There’s one word to describe the upcoming video exposing Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of aborted babies: demonic. The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a trailer on August 21 advertising its eighth investigative video. In the two-minute clip, StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer admitted that her company receives “intact” (whole) aborted baby bodies from the abortion clinics they work with – and laughed at the thought of shipping baby heads.
Showing posts with label Fox News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fox News. Show all posts
Monday, August 24, 2015
Reid to support Iran nuke deal, fight to get it past Senate
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid will endorse the Iran nuclear deal, according to a statement the Nevada Democrat released Sunday.
"I strongly support this historic agreement and will do everything in my power to ensure that it stands," Reid said in the statement.
He called stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon "one of the most important national security challenges of our generation."
"This nuclear agreement is consistent with the greatest traditions of American leadership. I will do everything in my power to support this agreement and ensure that America holds up our end of the commitment we have made to our allies and the world to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. I will vote no on the resolution of disapproval and urge my colleagues to do the same," the statement continued.
The Nevada Democrat’s decision provides much needed support as President Obama tries to win approval for the plan.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure the deal stands,” Reid told the Washington Post, which first published reports of Reid's approval.
The multi-national deal would lift billions in crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for the rogue country curtailing its nuclear-development program.
Congress must approve the deal before it can be completed and is scheduled to vote promptly after returning from summer recess on Sept. 8 -- near the end of the members’ 60-day review period.
The House and Senate are expected to have enough votes to initially disapprove of the plan.
However, the plan is ultimately expected to go through because Obama will almost surely veto the disapproval measure. The Senate is not expected to have the two-thirds vote to override the veto, and the House override vote is also expected to be close.
Republicans who control both chambers largely disapprove of the plan and would need support from at least 13 Senate Democrats to override the veto.
Reid’s support follows New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer recently saying that he will not support the deal. Schumer is expected to replace Reid upon his retirement.
“We don’t disagree on much, but we disagree on this,” Reid said about Schumer's decision.
And last week, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he would vote against the deal.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
[VIDEO] Did Hillary Have A Second Private Server?
The tens of thousands of emails on Hillary Clinton’s private server from when she was secretary of state could also be on a second device or server, according to news reports.
The FBI now has the only confirmed private server, as part of a Justice Department probe to determine whether it sent of received classified information for Clinton when she was the country’s top diplomat from 2009 to 2013.
Platte River Networks, which managed Clinton's server and private email network after she left the State Department, has indicated it transfer – or “transferred” – emails from the original server in 2013, according to The Washington Examiner.
However, Clinton, the front-running Democratic presidential candidate, has suggested that she gave the department 55,000 pages of official emails and deleted roughly 30,000 personal ones in January, which raises the possibility they were culled from a second device.
Neither a Clinton spokesman nor an attorney for the Colorado-based Platte River Networks returned an Examiner’s request for comment, the news–gathering agency reported Saturday.
The DailyMail.com on Aug. 14 was among the first to report the possibility of a second server.
The FBI took the server last week, after a U.S. Intelligence Community inspector general reportedly found two Clinton emails that included sensitive information, then asked the FBI to further investigate.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
[VIDEO] North Korea approves ‘final attack’ on South Korea as tensions increase in region
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared his front-line troops were in a "quasi-state of war" Friday and ordered them to prepare for battle, a day after the most serious confrontation with South Korea in years.
A North Korean military official says a meeting of senior party and defense officials led by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Thursday night and "reviewed and approved the final attack operation."
He gave no details on what kind of military retaliation North Korea would see as appropriate punishment for South Korea's shelling of its territory Thursday.
It’s the latest challenge in the regional feud. South Korea warned Friday that North Korea was likely to launch "provocations" if Seoul did not meet a Saturday deadline to cease propaganda broadcasts.
Kim Yong Chol, director of the general reconnaissance bureau of the North Korean army, on Friday denied South Korean allegations that Pyongyang has been raising tensions on the peninsula.
He denied the North fired anything across the Demilitarized Zone and says South Korea has not offered conclusive evidence where the rocket was launched in the North, or where exactly it landed in the South.
He suggested human error might have been a factor on the South Korean side and says the South's decision to retaliate with its own barrage was dangerous and rash.
Kim says: "Skirmishes can lead to all-out war."
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo issued a warning at a press conference as a South Korean media outlet reported that Pyongyang appeared to be preparing to test-fire short- and mid-range ballistic missiles.
