Called the Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act, the bill was introduced Monday (July 8) by Rep. Donna Edwards of (D-Md.) and was co-sponsored by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas).

The bill (House Resolution 2617) was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the House Committee on Natural Resources. []

Protect sites for posterity

Noting that thewas one of the greatest achievements in American history, the bill notes that, as commercial enterprises and foreign nations acquire the ability to land on the moon, "it is necessary to protect the Apollo lunar landing sites for posterity."

In part, the bill calls for no later than one year after the date of enactment of the act, "there shall be established as a unit of the National Park System the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park."

Creating such a park will expand and enhance the protection and , the bill states, "and provide for greater recognition and public understanding of this singular achievement in American history."

(Logo:)

"We appreciate Rhode Island's state government leaders for enacting this bill that encourages continued wireless industry investment and innovation, which is key to ensuring a competitive marketplace. With healthy and strong competition, consumers have a variety of providers to choose from. That's why it's great that Rhode Island joined 37 other states and the District of Columbia by enacting legislation that avoids the creation of a separate set of state rules for wireless technology.

"We applaud Governor Chafee and the Rhode Island state legislature, including Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, House Speaker Gordon Fox, bill sponsors Senator Roger Picard and House Majority Whip Stephen Ucci and Representative Brian Patrick Kennedy for taking this important step that creates a forward-looking economic policy to encourage continued wireless industry innovation and competition that benefits consumers."

CTIA-The WirelessAssociation () is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membershipintheassociationincludeswireless carriers andtheirsuppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wirelessdataservices and products. CTIA advocates on behalf ofitsmembers at all levels ofgovernment. Theassociationalso coordinates the industry's voluntary best practices and initiatives, and sponsors the industry's leading wireless tradeshows. CTIA was foundedin1984 and is basedinWashington, DC.

Twitter:| Blog: | Facebook: |LinkedIn Group: | Google+:

SOURCE CTIA-The Wireless Association

NEW YORK (Reuters) - This time, the Fed is serious.

That's the judgment of U.S. government bond investors who believe the Federal Reserve is close to paring back its $2.5 trillion, 4-1/2-year bond purchase program, and it's causing turmoil in the U.S. Treasury market.

Trading in Treasuries has turned notably more volatile in recent days and volatility may continue as traders try to adjust to a marketplace in flux.

In the last six weeks, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields have surged to 2.19 percent, from 1.60 percent at the beginning of May.

As a result the market has seen a sharp outflow from bond funds and notable lack of demand in Treasury bond auctions. The fund outflows and the rise in volatility offer a worrying glimpse of how markets are likely to behave as the Fed works to scale back its enormous monetary stimulus of the U.S. economy.

"When you see the volumes and the movements developing in different markets, then it shows you that the transition from accommodation to tapering to eventual sideline and then subsequent tightening is going to have a lot of bumps in the road," said Steve Rodosky, head of Treasuries and derivatives trading at Pimco, which runs the world's largest bond fund.

Expectations for future volatility in the government bond market have also jumped. The Merrill Lynch MOVE index , which estimates future volatility of long-term bond yields, jumped to 84.7 on Monday, its highest level in almost a year, from a multi-year low of around 50 at the beginning of May, to 79 on Thursday.

Fighting the Fed has long been seen as a losing strategy. After four years of record monetary stimulus, however, many investors are unsure of what to do when the Fed is not the primary driver of market moves.

Investors have fled from bond funds as rates rise, pulling $10.93 billion from bond funds in the week ended June 5, according to the Investment Company Institute, the biggest weekly outflow since October 15, 2008. Bond flows had previously seen inflows for 21 straight months, according to ICI.

"There is no difference in voice in the market any more. There are a few very large players and every single one of them pretty much follows the Fed, so when the Fed withdraws everyone tried to withdraw at the same time and there's no other side of the market," said Gang Hu, head of U.S. linear rates trading at Credit Suisse in New York.

At the same time, large dealer banks are less able to absorb large debt sales as new rules meant to reduce risks taken by institutions result in smaller bank balance sheets, potentially adding to price volatility. This week's quarterly auctions by the U.S. Treasury of three, ten and thirty year debt have all been notably weak.

"The ability of dealers to warehouse the shedding of risk is much more limited due to the regulatory environment, which argues for an exaggerated price move to these flows," Merrill Lynch analysts said on Wednesday in a report.

