Government Has Used 1789 Law To Compel Apple & Google To Unlock More Than 63 Smartphones

The high-profile legal standoff between Apple and the FBI recently came to an end when the government unlocked a terrorist’s iPhone without Apple’s assistance, but new data confirms that this single showdown is just one of dozens of cases where the federal government has successfully used a more than 225-year-old law to compel Apple or Google to aid authorities in bypassing smartphone security measures. 

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FBI Now Helping Other Law Enforcement Agencies Bypass Apple’s iPhone Security Measures

One of Apple’s biggest concerns about being compelled to assist the FBI in bypassing the security measures on the iPhone was that it would be just the first of many requests to get around the device’s encryption, thus increasing the odds of this work-around getting into the hands of hackers. Now comes news that the FBI — which was able to crack the iPhone lockdown without Apple’s assistance — is offering to unlock Apple devices for other law enforcement agencies.

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Wells Fargo: 25% Chance of US Recession in Next 6 Months

Wells Fargo analysts warn that the probability of a U.S. recession is more than 25 percent during the next six months, the highest since the Great Recession era.

“At present, we are not calling for a recession within the next six months. However, given that the recession probabilities based on our preferred model and average of all models are somewhat elevated, it is not wise to entirely dismiss recession risk," Philly.com cites John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo & Co., as saying after sifting employment data, stock market valuations and economic output reports.

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Financial Literacy Month Is The Right Time To Get Your Fiscal House In Order

Parents often are encouraged to teach their children how to handle money and to begin the lessons at an early age.

One problem with that, though, is many adults aren’t all that financially literate themselves.

For example, one survey revealed that about 80 percent of Americans admit to making some sort of financial mistake, such as not saving enough for retirement, failing to track their spending or taking on too much debt.

“People can make financial mistakes for a lot of reasons,” says Brett King, the managing/founding partner and Senior Vice President Investments for Elite Financial Associates (www.elitefinancialassociates.com).
“But often it’s because they simply haven’t taken the time to make a personal budget and plot out their spending and investing habits.”

April is National Financial Literacy Month, making it the opportune time for people to review their fiscal situation and figure out how to do better.

King says there are several steps to consider as people try to make sure they are getting the most out of their money:

• Build a reserve account for emergencies. Major medical problems, job loss or other unexpected events can undermine anyone’s financial stability. That’s why it’s important to build an emergency fund. Many experts recommend the fund be large enough to cover all your expenses for three to six months, though that’s a tough goal for most people. But something is better than nothing, King says, so try to stash away at least a little each week.
• It’s never too early to start saving for retirement. “A lot of people tell themselves they will begin to save for retirement when their income reaches a more comfortable level,” King says. “But the longer you delay, the harder it’s going to be to accumulate the amount of money you will need when you retire.” If saving is difficult right now, one strategy would be to start small and increase your contribution each year as your salary grows. Even setting aside a small amount out of each paycheck now can make a big difference over time because of the power of compound interest.
• Adjust your strategies as financial circumstances change. Reviewing your income and expenses shouldn’t be a one-time event. For example, if you become a new parent you may want to shift some of your money into a college-savings plan for your child. Be ready to change to deal with the new realities life tosses your way.

“If you have concerns about whether you’re making the right decisions about your money,” King says, “you should seek the assistance of a financial professional who can give you guidance in getting your financial house in order.”

Secretary of State Wobensmith, Attorney General Frosh Announce Dissolution of Scam Cancer Charities

Cancer Fund of America, Related Charities Dissolved After Bilking Donors of $75 Million

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Secretary of State John Wobensmith and Attorney General Brian Frosh announced today that Maryland, working with the Federal Trade Commission and representatives of each state and the District of Columbia, has dissolved two sham cancer charities and have banned their president from profiting from any charity fundraising in the future.

“Together, the FTC and state charity regulators across the country presented a united front against charity fraud and put an end to these sham charities,” said Secretary Wobensmith. “We will not sit idly by while scammers defraud consumers and deprive legitimate charities of much needed support for Maryland citizens.”

Cancer Fund of America Inc. (CFA), Cancer Support Services Inc. (CSS) and their leader, James Reynolds, Sr., agreed in court documents filed yesterday to settle charges that the organizations claimed to help cancer patients, but instead spent the overwhelming majority of donations on trips, gifts and salaries for operators, families, and friends, as well as on fundraising activities.

“We are sending a clear signal that we won’t tolerate this kind of deception and egregious lies,” Frosh said. “For those who are generous enough to give and help others, we will be here for you to make sure that your good intentions are fulfilled.”

Top Trump Ally off the Rails?

Last week, we reported that talk radio host Michael Savage may withdraw his support for GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump over the candidate's treatment of Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi. This week, Trump may be on the verge of losing another major supporter: conservative firerbrand Ann Coulter. As the Washington Examiner reports:

Defending billionaire businessman Donald Trump is like constantly having to bail a teenage son from prison, author and political commentator Ann Coulter groused in a recent radio interview.

