Trump may be sitting on his obstruction of justice IG Report, but it seems Putin has his own Detroit Brady Impeachment Dilemma burning a hole in his back pocket, too.
No one has ever discussed a foreign government sitting on U.S. exculpatory evidence before.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn blocked a bill from Sen. Mark Warner that would require campaigns to report foreign offers of assistance to the FBI.
The bill from Warner, D-Va., known as the Foreign Influence Reporting in Elections Act, required unanimous consent in order to move forward, meaning that Blackburn's decision to object stopped the legislation in its tracks.
"I objected to the unanimous consent proposal presented on the floor because it was a blatant political stunt," Blackburn said in a news release Thursday. "My colleagues on the left tried to rush this legislation through the Senate without giving it a chance for the careful consideration and debate needed to address such an important issue. Of course action needs to be taken to protect the integrity of our elections, but let’s do this the right way."
President Donald Trump late Friday afternoon thanked Blackburn for blocking the bill and "fighting obstructionist Democrats."
"Democrats continue to look for a do-over on the Mueller Report and will stop at nothing to distract the American people from the great accomplishments of this Administration!" Trump tweeted.
Thank you Senator @MarshaBlackburn for fighting obstructionist Democrats led by Cryin' Chuck Schumer. Democrats continue to look for a do-over on the Mueller Report and will stop at nothing to distract the American people from the great accomplishments of this Administration!
Trump seemed to flip on the issue a day later in an interview with Fox and Friends. "Of course you give it to the FBI or report to the attorney general or somebody like that," Trump said.
After the Senate decision, Blackburn, R-Tenn., told reporters campaigns should report foreign contact to the FBI.
“All of us know, if you were to ever be contacted by a foreign entity, your first call is the FBI,” Blackburn said, according to Vox. “I don’t care if it’s Russia, Norway, China, whomever.”
A new low.@MarkWarner tried to pass the FIRE Act to require presidential campaigns to report interference to the FBI.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed Blackburn on Twitter after the failure of the legislation, referring to the objection as "a new low" and "outrageous."
On the Senate floor, Schumer called it "disgraceful" that Republicans would "cower before this president when they know that the things he does severely damage democracy."
Conyers & Four Tops Founding Member Duke Fakir Call on Congress to Pass Fair Play Fair Pay Act
Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) joined U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) as well as legendary Four Tops founding member, Duke Fakir, T Bone Burnett, Roseanne Cash, and more than three dozen artists and musicians at a press conference in support of H.R. 1733, the Fair Play Fair Pay Act. The legislation would harmonize and modernize the outdated rules that currently govern music licensing for digital and terrestrial radio broadcasts.
(L2R) John Conyers, Duke Fakir, Darrell Issa, Marsha Blackburn and Jerrold Nadler
“Detroit has many legacy artists who have never received fair compensation for their groundbreaking contributions to the music industry,” said Ranking Member John Conyers. “Failing to adequately pay artists and musicians, undermines their potential to create music. The Fair Play Fair Pay Act would provide long-overdue fairness for artists regardless of when their music was recorded or where it is played.”
Key components of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act:
·Creates a terrestrial performance right so that AM/FM radio competes on equal footing with its Internet and satellite competitors who already pay performance royalties. This would resolve the decades old struggle for performance rights and ensure that – for the first time – music creators would have the right to fair pay when their performances are broadcast on AM/FM radio.
·Brings true platform parity to radio – so that all forms of radio, regardless of the technology they use – pay fair market value for music performances. This levels the playing field and ends the unfair and illogical distortions caused by the different royalty standards that exist today.
·Ensures terrestrial royalties are affordable capping royalties for stations with less than $1 million in annual revenue at $500 per year (and at $100 a year for non-commercial stations), while protecting religious and incidental uses of music from having to pay any royalties at all.
·Makes a clear statement that pre-1972 recordings have value and those who are profiting from them must pay appropriate royalties for their use, while we closely monitor the litigation developments on this issue.
