text: As I reflect back on my service as a Chief Petty Officer, I am reminded of the exceptional leadership you have demonstrated time and time again. Together we have witnessed many changes ranging from the total integration of the force, to CPO 365.
  These changes, and many more, were done in an effort to ensure we provide everyone with a fair and equal opportunity to be successful, and to better enhance our naval force as a whole.
  Although change comes with a level of uncertainty, it is necessary in order to remain relevant. Chief Petty Officers have embraced and owned these changes, ensuring our Sailors are led with the highest level of excellence.
  As we celebrate 123 years of the Chief Petty Officer, it is not lost upon me the endless sacrifices you and your families make every day in leading, mentoring and training Sailors under your charge.
  I once read that legacy is the lantern that lights the path for others to follow, and I have no doubt that the path you lit will shine brightly for generations to come.
  160330-N-OT964-280 KEY WEST, Fla. (March 30, 2016) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens meets with Sailors during a visit to Naval Air Station Key West. Stevens is on a two-week trip visiting Sailors along the eastern shore, from Norfolk to Key West, Fla., to hear their thoughts and concerns. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Martin L. Carey/Released)
  Small business payroll processing involves the processing of your payroll that best fits the budget and the needs of a small business payroll processes and applications. Having a small business, you need to meet certain requirements, and the ability to meet those requirements are the rules in given payroll processing laws. When you’ve reached a Read more about What Small Business Payroll Processing: What Is It?[…]
  Payroll taxes are a form of taxes that must either be paid by employers or employees each pay period. The amount of payroll taxes that are deducted depends on the wage of an employee. The higher the wage then the more taxes will be deducted, and the lower the wage, the less it will be Read more about What Is Included in Payroll Taxes?[…]
  When you are tasked to finding the right payroll service that meets your small business payroll processing needs, it’s important to look deeply into your corporation and small business to find where your company lacks in payroll processing. Knowing this information will provide your company the payroll service providence you seek. Some payroll service providers Read more about Know When to Outsource Your Small Business Payroll Processing[…]
  What is Professional Payroll Services? Professional payroll services are focusing all your payroll service needs. They provide professional, accurate and timely payroll processes with high-quality customer supports. Additional services even offer the option of managing the employer’s tax payments, labor relations management issues, and assisting with tax compliance. Also, consider personal interest in each of Read more about What You Will Get From a Professional Payroll Services Company?[…]
  Running a business is extremely time-consuming and engaging responsibility. Having payroll specialists who specialize in payroll services can help any business owner focus on their business’s priorities without having to learn a new burdening process of payroll. Having someone to specialize in payroll can be very beneficial to your company. It allows you more time Read more about Why Your Company Should Invest in Payroll Services[…]
  By law, payroll taxes must be withheld from an employee’s paycheck. There are two types of taxes that can be described by the term payroll tax. The statutory and the voluntary. They are both rendered for payroll tax deductions. With statutory payroll tax deductions, amounts are withheld from an employee’s paycheck by their employer. They Read more about Why We Have Payroll Tax Deductions[…]
  Posted in Employee, Tax Preparation Tagged Employee Tax, Payroll Services, Payroll Tax Deductions Leave a comment
  Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to this. But if you are in trouble with some sort of payroll issue, it’s always nice to have your payroll service near you. So you can get that payroll question resolved as soon as possible, perhaps even at the same hour you started talking to the payroll representative Read more about Why It’s Convenient to Have a Payroll Service near You[…]
  What are Payroll Taxes? The payroll tax is a tax that employers withhold and pay from their employees’ compensation. It depends on an employee’s wage or salary. Generally, payroll taxes consist of deductions from an employee’s wage and a percentage of their salary, which is calculated according to the law. Payroll is not just about Read more about The Payroll Tax Service for Your Tax Obligations[…]
  Online payroll processing systems are essential now a days for small to medium size businesses to have. It allows for small to medium size business owners to save their time, money, and effort from doing complete administrative work, and to focus more on the work that excites them. Work such as growing their small to Read more about Advantages of an Online Payroll Processing System[…]
  A 401 (k) retirement plan is one of the most reliant and beneficial plans for employees who are looking for retirement benefits from their employers. A 401 (k) retirement plan offers a variety of features that would make any employee jump at this opportunity to save, and have money ready for when it’s time to Read more about The Benefits of a 401 (k) Retirement Plan[…]
  Sienna Miller and Jimmy race to be the first to finish three four-foot-long ramen noodles and three shots of sake before he surprises her with a chance to join the Radio City Rockettes' famous high leg kick chorus line.
  "If Amazon.com won't contribute to California, then we won't contribute to Amazon," said Jessica Lehman.