The report by Yonhap News Agency cited a South Korean government source who said that North Korea seemed to be "weighing the timing of the firing under its strategic intention to increase military tension on the Korean Peninsula to the highest level." The source also said that the apparent preparations for the test had been detected by South Korea's joint radar system, which it shares with the United States.
The North has given Seoul a deadline of 5 p.m. Saturday evening (4 a.m. EDT) to remove border loudspeakers that—after an 11 year lull-- have started broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda. Failure, Pyongyang says, will result in further military action. Seoul has vowed to continue the broadcasts.
Earlier Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared his country to be in a "quasi-state of war" and fully ready for any military operations starting Friday evening, according to a report by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.
In response, South Korea raised its military readiness to its highest level. Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu told a televised news conference that South Korea is ready to repel any additional provocation.
Friday, August 21, 2015
[VIDEO] High-level federal employees used work Internet systems to join Ashley Madison
WASHINGTON – Hundreds of U.S. government employees -- including some with sensitive jobs in the White House, Congress and law enforcement agencies -- used Internet connections in their federal offices to access and pay membership fees to the cheating website Ashley Madison, The Associated Press has learned.
The AP traced many of the accounts exposed by hackers back to federal workers. They included at least two assistant U.S. attorneys; an information technology administrator in the Executive Office of the President; a division chief, an investigator and a trial attorney in the Justice Department; a government hacker at the Homeland Security Department and another DHS employee who indicated he worked on a U.S. counterterrorism response team.
Few actually paid for their services with their government email accounts. But AP traced their government Internet connections -- logged by the website over five years -- and reviewed their credit-card transactions to identify them. They included workers at more than two dozen Obama administration agencies, including the departments of State, Defense, Justice, Energy, Treasury, Transportation and Homeland Security. Others came from House or Senate computer networks.
The AP is not naming the government subscribers it found because they are not elected officials or accused of a crime.
Hackers this week released detailed records on millions of people registered with the website one month after the break-in at Ashley Madison's parent company, Toronto-based Avid Life Media Inc. The website -- whose slogan is, "Life is short. Have an affair" -- is marketed to facilitate extramarital affairs.
Many federal customers appeared to use non-government email addresses with handles such as "sexlessmarriage," "soontobesingle" or "latinlovers." Some Justice Department employees appeared to use pre-paid credit cards to help preserve their anonymity but connected to the service from their office computers.
"I was doing some things I shouldn't have been doing," a Justice Department investigator told the AP. Asked about the threat of blackmail, the investigator said if prompted he would reveal his actions to his family and employer to prevent it. "I've worked too hard all my life to be a victim of blackmail. That wouldn't happen," he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was deeply embarrassed and not authorized by the government to speak to reporters using his name.
The AP's analysis also found hundreds of transactions associated with Department of Defense networks, either at the Pentagon or from armed services connections elsewhere.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed the Pentagon was looking into the list of people who used military email addresses. Adultery can be a criminal offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Ex-Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell can't remain free during appeal, court rules
May 12, 2015: Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell navigates a group of cameras as he leaves the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a hearing the appeal of his corruption conviction in Richmond, Va. (AP)
RICHMOND, Va. – A federal appeals court on Thursday refused to allow former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell to remain free while he appeals his public corruption convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision means McDonnell will probably have to report to prison within the next several weeks. Meanwhile, he has 90 days to ask the Supreme Court to review his case.
McDonnell said in a statement that he was "saddened by the court's decision today to deny me freedom while I pursue vindication."
"I am innocent of these charges and will petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a grant of bond," McDonnell said.
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted of doing favors for a wealthy businessman in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison; his wife to one year and one day. They have remained free on bond while they pursued separate appeals in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The appeals court last week refused to reconsider a three-judge panel's unanimous ruling upholding Bob McDonnell's convictions but said nothing about his bond status. McDonnell asked the court to state in writing that he can remain free while he seeks Supreme Court review. Prosecutors opposed the request, arguing that McDonnell should begin serving his term now that the appeals court has finished with the case.
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who closely follows the Richmond-based appeals court, said he doubts the Supreme Court will allow McDonnell to remain free.
"I think there's a chance, but it's probably a longshot," Tobias said Thursday.
Legal experts say that once the appeals court completes its review and a conviction is final, the federal probation office compiles information about the defendant's case and background and forwards it to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The agency analyzes the information and determines what type of programs the defendant might need — substance abuse counseling or high school equivalency courses, for example — and determines the appropriate security level and designates a prison. The agency then sends a certified letter to the defendant telling him where and when to report to prison.
