Judge rejects lawsuit over Northern California forest fire

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Source: http://www.rgj.com/article/20130730/NEWS13/130730020

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Obama's Grand Bargain DOA, Boehner Says - Business Insider

AP

House Speaker John Boehner has already thrown a wrench into President Barack Obama's latest "grand bargain" offer ? just a few hours after details of it began trickling out, and just five hours before Obama is set to deliver a speech detailing the plan in Tennessee.

The gist of Obama's grand bargain is a plan to cut the corporate tax rate, while using billions of dollars in revenue generated in business tax overhaul to fund a job-creation program.?

In a statement, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel shot down the idea, marveling that it left small businesses "and American families behind."

"The President has always supported corporate tax reform. Republicans want to help families and small businesses, too," Steel said. "This proposal allows President Obama to support President Obama's position on taxes and President Obama's position on spending, while leaving small businesses and American families behind."

A House GOP leadership aide explained that Republicans have advocated corporate tax reform being paried with individual tax reform. Cutting the corporate tax rate to 25% while leaving the top individual rate at 39.6%, the aide said, would have a "devastating" effect on small businesses.

House Republicans also want corporate-tax reform to be revenue neutral ? all positions that the GOP aide said the White House is well aware of.

"The first we heard about this ?offer? was through the press. So it?s probably not really a serious effort to break the log-jam," the aide said.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-grand-bargain-boehner-corporate-tax-reform-jobs-stimulus-2013-7

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Unbowed, foes of spying program vow to fight on

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Opponents of the National Security Agency's collection of hundreds of millions of Americans' phone records insist they will press ahead with their challenge to the surveillance program after a narrow defeat in the House.

Furious lobbying and last-minute pleas to lawmakers ensured victory for the Obama administration as the House voted 217-205 Wednesday to spare the NSA program.

Unbowed, the libertarian-leaning conservatives, tea partyers and liberal Democrats who led the fight said they will try to undo a program they called an unconstitutional intrusion on civil liberties.

Rep. Justin Amash, a 33-year-old Michigan Republican, made his intentions clear through the social media of Twitter: "We came close (205-217). If just 7 Reps had switched their votes, we would have succeeded. Thank YOU for making a difference. We fight on."

The other sponsor of the effort, 84-year-old Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, said the slim margin ensures that vigorous debate on the NSA's programs will continue.

"This discussion is going to be examined continually ... as long as we have this many members in the House of Representatives that are saying it's OK to collect all records you want just as long as you make sure you don't let it go anywhere else,'" said Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. "That is the beginning of the wrong direction in a democratic society."

The showdown marked the first chance for lawmakers to take a stand on the secret surveillance program since former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden leaked classified documents last month that spelled out the monumental scope of the government's activities.

Backing the NSA program were 134 Republicans and 83 Democrats, including House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who typically does not vote, and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Rejecting the administration's last-minute appeals to save the surveillance operation were 94 Republicans and 111 Democrats.

At a news conference Thursday on a range of subjects, Boehner said he voted against the Amash amendment "because these NSA programs have helped keep Americans safe."

He said Congress needed to have the debate, but it is unlikely to be the final word on the worldwide debate over the U.S. government snooping to defend the nation versus the privacy of Americans.

"Have 12 years gone by and our memories faded so badly that we forgot what happened on Sept. 11?" Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in pleading with his colleagues to back the program during House debate.

Amash defended his effort, saying the aim was to end the indiscriminate collection of Americans' phone records.

His measure, offered as an addition to a $598.3 billion defense spending bill for 2014, would have canceled the statutory authority for the NSA program, ending the agency's ability to collect phone records and metadata under the USA Patriot Act unless it identified an individual under investigation.

The House later voted to pass the overall defense bill, 315-109.

Amash told the House that his effort was to defend the Constitution and "defend the privacy of every American."

The unlikely political coalitions were on full display during a brief but spirited House debate.

"Let us not deal in false narratives. Let's deal in facts that will keep Americans safe," said Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., an Intelligence Committee member.

But Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who helped write the USA Patriot Act, insisted "the time has come" to stop the collection of phone records that goes far beyond what he envisioned.

Several Republicans acknowledged the difficulty in balancing civil liberties against national security. But they also expressed suspicion about the Obama administration's implementation of the NSA programs ? and anger at National Intelligence Director James Clapper.

Clapper has acknowledged he gave misleading statements to Congress on how much the U.S. spies on Americans. He apologized to lawmakers this month after saying in March that the U.S. does not gather data on citizens ? something that Snowden revealed as false by releasing documents showing the NSA collects millions of phone records.

"Right now the balancing is being done by people we do not know, people who lied to this body," said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C.

With a flurry of letters, statements and tweets, both sides lobbied intensely in the hours prior to the vote in the Republican-controlled House. In a statement, Clapper warned against dismantling a critical intelligence tool.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Congress has authorized ? and a Republican and a Democratic president have signed ? extensions of the powers to search records and conduct roving wiretaps in pursuit of terrorists.

Two years ago, in a strong bipartisan statement, the Senate voted 72-23 to renew the USA Patriot Act, and the House backed the extension 250-153.

