants to commit tax fraud in some instances.” Moreover, this was learned from various news reports due to the complete lack of any internal oversight.
The disastrous ObamaCare rollout unmasks liberalism’s paternalistic dishonesty.
Matt Welch from the January 2014 issue
Back in 2009, to accuse President Barack Obama of lying about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was to crawl onto a pretty lonely branch. In December of that year, when I leveled the charge in response to the president’s knowing mischaracterization of the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of his signature piece of legislation, I was called “flagrantly dishonest” by none other than the (rightly respected) civil liberties blogger/reporter Glenn Greenwald.
As recently as November 2012-more than two years after the administration published grandfathering regulations as part of its health care legislation, rendering ludicrous the president’s frequently repeated pledge that “if you like your health plan you can keep it”-much of the liberal commentariat was calling the electoral contest between Obama and Republican Mitt Romney a referendum on political honesty. The only way for truth to prevail, they argued, was to vote for the Democrat.
“We may find out whether a ‘post truth’ candidate can be elected president,” Washington Post “Plum Line” blogger Greg Sargent warned just before the election. “If there is one constant to this campaign, it’s that Romney has startled many observers by operating from the basic premise that there is literally no set of boundaries he needs to follow when it comes to the veracity of his assertions.”
Thousands of HealthCare.gov sign-ups didn’t make it to insurers
Posted by Sarah Kliff on December 14, 2013 at 10:00 am
Enrollment records for close to 15,000 HealthCare.gov shoppers were not initially transmitted to the insurance plans they selected, according to a preliminary federal estimate to be released Saturday.
While these cases pose a challenge for the Obama administration, officials say they believe the situation is improving. Since early December, fewer than 1 percent of HealthCare.gov enrollments did not make their way to health insurance plans.
Lawmakers who oversee government surveillance programs receive millions from intelligence companies
December 13, 2013 | Joe Schoffstall – 140 Comments
Every member who sits on the committees that oversee government intelligence operations has received campaign contributions from the top twenty largest intelligence companies in the United States, according to a new report.
Amid the NSA scandal, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence — the committees in charge of oversight — denied stricter reform attempts to the NSA programs and instead propelled legislation aimed at restoring their trust. The committees are intended to keep waste, fraud, and abuse in check given most of these programs are hidden from the general public.
Every single member on the committees received campaign contributions from the largest intelligence companies in the U.S. performing services for the the government.
A report from Maplight, a nonpartisan research organization that reveals money in politics, highlights the donations from political action committees (PACs) and individuals from the intelligence services companies to these members. The report shows donations amount to over $3.7 million from 2005-2013.
Displaying the award commemorating Valley’s third consecutive Magnet designation are Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System (fourth from right), and Ann Marie Leichman, Vice President, Patient Care Services, and Chief Nursing Officer (fifth from left). Also shown are (standing, left to right): Albert Pucciarelli, Deputy Mayor of Village of Ridgewood; Warren Cooke, Esq., Trustee, The Valley Hospital; Joseph Marion, Chairman, The Valley Hospital Board of Trustees; Linda Lewis, Director, Magnet Recognition Program, ANCC; New Jersey Senator Kevin O’Toole; Paul Aronsohn, Mayor, Village of Ridgewood; and Karen Drenkard, Executive Director of the ANCC.
New Jersey Senator Kevin O’Toole and Other Elected Officials Visit The Valley Hospital to Celebrate the Hospital’s Third Consecutive Magnet Designation for Nursing Care
December 3, 2013 — Local and state officials joined employees, trustees and doctors from The Valley Hospital at a special celebration on Monday, November 25, at the hospital, to celebrate Valley’s third consecutive Magnet designation.
The Magnet program recognizes health care organizations that demonstrate excellence in nursing care. Magnet designations are conferred by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Speaking at the celebration, New Jersey Senator Kevin O’Toole commented on his own personal experience with Valley when his father was treated at the hospital. “When you enter Valley, you know you’re in a different kind of hospital,” he said. “You feel welcome immediately, and the quality of care is palpable.” Senator O’Toole continued, “On behalf of the Governor and the State Legislature, I congratulate you on your third consecutive Magnet designation and I thank you for what you do every day.”
Magnet designation is considered the highest honor an organization can receive for professional nursing practice.
“Receiving Magnet designation for a third time is a remarkable accomplishment that recognizes the inspiring work our nurses do every day,” said Ann Marie Leichman, Vice President, Patient Care Services, and Chief Nursing Officer. “It is a reflection of the commitment our entire staff has made in providing the very best care to those who entrust their well-being to us. Magnet designation not only symbolizes excellence in nursing practice but it acknowledges the importance of a strong interdisciplinary team in creating a safe, patient-centered, healing environment.”