·Protects songwriters and publishers by clearly stating that nothing in this bill can be used to lower songwriting royalties.
·Codifies industry practices streamlining the allocation of royalty payments to music producers.
·Ensures artists receive their fair share from direct licensing of all performances eligible for the statutory license.
Makes Register a Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation
Washington, D.C. -- House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today introduced the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act, which is the product of months of bicameral, bipartisan discussions led by Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Chairman Goodlatte, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Senate Judiciary Committee Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
The Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act makes important changes to the selection process for the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, known as the Register of Copyrights. Specifically, the legislation requires the Register to be nominated by the President of the United States and subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. It would also limit the Register to a ten year term which is renewable by another Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.
Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Senator Leahy released the following joint statement upon introduction of the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act.
Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.
“We are pleased to join together in a bipartisan, bicameral effort to make important and necessary improvements to the selection process for the position of Register of Copyrights. We remain absolutely committed to working on modernizing the Copyright Office. Reforms being considered include public advisory committees, improvements to Copyright Office systems for data inputs and outputs, and copyright ownership transparency. However, time is of the essence when it comes to the selection process for a new Register of Copyrights.
“America’s creativity is the envy of the world and the Copyright Office is at the center of it. With the current Register serving only on an acting basis, now is the time to make changes to ensure that future Registers are transparent and accountable to Congress. We must ensure that any new Register is a good manager and fully qualified to lead and make this office more operationally effective as he or she continues to directly advise Congress on copyrights. The next Register of Copyrights should be dedicated to serving all stakeholders in the copyright ecosystem.”
The Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act was introduced with twenty-nine bipartisan cosponsors.
Background: As part of the copyright review, the House Judiciary Committee held 20 hearings which included testimony from 100 witnesses. Following these hearings, Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers invited all prior witnesses of the Committee’s copyright review hearings and other interested stakeholders to meet with Committee staff and provide additional input on copyright policy issues. In addition, the House Judiciary Committee conducted a listening tour with stops in Nashville, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles where they heard from a wide range of creators, innovators, technology professionals, and users of copyrighted works. In December 2016, Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers released the first policy proposal to come out of the Committee’s review of U.S. Copyright law. Additional policy proposals will be released.
Karen Bass (D- Calif.)
Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)
Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)
Ken Buck (R-Colo.)
Steve Chabot (R-Ohio)
Judy Chu (D-Calif.)
David Cicilline (D-R.I.)
Doug Collins (R-Ga.)
Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.)
Ted Deutch (D-Fla.)
Blake Farethold (R-Texas)
Trent Franks (R-Ariz.)
Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)
Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas)
Hank Johnson, Jr. (D-Ga.)
Mike Johnson (R-La.)
Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)
Steve King (R-Iowa)
Raul Labrador (R-Idaho)
Ted Lieu (D-Calif.)
Tom Marino (R-Penn.)
Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)
Ted Poe (R-Texas)
John Ratcliffe (R-Texas)
Martha Roby (R-Ala.)
Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.)
Lamar Smith (R-Texas)
Nu Skin, a Russian corporation, has developed an incredible child welfare fraud scheme, in which it not only generates profit, but also provides gruel to its human commodities in countries where the human trafficking flourishes from the activities of its charitable partners and associates that are pilfering the natural resources and land through war and other forms of intentional civil unrest campaigns.
Child slavery is the new workforce and they must be kept alive, while keeping within a corporation's profit margins like Nestle' and Cargill.
Nourish the Children (NTC) is an initiative that applies business principles to address the problem of childhood hunger in a sustainable manner. The program begins with a highly nutritious food developed by Nu Skin’s nutritional scientists, known as VitaMeal. The company’s sales leaders, customers and employees can purchase VitaMeal and choose to donate the food to a third-party nonprofit organization that specializes in distributing relief to those suffering from malnutrition and famine. Since 2002, Nu Skin and its sales leaders, customers and employees have donated more than 500 million meals to malnourished children around the world. As is the case with other Nu Skin products, distributors are paid commissions and Nu Skin earns a profit margin from each sale of VitaMeal, which is lower than the profit margin on virtually all of Nu Skin’s other products.