"I'm a little testy with our man right now. Our candidate is mental! Do you realize our candidate is mental?" Coulter said jokingly during a taping of an episode of the "Milo Yiannopoulos Show," which is scheduled to air in full this weekend. "It's like constantly having to bail out your 16-year-old son from prison."

Yiannopoulos and Coulter have spent most of the 2016 GOP primary enthusiastically defending Trump, and making the case for why he is the most qualified candidate to take on the Democratic front-runner in the fall.

However, Coulter is now unhappy with Trump over his late-night Twitter shenanigans, which have included attacks on journalists, businesses, television networks, heads of state and Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

For months, it seemed like nothing could derail the Trump Train. That may still be the case. But key media surrogates and top conservatives deserting Trump can't be good.

Source: AAN

Newt Wades Into Trump-Cruz Feud

From Homemaker to Terrorist Trouble Maker

Before she was tweeting in support of ISIS, a Missouri mom was blogging about vaccines causing autism and “chemtrails” poisoning Americans. 

Safya Yassin was arrested last month for threatening the lives of federal agents with pro-ISIS messages. But her complete online trail raises the question of whether she was a true believer in the Islamic State or just a lonely single mother who yearned for attention. Members of her family, for what it’s worth, think she’s anything but a Muslim fanatic. 

“She believes in Jesus Christ as her personal savior,” one of Yassin’s cousins told The Daily Beast. “I gave her her first Bible, and she still has that.” 

On Feb. 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation took Yassin into custody after they said she “retweeted the personal identifiable information of two FBI agents with the statement ‘Wanted to Kill.’” Yassin also allegedly shared photos and addresses of U.S. military personnel and tweeted that a “media personality ‘would be better off without her head,’” the complaint added.

Source: The Daily Beast

4 Business Lessons Drawn From Riots, Robberies And Mob Threats

Business can lead to cutthroat competition – in more ways than one – but Tom Nix learned that the darkest moments also can lead to the greatest triumphs.

“It’s the worst experiences that sometimes teach us the most important lessons,” says Nix, a successful businessman and author of “Nixland: My Wild Ride in the Inner City Check Cashing Industry” (nixland.net).

The incredible rise of his multimillion-dollar enterprise, Nix Check Cashing, is a case in point. Nix encountered turbulent times in the inner city of Los Angeles as he built his company into a trusted institution among underserved communities.

He and his employees faced harrowing experiences, such as armed robberies and threats from the mob, which hoped to block some of his expansion plans.

The 1992 riots that erupted after a jury acquitted police officers in the beating of Rodney King proved especially distressing. Many businesses were looted or burned to the ground, and Nix scrambled to protect his check-cashing locations.

He was gratified to learn that loyal customers prevented some branches from being torched.

“We even had a gang member call us,” Nix says. “He said he had always been treated with respect at Nix, and his gang decided not to burn Nix because we were part of the community.”

Nix says his experiences taught him valuable lessons that relate both to business and life, such as:

• Take responsibility. This applies to everything that happens, including things you can’t control. Once when an economic downturn left him unable to pay bills, Nix contacted each creditor to explain his predicament and work out a plan. That upfront approach helped the business avoid bankruptcy.
• Never play the victim role or blame game. Avoid replaying misfortunes over and over in your mind. Accept setbacks gracefully and concentrate on getting back on track. In the 1990s, a business deal that went awry nearly forced Nix to sell his company, but he focused on solving the problem and persevered.
• Be courageous. The most debilitating human emotion is fear. Learn to keep it in perspective, minimize it when applicable and harness it to your benefit when need be. Nix says standing up to bullies as a child set the stage for standing up to the mob.
• Maintain integrity. Operating with fair play and compassion is important in building trust. “The way community members protected some of our branches during the riots was a reflection of this,” Nix says.

“Treating people fairly and supporting community programs paid off.”

Good times may be more enjoyable, but challenging times provide more opportunity for growth, he says.
“Realize that bad people, tough times and mistakes are your teachers,” Nix says. “Always ask yourself, ‘What do I need to do to capitalize on these events?’ ”

Slow Down and Drive Safe this Weekend

Berlin, Maryland

Cruz: Trump 'Hatchet Man' Roger Stone Planted Enquirer Story

Ted Cruz said Tuesday that he had proof that rival Donald Trump planted last week's report in The National Enquirer that he had had five extramarital affairs — tying it to the developer's "hatchet man," former political adviser Roger Stone.

"Sure," Cruz said in response to a question from CNN host Anderson Cooper on whether he had evidence of Trump's ties to the story. The Texas senator was speaking at a town hall hosted by the cable network in Milwaukee.