Hospitals that apply for Magnet designation must meet rigorous standards to prove that they have demonstrated various elements deemed essential to delivering superior patient care. These include the quality of nursing leadership and coordination and collaboration across specialties, as well as processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care.
$1.2 Billion in PSE&G Transmission Improvements Approved by PJM
(December 11, 2013 – Newark, NJ) — PJM today approved a $1.2 billion 345-kV double-circuit transmission investment designed to resolve short-circuit concerns in northern New Jersey. The project, to be developed by PSE&G, a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG), will enhance the reliability of the transmission infrastructure and allow for handling of increased load over the next several decades. The upgrades will span from the Linden to Bergen power plants and include upgrading ties to Newark Airport, the Hudson Power Station and New York City connections. Planning work is underway and construction is expected to be completed within 48 months.
“This new project continues to place PSE&G at the forefront of efforts to enhance and upgrade our nation’s transmission infrastructure,” said Ralph Izzo, chairman, president and chief executive officer, PSEG. “The project will extend PSEG’s investment in transmission and underscores our disciplined approach to capital investment.”
The project was selected to overcome specific potential reliability issues in the transmission grid but the project will also negate the need for several projects that had been planned to solve other identified problems. The net increase in PSE&G’s planned capital expense will be determined based on the net projects completed. As a result, PSE&G’s capital spending will increase less than the $1.2 billion associated with the 345-kV project.
“PSE&G has a strong record of completing transmission projects effectively and efficiently and we look forward to adding this important reliability project to our plate. We have a strong, proven workforce and with this project will be adding more jobs for New Jersey’s economy,” said Kim Hanemann, vice president – delivery projects and construction, PSE&G.
PSEG (NYSE: PEG) is a diversified energy company based in Newark, NJ. PSEG subsidiaries include PSE&G, NJ’s largest and oldest combined gas and electric delivery company and PSEG Power, a merchant power generation company. For more information, visit www.pseg.com.
NJT ANNOUNCES SUPER PASS NOW AVAILABLE TO SPEED TRAVEL THROUGHOUT SUPER BOWL WEEK
Commemorative pass good for unlimited rides across the NJ TRANSIT system between January 27 – February 3, 2014
December 9, 2013
NEWARK, NJ — In conjunction with the Christie Administration’s ongoing preparations to welcome and safely transport hundreds of thousands of visitors across the Garden State for Super Bowl XLVIII, NJ TRANSIT today announced the launch of a commemorative, unlimited ride SUPER PASS that will speed travel for customers utilizing the agency’s transit system throughout Super Bowl Week.
“The Garden State is ready to welcome the world to Super Bowl XLVIII,” said Governor Chris Christie. “Our Administration’s SUPER PASS will further speed their travels and offer the flexibility to utilize the entire NJ TRANSIT system throughout Super Bowl Week.”
The SUPER PASS is now available to the general public via online orders only at njtransit.com/superbowl through January 20, 2014. The 4 1/8 x 5 1/2 inch SUPER PASS will be printed on card-type stock with lanyard capability for convenient use.
“This is the first ‘Mass Transit Super Bowl, and we’re thrilled to be able to partner with Governor Christie and NJ TRANSIT to offer this convenient, cost-effective pass to efficiently and safely transport hundreds of thousands of visitors to events in New Jersey and across the region during Super Bowl week and for the game itself,” said Al Kelly, Jr., CEO of the New York-New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committee.
Super Bowl XLVIII will be played at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014. More than 400,000 guests are projected to visit the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region in conjunction with this mega-event, infusing an estimated $550 million into the region’s economy. NJ TRANSIT has been designated by the NFL and the New York-New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committee as the lead transportation agency for this important event.
“Our SUPER PASS will provide significant savings for those travelling to and from Newark Liberty Airport as well as for customers planning to attend Super Bowl events, such as Media Day at Newark’s Prudential Center, the NFL’s Super Bowl Boulevard in Manhattan or any other of the myriad of events planned near NJ TRANSIT’s service areas,” said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson.
To support the anticipated spike in ridership between critical venues, NJ TRANSIT is currently finalizing service plans that will provide robust and convenient service on Super Bowl Sunday and throughout Super Bowl Week. These plans will be unveiled and further communicated in the coming weeks.
The agency is also recruiting and training and will deploy more than 800 NJ TRANSIT Employee Ambassadors across the system during Super Bowl week. The agency also is completing critical infrastructure improvements in Secaucus which will support Super Bowl-related transportation operations as well as events well after Super Bowl XLVIII. Rail platform extensions will permit the use of longer, higher-capacity trains to and from MetLife Stadium. A new bus service area will also triple bus capacity, which will further enhance Meadowlands-area bus operations.