The following U.S. House and Senate Campaign Candidate Committees accepted campaign contributions from the Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc Political Action Committee which was able to provide these political campaign contributions through its child welfare fraud schemes, one of which is cited, below.
Rumor has it, Nu Skin backdoored the big dark money in bribes, stings, or whatever you wish to call it.
Chaffetz is gone. The rest need to go, also, because they suck, badly.
Nu Skin Enterprises Inc will pay $47 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the skincare products maker operated a pyramid scheme in China and made false and misleading statements about its operations in the country.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
001-12421
87-0565309
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
(Commission File Number)
(IRS Employer Identification Number)
75 West Center Street
Provo, Utah 84601
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)
(801) 345-1000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
□Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
□Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
□
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
□
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4 (c))
Class Action Settlement
On February 22, 2016, Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (the "Company") entered into a Settlement Term Sheet (the "Agreement") in potential settlement of the previously reported putative securities class action consolidated lawsuit captioned In re Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 2:14-cv-00033-JNP-BCW. The litigation was brought against the Company and certain of the Company's officers (collectively, the "Defendants") on behalf of a class consisting of persons or entities that publicly traded the Company's common stock during the period from May 4, 2011 through January 17, 2014 and were allegedly damaged thereby.
The terms of the Agreement provide for, among other things, a settlement payment by or on behalf of the Company of $47 million. The settlement payment is expected to be entirely funded by the Company's insurers, and as a result, the Company does not expect to incur a net charge to its income statement in respect thereof.
The Agreement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing by any of the Defendants, and in connection with the settlement, the parties have agreed to execute mutually agreeable releases. The settlement remains subject to court approval and may be cancelled by the Defendants at their election in certain limited circumstances. Final court approval of the settlement is expected to occur in mid-2016 but could be delayed by circumstances beyond the Company's control. Upon final approval of the settlement by the court, the litigation will be dismissed, with prejudice.
Japan Customs Decision
The Company received notification that, on February 25, 2016, the Tokyo District Court issued its ruling on a dispute between the Company and the customs authorities in Japan ("Japan Customs"). The District Court upheld previous customs assessments related to the importation of several of the Company's products into Japan.
The Company has not yet received a copy of the District Court's formal opinion; however, the Company is disappointed with the court's decision and will consider appealing. As a result of the District Court's decision, the Company plans to take a non-cash charge of approximately $32 million, or approximately $0.36 per share, in the first quarter of 2016, which was not reflected in the Company's previous guidance. This is a non-cash item because the Company was previously required to pay the assessments. This charge represents the full amount disputed for the period of October 2006 through September 2009 in connection with post-importation audits, as well as the disputed portion of our import duties from October 2009 to the present.
Forward-Looking Statements
This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that represent the Company's current expectations and beliefs. All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of federal and state securities laws and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expectations concerning the settlement of the pending class action securities litigation and final court approval of the settlement, the amount and timing of any charge relating to the proposed settlement, the timing and amount of payments to be made under the proposed settlement, the Company's decision whether to appeal the Japan Customs decision and the impact on the Company's results. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "project," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "targets," "likely," "will," "would," "could," "may," "might," the negative of these words and other similar words. The forward-looking statements and related assumptions involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any forward-looking statements or views expressed herein. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, obtaining court approval of the proposed settlement, the number of plaintiffs who opt-out of the proposed settlement, whether the proposed settlement is appealed, the availability of insurance to cover the proposed settlement, management's determination of the accounting treatment for the developments discussed herein, and the weighted average number of shares outstanding for the first quarter of 2016 and the applicable tax rates. The forward-looking statements set forth the Company's beliefs as of the date that such information was first provided and we assume no duty to update the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect any change except as required by law.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