"The story on its face quoted one person on the record, Roger Stone," Cruz began. "Roger Stone has been Donald Trump's chief political adviser.

"He planned and ran his presidential campaign — and he's been his hatchet man. He spent 40 years as a hatchet man."

Cruz also noted that Trump is "good friends" with National Enquirer Chief Executive David Pecker.

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Germany to Migrants: Integrate and Learn Language or Lose Permanent Residency

German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere is proposing a new law that will compel migrants to learn German and integrate into society or else lose their permanent residency rights.

The proposal comes after voters rejected Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door refugee policy in elections earlier this month, instead turning to the anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany.

In return for language lessons, social benefits and housing, Germany expected refugees would make an effort to integrate into western culture, Mr. de Maiziere told ARD television.

“For those who refuse to learn German, for those who refuse to allow their relatives to integrate — for instance women or girls — for those who reject job offers: for them, there cannot be an unlimited settlement permit after three years,” he said, Reuters reported.

He said he wanted to create a “link between successful integration and the permissions for how long one is allowed to stay in Germany.”

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Blackburn: Left is seeking 'incremental' erosion of free expression

The right to free expression is under attack, according to a leading Republican in Congress, through an incremental approach that begins with federal regulators and trickles down to the private sector.

"They begin with the end in mind, and they incrementally walk toward their end," Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn told the Washington Examiner on Monday. "We know that is how they operate.

"Bearing that in mind, you know what they are doing is seeking ways to encroach on your privacy and freedom of speech, and then they want to tax it and regulate so that they control priority and value to content," Blackburn added. "Working with Google and Facebook, they're able to get into that ... business."

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Detroit Principals' Bribery Con Cost Schools $2.7M, Say Feds

A dozen current and former Detroit schools principals have been charged in a $2.7 million bribery scheme involving kickbacks for fraudulent invoices, federal prosecutors revealed.

The prosecutors accused Norman Shy, 74, owner of Allstate Sales, with submitting false invoices to Detroit Public Schools and then using part of the payments from the school district as kickbacks to school principals with whom he allegedly conspired, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office statement.

Prosecutors accused 13 school officials – 12 current or former Detroit school principals and an assistant superintendent – in the scheme in which Shy received $2.7 million from Detroit Public Schools and the school administrators received $908,518 in kickbacks.

"It is a heavy blow to public confidence when so many school principals are charged with bribery," said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. "Public officials should take note that while it may seem easy to take bribes when they are offered, officials who betray their public trust will eventually get caught and will face the consequences."

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Trump: Federal Government’s Top Three Functions Are Security, Healthcare, and Education

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated that the federal governments top three functions are security, education, and healthcare, and “housing, providing great neighborhoods” are also responsibilities of the federal government during CNN’s Republican Town Hall on Tuesday.

Trump said, in response to a question on the “top three functions of the United States government?” “Well, the greatest function of all by far, is security for our nation. I would also say healthcare, I would also say education. I mean, there are many, many things, but I would say the top three are security, security, security.”

After moderator Anderson Cooper asked, “You also say healthcare and education should be provided by the federal government?” Trump responded, “Those are two of the things. Yeah, sure. There are obviously many things, housing, providing great neighborhoods –.”

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Subject: Democrat Attorneys General to Police Climate Change Dissent

A coalition of Democratic attorneys general in 16 states announced Tuesday an unprecedented campaign to pursue companies that challenge the catastrophic climate change narrative, raising concerns over free speech and the use of state authority to punish political foes.

Standing beside former Vice President Al Gore, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the state officials are committed to “working together on key climate-related initiatives,” including queries into whether fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil have committed fraud by deceiving the public and shareholders about the impact of man-made carbon dioxide emissions.

Two states — California and New York — already have launched probes into ExxonMobil, while attorneys general from Massachusetts and the Virgin Islands indicated Tuesday that they would follow suit. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker, an independent, is the only non-Democrat involved in the campaign, called AGs United for Clean Power.

“The bottom line is simple: Climate change is real; it is a threat to all the people we represent,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “If there are companies, whether they’re utilities, whether they’re fossil fuel companies, committing fraud in an effort to maximize their short-term profits at the expense of the people we represent, we want to find out about it. We want to expose it and want to pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.”

Mr. Schneiderman also announced that 20 attorneys general representing 18 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands filed a brief Tuesday in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan rule, which has been challenged by attorneys general in 25 mostly red states.

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Subject: Associated Press Willingly Cooperated with the Nazis, New Report Shows

News agency and Third Reich said to have made mutually beneficial deal, with AP providing countless photos for Nazi propaganda; AP denies collaboration

The Associated Press news agency willingly cooperated with Nazi Germany, submitting to the regime’s restrictive rulings on the freedom of the press and providing it with images from its photo archives to be used in its anti-Semitic and anti-Western propaganda machine, a new report reveals.

