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Women find themselves on battlefields, just as men do. We are given no weapons, and cannot be seen to fight. But fight we must, or perish.” ― Frances Hardinge








WOMEN










SENATE APPROVES DOJ NOMINEE — The Senate filled one of the Trump administration's last major cyber-related vacancies on Wednesday, narrowly confirming Brian Benczkowski to be assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division. In his new role, Benczkowski will oversee the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, composed of Justice Department prosecutors who investigate cyber and IP-related crime. The Criminal Division prosecutes all hackers who are not linked to foreign governments. (State-backed hackers are the purview of the National Security Division.) The Senate vote was 51-48, reflecting the sharp partisan divide over Benczkowski's qualification to be one of the Justice Department's top officials. Democrats pointed out that Benczkowski had never served as a prosecutor and never tried a case. They also noted that, as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Benczkowski represented the Russian financial giant Alfa Bank in legal matters related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. The Justice Department refused to tell Democratic senators whether Benczkowski would participate in the Russia investigation. [POLITICO's Morning Cybersecurity, July 12, 2018]



POLITICS











- HuffPost published a selection of hate mail its journalists have received and asked how one can tell the difference between trolls and actual threats. "Journalists in newsrooms across the country have received similar messages," tweeted editor in chief Lydia Polgreen. "It's the hidden reality of the job now. Women, people of color and Jewish journalists usually get the worst of it. It's horrifying but doesn't stop them from doing their work." [Morning Media, July 2, 2018]



JUDICIAL MATTERS


Medicaid ruling a setback for Trump
Republican governors and the Trump administration both suffered a serious setback on Friday when a federal judge blocked Kentucky's version of Medicaid work requirements from taking effect.
Why it matters: Work requirements are among the most significant changes the Trump administration has made so far in health policy. The new rules are also a critical part of conservatives' effort to frame Medicaid as a welfare program.
The catch: That's exactly why the policy ran into trouble in court.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Friday that the Health and Human Services Department had not sufficiently demonstrated that work requirements would further Medicaid's goals as a health care program.
  • That's a requirement of the waiver process under which HHS has been approving work requirements.
  • "The Secretary never once mentions the estimated 95,000 people who would lose coverage, which gives the Court little reason to think that he seriously grappled with the bottomline impact on healthcare," Boasberg wrote.
What to watch: Boasberg's ruling only applies to Kentucky, not the other states where HHS has approved work requirements. But this will not be the last legal challenge, and if more judges follow Boasberg's lead, the administration's effort to redefine Medicaid could end up backfiring.
  • In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin has said he will back out of the Medicaid expansion entirely if he ultimately loses this litigation.
  • In the meantime, Boasberg gave HHS another chance to come back with a stronger justification for the new rules.
Meanwhile:
  • Maine Gov. Paul LePage has, unsurprisingly, vetoed the latest effort to implement the state's expansion, which voters approved last year.
  • Republicans in Idaho are hoping to formally cement the party's opposition to an upcoming ballot initiative on Medicaid expansion.
  • The Tennesseean asks why Tennessee has not joined the expansion ranks.  [Axios Vitals: Monday, July 2, 2018]



HIDDEN IN THE ATTIC





BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN

On a hot afternoon 155 years ago today, an outnumbered Union force under the command of Nathaniel P. Banks — a former politician turned general — launched a two-pronged assault against General “Stonewall” Jackson’s veteran soldiers. Wading through fields of corn and wheat, the Yankees endured volley after volley of Confederate fire. Yet, despite suffering heavy losses, the boys in blue kept coming, surging over and momentarily breaking the Confederate line. As the battle hung in the balance, Jackson raced forward. Looking to inspire his wavering men, the Virginian seized a battle flag and waved it above his head. Attempting to draw his sword, he discovered that it had rusted into its scabbard from lack of use. Unperturbed, Jackson raised his blade, scabbard and all, shouting, “Jackson is with you!”

The gallant performance produced the desired effect. Jackson’s men rallied, buying time for General A.P. Hill to launch a powerful counterattack that set the Union troops on their heels. The defeat of Banks gave Lee’s army the opportunity to initiate a new strategic offensive, resulting in Confederate victories at Second Manassas and Chantilly and paving the way for the invasion of Maryland. [Civil War Trust, Aug 9, 2017]



GAMES & SPORT




"'Soccer in America has become the rich white kid's sport,' Solo, the former goalkeeper for the U.S. Women's National Team, said. ... She ticked off a list of grievances against the U.S. Soccer Federation, the sport's governing body, saying the costs it imposes to play in soccer clubs have 'alienated' Latino, black and rural communities. From expensive coaching licenses to rising club fees, Solo maintained that barriers to participation have contributed to a lack of talent at the highest levels of the game." [POLITICO Playbook, July 2, 2018]









ATTRITION PROBLEMS AHEAD FOR FDA WORKFORCE? FDA is glad that 21st Century Cures gave it the authority to pay selected hires much more money, because it may face a wave of retirements soon, according to a report required under the landmark legislation.

