OCTOBER 16, 2017


NEWS AND VIEWS


THE NEWLY FORMED "ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE COORDINATING COUNCIL" IS A NON-PARTISAN GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG FOR FUTURE ELECTIONS. GREAT IDEA, AND I’M PLEASED THAT IT IS PUT FORTH BY THE DHS. WHEN THE GOVERNMENT OF A FOREIGN NATION INTERFERES AS AGGRESSIVELY AS THE RUSSIANS DID IN 2016, OUR “SECURITY” HAS INDEED BEEN BREACHED; IT IS ALSO SIMPLY INFURIATING TO ME. IN ADDITION, THE FACT THAT THERE IS A STRONG CHANCE THAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE MAY HAVE AIDED THE RUSSIANS BY LETTING THEM KNOW WHICH LOCALITIES TO HACK IN ORDER TO WEAKEN HILLARY, AND MAY HAVE DONE MORE SO FAR UNDISCOVERED SNEAKY TRICKS -- MALICIOUS AND SOMETIMES DISGUSTING ABUSE TO HILLARY CLINTON, FOR INSTANCE -- I AM THINKING WHAT COULD BE DONE IN SUCH CASES TO PUNISH THE PARTY THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE.

THEY SHOULD PAY A FORFEIT THAT WILL REALLY HURT. WE COULD WRITE THAT INTO THE CONSTITUTION. SO FAR WHEN THESE THINGS HAPPEN, THERE IS A MASSIVE STINK, BUT NO CONCRETE RESULT – NO PUNISHMENT. PERHAPS THEY SHOULD BE FORCED TO LOSE ONE OR MORE OF THEIR MEMBERS IN EACH HOUSE CHOSEN BY THE PLAINTIFF, OR GIVE A DECENT SUM LIKE AT LEAST $250,000 TO THE TREASURE CHEST OF THE WRONGED PARTY. THOSE SOUND LIKE GREAT IDEAS TO ME.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/state-officials-to-be-given-access-to-2016-election-cyber-attack-data/
CBS NEWS October 16, 2017, 6:31 PM
State officials to be given access to 2016 election cyber attack data

Photograph -- Voters cast their ballots in the Dalton Elementary School after the polling station in Azusa, California, U.S. was reopened following a shooting in the area during the U.S. presidential election November 8, 2016. REUTERS/MARIO ANZUONI

CBS News has learned that in an unprecedented effort to enhance election security ahead of the 2018 midterms, select state officials will be given access to some of the most sensitive information about the extent of the 2016 cyber attacks, but that access will require them to submit to the time-consuming and lengthy process of filling out federal security clearance applications. The process online can take up to 10 hours and, even after completing the application, some election officials say they have doubts about the extent of what they'll be able to see.

During the 2016 election, suspected Russian hackers scanned and probed voter databases and other election related computer networks in at least 21 states. Since the cyber attacks were made public, states have rushed to enhance security around their systems, often independent of any federal guidance. In recent weeks, DHS and FBI officials have been meeting with state elections officials, but in some cases have only added to the uncertainty of how to respond to nation-state cyber attacks on election systems. A secretary of State, who did not want to be identified responding to recent DHS meetings, called the sessions to date "very bizarre" and a "complete waste of time."

Facebook, Twitter, Google to testify in Russia investigation
Play VIDEO
Facebook, Twitter, Google to testify in Russia investigation

Over the weekend DHS officials announced the creation of an "Election Infrastructure Coordinating Council" as part of "the department's ongoing work with state and local officials" to "build trusted relationships to help keep the nation's election systems secure." The 27-member council is made up of three representatives from the federal government and 24 representatives from state and local governments.

Following a meeting with the Coordinating Council on Saturday Bob Kolasky, the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of the DHS National Protections and Programs Directorate said, "Today's council meeting shows the seriousness with which federal, state and local officials take the threats to election infrastructure, and the level of cooperation taking place to address it." Kolasky says, "state and local officials have already taken a number of steps to improve the security of the nation's elections, and under the Government Coordinating Council we will be able to further leverage resources and our collective expertise. The security of the nation's elections are [sic] critical to our democracy, and DHS stands ready to support this important mission through exercises, information sharing, and technical cyber analysis and expertise."