Since the disclosures this year, however, lawmakers have said they were shocked by the scope of the two programs ? one to collect records of hundreds of millions of calls and the other allowing the NSA to sweep up Internet usage data from around the world that goes through nine major U.S.-based providers.

Proponents argue that the surveillance operations have been successful in thwarting at least 50 terror plots across 20 countries, including 10 to 12 directed at the United States.

The overall defense spending bill would provide the Pentagon with $512.5 billion for weapons, personnel, aircraft and ships, plus $85.8 billion for the war in Afghanistan for the next budget year.

The total, which is $5.1 billion below current spending, has drawn a veto threat from the White House, which argues that it would force the administration to cut education, health research and other domestic programs in order to boost spending for the Pentagon.

The bill must be reconciled with whatever measure the Democratic-controlled Senate produces.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unbowed-foes-spying-program-vow-fight-080330363.html

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Industry, advocates finalize mobile app guidelines

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A group of industry lobbyists and privacy rights advocates voiced support Thursday for new voluntary guidelines for mobile apps that should make it easier for consumers to know what personal information is getting sucked from their smartphone or tablet and passed along to marketers.

The plan will likely provide a brief, easy-to-read snapshot of an app's privacy policies, similar to nutrition labels on food packages. The snapshot would give consumers the bottom line on what information the software collects, such as physical location, surfing habits and personal contacts, and how that data might be used or shared with other companies.

The new labels won't replace lengthy privacy policies that consumers rarely read anyway. And how widespread these labels become is up to industry. While some key industry groups said they liked the idea ? albeit with caveats about testing the proposal first ? it's up to individual companies and developers to decide whether they want to comply. It could take several months for companies to test and implement the labels.

Still, the emerging consensus was considered a major step forward for privacy rights advocates who say consumers have been in the dark when it comes to the widespread collection of their personal data.

"For the first time many consumers will be able to do apples-to-apples comparisons" of different mobile apps' privacy policies, said Jules Polonetsky, director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a Washington-based group of Internet privacy experts.

Mobile applications like Google Maps, Angry Birds and GasBuddy have become popular, inexpensive ways to personalize smartphones or tablets and improve their functionality. Often free or a couple bucks to download, apps can turn a phone into a sophisticated roaming office or gaming console.

But like all those websites that offer medical advice or parenting tips, there's a hitch: They want information like your birthdate or ZIP code, and often your location. Developers say data collection is necessary in many cases for the software to work as promised. The personal data also can be sold to marketers, making the app a lucrative reward to its creators.

This aggressive data collection has put industry at odds with consumer advocates, including groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and regulators at the Federal Trade Commission. Last February, the FTC released a report advising companies to offer a "do not track" mechanism for smartphone users and develop icons that show how a person's data is used.

Tim Sparapani with the Application Developers Alliance, a major industry association of app developers and tech companies that supports the proposed privacy labels, said he expects some consumers will change their behavior when they see the new privacy labels, but that many won't.

"We know that consumers love their apps ? the downloads per day demonstrates that," Sparapani said. What the new guidelines will do is "allow for greater transparency and comprehension among consumers of what's happening."

This month, new privacy rules by the FTC took effect for mobile apps marketed to children under age 13. Under the updated Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, companies can't collect information on kids in most cases unless a parent first gives permission, such as through an electronically scanned consent form. Parental consent is not required when a website operator collects data solely to support its internal operations, which can include advertising, site analysis and network communications.

If companies violate these rules, they could face costly penalties.

In a bid to head off similar regulation for mobile apps used by teens and adults, several dozen tech industry lobbyists and privacy rights advocates teamed up to develop the voluntary disclosure guidelines with help from the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The FTC has said it would look favorably on businesses in any enforcement action that can show it complies with a strong code of conduct, such as the one being negotiated.

John Verdi, director of privacy initiatives at NTIA, said the new labels should make for smarter consumers.

"Compliance with the code will help app developers build and maintain trust with consumers ? trust that is crucial to the health of the mobile app marketplace," Verdi said.

Some groups objected to the proposal, which has been in the works for more than a year. Consumer Watchdog said the final plan would provide only "marginal improvements" in privacy protection and called on the Obama administration to propose legislation. Likewise, Jeff Chester with the Center for Digital Democracy said industry "cannot be expected to challenge their fundamental ? and ever expanding ? 'data maximization' business model."

But industry groups like the Software & Information Industry Association said they support the effort.

"In a time of rapidly evolving technology, industry self-regulation is the most effective way to maintain the right balance between consumer confidence and continued innovation," said Ken Wasch, the group's president.

___

Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AnneKFlaherty

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/industry-advocates-finalize-mobile-app-guidelines-215715999.html

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Weak China data, falling US stocks push oil lower

NEW YORK (AP) ? Weak manufacturing data from China and falling U.S. stock markets pushed oil to its biggest one-day decline in five weeks Wednesday.

Benchmark crude for September delivery dropped $1.84, or 1.7 percent, to close at $105.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the biggest percentage decline since June 21.