  Lehman represents Community Resources for Independent Living - one of several nonprofit groups calling on customers of Amazon.com to cancel their accounts unless the Internet retailer stops resisting a California law that requires more online retailers to charge a state sales tax.
  In June California lawmakers approved a measure to expand collection of California sales tax to more Internet retailers, estimating it would bring in at least $200 million a year.
  Amazon.com Inc. is activiely trying to repeal that law. So far, the online retailer has spent $3 million in its efforts to allow voters to decide.
  The law makes online retailers collect California sales taxes by expanding what it means to have a physical presence in the state. The requirement now kicks in if an online retailer has a related company, such as a marketing arm, or affiliates in California.
  The tax revenue that Amazon could collect could restore home assistance for disabled Californians that help them go to work rather than languish in expensive nursing homes Lehman told the Associated Press.
  Other groups calling for the boycott included the California Alliance for Retired Americans, the Health and Human Services Network of California and Parent Voices.
  A Concord woman is fuming after learning that her pet dog was mauled at a local kennel last weekend while she vacationed with family in Lake Tahoe.
  Elizabeth Iannaconne said her dog Shadow suffered 18 puncture wounds and severe lacerations on his head after a violent mauling by another dog at Northgate Kennels and Cattery in Walnut Creek.
  “He was laying there shaking and crying in a room by himself, just shaking and crying when we came to pick him up," Iannaconne said.
  Earlier this week, Iannaconne took to Facebook to warn others about what happened to her dog, saying the kennel staff was not cooperative when she tried to find out how Shadow's injuries occurred.
  "They haven’t told me where it happened, how it happened," she said. "When we went to pick him up, we asked to see the kennel, and they refused to let me see it."
  Iannaconne said she dropped off Shadow at the kennel at 1240 Northgate Road on Thursday. On Sunday, a kennel employee called and told her Shadow had been in a fight with another dog on Saturday. The employee told Iannaconne her dog was taken to the veterinarian and was fine.
  When Iannaconne returned to pick up Shadow on Tuesday, she quickly realized shadow’s injuries were more serious than she was led to believe. That's when she confronted the kennel staff and not only received no cooperation but was also treated rudely, she said.
  Iannaconne also found out from the vet Shadow's injuries occurred on Friday, not Saturday, and the dog was in surgery for hours that day, she said.
  Iannaconne called Contra Costa County Animal Services, but officials there said they couldn't take a report without information about the other dog. They also told her there were no complaints about the kennel on record.
  Iannaconne also called Walnut Creek police, but they were unable to proceed because it didn't involve a person injured.
  "I just wanted to get the word out. I didn’t know what else to do," she said. "I did not want anyone else to go through this."
  One of the studies followed 4,800 young adults in the U.S. and found elevated blood pressure before age 40 associated with up to 3½ times greater risk of heart disease and strokes over about 19 years of follow-up.
  The second study examined data on almost 2.5 million young adults in South Korea over a decade and also found that high blood pressure before age 40 was linked to greater risk of heart disease and strokes. Women in this study had up to a 76 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease, while for men the risk was 85 percent higher, compared with peers with normal blood pressure.
  "Elevated blood pressure in early adulthood can result in heart attacks by several mechanisms, and these levels of blood pressure may progress to higher levels over time," said Ramachandran Vasan of the Boston University School of Medicine and School of Public Health.
  High blood pressure is often associated with other risk factors, such as excess weight, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and smoking, that raise the risk of stroke and heart attack, Vasan, author of an accompanying editorial, said by email. These can damage target organs, including heart and arteries, and promote thickening of the arterial walls and the buildup of cholesterol deposits and plaques in arteries, "thereby creating a substrate ("soil," if you will) for future heart attacks and strokes."
  For the studies, both published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers assessed high blood pressure using new, more aggressive target levels recommended by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology in 2017. The new recommendations were based on emerging evidence suggesting that even slightly elevated blood pressure early in life might be a precursor to cardiovascular disease as people age.
  Patients were classified as having hypertension when the top number of their reading, or systolic pressure (reflecting the pressure against artery walls when the heart beats), averaged at least 130 millimeters of mercury.
  They were also considered to have hypertension if the bottom number, or diastolic pressure (reflecting pressure against artery walls when the heart rests between beats), averaged at least 80 millimeters of mercury.
  Before the new recommendations in 2017, people were not diagnosed with high blood pressure until they had measurements of 140/90 or higher.
  While young adults with high blood pressure should consider the potential for medication side effects, they may be able to manage their blood pressure with lifestyle changes like eating better or exercising more, and they should discuss these options with their doctor, said the senior author of the Korean study, Dr. Sang-min Park of Seoul National University Hospital.