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



THIS OPIOID CRISIS HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT FOR A WHILE NOW, BUT I FEEL THAT I’M MISSING PARTS OF THE INFORMATION. IT’S LIKE SWIMMING UPSTREAM ON THE NIAGARA RIVER JUST ABOVE THE ROARING CHASM. THE CBS 60 MINUTES VIDEO BELOW IS VERY HELPFUL, AS THEY OFTEN ARE. THIS, LIKE ALL OF THEIR ARTICLES, IS VERY LONG. YOU CAN COPY IT FOR YOURSELF IF YOU NEED TO HAVE IT IN PRINT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dea-agent-opioid-crisis-fueled-by-drug-industry-and-congress/
Former DEA agent says opioid crisis fueled by drug industry and Congress
Ex-DEA agent: Opioid crisis fueled by drug industry and Congress
Whistleblower Joe Rannazzisi says drug distributors pumped opioids into U.S. communities -- knowing that people were dying -- and says industry lobbyists and Congress derailed the DEA's efforts to stop it
Oct 15, 2017
CORRESPONDENT
Bill Whitaker



IT’S IMPEACHMENT TALK BY MANY LEADERS AGAIN. THESE TWO ARTICLES GIVE GOOD INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/16/politics/democrats-house-midterm-elections/index.html
Trump allies worry that losing the House means impeachment
By Sara Murray, CNN
Updated 3:41 PM ET, Mon October 16, 2017

VIDEO -- JUST WATCHED, Presidential impeachment 101: What to know
RELATED ARTICLE -- http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/world/impeachment-fast-facts/index.html

(CNN)Top White House aides, lawmakers, donors and political consultants are privately asking whether President Donald Trump realizes that losing the House next year could put his presidency in peril.

In more than a dozen interviews, Republicans inside and outside the White House told CNN conversations are ramping up behind the scenes about whether Trump fully grasps that his feuds with members of his own party and shortage of legislative achievements could soon put the fate of his presidency at risk.

Trump, McConnell spoke by phone, will meet Monday

Donors who trekked to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in support of House Speaker Paul Ryan were treated to a slide show late this summer to fundraise off those very fears, according to multiple attendees. Among the slides: An overview of the Democrats who would be tapped to lead key committees if the GOP loses control, including Rep. Elijah Cummings as the head of the House Oversight Committee.

To some attendees, the subtext was clear. If Republicans forfeit the House, Democrats will almost certainly create a spectacle that will derail conservatives' agenda and the remainder of Trump's first term -- a spectacle complete with a raft of new subpoenas, a spotlight on the Russia investigation and, many are convinced, impeachment proceedings.

"When Democrats take control of the House they will absolutely move for articles of impeachment," one Trump confidant predicted.

Alex Conant, a partner at GOP public affairs firm Firehouse Strategies, said Trump should focus on protecting his own party.

"The number one thing Trump should be doing to save his presidency is helping congressional Republicans maintain their majorities," Conant said. "Instead he's allowing his allies like Steve Bannon to really undermine Republican reelection campaigns. It's just reckless and politically naive considering how devastating it would be to his presidency."

Conant served in George W. Bush's White House when Democrats swept control of the House and Senate in the 2006 midterm elections -- and remembers the constant stream of investigations and subpoenas, a stream he said is sure to look more like a deluge in the Trump administration.

"It just cripples your agenda. You're constantly forced to play defense," Conant said.

Video -- Bannon: It's a season of war against GOP 01:11

The primary problem

Republican handwringing over losing control of the House has played out largely in public. But in the hushed conversations that follow, Republicans have wondered whether Trump fully grasps the misery Democrats could unleash on his presidency.

A number of Republicans asked not to have their names used in order to speak candidly about a sensitive topic.

"If we lose the House, he could get impeached. Do you think he understands that?" one top GOP donor recalled an exasperated Republican senator saying privately.

