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Pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh provocative speeches (on social media and at gatherings) since he landed in Punjab in September last year have become the main grounds on which the stringent National Security Act was slapped against him, according to senior Punjab Police officials in the know of the matter .

These grounds will be the part of the dossier the Punjab Police is set to submit to the state governments advisory board on April 25, it is learnt. The documents will be presented by a team of Amritsar rural police to the board headed by retired high court judge Justice Shabihul Hasnain (chairperson) with Suveer Sheokand and Divanshu Jainas its members.

Amritpal is currently lodged in an isolated cell in Assams Dibrugarh jail, away from his nine aides booked under NSA. The 37-day hunt for the radical leader had ended in Moga on Sunday with his arrest. One of the aides of Amritpal, Bikramjit Laddu, a resident of SBS Nagar district, who is also booked under NSA, is yet to be arrested.

According to the provisions, it is compulsory for the police to submit details of the reasons behind invoking the NSA to the board which will have to submit its report to the government within seven weeks from the date of detention of the person concerned as per the Act.

The grounds on which the NSA has been invoked against Amritpal are:

*His speeches focus on creation of Khalistan by way of secession of Punjab from India. Police claim it is undermining the sovereignty of the country.

*Amritpal threatened Union home minister Amit Shah against hindrances to his demand for a separate Sikh state. By referring to the assassination of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he said that she too tried to suppress Khalistan militancy but got killed.

*The radical leader made a provocative speech outside the Ajnala police station, threatening the administration not to take any action against him or his associates. He also threatened the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann by saying that if he continued to operate in a similar fashion, he could also be targeted by a human bomb like Dilawar Singh who killed ex-CM Beant Singh.

*Amritpal is always surrounded by several armed private bodyguards who brandish arms and ammunition. His armed followers have formed an armed group called the Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF). Ever since he started his speeches, he had been promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, place of birth and language, say police.

*On the day of his dastarbandi (first ceremonial tying of the turban) at Rode village, Amritpal delivered a speech against Hindus, criticising Hindu culture.At the same event, Jasbir Singh Rode, brother of Lakhbir Singh Rode (chief of the proscribed organisation International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)/ Khalistan Liberation Force), presented the turban to Amritpal. According to the police tiffin bombs, RDX, explosives, etc were recovered earlier from Jasbirs house and office, and his son Gurmukh Singh was arrested by the NIA.

The advisory board, accompanied by Punjab Police IG Rakesh Aggarwal and SP Rupinder Kaur Bhatti, had visited the Dibrugarh jail on April 19- 20 to meet the nine NSA detainees. On Tuesday, lawyers of the detainees will also be given the opportunity by the board to defend their case.

Ravinder Vasudeva is a principal correspondent who writes for the Punjab bureau of Hindustan Times.

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NSA slapped on Amritpal for his provocative speeches, say Punjab Police - Hindustan Times

Cedarville University was awarded a grant by the National Security Agency (NSA) to host its first GenCyber cybersecurity camp this summer, June 26-30.

Cedarville University was awarded a grant by the National Security Agency (NSA) to host its first GenCyber cybersecurity camp this summer, June 26-30. The camp is for high school seniors, and students can apply until May 1.

The GenCyber program, sponsored by NSA and the National Science Foundation (NSF), seeks to ignite, increase and sustain interest in cybersecurity for participants at the middle/high school levels. Cedarvilles ABET-accredited cybersecurity program, housed in the school of engineering and computer science, offers students the opportunity to study the field in an academically rigorous, Christian environment.

We are honored and excited to be selected by the NSA to host a GenCyber camp, said Dr. Seth Hamman, director of the Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity and associate professor of cyber operations and computer science. It is a competitive process because the NSAs GenCyber program is highly regarded.

Cedarvilles camp offers 30 slots for rising high school seniors at no cost. While on campus, students will learn basic cybersecurity skills, experience hands-on laboratory exercises and simulations and enjoy an after-hours tour of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where they will have dinner and conduct tours with local cybersecurity professionals.

Students will also learn about the importance of cybersecurity to our national security and our economy and the numerous career options available in the field. In addition, students will also learn important basic skills for staying safe online and will be introduced to resources to continue their skill development after camp.

This camp will also debunk cybersecurity stereotypes.

The field is more diverse than people think. It is not just about hackers in hoodies. The cyber ecosystem has many moving parts with roles to play for lots of skillsets. We want to show campers how they can use their skills and passions to advance cybersecurity."