  Lifestyle changes are beneficial not only for reducing blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk, but could also lead to improved physical and mental health, Park noted.
  But the results still suggest that treating blood pressure more aggressively at a younger age might help minimize the risk of premature heart problems later in life, said the U.S.-based study's lead author, Dr. Yuichiro Yano of Duke University.
  Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly joins Meet the Press to talk about reports that White House Adviser Jared Kushner tried to set up a secret Russia backchannel, and why he believes intelligence leaks are “darn close to treason.”May 28, 2017
  Islamist extremists armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades stormed a hotel packed with foreigners Friday in the former French colony of Mali, killing 20 people and briefly taking scores more hostage.
  Nineteen civilians and one member of the Malian security services were killed during the siege, United Nations spokesman Olivier Salgado told NBC News. Two attackers were also killed, the spokesman said.
  But as Malian special forces and police searched the 190 rooms and suites at the Radisson Blu hotel for more bodies, officials warned the death toll could rise.
  By 6 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET), the bloody siege in the capital of Bamako appeared to be over, a hotel receptionist manning the front desk told NBC News.
  The government of Mali later declared a 10-day state of emergency and a three-day mourning period for those killed, according to Mali state television.
  Malian security forces evacuate a man from an area surrounding the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on November 20, 2015. Gunmen went on a shooting rampage at the luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, seizing 170 guests and staff in an ongoing hostage-taking that has left at least three people dead.HABIBOU KOUYATE / AFP - Getty Images
  About a dozen Americans were among those rescued, State Department spokesman John Kirby said. It was unclear how many Americans were at the sprawling pink and cream colored hotel when the attack occurred, Kirby said.
  The American killed in the attack was Anita Ashok Datar, a senior manager at Palladium Group who spent her career promoting international development and health, her family said.
  An al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group claimed credit for the attack, Reuters reported. NBC News could not immediately confirm that.
  The mayhem in Mali came just days after the Iyad Ag Ghaly, the leader of the al Qaeda linked militant group Ansar Dine, called for attacks on France and its interests in the African country.
  The deadly drama began around 7 a.m. local time when invaders shouting "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great" in Arabic, burst inside the hotel and opened fire on the guards and quickly took dozens of captives, Mali army commander Modibo Nama Traore told The Associated Press.
  Security forces surround the Radisson Blu hotel during a hostage situation in Bamako, Mali on Nov. 20. Islamic extremists armed with guns and throwing grenades stormed the hotel in Mali's capital, killing more than two dozen people and briefly taking scores more hostage.EPA
  "The United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s terrorist attack on the many Malian and international guests and employees of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako," the White House said in a statement. "We can confirm that the attack has ended, and we continue to coordinate with U.S officials on the ground to verify the location of all American citizens in Mali."
  The raid on the Radisson Blu, which is popular with foreigners and frequently used by airline crews, came a week after terrorists killed 130 people in Paris.
  In response to Friday's terror, France announced the immediate dispatch of 50 elite counter-terrorism police to the country. "Once again, terrorists want to make their barbaric presence felt everywhere, where they can kill, where they can massacre. So we should once again show our solidarity with our ally, Mali,” said French President Francois Hollande.
  In the chaos, many of the guests managed to escape, but scores more fell into their clutches, the AP reported.
  "The hotel is locked down and there is no possibility to go out or come in," a spokesman for Carlson Rezidor, owners of the hotel, told NBC News at the time.
  Monique Kouame Affoue Ekonde, an Ivorian, recounted how she and six other people — including a Turkish woman — were escorted out by security forces as the gunmen rushed "toward the fifth or sixth floor."
  Air France reported a dozen crew members staying at the hotel had been escorted to safety. Four Germans were also freed and two Canadians who were at the hotel are also safe, according to the AP.
  Meanwhile, a Chinese guest with the family name Chen told China's state-run Xinhua news agency that a number of his countrymen had been trapped inside the hotel. At least seven Chinese tourists were among the hostages, the agency said.
  The Indian government has said 20 of their citizens were in the hotel when it was attacked. Turkish Airlines said seven of its workers were also staying in the hotel, but five had been freed by security forces. The fate of the remaining two was not known.
  Shortly after the shooting started, a U.S. Special Forces soldier in town for a UN peacekeeping conference rushed to help Malian troops move the escapees to safety, officials said.
  U.S. officials had been keeping tabs on Mali. In August, the embassy issued a security message informing American citizens “of a heightened security risk to westerners in southern Mali, including the area outside Bamako city.”
  The State Department told U.S. Embassy staff and all American citizens to shelter in place as the attack unfolded.
