“Ambassador Taylor’s testimony lays bare how this shadow foreign policy channel pursued by the President’s agent, Rudy Giuliani, with the assistance of Ambassadors Sondland and Volker, placed immense pressure on the Ukrainian government to accomplish the President’s goal. Ambassador Taylor makes clear why this military aid and continued bipartisan support for Ukraine are so critically important — and why these efforts to undermine U.S. foreign policy for domestic political reasons were so damaging. We look forward to his public testimony.”

Today, Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Acting Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released the transcripts of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch and former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State Ambassador P. Michael McKinley. The three Chairs issued the following statement announcing today’s releases: “Ambassadors Yovanovitch and McKinley’s testimony also demonstrates the contamination of U.S. foreign policy by an irregular back channel that sought to advance the President’s personal and political interests, and the serious concerns that this activity elicited across our government.

Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security reveals the rich personal and technological stories that have underpinned secret communications over the course of a century. The exhibition features over 100 objects including never-before-seen historical technology, hand-written documents and declassified files from the collections of GCHQ and the Science Museum Group. Visitors can hear from the individuals carrying out top secret work to defend against terror attacks and serious crime, and discover the challenges of maintaining digital security in the modern age.

Elaine Soloway Writes: While I will describe my attempts, along with my loved ones' antics and my lifelong efforts to become a calm and confident swimmer, perhaps you'll agree that Synchronized Flopping can be a metaphor for Parenting: sometimes we accomplish it perfectly; i.e. Esther Williams upside down in the water, and resurfacing with her makeup and smile intact. Other times, we are out-of-our-depth, looking foolish, and gasping for air. This year, for my event that I tagged "birthday/housewarming/pool party," I was sans spouse in my 672-foot apartment. Plans were in place: my daughters would be footing the bill, my friend Jani would serve as my P.A. (Hollywood talk for Personal Assistant), but the details — like the guest towels — were on my mushrooming to-do list.

Religious-based hate crimes are on the rise on America’s college campuses, according to data from the Departments of Education and Justice. The Department of Justice offers publications, webpages, and educational activities to help colleges and campus law enforcement monitor and address these crimes. However, much of DOJ’s information is outdated and difficult to find in one place. In addition, many colleges are unaware of what resources are available. We recommended that DOJ update, centralize, and share its information to make it easier to use.

Editor's Note: Although our former company funds part of our health expenses as retirees, not all is covered nor funded. Therefore, we too, have to explore parts of our plan for explanations, changes, lowering costs and other aspects. Open enrollment for the Federal and most state marketplaces begins Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 and ends on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. Organizations assisting consumers are encouraged to link to the Kaiser Family Foundation's FAQ web page.Designed to help consumers and the navigators, brokers and others who assist them, the FAQs cover a wide range of topics including eligibility for subsidies, requirements for health coverage and information about health plans offered through state ACA marketplaces.

Margaret Cullison writes: Mom baked regularly, working at the much-used enamel table in the kitchen. When I came home from school in the afternoon to find her there, I'd sit at the table and watch her work, telling her the events of my day. She always made small cookies, dainty enough to serve her friends when they stopped by for impromptu coffee and a chat. Mom also offered cookies and coffee to anyone doing work in the house or yard, and they probably wished for larger cookies!

Despite graduating at the top of her law school class, Ginsburg struggled to find a job. Title VII had not been enacted, anti-discrimination measures were not yet part of employment law, and firms were reticent to hire women. In law school, she routinely saw sign-up sheets for job interviews that explicitly said “Men only.” “Very few firms were willing to take a chance on a woman and no firm was ready to engage a mother,” said Ginsburg, who landed a judicial clerkship only through the diligent efforts of a professor-mentor. When she joined Rutgers’ law faculty in 1963, the Equal Pay Act had just been passed — but was widely ignored. When notified of her paltry salary, Ginsburg asked how much a man with similar experience was paid.

“In an instant I realized one of the key pillars of our strong support for Ukraine was threatened,” Mr. Taylor said in his testimony. Background: Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the United States Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine. During the Arab Spring, he oversaw assistance and support to Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria at the State Department. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009. He also served in Jerusalem as the U.S. Government’s representative to the Mideast Quartet, which facilitated the Israeli disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. He oversaw reconstruction in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, and served in Kabul as coordinator of international and U.S. assistance to Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003. Ambassador Taylor also coordinated U.S. assistance to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He earlier served on the staff of Senator Bill Bradley.

Tissot’s career spanned the English Channel, garnering commercial and critical success both in London and Paris. Though invited by Degas to exhibit with the Impressionists, Tissot declined. He turned to social events and balls, painting metropolitan life with great attention to detail, humor and pathos. Upon close study, even his most ebullient society pictures reveal rich and complex commentary on Belle Époque culture, religion, fashion, and politics.

On Tuesday, the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services will hold a hearing, “Long Overdue: Exploring the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694).” On Tuesday, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on several bills, including H.R. 4165, the Improving Benefits for Underserved Veterans Act.”

At present, CDC recommends that people: Should not use e-cigarette, or vaping, products that contain THC. Should not buy any type of e-cigarette, or vaping products, particularly those containing THC, off the street. Should not modify or add any substances to e-cigarette, or vaping, products that are not intended by the manufacturer, including products purchased through retail establishments.