“NJ TRANSIT is ready to welcome the legions of Super Bowl visitors to the Garden State, and we look forward to providing them with a safe, efficient and comfortable transportation experience across our system,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director James Weinstein.
Reader says Once the Village downtown is destroyed, there will be no turning back and the rest of the Village will follow
We seriously need to stop this train wreck from happening. Once the Village downtown is destroyed, there will be no turning back and the rest of the Village will follow. To protect our homes, our schools and the Village way of life for future generations and people, we need to speak up now.
The approaching holiday season provides the perfect opportunity to pull your elected representatives aside whenever and wherever you see them, and politely but earnestly let them know these projects can’t go through. The current zoning allows plenty of room to build new units for empty nesters and new comers alike (too much room probably.) Lets enforce the zoning as currently written.
Why is Brancheau going down this path? Why is the planning board going down this path? We don’t need these hearings. We need to put a stop to them now and just say “no” — we like the Village just the way it is, thanks. Go build in Wychoff or another Town.
Make that your holiday message to the Village council.
It’s designed to be an impressive show of force: Thousands of unionized teachers plan to rally Monday in cities from New York to San Francisco to “reclaim the promise of public education.”
Behind the scenes, however, teachers unions are facing tumultuous times. Long among the wealthiest and most powerful interest groups in American politics, the unions are grappling with financial, legal and public-relations challenges as they fight to retain their clout and build alliances with a public increasingly skeptical of big labor.
“I do think it’s a moment of truth,” said Lance Alldrin, a veteran high-school teacher in Corning, Calif., who has split from his longtime union after serving for a decade as the local president.
The National Education Association has lost 230,000 members, or 7 percent, since 2009, and it’s projecting another decline this year, which will likely drop it below 3 million members. Among the culprits: teacher layoffs, the rise of non-unionized charter schools and new laws in states such as Wisconsin and Michigan freeing teachers to opt out of the union. (Simon/Politico)
Ex-Official Says FBI Can Secretly Activate an Individual’s Webcam Without the Indicator Light Turning On
Dec. 7, 2013 9:57am Oliver Darcy
Domestic Surveillance
The FBI can secretly activate a computer’s webcam to spy on an individual without turning on the indicator light, a former official revealed to the Washington Post in an article published Friday.
According to the Washington Post’s account of what Marcus Thomas — former assistant director of the FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico — said, “The FBI has been able to covertly activate a computer’s camera — without triggering the light that lets users know it is recording — for several years,
Pocket hookahs proliferate with young marijuana users, sources say
By Nancy Lofholm
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/06/2013 06:31:10 PM MST | Updated: about 11 hours ago
They can look like nondescript writing pens or asthma inhalers. Some resemble lip-gloss sticks and come in the same hot pink or sparkly purple as teenage girls’ smartphone cases.
Others are bullet-like cylinders hanging on fat gold neck chains like gangsta bling. Some come boxed in a rainbow of neon colors looking a lot like marking pens.
Portable pot vaporizers — called “vapes” or “pocket hookahs” by users — are going hand-in-hand with the proliferation of electronic cigarettes and taking the marijuana world by storm. They are so well disguised and can be used so clandestinely that they are setting off alarm bells with those concerned about keeping legalized pot out of the hands of minors.
Traffic stop of Bergen County freeholder DeNicola not political, investigation says
Friday December 6, 2013, 6:31 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
A controversial traffic stop of a Bergen County freeholder was not politically motivated, a sheriff’s Internal Affairs investigation has concluded.
The investigation into the Aug. 14 incident in which a sheriff’s officer pulled over Freeholder Maura DeNicola as she drove home on Route 208 after a board meeting, found that the officer acted properly, John McCann, attorney for Sheriff Michael Saudino, said Friday.
DeNicola said at the time that she believed she was targeted because of her opposition to folding the Bergen County Police into the Sheriff’s Office. Vincent Surace, the officer who pulled her over, said she was driving too slowly in the passing lane. The stop led to the discovery that her vehicle’s registration had expired.
A Pearl Harbor Day Message from Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan
In the early morning of December 7, 1941 hundreds of fighters and bombers from the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the US Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor. In just two hours, nearly 20 American ships, including eight battleships, were lost; most importantly more than 2,000 soldiers and sailors lost their lives.
In those dark days that followed, we as Americans showed that our spirit and strength comes from our resilience. The ‘Greatest Generation’ that endured years of conflict following the attacks on Pearl Harbor set an example that we follow today.
So each year we take time on this date, December 7th, not only to remember those lost in the attacks but to reaffirm that no matter the adversity, we as Americans will come together to defend our liberty, our principles, and stand tall united.
And finally we say thank you, once again, to all of our military personnel and veterans who have served or continue to serve so that we can be free.