When Adolf Hitler’s National Socialists rose to power in 1933, all international news agencies but the US-based AP were forced to leave Germany. The AP continued to operate in the Third Reich until 1941, when the United States joined World War II.

According to German historian Harriet Scharnberg, the world’s biggest news agency was only allowed to remain in Germany because it signed a deal with the regime.

The news agency lost control over its copy by submitting itself to the Schriftleitergesetz (editor’s law), agreeing not to print any material “calculated to weaken the strength of the Reich abroad or at home,” she wrote in an article published in the academic journal Studies in Contemporary History.

Scharnberg’s research was first reported by the UK-based Guardian newspaper.

According to the paper, the Nazis’ so-called editor’s law forced AP employees to contribute material for the Nazi party’s propaganda division. One of the four photographers working for the company in the 1930s was Franz Roth, a member of the SS paramilitary unit’s propaganda division. His pictures were handpicked by Hitler, the Guardian writes.

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Tea Party Wave, Part II

The anti-Washington political sentiment is more than just a factor in the presidential race. The feeling is permeating the early congressional nomination campaigns, particularly among Republicans, and House incumbents are taking serious notice. 

So far six states have held their congressional primaries: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas, and though no incumbent has lost many have deflected competitive intra-party challenges, while several others loom on the horizon. In the six states that have nominated their 2016 congressional candidates, including four with run-off systems, none has even been cast into a secondary election. 

The closest two results came in Texas and Illinois, where veteran Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX-8) and John Shimkus (R-IL-15) won respective 53 and 60% re-nomination victories. The most serious current primary campaigns are occurring in North Carolina, now scheduled for June 7th after a court-mandated major redistricting plan forced the state to move its congressional primaries from March 15th. 

We’ve already covered the Republican pairing between Reps. Renee Ellmers and George Holding in the new 2nd District, and that Reps. Walter Jones (R-NC-3), Bob Pittenger (R-NC-9), and Alma Adams (D-NC-12) have serious nomination contests, but two-term Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-8), who faces a 60% new constituency covered by the state’s two most expensive media markets (Charlotte and Raleigh), also faces significant GOP competition. 

Tim D’Annunzio, a previously unsuccessful congressional and statewide candidate, is personally wealthy and entered the race against Hudson just as candidate filing closed. He immediately purchased $200,000 in early television with much more to follow, so the 8th District campaign is another to watch. Rep. Hudson, an Energy & Commerce Committee member, is a strong campaigner and is quickly adding to his $600,000 campaign war chest. It’s already clear that he will need to spend more than $1 million to lock this race down. 

The next two state primaries come on April 26th in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Keystone State campaigns are attracting the most attention. Indicted Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA-2) is in clear danger of losing his Philadelphia-anchored seat. Veteran state Representative Dwight Evans (D) is mounting an aggressive campaign and could well topple the embattled incumbent. Two other local Philadelphia Democrats are also on the ballot. 

Facebook for Jihadis?

There's a new trend in social media: Sharia safe Facebook alternatives. As Forbes notes:

A month ago, while attending the Startup Turkey conference in Antalya, I had the chance to talk to Shoaib Fadie, CEO and co-founder of the social networking platform Muslimface.

He was there to pitch to potential investors his website, which, in addition to social networking also offers prayer times, job postings, a tool to locate the nearest mosque, a ‘find your spouse’ feature, and much more.

It might not seem the best of times, now, to write about Islamic online content, given the prejudices that surround the topic and the rising Islamophobia (which the recent terrorist attacks has certainly not helped reduce). Just think of Donald Trump’s proposal to ban all Muslim immigrants from entering the United States.

But Fadie’s project struck me as potentially making sense both from the entrepreneurial and social point of view. After all, the world’s Muslim population is expected to increase from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to a Pew Research Center study.

On the one hand, the digital media environment has created all sorts of avenues and opportunities for people to interact with those that share their common interests. On the other, it's troubling that Muslims are increasingly seeking out avenues to isolate themselves from the broader American culture. It's no secret that a lot of what we see on social media is both intellectually and morally the bottom of the proverbial barrel, but so is much of what's in American culture. Part of assimilating into a society is being able to engage with and tolerate the extremes of that society. If Muslims can't do that, it doesn't bode well for America.

Source: AAN

Veterans mark 50th anniversary of Vietnam War

The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments joined together Tuesday to honor the nearly 9 million Americans who serviced in the Armed Forces from Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, as part of the Vietnam War Commemoration. The event marked the 50th anniversary of the war.

“This Commemoration has special significance for those of us at VA because of our honored mission to serve those who have ‘borne the battle,'” said VA Secretary Robert McDonald, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Veteran Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. “It’s also an opportunity to remember our VA colleagues who served in this generation of Veterans, to extend our heartfelt appreciation to them and to their families who shared the burden of their loved one’s service.”

GO HERE to see photos.