"Won't it be ironic that Steve Bannon helped get the President elected and impeached?" another top Republican official said in a moment of venting.

Bannon, who served in the White House as Trump's chief strategist before he was fired in August, is planning to field primary challengers against nearly every Republican senator up for reelection.

"Right now, it's a season of war against a GOP establishment," Bannon proclaimed at the socially conservative Values Voter Summit over the weekend.

Photograph -- At Values Voter Summit, Bannon declares 'war' on GOP establishment

It's the latest in a string of political calculations that are set to backfire on the President, some Republicans warned.

"It will be on steroids, the amount of lawyers, investigations, inspector generals that come out of the woodwork" if Democrats win back the House, predicted Sara Fagen, who served as Bush's White House political director. "It will be very debilitating in a way they don't understand yet."

Marc Short, director of legislative affairs at the White House, said the White House hasn't resigned itself to the notion of losing the House.

"We don't have a defeatist approach on this," Short said. "There's no doubt that history suggests that there's sort of a recalibration after the first midterm, but I don't think we view it as that means it has to go that way."

And he insisted the President is cognizant of the havoc Democrats could cause if they regain control of the House.

"I think the President's keenly aware of that," Short said, adding that he expects Democrats would move forward with articles of impeachment if they win the majority.

GOP operatives are already envisioning Trump family members and acquaintances being dragged up to Capitol Hill over months to testify.

"Once the House is lost, then it just becomes, 'Let's look into Don Jr.'s tweets, let's subpoena his country club locker,'" one GOP strategist quipped. "Nothing is going to get done."

"It's so much more painful than going right to a proceeding of impeachment," another senior Republican operative added.

Another GOP congressional aide predicted the Democrats would make Trump's life a "living hell."

Sources: White House lawyers research impeachment

Top White House officials have openly discussed the threat of impeachment among themselves, multiple sources said. And to many, the risk to Trump's presidency is obvious. But White House personnel are loath to broach the topic with the President, sources said.

"Nobody over there is interested in delivering really bad news to the President on a consistent basis," the GOP operative said, particularly when it comes to the potential for impeachment proceedings. "Like, 'hey, this could be a real thing. You shouldn't be so dismissive about it, because Chuck (Schumer) and Nancy (Pelosi) aren't your friends.'"
Presidential impeachment 101: What to know 01:32

The uphill impeachment process

Booting the president out of office is exceedingly difficult, a point conceded by even some of Trump's fiercest critics.

If Democrats win the House, they could vote on articles of impeachment. If at least one of those articles garners a majority vote, the president is technically impeached, as was the case with former President Bill Clinton in 1998.

Then the issue moves to the Senate, which conducts a trial presided over by the Supreme Court's chief justice. If two-thirds of the Senate finds the president guilty, he is removed and the vice president becomes president.

No American president has ever been removed from office via the impeachment and conviction process.

Impeachment Fast Facts

While Trump may not be overly preoccupied with the threat of impeachment, he has been livid about what he sees as Congress' inability to execute his campaign promises.
"The Congress has been frustrating to him," retired Gen. John Kelly, Trump's chief of staff, told reporters in the White House briefing room Thursday, lamenting the sluggish pace of the legislative process. "In his view, the solutions are obvious, whether it's tax cuts and tax reform, health care, infrastructure programs, strengthening our military."
In response to that frustration, the President has begun making as many changes as he can unilaterally. He announced he was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected young immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.

Trump will end health care cost-sharing subsidies

Last week, he began to chip away at Obamacare with an executive order that overhauls the insurance system. He chased it with an announcement that the administration plans to end subsidies to insurance companies that help low-income Americans pay for health care.

Trump also said he had no intention of certifying Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal, punting the issue to Congress to determine whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran and scrap the deal.

Still, the moves fall short of a signature legislative accomplishment. They also risk charges of hypocrisy after Republicans, including Trump, spent years hammering Obama for governing via pen and phone rather than through Congress.