The process can take a few weeks.
When the former governor was sentenced in January, his lawyers asked U.S. District Judge James Spencer to recommend that McDonnell be sent to the low-security federal prison camp in Petersburg, Virginia. The Bureau of Prisons considers judges' recommendations along with other factors, such as available space.
McDonnell's lawyers weren't immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.
McDonnell was convicted on 11 public corruption charges. The case derailed the career of a rising Republican star who had been viewed as a possible running mate to presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012.
The appeals court will hear arguments in Maureen McDonnell's case in late October. Late Wednesday, she filed a brief saying the recent appeals court decision in her husband's case shouldn't mean her own appeal suffers the same fate.
Uber's cheapest service significantly lowers drunken driving deaths in California, study finds
Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft have new ammunition in their fight to operate in cities around the world -- a study that concludes they could save thousands of lives.
The upstart services have battled the organized taxi lobby and politicians for entry into new markets around the world, but have made their case based on claims that they create jobs and provide competition that benefits consumers. Now, Temple University researchers have released a study that shows the entry of Uber into markets in California between 2009 and 2014 tracks a drop of as high as 5.6 percent in drunken-driving deaths.
"We looked at the entire state of California from 2009 to 2014," Sunil Wattal, who co-authored the study with fellow researcher Brad Greenwood, told FoxNews.com. "We wanted to demonstrate in a quantitative and robust manner the impact Uber has on drunk driving.
"We found that UberX actually reduced drunk-driving related fatalities," Wattal added.
"We found that UberX actually reduced drunk-driving related fatalities."- Sunil Wattal, Temple University
Using data from the California Highway Commission, the researchers found that UberX, the company's least expensive service, significantly reduced the number of alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths throughout the state -- with the greatest impact in the larger cities.
He noted, however, that no such link was found with Uber Black, the company's highest priced service, consisting of commercially registered and insured livery vehicles -- typically a black SUV or luxury sedan with a significant markup over traditional taxicabs.
The researchers theorized that the Uber Black's higher cost and lower accessibility might explain why it does not provide the same benefit as the no-frills version of Uber.
"Economically, results indicate that the entrance of Uber X results in a 3.6 percent to 5.6 percent decrease in the rate of motor vehicle homicides per quarter in the state of California," the two concluded. "With more than 1,000 deaths occurring in California due to alcohol-related car crashes every year, this represents a substantial opportunity to improve public welfare and save lives."
Matt McKenna, an Uber spokesman, said the Temple University study only bolsters similar data previously collected by Uber and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the nation’s largest nonprofit working to protect people from drunken driving and underage drinking.
"The results of this study complement research we released earlier this year with MADD that showed that the introduction of reliable and affordable transportation options like Uber are having a meaningful impact on the rates of drunk driving crashes in California," McKenna told FoxNews.com Tuesday.
Uber and MADD studied the service's impact in several major U.S. cities. Their report found that in Miami, for instance, Uber ridership peaks at the same time as historical drunken-driving related crashes. In Seattle, Uber's entry into the market was associated with a 10 percent decrease in DUI arrests, according to the report, and in Pittsburgh, the demand for Uber spikes right around the times bars close. The report also looked at traditional taxi services, claiming that taxi supply in Austin decreases when people most want rides, and when DUI arrests are most common.
Taxi cab associations, however, take issue with the study that is being used to bolster support for Uber -- claiming traditional taxi services have long helped to reduce drunken driving, while also adhering to important safety procedures.
"UberX is absolutely their most controversial product," said Dave Sutton of the group, "Who's Driving You?" -- a public safety campaign formed on behalf of the Taxi, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA).
"It’s been roundly criticized for its lack of insurance and lack of rigorous criminal background checks on drivers," Sutton said of UberX.
"It should be obvious to all involved that Uber is a taxi service, and taxi service is an extension of public transportation," he told FoxNews.com. "If you have passengers relying on this service to avoid dangerous activity, such as drunk driving, then the service itself should be adhering to the best safety practices and UberX is not."
To use Uber, passengers must first create an account with the service through the app on their iPhone or Android device -- which includes the customer's name, mobile number, email, language and billing information. After logging in with a username and password, the passenger selects his or her vehicle preference -- for instance, a black car, which can seat up to four people, or an SUV, which can seat up to six. The customer then marks the pick-up location on a map with a pin and the driver uses the phone holder's coordinates to arrive at the location. The cost of the ride depends on the time and distance. During certain peak times -- like New Year's Eve -- Uber enacts what it calls "surge pricing."
