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Οκτ 30 τις 4:56 μ.μ.   Under the current tax code’s uncompetitive corporate tax rates, wage growth stagnates. Hardworking Americans don’t experience the wage growth they should. But fixing our broken tax code can help make our economy more productive and more profitable. Read more about the Unified Framework for Tax Reform supported by President Donald J. Trump here. ----------------- Kick-Starting the American Economy into High Gear  There’s a disconnect between America’s corporate profits and America’s real wages. On Friday, the Council of Economic Advisers released a report on the relationship between the corporate tax rate and gross domestic product (GDP). GDP growth has stalled below its post-World War II average (about 3 percent) for the last decade. Improving our tax policies, such as cutting corporate taxes and allowing capital investments to be written off, will jumpstart America's economic engine. See the full report here. President Trump Takes Action Against the Nation's Opioid Crisis  Last week, President Trump continued the mobilization of his Administration to address drug addiction by directing the declaration of a Nationwide Public Health Emergency to address the opioids crisis. The action allows for expanded access to telemedicine services, including services involving remote prescribing of medicine commonly used for substance abuse or mental health treatment. In 2016, more than two million Americans had an addiction to prescription or illicit opioids. This directive will help states and local communities better fight this battle, and strengthen the tools available at the federal level, ensuring people have access to the help they desperately need, and deserve. See more here. Vice President Pence Delivers Remarks at Minot Air Force Base On Friday, Vice President Pence gave remarks to Airmen at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the President and citizens of the United States for their service to our Nation, and dedication to defend our freedom and way of life. The Vice President also reassured the Administration's commitment to strengthening the United States’ Armed Forces, proclaiming that the era of budget cuts to the American military has ended. “Our President has already signed the largest increase in defense spending in nearly 10 years. And as we speak, we're working with the Congress to pass the largest investment in our national defense since the days of Ronald Reagan. Under this Commander-in-Chief, the era of budget cuts to the American military are over,” Vice President Pence said. Read the Vice President's full remarks here. PHOTO OF THE DAY President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump deliver remarks on combatting drug demand and the opioid crisis | October 26, 2017 (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks) POTUS TODAY This morning, the President Trump will receive his daily intelligence briefing, followed by a meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. In the afternoon, the President will have lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Later, the President will meet with Secretary of the Defense James Mattis. The Vice President will participate in a swearing-in ceremony for Steve King as U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic. This evening, the White House will welcome local students, military families, and community groups for an afternoon of Halloween festivities on the South Lawn. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will hand out cookies created by the White House Pastry Kitchen, and various departments and agencies such as the United States Secret Service, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Park Service, and the Department of Education will also be on hand to give out various items and participate in the festivities. Watch live here at 5:45 ET. COMING UP On Friday, President Trump departs on a 10-day trip to Asia, his fourth international trip as President. The President will participate in a series of bilateral, multilateral, and cultural engagements demonstrating his continued commitment to the alliances and partnerships of the United States in the region, and strengthening international commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea.  Οκτ 30 τις 6:11 μ.μ. What's happening this week at the National Portrait Gallery. News Blog Support Us Events and Programs Week of Oct. 30 through Nov. 4 Día de los Muertos Celebration Wednesday, Nov. 1 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. Whether you’re coming off a busy day at work, meeting with friends for a fun night out, or showing your family an enriching cultural experience, join us in celebrating Día de los Muertos—a night for everyone, living or dead! Enjoy live music from local band Los Gallos Negros, dance by the Maru Montero Dance Company, and art activities to honor the Day of the Dead tradition. "National Portrait Gallery Exhibition Celebrates Workers" via The New York Times   Some motivational words of wisdom from Mother Teresa via the Portrait Gallery's Instagram   Artist Sandy Huckleberry on her IDENTIFY performance KNOW via the Face to Face blog Take a Tour Highlights of the National Portrait Gallery: Monday–Friday, noon; Saturday & Sunday, 11:45 a.m. & 3:15 p.m. Docent's Choice: Monday–Friday, 2:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday: 1:30 & 4:30 p.m. Programs and Events Thursdays at Noon: Slow Looking | Nov. 2 | G Street Lobby Visitors can join a Portrait Gallery educator and take an in-depth look at the sculpture of Rosa Parks by Marshall D. Rumbaugh.  Conversation Circle | Friday, Nov. 3 |10 a.m.–noon | G Street Lobby Each week visitors practice English in small groups while learning more about American history through portraiture. Open Studio Friday | Friday, Nov. 3 | 1–6 p.m. Work with a different art material each week or explore the museum with a Portrait Discovery Kit. Portrait Discovery Kits | Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 4 & 5 | 1­–4 p.m. Pick up an activity kit that guides you through the museum with games and puzzles, and learn more about the people who have made American history. Portrait Story Days: Pocahontas | Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 4 & 5 | 1­–4 p.m. | Education Center Visitors can listen to a story and create art inspired by Pocahontas. Current Exhibitions One Life: Sylvia Plath America's Presidents Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image Dia de los Muertos courtesy of the Maru Montero Dance Company. Workers on the Empire State Building by Lewis Wickes Hine, gelatin silver print c. 1930, Museum of Modern Art, New York City; Committee on Photography Fund. Digital image © The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY. Mother Teresa (detail) by Robert M. Peak, 1975. Gift of TIME Magazine.  Apple courtesy Sandy Huckleberry. Rosa Parks (detail) by Marshall D. Rumbaugh, 1983. Conversation Circle by Matailong Du. Woman Painting by Matailong Du, 2016.  Pocahontas by Simon van de Passe, after 1616, transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942. Triple Face Portrait by Sylvia Plath, c. 1950–1951. Courtesy The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana © Estate of Sylvia Plath. James Garfield (detail) by Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 1881. Gift of the International Business Machines Corporation to the Smithsonian Institution, 1962. Marlene Dietrich (detail) by Eugene Robert Richee, 1930. Photograph by Eugue Robert Richee, Deutsche Kinemathek – Marlene Dietrich Collection, Berlin. All images belong to National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, unless otherwise noted.