Another decline in U.S. supplies failed to give oil a jolt. U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 2.6 million barrels, bringing the four-week drop to nearly 30 million barrels. Still, at 364.2 million barrels, the nation's oil supply is in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. And gasoline supplies remain above year-ago levels, according to the Energy Department.

Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates, said that supplies of oil and refined products remain high, and fundamentals don't support current prices.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult to construct a bullish argument that would support triple-digit crude pricing in either key benchmark," Ritterbusch said in a note to clients. He was referring to West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for the U.S., and Brent, the benchmark for international crudes.

Brent crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, fell $1.23 to finish at $107.19 a barrel.

An HSBC survey released Wednesday showed China's manufacturing at an 11-month low this month, a disappointing performance that puts pressure on Chinese leaders to reverse a deepening slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

"A further slowdown in the manufacturing sector added to investor unease ... putting further pressure on labor markets and reinforcing the pessimistic outlook for demand growth" in China, said a note from Sucden Financial Research in London.

China also impacted U.S. stock markets. Besides the manufacturing data, China's slowing economy dragged down earnings at Caterpillar, the world's largest construction equipment company. Shares of Caterpillar, a component of both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index, dropped 2.7 percent.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of gasoline slipped 1 penny to $3.66. That's still up 18 cents from a year ago.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

? Wholesale gasoline lost 0.4 cent to end at $3.05 a gallon.

? Heating oil lost 2 cents to finish at $3.05 a gallon.

? Natural gas fell 4.5 cents to end at $3.70 per 1,000 cubic feet.

____

Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weak-china-data-falling-us-stocks-push-oil-200046956.html

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SBA Awards Small Business Innovation Grants | Small Business by ...

SBA Awards Grants to 20 Universities and Organizations
To Support R&D, Small Business Innovation

WASHINGTON ? Supporting programs for innovative, technology-driven small businesses under SBA?s Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program, the U.S. Small Business Administration has granted 20 awards, of $95,000 per award, for FY 2013 to 20 state and local economic development agencies, business development centers, and colleges and universities. Candidates were submitted by the governors of all 50 U.S. states and territories.

The FAST Program is designed to stimulate economic development among small, high technology businesses through federally-funded innovation and research and development programs like the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR).??The project and budget periods are for 12 months, starting October 1, 2013.

?The FAST program is an important catalyst for helping America?s cutting-edge entrepreneurs continue to drive innovation and create good jobs,? said Karen G. Mills, SBA Administrator. ?The partnerships developed through these programs will play a critical role in helping high-growth potential small firms take those next steps to help drive our local economies.?

The recipients include:
- Arizona?Arizona Commerce Authority
- Arkansas?Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas
- Connecticut?Connecticut Innovations, Inc.
- Delaware?University of Delaware
- Louisiana?Louisiana State University and A&M College
- Michigan?BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting LLC
- Mississippi?Innovate Mississippi
- Missouri?The Curators of the University of Missouri
- Montana ?Montana Department of Commerce
- New Mexico?Technology Ventures Corporation
- New York?The Research Foundation for the State University of New York
- North Dakota?University of North Dakota
- Ohio??Ohio Aerospace Institute
- Oregon??Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center
- Pennsylvania?Ben Franklin Technology Partners Corporation
- Puerto Rico?Inter American University of Puerto Rico SBTDC
- South Dakota ?Governor?s Office of Economic Development
- Tennessee?Tennessee Technology Development Corp. dba Launch Tennessee
- Vermont?Vermont State Colleges
- Wisconsin?Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin System
FAST provides up to $95,000 per award to pay for outreach and technical assistance to science and technology-driven small businesses.? The program places particular emphasis on helping socially and economically disadvantaged firms compete in the SBA?s SBIR and STTR programs.

FAST funding awardees demonstrated how they will help support areas such as:
* small business research and development assistance,
* technology transfer from universities to small businesses,
* technological diffusion of innovation benefiting small businesses,
* proposal development and mentoring for small businesses applying for SBIR grants; and,
* commercializing technology developed through SBIR grants.
Proposals were evaluated by a panel of SBIR program managers. The SBA, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation jointly reviewed the panel?s recommendations and made awards based on proposal merit. The grant requires varying levels of matching funds from each participating state and territory.
Companies supported by the SBIR and STTR programs often generate some of the most important breakthroughs each year in the U.S.?? For example, about 25 percent of R&D Magazine?s Top 100 Innovations come from SBIR-funded small businesses.
More details about FAST grants are here:
http://www.sbir.gov/about/about-fast-partnership-program
For more information about the SBIR and STTR programs, visit SBA?s website at:

http://www.sba.gov/about-sba-services/7050

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Source: http://smallbusiness-blog.xanzamar.com/2013/07/sba-awards-small-business-innovation-grants/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sba-awards-small-business-innovation-grants

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Jeremy Grantham on Our Debt Solution (Charlie Rose)

Charlie Rose, March 12 2013: Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and Chief Investment Strategist of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo (GMO), discusses investing in a low-growth world and the outlook for the US economy.

Category: Credit, Taxes and Policy, Video

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Source: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2013/07/jeremy-grantham-on-our-debt-solution-charlie-rose/

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