Hamman hopes to promote awareness about the different kinds of government cybersecurity jobs, many of which are Department of Defense positions. According to the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, the United States is currently experiencing a cybersecurity workforce shortage of over 3.4 million.

Through GenCyber camps, the NSA and NSF hope to provide participants with an opportunity to consider pursuing cybersecurity for a career. For Cedarville's cybersecurity program, hosting a GenCyber camp is a great way to help accomplish their goal of advancing cybersecurity for the benefit of society.

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 5,082 undergraduate, graduate, and dual-enrolled high school students in more than 175 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, high graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and the #4 national ranking by the Wall Street Journal for student engagement. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.

Originally posted here:
Cedarville To Host First GenCyber Camp - Cedarville University

By Dan CookApril 24, 2023 at 11:36 AM

Heres a surprise: The No Surprises Act (NSA) passed by Congress in 2020 is working. Thats the word from a research report from the Urban Institute.

Several researchers from the Urban Institute and Georgetown Universitys Center on Health Insurance Reforms (with backing from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)conducted interviews with 32 regulators and stakeholders representing consumers, payers, hospitals and billing companies. The researchers also used data analysis to review the Acts efficacy since its passage, and found that it seems to be having the desired effect.

We wanted to see whether it was doing what it should be doing and were pleased to hear that it seems to be working, said Urban Institutes Jack Hoadley, the studys lead author.

The NSA was designed to protect consumers from large, unexpected bills for out-of-network medical services, including life-flight transportation, certain emergency room bills, and procedures done outside the consumers home network that the patient did not realize were outside the network.

Hoadley said all parties providers, payors and service users have made strides to facilitate the proper operation of the Act. While there was skepticism originally about whether providers and payors would make the system changes required, Hoadley says it appears that most have done so.

Employer- sponsored self-funded plan members are now enjoying the full protection of the Act, he said, since complaints from those members are now handled by federal adjudicators. Previously, self-funded plans had not enjoyed the same protections as fully funded plans, which could appeal balance bills to state agencies. States did not have the authority to hear self-funded plan member complaints about the charges.

Theres no difference now between fully funded and self-funded, he says. Providers cannot balance bill the self-funded plans as they were able to do before the act was passed. The act is good news for all employer plans. The law specifically addressed these issues to make sure they hit all types of insurance.

Among the studys findings:

The studys results notwithstanding, its authors noted that they were preliminary and could be somewhat misleading. Consumers could be paying balance bills without realizing it, due to the low level of health literacy in the U.S. Not all payors and providers have taken the administrative steps necessary to process balance bill claims. And there could be more claims in the pipeline that have not yet been processed, which would create a false sense of a low claims environment.

But overall the authors were satisfied that the NSA is working and saving consumers and plan sponsors money and time not spent fighting balance bills.

One year after implementation of the NSA, informants largely agreed that consumers are being well-protected from surprise balance bills covered under the law, they wrote. However, it is too early to assess whether the NSA will constrain the growth in health insurance premiums and encourage broader provider networks, and concerns remain that coverage gaps in the NSA, such as for ground ambulance services, can leave consumers with unexpected financial liability.

Read more from the original source:
No Surprises Act: Has the law had the desired impact on surprise billing? - BenefitsPro

Sydney Sweeney is being stalked by the FBI.

The Euphoria Emmy nominee leads HBO film Reality, based on writer-director Tina Satters 2019 play Is This A Room.

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On June 3, 2017, 25-year-old former American intelligence specialist Reality Winner (Sweeney) is confronted by FBI agents, played by Josh Hamilton and Marchnt Davis, arriving at her home to question her suspected role in the mishandling of classified information. Reality Winner is an ex-Air Force member and NSA translator who later received the harshest sentence, five years and three months in prison, for the unauthorized release of government information to the media leading to FBI director James Comey being fired for the investigation into how Russian interference affected the 2016 election.

Based on true events, the films dialogue, as with the acclaimed Off-Broadway play, comes directly from the transcript of their tense and transfixing conversation.

Reality debuted at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, marking Satters directorial debut from a script she penned along with James Paul Dallas.

Reality is gripping and deceptively layered, delineating both the FBIs queasily ingenious interrogation tactics and Sweeneys extraordinary range, IndieWires review reads. As evidenced in Reality and elsewhere, the actress is just so good at acting like shes on the verge of a freakout shes never, ever been happier, thank you very much and here her subtly reddening cheeks, caving into ragged panic, only grows more and more compelling as Satter swoops her magnifying class of a camera into boxier and boxier close-ups.