While agency employees are generally satisfied with their work and attrition isn't presently a problem, nearly half of senior agency leadership will be eligible for retirement in three years. Previously, FDA has tried to recruit or retain top talent using a "patchwork" of hiring authorities, but 21st Century Cures bestows the ability to pay $400,000 for selected personnel, and the agency is attempting to streamline time-to-hire in one of its various pilots. The cap nevertheless means talented people are still taking a pay cut to enter public service, the report says. For example, a medical officer is making 46 percent below market rate pay at FDA and a mathematical statistician is making 41 percent less. [POLITICO's Prescription Pulse, July 2, 2018]





READ










EPA SAYS UPWIND STATES HAVE DONE ENOUGH ON OZONE UNDER CSAPR: EPA on Friday said that it believes a 2016 update to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule satisfies "good neighbor" provisions under the 2008 ozone standard that require upwind states to reduce pollution that hurts air quality in downwind states. In its proposed rule, EPA says that it projects every part of the eastern U.S. will meet the 2008 ozone standard by 2023, and thus upwind states do not need to pay for further pollution controls or otherwise act to reduce emissions beyond what was previously required under the 2016 rule. "Based on progress in reducing concentrations and precursor emissions of ozone, this proposed action will close out the CSAPR approach to 'good neighbor' obligations, which has involved the imposition of federal implementation plans and lingering uncertainty for our state partners," EPA air chief Bill Wehrum said in a statement. Read the proposed rule here; comment will be open for 45 days once it runs in the Federal Register.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Tom Carper (D-Del.), who often complains his state has bad air quality because of upwind pollution, blasted the proposal. "Families in downwind states depend on the EPA to protect the air they breathe by holding polluters in upwind states accountable for their messes. Instead of prioritizing public health, this Administrator seems solely worried about the costs and burdens to upwind polluters," he said. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, July 2, 2018]



CYBERSECURITY




 Israel case spotlights cyberespionage tool dilemma
Last week, Israel indicted an ex-employee of a military contractor for stealing the firm's cyberespionage product and trying to sell it on the black market. The incident highlighted a continuing debate over restraining the proliferation of privately sold surveillance tools: One prominent lab called for additional regulation, while another expert told Axios that regulations in this space have caused more problems than they have fixed.
Why it matters: The contractor, Israel's NSO Group, makes real-deal, take-over-your-cell-phone malware called Pegasus that it sells only to governments. Yet even the legitimate uses of Pegasus can veer toward the creepy: Mexico was caught spying on soda-tax activists, lawyers and journalists with the product last year.
Add illicit use from a black market buyer to this mix, and it's certainly tempting to try to curtail this kind of tool. Governments tried to do just that in 2013, but their poorly worded regulation ended up placing crippling sanctions on the legitimate international trade in cybersecurity tools.
The background: NSO isn't the only contractor working in the cyberespionage space. It has competitors, including Gamma International and Hacking Team.
  • These products get purchased by governments that lack programs to design their own digital spying tools, or by law enforcement agencies that need hacking tools but don't have access to their country's own wares.
What they're saying: "The concern about proliferation of spyware and exploit tech is not just about sales to paying customers, it's about the potential diversion and theft of the technology," John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, told Motherboard.
  • Citizen Lab is a leading research group in uncovering government use of surveillance tools against inappropriate targets — dissidents, journalists and oppressed minorities. It discovered the Mexican government's use of Pegasus noted above.
Yes, but: In 2013, an international consortium of countries including the U.S. and EU known as a the Wassenaar Arrangement restricted the sale of this kind of spyware for exactly this reason. But it made serious errors in defining what spyware was and inadvertently banned the global sale of key cybersecurity tools and research.
  • Katie Moussouris, CEO of Luta Security and a consultant on the State Department's ongoing negotiations to dig its way out of the Wassenaar debacle, is skeptical about adding more regulations on top of a shaky international system. "We're still not done undoing what's already been done," she said. "Let us finish that first."
  • Moussouris also noted that restricting the trade of these tools wouldn't have much effect on the NSO Group case, which stemmed from an insider threat at the contractor itself. A former employee selling the product illegally isn't likely to be deterred by international trading rules [Axios Codebook, July 10, 2018]







Government data show there are roughly enough jobs for every person seeking one, but businesses have struggled to find qualified applicants. "That's the number one issue," said Dan North, chief economist for Euler Hermes North America. "We're desperate for labor." Maybe they should try raising wages, which have grown at a snail's pace throughout the economic recovery. [POLITICO's Morning Shift, July 6, 2018]


WOMEN'S RIGHTS - HUMAN RIGHTS





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