"The ease of Uber is just amazing," said Colleen Sheehey-Church, president of MADD, who praised the technology of the ride-sharing service and said the Temple University study "backs up everything we have already said."
"The study does show that easier and cheaper options will have an impact," Sheehey-Church told FoxNews.com. "We’re looking to change behavior and when a person has thought about it in advance, if they have easy access with a smartphone to do one click, it's the best thing for them to do to get home safely."
Sheehey-Church, whose teenage son was killed at the hands of a drunk and drugged driver, said she also advocates traditional taxi services as well as public transportation.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Border war: Iowa finds way to issue red light camera tickets despite South Dakota’s DMV firewall
When South Dakota passed a law last year protecting its citizens from camera-generated red light and speeding tickets issued by other states, the Australian company behind many of the controversial machines did not take it lying down.
The law bars South Dakota's division of motor vehicles from working with out-of-state jurisdictions on the automated tickets, and was aimed mainly at neighboring Iowa, which shares its southeastern border. Several towns in the Hawkeye State issued thousands of the tickets to drivers from South Dakota, who took their ire to lawmakers in Pierre.
"Our intention in passing this law in 2014 was to protect the citizens of South Dakota with respect to their due process rights, and that the burden of proof should not be shifted to the person accused," State Sen. Deb Soholt, whose district includes the South Dakota-Iowa border, told FoxNews.com.
"Our intention in passing this law in 2014 was to protect the citizens of South Dakota with respect to their due process rights, and that the burden of proof should not be shifted to the person accused."- South Dakota State Sen. Deb Soholt
Without South Dakota's official help in matching license plates to owners and addresses, Redflex Traffic Systems is still managing to track down violators and send them tickets, according to TheNewspaper.com, an online publication that covers driving-related news. The company has managed to issue more than 2,000 photo tickets to South Dakota residents since the beginning of the year using unspecified "alternative methods" to match up plates with car owners, the website reported.
"This is a real red flag," South Dakota State Rep. Arch Beal told FoxNews.com Tuesday. "They're accessing people's private records in a back entry way."
"We're absolutely fuming about this private information that Redflex is getting," added Beal, who claims the cameras serve no purpose other than to generate revenue.
A representative from Redflex did not return requests for comment.
"It's clear that it's not coming from the DMV," Soholt said of the information used to issue the tickets.
Iowa police, however, said the citations are being issued with information accessible to law enforcement.
"All of the citations that are issued are approved by a Sioux City police officer," Sgt. Mike Manthorne of the Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department told FoxNews.com. "When we approve those, we determine the registered owner at that time." He said Redflex only provides the technology needed to document speeders.
Via: Fox News
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Via: Fox News
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[VIDEO] LA 'black ball' reservoir rollout potential 'disaster' in the making, say experts
LA's scheme to cover a reservoir under 96 million "shade balls" may not be all it is touted to be, experts told FoxNews.com, with some critics going so far as to refer to the plan as a "potential disaster."
The city made national headlines last week when Mayor Eric Garcetti and Department of Water officials dumped $34.5 million worth of the tiny, black plastic balls into the city's 175-acre Van Norman Complex reservoir in the Sylmar section. Garcetti said the balls would create a surface layer that would block 300 million gallons from evaporating amid the state's crippling drought and save taxpayers $250 million.
Experts differed over the best color for the tiny plastic balls, with one telling FoxNews.com they should have been white and another saying a chrome color would be optimal. But all agreed that the worst color for the job is the one LA chose.
"Black spheres resting in the hot sun will form a thermal blanket speeding evaporation as well as providing a huge amount of new surface area for the hot water to breed bacteria," said Matt MacLeod, founder of the California biotech firm Modern Moon Farms. "Disaster. It’s going to be a bacterial nightmare.”
"It’s going to be a bacterial nightmare.”- Matt MacLeod, Modern Moon Farms
Any color covering will help stop wind-driven evaporation, said Robert Shibatani. principal hydrologist for the Sacramento-based environmental consultant The Shibitani Group. But when it comes to the hot summer sun sucking water out of the reservoir, color is everything, he said.
"Ideally you would want a chrome surface," he said. "The worst would be matte black, which has a reflectivity close to zero."