"The most important factor for how the Republican Party does in 2018 is whether we cut middle class taxes or not," said Corry Bliss, the executive director for the Congressional Leadership Fund and American Action Network. "The Republican Party controls the government and we're going to be judged on delivering results."

How Trump is changing Obamacare step by step 08:36

Slow progress on the Hill

Trump's approach to governing via executive action highlights the precarious situation the President's team has found itself in, roughly a year before the 2018 midterms, after multiple failed attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare and on the precipice of a tax reform fight that is far from a surefire victory and could easily spill over into next year.

"We're really proud of the successes that he's had so far but they're really limited to the things he controls and oversees directly," Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, said of the President's accomplishments to a room full of donors recently, according to a recording obtained by Politico. "We're really frustrated with what our Republican Congress has not been able to do."

Even as some of Trump's allies see little culpability on the President's side, many on the opposite end of Pennsylvania Avenue take a different view. They see a President who has done little to sell his agenda since taking office. Instead, he has cut deals with Democrats, sparred with top-ranking Republicans and stood by as Bannon takes aim at sitting senators. All moves that are hindering his legislative progress and, Republicans fear, squandering the GOP's window of opportunity while it controls both the House and Senate.

In his speech to GOP donors, Ayers served up a dim projection for the midterms: "We're on track to get shellacked next year," he said.

He implored donors to "purge" Republican lawmakers who don't line up behind Trump's agenda. And, perhaps in a sign of the West Wing's defiance or political naiveté, he offered a glossy assessment of the President's fate.

"The President's going to be fine," Ayers declared.



BEING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY WITH SOMETHING AS IMMENSELY POWERFUL AS THE SUN IS A GREAT DEAL LIKE KEEPING A TIGER AS A PET. UNFORTUNATELY, IN THIS CASE, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID IT, AND THE BENEFITS OF THE SUN ARE INNUMERABLE. THAT’S WHY SO MANY CULTURES HAVE WORSHIPPED THE SUN AND THE MOON.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2150350-a-tech-destroying-solar-flare-could-hit-earth-within-100-years/?cmpid=ILC|NSNS|2017_webpush&utm_medium=ILC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_campaign=webpush-solar-flare
DAILY NEWS 16 October 2017
A tech-destroying solar flare could hit Earth within 100 years
By Leah Crane

Photograph -- Storm warning, NASA/SDO


The sun could be one of our biggest threats in the next 100 years. If an enormous solar flare like the one that hit Earth 150 years ago struck us today, it could knock out our electrical grids, satellite communications and the internet. A new study finds that such an event is likely within the next century.

“The sun is usually thought of as a friend and the source of life, but it could also be the opposite,” says Avi Loeb at Harvard University. “It just depends on circumstances.”

Loeb and Manasvi Lingam, also at Harvard, examined data on other sun-like stars to see how likely solar “superflares” are and how they might affect us.

Read more: Our galaxy’s impossible collision could break gravity

They found that the most extreme superflares are likely to occur on a star like our sun about every 20 million years. The worst of these energetic bursts of ultraviolet radiation and high-energy charged particles could destroy our ozone layer, cause DNA mutations and disrupt ecosystems.

But in the shorter term, the researchers say that less intense superflares of a type we know can happen on our sun could still cause problems. In 1859, a powerful solar storm sent enormous flares towards Earth in the first recorded event of its kind. Telegraph systems across the Western world failed, with some reports of operators receiving shocks from the huge amounts of electrical current forced through the wires.

Tech wipeout
“Back then, there was not very much technology so the damage was not very significant, but if it happened in the modern world, the damage could be trillions of dollars,” says Loeb. “A flare like that today could shut down all the power grids, all the computers, all the cooling systems on nuclear reactors. A lot of things could go bad.”

Loeb says an event as powerful as the 1859 one could cause about $10 trillion of damage to power grids, satellites and communications. A flare just a bit stronger could even damage the ozone layer.

Previous work has shown that such an event seems likely to occur in the next century, with a 12 per cent chance of it happening in the next decade, but nobody seems to be all that worried, Loeb says. Asteroid impacts get all the attention when it comes to life-threatening space events, but Loeb and Lingam found that superflares would be just as deadly and are just as likely.