  Mali has been battling Islamic terrorism for years. Islamist fighters with ties of al Qaeda occupied the northern part of the country for most of 2012 before they were driven out by a French-led military operation last year.
  Last March, an Islamist group claimed responsibility for killing five diners at a restaurant in Bamako that is also popular with foreigners.
  President Barack Obama, speaking in Kuala Lumpur Saturday local time, said, "we will stand with Mali as they work to rid their country of terrorists and strengthen their democracy."
  "Like the heinous attacks we saw in Paris, and attacks we see all too often elsewhere, this is another awful reminder that the scourge of terrorism threatens so many of our nations," Obama said. "This barbarity only stiffens our resolve to meet this challenge," he said.
  A descriptive analysis of population-based claims and US Census Bureau data combined with a population-based cross-sectional survey using multiple US government data sets, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Fee-for-Service Physicians Claims databases, to calculate totals of skin cancer procedures performed for Medicare beneficiaries in 1992 and from 1996 to 2006 and related parameters. The National Ambulatory Medical Care Service database was used to estimate NMSC-related office visits. We combined these to estimate totals of new skin cancer diagnoses and affected individuals in the overall US population.
  The total number of procedures for skin cancer in the Medicare fee-for-service population increased by 76.9% from 1 158 298 in 1992 to 2 048 517 in 2006. The age-adjusted procedure rate per year per 100 000 beneficiaries increased from 3514 in 1992 to 6075 in 2006. From 2002 to 2006 (the years for which the databases allow procedure linkage to patient demographics and diagnoses), the number of procedures for NMSC in the Medicare population increased by 16.0%. In this period, the number of procedures per affected patient increased by 1.5%, and the number of persons with at least 1 procedure increased by 14.3%. We estimate the total number of NMSCs in the US population in 2006 at 3 507 693 and the total number of persons in the United States treated for NMSC at 2 152 500.
  The number of skin cancers in Medicare beneficiaries increased dramatically over the years 1992 to 2006, due mainly to an increase in the number of affected individuals. Using nationally representative databases, we provide evidence of much higher overall totals of skin cancer diagnoses and patients in the US population than previous estimates. These data give the most complete evaluation to date of the underrecognized epidemic of skin cancer in the United States.
  Clinical efficiency in a simulated emergency and relationship to team behaviours: a multisite cross-sectional study. - PubMed - NCBI
  To identify specific aspects of teamworking associated with greater clinical efficiency in simulated obstetric emergencies.
  Two independent assessors, a clinician and a language communication specialist identified specific teamwork behaviours using a grid derived from the safety literature.
  Relationship between teamwork behaviours and the time to administration of magnesium sulfate, a validated measure of clinical efficiency, was calculated.
  More efficient teams were likely to (1) have stated (recognised and verbally declared) the emergency (eclampsia) earlier (Kendall's rank correlation coefficient τ(b) = -0.53, 95% CI from -0.74 to -0.32, P=0.004); and (2) have managed the critical task using closed-loop communication (task clearly and loudly delegated, accepted, executed and completion acknowledged) (τ(b) = 0.46, 95% CI 0.17-0.74, P=0.022). Teams that administered magnesium sulfate within the allocated time (10 minutes) had significantly fewer exits from the labour room compared with teams who did not: a median of three (IQR 2-5) versus six exits (IQR 5-6) (P=0.03, Mann-Whitney U-test).
  Using administration of an essential drug as a valid surrogate of team efficiency and patient outcome after a simulated emergency, we found that more efficient teams were more likely to exhibit certain team behaviours relating to better handover and task allocation.
  Although music perception is especially challenging for cochlear implant (CI) users, young CI users' musical perception abilities are improved by participation in structured musical activities.
  To design, implement, evaluate, and publish a music training programme with a monitoring tool for preschool CI users, for use in family-centred habilitation programmes.
  We devised a programme of musical activities, Musical EARS®, and a curriculum-related hierarchical Evaluation Form to represent performance. The programme included sections on singing; recognizing songs, tunes, and timbre; and responding appropriately to music and rhythm. It was implemented over 18 months at Ilkses Rehabilitation Centre, with 25 paediatric MED-EL CI users split into three groups of varying age, duration of CI use, and ability.
  Mean total scores increased significantly for all groups. Scores increased unevenly across subscales. Participation in and enjoyment of musical activities increased for both children and parents. Significant correlations were found between scores and length of CI use.
  The training programme effectively enriches child CI users' musical experience. To varying degrees, children learned to perform the Musical EARS® activities. The study allowed us to validate the lesson content and the hierarchical nature of the Evaluation Form. We conclude that prelingually deafened CI users should be systematically involved in musical activities to help them acquire skills acquired more easily by hearing peers.