Biologist Nathan Krekula, a professor of health science at Bryant & Stratton College in Milwaukee, said black balls will absorb heat, transfer it to the water and cause evaporation. And he agreed with MacLeod that the heat will prove hospitable to bacteria.
[UPDATE] Tennessee Backtracks On Decision To Replace “Mother” And “Father” With “Parent 1” And “Parent 2″…
The governing agency that oversees documentation for the entirety of the Tennessee state court system has reportedly reversed a controversial decision to remove “mother” and “father” from an official form in exchange for the more general terms “parent 1″ and “parent 2.”
The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts reportedly backtracked on its initial decision to amend the “permanent parenting plan” form — a document that details arrangements between parents in the event of divorce — after receiving feedback from the public, according to a statement given to conservative commentator Todd Starnes.
“After receiving feedback regarding a recent change made to the permanent parenting plan form, the AOC has reviewed the procedures and determined that, before making any changes to the form, the AOC should consult with the Domestic Relations Committee of the Tennessee Judicial Conference,” read a statement from the office. “We have reverted to the previous form and the Committee has been notified.”
A screen shot of the permanent parenting plan form
A representative for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts did not tell Starnes why the initial change was made and a request for comment have not yet been returned to The Blaze.
“This is political correctness gone absolutely amock,” said Kendra Armstrong, a family law attorney who brought the issue to Starnes attention. “It’s just ridiculous.”
It is unclear if the Domestic Relations Committee of the Tennessee Judicial Conference will green light the initial change or if “mother” and “father” will continue to be the standard for the form, though a change might be expected in the wake of gay marriage legalization.
(H/T: Todd Starnes)
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
The Donald Trump Conversation: Murdoch, Ailes, NBC and the Rush of Being TV's "Ratings Machine"
In his first magazine cover interview and photo shoot as the leading Republican, the reality TV presidential candidate lets loose on Hillary's email scandal ("Watergate on steroids"), Bill Cosby ("Was he drunk?"), whether he'll go on Megyn Kelly's show, why he won't accept vice president, Melania as first lady, and if he even needs Fox News and the haters.
A version of story first appeared in the Aug. 28 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
I'm sitting in the reception area of Donald Trump's offices on the 26th floor of Trump Tower in New York when an assistant comes to fetch me: "Mr. Trump would like to see you," she says, as if I were a contestant on The Apprentice, the NBC reality series that brought the real estate mogul's bravado and business savvy to 20 million Americans each week at its peak. She leads me to a vast conference room where cameras click as Trump, 69, signs papers with another man. Standing at attention are two of his children, Ivanka, 33, andErik, 31, and about a dozen others. The scene has the pomp of historical significance one might associate with the Yalta Conference. Except this agreement being signed is for new Trump hotels in Asia in partnership with a gentleman who, Trump enthuses, is "the richest man" in his country (at press time, the deal was yet to be announced). Pens write with flourish, there is applause. Trump then calls me over: "Janice! You got to see this woman!" he says, motioning to a female dressed in a suit sitting next to the "richest man." It's never explained to me whether she is his wife or colleague. I don't know if she understands what is being said. "Isn't she beautiful? Beautiful!" he continues as she stands expressionless. "This is your business to know these things," he says to me, as an editor. "Just look at her!"
Fox News' Ed Henry Rattles Hillary at Shaky Press Conference: 'Did You Wipe the Server Clean?'
In a contentious exchange with reporters after a Las Vegas Town Hall event Tuesday, Hillary Clinton insisted anything she did with her email server was "legally permitted" and said the media were the only ones asking about it.
Asked if she had wiped her private email server clean before turning it over to investigators last week, she jokingly told Fox News' Ed Henry, “What, with like with a cloth or something? I don’t know how it works at all.”
Henry pressed the Democratic presidential candidate by pointing out that leadership is about taking responsibility.
“Look, Ed, I take responsibility,” Clinton replied. “In retrospect, this didn't turn out to be convenient at all and I regret that this has become such a cause celebre. But that does not change the facts. The facts are stubborn – what I did was legally permitted.”
Clinton last week handed over to the FBI her private server, which she used to send, receive and store emails during her four years as secretary of state. The bureau is holding the machine in protective custody after the intelligence community's inspector general raised concerns recently that classified information had traversed the system.
No One Showed Up for California's Green Jobs Rush ...
In 2012, California voters were peppered with grandiose promises, such that they could not resist approving Proposition 39. The measure, created and backed by wealthy environmentalist Tom Steyer, sought to raise taxes on corporations and use the money to fund green energy projects in schools.