“I’m not lying awake in bed at night worrying about solar superflares, but that doesn’t mean that someone shouldn’t be worrying about it,” says Greg Laughlin at Yale University.

Last month, Loeb and Lingam came up with one potential way to protect Earth from superflares both large and small: an enormous loop of conductive wire between us and the sun that could act as a magnetic shield and deflect flares’ particles away.

Unfortunately, launching such a shield into space would cost upwards of $100 billion. “I think that seriously diverting resources to build a wire loop in space would not be the best way to spend money,” says Laughlin. “But thinking more about how solar superflares work and getting a sense of how our sun fits in with its peers would be a very valuable effort.”

Journal reference: The Astrophysical Journal, DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa8e96



THE FOLLOWING TWO STORIES ARE AMONG THE MOST DISTURBING THAT I’VE EVER READ. THIS FIRST CASE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH; BUT THE MATTER OF MS. JENKINS’ HAVING A DRUG IN HER BODY WHICH IS NOT COMMON, AND WAS NOT GIVEN TO HER – AS FAR AS HER MOTHER KNOWS – BY A DOCTOR CONCERNS ME AND I THINK SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. WERE THE YOUNG PEOPLE HAVING A DRUG PARTY? YOUNG PEOPLE SINCE THE 1960S ARE PRONE TO USING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FOR A HIGH; AND PROBABLY AN EPILEPSY MEDICINE MIGHT HAVE SOME INTERESTING SIDE EFFECTS FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES. YOUNG PEOPLE ARE OFTEN ADVENTUROUS, AND WHILE I WOULDN’T WANT THEM TO BE OVERLY TIMID, KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR DANGERS IS SO IMPORTANT.

IN THE SECOND STORY, I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT THIS HOSPITAL IS BEING SUED, AS IT SEEMS PROBABLE THAT THERE WAS A SANITATION PROBLEM WHICH SHOULD BE NOT ONLY CORRECTED, BUT SHOULD LEAD TO THEIR HAVING TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS. THIS STORY REMINDS ME OF ONE FROM 20 SOME YEARS AGO -- TRUE STORY -- OF A PATIENT WHO HAD GANGRENE ON ONE FOOT. THE HOSPITAL STAFF WHO WERE PREPARING HIM FOR SURGERY STUPIDLY PUT THE TAG ON THE WRONG TOE. THE SURGEON CUT OFF THE WRONG FOOT. NATURALLY THE ONE THAT WAS INFECTED HAD TO BE CUT OFF TOO. IT’S FOR REASONS LIKE THIS THAT I WOULDN’T HAVE ANY VANITY BASED SURGERY DONE IF THERE WEREN’T AN EXTREME NEED FOR IT. ANY TIME THERE IS A BREAK IN THE SKIN AN INFECTION CAN ENTER THERE. SURELY THAT IS “CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE,” BECAUSE IF I WERE A SURGEON I HOPEFULLY WOULD LOOK AT BOTH FEET BEFORE CUTTING. I’VE SEEN PHOTOGRAPHS OF GANGRENE. THE FLESH TURNS BLACK AND MORE OR LESS "ROTS." IT IS A HORRIBLE AND OBVIOUS INFECTION, WHICH ANY MEDICAL PERSON WOULD RECOGNIZE IMMEDIATELY. SOME PEOPLE REFUSE TO GO TO A HOSPITAL AT ALL, WHICH I THINK IS EXTREME; BUT IF THINGS LIKE THIS WERE MORE COMMON IN HOSPITALS, I MIGHT AGREE WITH THEM. LUCKILY I CAN'T THINK OF MANY SUCH MALPRACTICE CASES LIKE THIS ONE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kenneka-jenkins-case-autopsy-results-freezer-death/
CBS NEWS October 7, 2017, 7:17 PM
Kenneka Jenkins case: Autopsy results released in teen's death in freezer

CHICAGO – Cook County medical examiners say the death of Kenneka Jenkins, the 19-year-old woman found dead in a walk-in freezer last month, was an accident. They say intoxication from alcohol and medication were contributing factors to her death, CBS Chicago reports.