First Source Issues Allergy Alert for Undeclared Milk in Several Dark Chocolate Products Received from our Supplier GKI Foods LLC First Source of Tonawanda, NY, is voluntarily recalling various packaged goods, as well as Products sold in grocery store bulk bins. All these products contain undeclared Milk. People who have an allergy or sensitivity to Milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. The recalled retail packaged items: All Best Before dates Wegmans Dark Chocolate Almonds 23oz tub Wegmans Dark Chocolate Almonds 11.5oz tub Wegmans Dark Chocolate Almonds with Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar 12oz tub Wegmans Dark Chocolate Cherry-Infused Cranberries 12oz tub Wegmans Dark Chocolate Strawberries 13.5oz tub Alpine Valley Dark Chocolate Almonds 11.5oz tub Circle K Favorites Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds 3.25oz bag Tops Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds 11.5oz tub Tops Dark Chocolate Coffee Beans 12oz tub 7 Select Dark Chocolate Turbinado Almonds with Sea Salt 2.25oz bag.  Οκτ 30 τις 6:15 μ.μ. Administrative Law Judge Upholds FTC’s Complaint that 1-800 Contacts Unlawfully Harmed Competition in Online Search Advertising Auctions, Restricting the Availability of Truthful Advertising to Consumers In an Initial Decision announced today, Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell upheld a Federal Trade Commission complaint against 1-800 Contacts, ruling that the agency has proved that the nation’s largest online retailer of contact lenses unlawfully orchestrated a web of anticompetitive agreements with rival online contact lens sellers. “The Challenged Agreements restricted advertisements for the sale of contact lenses on the internet by prohibiting competitors from presenting paid advertisements on the search engine results page in response to searches for 1-800 Contacts’ trademarks,” Judge Chappell wrote in the decision. He concluded that the “evidence in this case demonstrates that the advertising restraints imposed by the Challenged Agreements cause harm to consumers and competition in the market for the sale of contact lenses online. This is sufficient to establish Complaint Counsel’s prima facie case that the agreements are anticompetitive. The evidence fails to prove that the Challenged Agreements have countervailing procompetitive benefits that outweigh or justify the demonstrated anticompetitive effects of the Challenged Agreements. Accordingly, the Challenged Agreements violate Section 5 of the FTC Act.” An order Judge Chappell included with to the Oct. 20, 2017 Initial Decision would bar 1-800 Contacts from agreeing with a marketer or seller of any contact lens product to restrict, prohibit, regulate or otherwise limit that seller’s participation in search advertising auctions, and would also bar 1-800 Contacts from instructing search engines to restrict or prohibit any seller’s use of any keyword (a word or phrase used to instruct a search engine to display specified search advertising), or to require any seller to use any negative keyword (a word or phrase used to instruct a search engine not to display specified search advertising). Also under the order, 1-800 Contacts would be barred from agreeing with a seller to restrict, prohibit, regulate or otherwise limit that seller’s use of truthful, non-deceptive, and non-trademark-infringing advertising or promotion. The order would also require the company to stop enforcing or attempting to enforce any and all provisions, terms, or requirements in any existing agreement or court order that impose a condition on a seller that would be inconsistent with the order. According to the FTC’s administrative complaint, 1-800 Contacts entered into bidding agreements with at least 14 competing online contact lens retailers that eliminated competition in auctions to place advertisements on the search results page generated by online search engines such as Google and Bing. The complaint alleges that these bidding agreements constituted an unfair method of competition in violation of federal law, by unreasonably suppressing price competition in certain online search advertising auctions, and restricting truthful and non-misleading advertising to consumers. As a result, some consumers paid higher retail prices for contact lenses, the complaint stated. The Appeals Process. The Judge’s Initial Decision is subject to review by the full Federal Trade Commission on its own motion, or at the request of any party. The Initial Decision will become the decision of the Commission 30 days after it is served upon the parties, unless a party files a timely notice of appeal – and thereafter files a timely appeal brief – or the Commission places the case on its own docket for review or stays the effective date of the decision. Is the IRS Calling? Even though tax season is over, keep an eye out for IRS imposter scams. Scammers will contact you by phone and email claiming to be the IRS to get your personal information. They will always contact you about unpaid taxes by postal mail. Learn what to do if someone calls or emails you, pretending to be from the IRS.