Sweeney is next set to lead Marvels Madame Web, a yet-untitled rom-com opposite Glen Powell, thriller Echo Valley alongside Julianne Moore, and religious horror film Immaculate. Sweeney additionally was announced to star in and executive produce a Barbarella remake based on the Jane Fonda 1968 film directed by Roger Vadim.

Story continues

Reality is produced by Noah Stahl, Brad Becker-Parton, Riva Marker, and Greg Nobile, with executive producers including Ellyn Daniels, Will OConnor, Daniel Ginsberg, Andrew Beck, Bill Way, Elliott Whitton, Eva Maria Daniells, Philipp Engelhorn, Caitlin Gold, and writer-director Satter.

Reality premieres May 29 on HBO at 10 p.m. PT/ET and will be available to stream on Max.

Check out the teaser below.

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Click here to read the full article.

Read more:
Reality Teaser: Sydney Sweeney Is an NSA Operative with a Secret - Yahoo Entertainment

Seaman Apprentice Krista Fitch takes the blood pressure of a sailor at the active-duty medical clinic at Naval Support Activity Naples in Italy on April 20, 2023. A program at the base seeks to improve service members' health with a focus on guiding those whose blood pressure could be a precursor to major medical issues. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)

NAPLES, Italy A joint effort at Naval Support Activity Naples to tackle high blood pressure among active-duty service members is seeing success in getting them to be more conscientious about their overall health.

Service members flagged during routine exams are encouraged to seek follow-up care and counseling to address their blood pressure, U.S. Naval Hospital Naples and Navy Marine Corps Relief Society officials said.

But since October 2022, that advice has been reinforced by referral to a new program that includes a relief society visiting nurse able to provide focused follow-up care.

In that time span, flagged service members completion rate for necessary blood pressure checks has gone from just 7% before the existence of the program to 43% now, said Cmdr. Robyn White, a family nurse practitioner at the bases active-duty clinic.

The data track service members referred to the program from Oct. 1, 2022, through Feb. 28, she noted.

The checks are vital in determining whether a flagged blood pressure reading is an anomaly or an indication of a deeper problem, White said.

High and elevated blood pressure are among the top diagnoses for active-duty service members seeking medical care at NSA Naples, said Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Bailey, a clinic nurse who spearheaded the program along with relief society nurse Emily Mitalas.

Through the program, service members thought to have or be at risk of developing the conditions can see Mitalas, who instructs them about the importance of following up with blood pressure checks.

She also offers information about lifestyle changes such as limiting caffeine and salt intake, exercising more and reducing stress.

Seaman Apprentice Krista Fitch takes the blood pressure of a sailor at the active-duty medical clinic at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, on April 20, 2023. High and elevated blood pressure are among the top diagnoses at the clinic, officials say. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)

The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society is a private, nonprofit organization that offers services such as financial aid in hardship circumstances to active-duty and retired sailors and Marines and their families.

High-tempo operations, frequent travel and shift work at NSA Naples are some of the factors behind the presence of high or elevated blood pressure in young, healthy service members, mostly in men ages 25 to 35, White said.

The base is home to U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet.

Such risk factors as smoking, consumption of energy drinks and other high-caffeine beverages or excessive amounts of alcohol, lack of exercise and weight gain contribute to what officials say is a concerning number of potential cases.

This is a byproduct of stress and usually obesity, said White, who added that anxiety also can be a factor in high blood pressure.

Normal blood pressure is lower than 120/80 most of the time, according to Medlineplus.gov. A person is considered to have high blood pressure when either or both of those numbers are consistently above 130/80.

Elevated blood pressure is when the top number is between 120 and 130 and the lower number is less than 80, according to Medlineplus.gov.

Addressing high blood pressure through awareness, lifestyle changes and perhaps medication keeps sailors on the job and ready to do their jobs, officials at NSA Naples said last week.

It also reduces susceptibility to complications such as stroke, heart attack or cardiovascular disease, they said.

Mitalas participation lets the clinic closely follow up with sailors in a personalized way.

Her role as the visiting nurse is sort of the (connector) between the clinic and patient, she said.

White pointed out another benefit. The program also demonstrates a way to promote health instead of tackling disease among sailors, she said.

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Blood pressure concerns lead to health benefits at Navy base in Italy - Stars and Stripes