Jenkins died from hypothermia after being exposed to conditions of the walk-in freezer, the Medical Examiner's Office said in a news release issued Friday.

Toxicology tests detected alcohol and topiramate, an epilepsy/migraine medication, in the woman's system. Her blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.112, which is higher than the 0.08 BAC level that is considered as legally drunk for motorists in Illinois, the coroner's office said.

170911-cbs-chicago-kenneka-jenkins.jpg
Kenneka Jenkins CBS CHICAGO

The autopsy determined the substantial factor in the death was cold exposure, and the alcohol and drug found in her system were capable of hastening the onset of hypothermia and death, the medical examiner's office found.

Jenkins did not have a prescription for the topiramate medication, her family reportedly told investigators. The amount of the drug in her system was in the "therapeutic range," the coroner's office said.

"Alcohol and topiramate are synergistic. When combined, the effect of either or both drugs is enhanced. Topiramate, like alcohol, can cause dizziness, impaired memory, impaired concentration, poor coordination, confusion and impaired judgment," the news release said. "Central nervous system depression, or impairment, combined with cold exposure can hasten the onset of hypothermia and death."

Jenkins' death became a flashpoint for controversy, with friends and family members questioning if foul play was involved, the station reports. The Chicago woman was reported missing after she went to a Sept. 8 party at the hotel.

Authorities early on suspected Jenkins walked into the freezer by accident. Surveillance video clips released of Jenkins wandering the hotel, including a kitchen area, show her walking by herself, and at some points appearing disoriented.

No video exists of Jenkins actually entering the freezer, hotel officials have said.

The autopsy found no evidence of an altercation with someone else before her death and no evidence of trauma due to abuse.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-mom-who-lost-four-limbs-to-flesh-eating-bacteria-suing-hospital/
CBS NEWS October 16, 2017, 3:35 PM
New mom who lost four limbs to flesh-eating bacteria suing hospital

Lindsey Hubley and fiancé Mike Sampson with baby Myles. GOFUNDME

Not long after giving birth to her first child, a previously healthy mom from Canada found herself in the fight of her life.

Lindsey Hubley delivered baby Myles on March 2, 2017 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with fiancé Mike Sampson. Four days later, she became extremely ill and was rushed to the hospital.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by her family, Hubley was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as "flesh eating bacteria." Doctor rushed her into surgery after realizing her body was going into septic shock. She was put into an induced coma in the intensive care unit and she began suffering multiple organ failure. To keep her alive, doctors performed multiple surgeries, including amputations of both arms and legs below the knee.

Now, Hubley is taking legal action against the IWK Health Centre and several Halifax-area doctors alleging that they were negligent in care during the birth of her son and postoperative care.

"What Lindsey and her family have gone through over these past seven months is incomprehensible," her attorney, Raymond Wagner, said in a press release. "She is truly a survivor, and remarkably has maintained a positive and determined attitude along her long road to recovery, all while juggling the struggles, and joys, of a newborn."

Wagner told the Canadian Press it's alleged that part of the placenta was not removed at birth and that Hubley had a vaginal tear that required sutures, which could have contributed to the infection and health problems that followed.

Additionally, it's alleged that doctors did not perform an examination on Hubley when she returned to the hospital with abdominal pain on March 5 -- the day after being discharged after giving birth -- but rather diagnosed her with constipation and sent her home, the Canadian Press reports.

CBS News reached out to the IWK Health Centre but a representative declined to comment, saying "we cannot comment on this matter. It is now before the courts."

Wagner noted in the press release that Hubley will require an "incredible amount" of ongoing care and that "there are certain aspects of Lindsey's care that raise concern, and which require further investigation. We are looking for answers to some very difficult questions".

In deciding to make her claim public, Hubley stated: "If my story can help prevent even one person from going through what I have, and improve gaps in health care, then publicly discussing what happened to me will be worth it."