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Meet Johnny Taylor, Jr.  Last February, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order announcing the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)—the earliest any American President has signed an Order on HBCUs during his term. President Trump shared yesterday that Johnny Taylor, Jr., former seven-year president of the Thurgood Marshall College fund, will take over as Chairman of the Board. “I’ve been a CEO in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations,” Mr. Taylor said. “By working together across all sectors—the HR profession, HBCUs, and this Advisory Board—we can strengthen the relationship between education and employers.” “I know he will advance the cause of HBCUs, a major priority of our Administration,” the President said. Watch: Mr. Taylor shares his vision for America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Learn more: How the President has prioritized HBCUs since day 1 Play ball!  “Studies have shown that children who are involved in sports have greater self-discipline, higher self-esteem and are better at working with others,” Ivanka Trump wrote yesterday in an op-ed for NBC News. Ms. Trump had a firsthand look at the height of American athletic excellence during her visit to the 2018 Olympic Games. “Our Olympic athletes had the opportunity to engage in sport at a young age, which allowed them to develop their talents,” she writes. “But to ensure that every American child has that same chance, we must break down barriers to youth sports participation.” President Trump signed an Executive Order yesterday to accomplish just that. His directive addresses the issue from several angles, such as by: Establishing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition Partnering with groups in the public and private sectors to address the decline in youth sports participation Asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a national strategy to boost involvement in sports among children Ivanka Trump: The Olympics prove America is stronger when kids from all backgrounds play sports. Tribute to a Hoosier Vice President and Second Lady  “Well hello, Indiana,” Vice President Mike Pence opened Monday night at a dinner with the Indiana Society of Washington, D.C. The Society gave the event an appropriate name: “Tribute to a Hoosier Vice President and Second Lady.” “In the last year, we’ve made incredible progress all across this country,” the Vice President said. “We’ve reformed our tax code, we’ve rebuilt our military, and we’ve rolled back regulations. And confidence across Indiana and across America is booming.” The dinner hit a particularly high note when Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb awarded Vice President Pence, his predecessor, with Indiana’s high civilian honor: the Sagamore of the Wabash. Previous recipients include Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts and former Late Show host David Letterman. Read more of what Vice President Pence told his fellow Hoosiers Monday night. PHOTO OF THE DAY First Lady Melania Trump hosts a Governors' Spouses Luncheon at the White House | February 26, 2018 (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks) POTUS TODAY Today, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, along with Vice President Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence will attend the arrival ceremony preceding the lying in honor of the Reverend Billy Graham at the U.S. Capitol. This afternoon, the President and Vice President will meet with bipartisan members of Congress to discuss school and community safety. ==================== "Hamilton" Within Reach!  The hit Broadway musical "Hamilton" not only tells the story of Alexander Hamilton but also the story of his wife Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. Learn who tells Eliza Hamilton’s story with these lessons from the American History Museum. Primary Source Documents  Teach your students about the importance of using primary historical documents in their research. Explore DocsTeach, a free resource for teachers with over 9,000 documents available from the National Archives. Explore the Stars  Explore tonight's sky with videos and images from HubbleSite. Learn the latest news from the Hubble Space Telescope with blogs, resources for class and even take a peek at what the telescope is looking at right now.  Find a New Job in a Growing Field — Engineering According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, approximately 140,000 engineering jobs are expected to be added in the next decade. From software to bridges, engineers build the things that keep our world moving. Check out these opportunities for federal engineering jobs around the country.  Use This Step-By-Step Guide to Find Low-Income Housing Do you or someone you know need affordable housing? Low-income families, people with disabilities, and senior citizens may qualify for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs. Use this infographic to learn if you qualify and find out what steps to take to start your housing search.    Φεβ 28 τις 10:25 μ.μ. FTC to Release Annual Consumer Sentinel Data Book The Federal Trade Commission will release its annual Consumer Sentinel Data Book summarizing consumer complaints about fraud, identity theft and other consumer concerns and will host a conference call for news media. WHEN: Thursday, March 1, 1 p.m. ET WHO:   Tom Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Monica Vaca, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Consumer Response and Operations CALL-IN: The phone number to participate is 1-800-230-1093. The confirmation number is 445559. The lines, which are only for news media, will open at 12:45 p.m. ET. The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources. FTC Approves Sears Holdings Management Corporation Petition to Reopen and Modify Commission Order Concerning Tracking Software Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a petition by Sears Holding Management requesting that the FTC reopen and modify a 2009 FTC order settling charges that Sears failed to disclose adequately the scope of consumers’ personal information it collected via a downloadable software app. According to the administrative complaint leading to the 2009 order,  Sears offered $10 to consumers to install a market research software application on their personal computers. The complaint alleges that Sears deceptively failed to disclose the full extent of the software’s data collection. The settlement order, among other things, requires Sears to provide clear and prominent notice to consumers of the full collection practices of any “Tracking Application,” as defined in the order, and obtain