Ferida writes: This is strange autumn. Mother Nature seems confused. The temperature is bouncing up and down, sometimes zooming into the 90s. Our tulip tree, which usually loses all of its leaves by the end of August, still is partially green. The backyard normally is awash in leaves by now but the maple trees are only reluctantly shedding their foliage. If Mother Nature is confused, how are we to understand what is happening around us? We were up in the Alps not long ago and the temperature plus humidity soared to over 105 degrees! It’s hard not to take the concept of climate change seriously when the climate is changing all around us.

At the beginning of October, pharmacists at COG member institutions raised concerns about the ability to obtain vincristine. COG quickly contacted Pfizer/Hospira, now the sole supplier of vincristine in the United States, and was told that Pfizer/Hospira was experiencing a shortage of drug due to a manufacturing delay. (The other supplier of vincristine in the US, Teva Pharmaceuticals, made a “business decision” and stopped supplying drug to the US in July of 2019.) Captain Valerie Jensen, RPh, Associate Director of the Drug Shortages Staff at the FDA reported that FDA had been contacted by Pfizer/Hospira, were exploring the drug shortage and had started working on potential solutions.

The unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent, is at a half-century low, and wages are rising broadly in line with productivity growth and underlying inflation. There is no evidence to date that a strong labor market is putting excessive cost-push pressure on price inflation. But despite this favorable baseline outlook, the U.S. economy confronts some evident risks in this the 11th year of economic expansion. Business fixed investment has slowed notably since last year, exports are contracting on a year-over-year basis, and indicators of manufacturing activity are weakening. Global growth estimates continue to be marked down, and global disinflationary pressures cloud the outlook for U.S. inflation.

VA requires that its medical centers review doctors’ qualifications and practice history before deciding whether to hire or retain them. However, we’ve found that some VA medical centers inadvertently overlooked information that would disqualify a doctor from being hired — such as having a revoked license. If medical centers are concerned about or have disciplined a doctor, they are required to report to state licensing boards or a national database as appropriate. But some medical centers didn’t make these reports. This testimony is based on reports with 11 recommendations, including that VA better oversee how its medical centers review doctors.

The poll finds the public narrowly divided on whether the Supreme Court should overturn the entire ACA, with 43% favoring such a decision and 48% opposing it. This reflects partisan views of the law itself, with most Republicans (75%) wanting it overturned, most Democrats (69%) wanting to keep it, and independents falling in between (51% want to keep it, 40% want it overturned). At the same time, most (63%) do not want to see the Supreme Court overturn the law’s protections for people with pre-existing condition protections. This includes most Democrats (71%) and independents (73%). Among Republicans, 47% say they want the court to overturn those protections and 42% say they do not.

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was one of the greatest portrait artists of his time. While he is best known for his powerful paintings, he largely ceased painting portraits in 1907 and turned instead to charcoal drawings to satisfy portrait commissions. Many sitters recounted the speed and confidence with which Sargent worked; he finished most of these charcoals in less than three hours. The artist would often invite friends to drawing sessions to keep the sitters entertained and also to help enliven their features. The finished charcoal portraits are valuable testaments to Sargent’s prodigious skill as an artist and draftsman.

To address this public health threat, biomedical research programs need to be refocused on developing innovative diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for STIs. Healthcare providers need access to faster, low-cost diagnostics to identify both active and asymptomatic STIs. The STI vaccine pipeline also needs to produce effective new candidate vaccines for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. As for STI therapeutics, the authors note that research efforts must focus on drug-drug interactions, toxicities and side effects, while keeping ahead of spreading antimicrobial resistance.

Jo Freeman writes: Several hundred people protested in front of the Supreme Court on October 8 as it heard oral argument inside on the issue of exactly what is sex discrimination in employment. At the end of the rally 132 people were arrested for blocking the street in planned civil disobedience. "Sex" is one of the protected categories in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment. At that time, same-sex relations were a crime in every state except Illinois. Transgender wasn’t even a word. Much has happened in 55 years.

Sonya Zalubowski writes: The first thing that hits you after landing in New Mexico is the vastness of the blue sky, a panorama that surrounds you amid the state’s rough high desert and mountainous landscape. Perhaps that sky with all its limitlessness, including the unrealized possibility of finding more of the gold they found in Mexico, is what first attracted the Spanish to settle this area. Their influence dating all the way to the 16th century plus the large indigenous native American presence color the area’s flavor to this day.

Jo Freeman writes: Reclaiming the court is not a task for one demonstration, or even a lot of them. There is a process by which federal judges are chosen, based more on convention than law. The right-wing learned long ago how to game the system. It looks for those with conservative views it can groom for appointment to the federal bench and raises them through the system. The Federalist Society in particular identifies and lobbies for conservative judges and justices. Kavanaugh is just one of five current Justices who rose with its support. Until the Left understands the long game, it will do more ranting than winning.

State and federal lawmakers and 2020 presidential candidates have put forward a range of plans aimed at reducing college costs to curb student debt and encourage more Americans to pursue degrees. Most programs and proposals focus on eliminating tuition at community colleges and state universities. But some also aim to cover educational costs such as mandatory student fees, which schools charge to help pay for student events, health services and other campus offerings. These initiatives often are referred to as "free college" — even when they only cover tuition — and as "tuition-free" programs. A number of cities, counties and states have introduced “college promise” programs, which also pay students’ tuition and, sometimes, other expenses at two- and four-year institutions.