He promised it would create 11,000 new jobs each year. What could go wrong?
....
Naturally, it did not work at all. On Monday, the Associated Press reported that the program has "created" just 1,700 jobs in three years — just under 600 jobs per year or roughly five percent of what was promised, at the cost of $175,000 per job.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
States ration birth, marriage, death certificates after paper company suddenly closes
WASHINGTON – Someone call Dunder Mifflin: Several states are reporting a paper crisis, after an Ohio company that produces highly specialized paper for vital records closed without warning.
California has been hit the hardest by the shortage, and several counties are now being forced to ration birth, marriage and death certificates.
In California, the only other company that can meet its needs, under state law, is in Canada. Officials say it would likely take months for Canadian Bank Note Co. to get up to speed with the state’s paper needs – but that’s only after a contract is signed. In the interim, counties are left finding short-term solutions for the growing backlog.
The restrictions “will impact a lot of folks,” Rob Grossglauser, a lobbyist for the County Recorders’ Association of California, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The closure of Sekuworks, the Ohio paper company, has a handful of states scrambling to find a fix, including Minnesota and South Carolina.
But California law is specific and requires the state to print all vital statistic certificates using a specialized – and some argue antiquated – type of printing, known as "intaglio." Besides Sekuworks, no other U.S.-based companies can handle that type of printing.
Since the company closed, several California counties there have started to limit residents to one copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate. The restrictions are creating major headaches for people who are realizing just how important the documents are when trying to obtain licenses, handle funeral arrangements or apply to schools.
Intaglio printing is done using ink that is below the surface of the plate. The design is etched into the printing plate, which is typically made from copper, zinc, aluminum and in some cases, coated paper. The benefit of intaglio is that it’s a near-perfect way to prevent counterfeits. Minnesota employs the method for a range of sensitive documents and South Carolina – which recently adopted new standards – used it for death certificates.
But critics argue it’s too labor intensive, antiquated and expensive.
In central California, Stanislaus County officials are now working with area school districts to provide a free “verification of birth” for people who otherwise would need a copy of their child’s birth certificate to enroll in school.
California has two types of certified birth notices – an authorized copy and an informational copy. While both are certified copies of the original document, an authorized copy establishes the identity of a person. An informational copy cannot be used for identity purposes and carries an inscription across the face of the document stating, “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY.”
Informational copies are available to anyone who requests one. Authorized copies are not.
County Clerk-Recorder Lee Lundrigan sent letters to school districts notifying them of the change and has been working to provide parents with emergency options.
South Carolina initially addressed its paper shortage by limiting the number of death certificates it issued to five per person.
The move put pressure on funeral homes and handicapped their ability to help families through the difficult process of losing a loved one. While a five-certificate limit might sound like a lot, Pamela Amos, general manager at McAlister-Smith Funeral Homes, told The Post and Courier that most families need at least 10 certified copies of a death certificate and that the state-sanctioned limits caused “a major issue for a lot of families.”
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control – the agency authorized to issue the certificates – was notified on July 9 Sekuworks had laid off most of its employees and was in the process of selling its business.
South Carolina, though, lifted its five-copy limit on Aug. 11 after the state signed a new contract with supplier R.R. Donnelley, Jim Beasley, a spokesman with the state DHEC, told FoxNews.com. Beasley indicated the state, unlike California, was able to revise its own security standards, and in turn use a different kind of paper.
“In 2014, we had already begun the process of revising our specifications for security paper to be used on birth and death certificates,” Beasley said. “We had issued a request for proposals from vendors to meet the new standard. Coincidentally, the bids for a new provider were scheduled for opening on July 9, 2015, the same day we were informed of the work situation with Sekuworks.”
The DHEC began processing back-order requests immediately and expects to resume normal operations by Wednesday, he said.
Meanwhile in Minnesota, officials at the state’s Department of Health are working to establish a new contract with a new vendor. The state is still about a month away before “everything is in place and a new supply could start flowing,” Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota DOH, told FoxNews.com. Schultz believes there is enough supply statewide to meet the demand if offices cut down on duplicates.
“Requests for certificates will continue to be fulfilled, but that fulfillment may occur at locations people don’t regularly use, through the U.S. mail or from neighboring county vital records offices,” he said.
Multiple emails, telephone calls and other attempts by FoxNews.com to reach Sekuworks were not successful.
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