consumers’ express consent to that data collection before they download or install the software. In its petition Sears requested that, as a result of changing circumstances and in the public interest, the FTC reopen and modify the order to update its definition of “Tracking Application,” which the company said unnecessarily restricts its ability to compete in the mobile app marketplace. A modification would enable the company to “keep step with current market practices” related to retail online tracking applications, Sears stated. The Commission has determined that changed conditions of fact require that the order be reopened, and has modified the Order as proposed by Sears. While mobile applications are still covered under the modified Order, the Commission added exceptions to the definition of “Tracking Application” that exclude software that tracks only the configuration of the software program or application itself; information regarding whether the software program or application is functioning as represented; or information regarding consumers’ use of the program or application itself. The Commission vote approving Sears’s petition, and responses to members of the public who submitted comments, was 2-0. (The staff contact is Jarad Brown, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-2927) Statement of Federal Trade Commission Concerning the Proposed Acquisition of Luxottica Group by Essilor The Federal Trade Commission issued a statement on its vote to close the investigation of the proposed merger of European eyewear makers Essilor and Luxottica Group. According to the statement, the evidence did not support a conclusion that Essilor’s proposed acquisition of Luxottica violates federal antitrust laws: “FTC staff extensively investigated every plausible theory and used aggressive assumptions to assess the likelihood of competitive harm. The investigation exhaustively examined information provided by a wide and deep swath of market participants, as well as the parties’ own documents and data. Assessing the likely competitive effects of a proposed transaction is a fact-specific exercise that takes into account the current market dynamics, which may be different in the future. Here, however, the evidence did not support a conclusion that Essilor’s proposed acquisition of Luxottica may be substantially to lessen competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.” The Commission vote to close the investigation and issue the closing statement was 2-0. (FTC File No. 171-0060) FTC Recommends Steps to Improve Mobile Device Security Update Practices Greater consumer education also needed about security updates A new Federal Trade Commission report finds that the complexity of the mobile ecosystem means that the security update process for patching operating system software on some mobile devices is intricate and time-consuming. While noting that industry participants have taken steps to streamline the process, the report recommends that manufacturers consider taking additional steps to get more security updates to user devices faster. It also recommends that manufacturers consider telling users how long a device will receive security updates and when update support is ending. The report is based primarily on information the FTC requested in May 2016 from eight mobile device manufacturers – Apple, Inc.; Blackberry Corp.; Google, Inc.; HTC America, Inc.; LG Electronics USA, Inc.; Microsoft Corp.; Motorola Mobility, LLC; and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. – about how they issue security updates. It also builds on information that the Federal Communications Commission requested from wireless carriers about their security updates practices. Security researchers and government agencies agree that it is important to install security updates that patch vulnerabilities in the device’s operating system. Many of these devices, however, remain without important security updates for long periods– either because no update is issued at all, because approving and deploying a patch is a lengthy process, or because users do not install available updates. The FTC report examines certain manufacturers’ security update practices and offers recommendations on how to improve the security update process. “Consumers use their mobile devices for a wide range of activities and want to have confidence that when they use them they will be secure,” said Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Tom Pahl. “Our report found, however, significant differences in how the industry deploys security updates and that more needs to be done to make it easier for consumers to ensure their devices are secure.” A key finding of the report is that support periods, the time during which a device receives operating system updates, and update frequency vary widely, even among devices that cost the same, are made by the same company, or are serviced by the same carrier. A device may receive security updates for many years – or, in some instances, may not receive any updates at all. Devices with robust support are available but can be hard to identify because manufacturers tend to make little information about support periods available before purchase. The FTC report offers several recommendations on ways to improve the security update process: Government, industry and advocacy groups should work together to educate consumers about their role in the update process and the significance of updates. Industry should build security into support culture and further embed security support considerations into product design, consistent with the costs and benefits of doing so. To that end, industry should ensure that devices receive security updates for a period of time consistent with consumers’ expectations. Manufacturers should consider keeping better records about update decisions, support length, update frequency, and update acceptance so that they can learn from their past practices. Companies should continue streamlining the security update process. In particular, manufacturers should consider issuing security-only updates instead of bundling security patches with general software updates. Manufacturers should consider adopting and disclosing minimum guaranteed support periods for their devices and notifying consumers when support is about to end. The Commission vote approving the report was 2-0.  Φεβ 28 τις 9:47 μ.μ. En banc Court of Appeals rules in FTC’s favor on common carrier issue By Lesley Fair If you’ve been following the FTC’s lawsuit against AT&T alleging deceptive and unfair data throttling, there’s important news. A unanimous en banc decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in the FTC’s favor on a key issue involving the agency’s jurisdiction. Read more >