INFLECTION POINT

Not everyone sees a Fed pullback from its bond buying program in the near-term, especially with inflation below the Fed's target of 2.0 percent and unemployment above the target of 6.5 percent.

"The markets seems to have gotten an idea that it could be very soon; we think that's a complete misread and is very unlikely," said Michael Schumacher, head of global rates strategy at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

But many see the market as nearing an inflection point at which it will either become clear that the Fed's easing has put economic growth on a solid enough track to stop expanding the Fed's balance sheet, or that the benefit of further easing is outweighed by the risk of asset bubbles and market distortions.

"You've got another maybe 12-18 months of (QE) and at that point you should expect rates to go higher," said Tad Rivelle, chief investment officer of fixed income at TCW, where he helps manage $135 billion in assets.

"QE does have enormous power, but that power is not under the precise direction and guidance of the Fed. Lacking the ability to specify exactly where the excess of liquidity ultimately ends up suggests that it can leak out into emerging markets, it can run into the housing market, it can run into the equity market," Rivelle said.

The negative effects of the Fed stepping out of the market have been felt before, between the central bank's earlier quantitative easing or "QE" programs, but they were temporary as the economy sputtered anew and the Fed stepped back in. Many investors believe, however, that this time the economy is better placed to absorb the shock as the Fed stops expanding its balance sheet.

A return to a more normal level of interest rates will result in a zero total return over the next five years for investors benchmarked to the popular Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, said Zane Brown, fixed income strategist at asset manager Lord Abbett & Co LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"May is a microcosm of what we might expect over the next several years because finally people did lose money in fixed income in May," Brown said.

The longer the Fed's purchases continue, meanwhile, the more difficult it may be for traders to adapt to a market without its regular presence.

"The Fed has to somehow manage to take its hand off the market and let the market function again, let the natural supply and demand function again," said Credit Suisse's Hu.

(Additional reporting by Herb Lash; Editing by David Gaffen and Clive McKeef)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is spending $10 million on frozen catfish for poor Americans this year as part of a Great Depression-era program that hasn't drawn a peep of protest from budget slashers in Congress.

The program, which is buying 12 million catfish portions along with vast amounts of other foods such as frozen blueberries and chicken drumsticks, is the rare government initiative that seems to have only friends in bitterly partisan Washington.

Under the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), USDA will spend about $275 million this year on surplus food generated by U.S. farmers, about a quarter of 1 percent of the agency's $100 billion annual budget.

The farmers are happy because it takes surplus food off their hands at respectable prices. Advocates for the poor support it because it offers a convenient way to feed the hungry, including some who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

"There's nothing much bad to say about it," said Daniel Sumner, an agriculture issues expert at the University of California, Davis, in a telephone interview.

Ben Pentecost, president of Catfish Farmers of America and a catfish farmer himself in Doddsville, Mississippi, said TEFAP helps offset rising feed prices and less expensive foreign competition.

"The way I look at it, USDA's getting a good product at what should be a fair price. It's not a giveaway program," he said.

Parts of the program have changed over the years, but some aspects never change, according to a USDA expert who was not authorized to be quoted by name.

"The program always helps alleviate hunger and improve school meals by offering safe, nutritious and 100-percent American-grown food," the expert said.

The program's relatively low cost may have shielded it from criticism. Farm subsidy expert Sallie James of the libertarian Cato Institute thinks the government should not allow commodities groups such as TEFAP to set prices for surplus foods.

But when she looks at the USDA's total spending, she says it wouldn't be the first program she would cut.

LOCKERS OF FISH

The catfish will be stored along with other commodities in warehouses maintained by local food banks, like a 100,000-square-foot building three miles from the U.S. Capitol.

The facility, stacked with supplies obtained through TEFAP and other sources, allows the Capital Area Food Bank to provide food to about 450,000 people in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

TEFAP, which began in 1935, is wrapped in less red tape than the federal food stamp program. Families who need emergency food supplies do not have to formally apply and may self-certify - declare their income without independent confirmation - at a local food bank where they pick up supplies.

A Washington family of four can earn up to $43,650 a year and qualify for help from TEFAP, far more than the $19,000 annual income cutoff for food stamps, said Brian Banks of the Capital Area Food Bank.

High prices for agricultural products have put strains on the surplus food program, so TEFAP foods now make up less of the total amount that food banks and pantries distribute, said Carrie Calvert, a policy expert at Feeding America, a network of U.S. food banks.

Sumner said that with food stamp demand rising, and with Congress slashing budgets, more hungry people would likely fall through social safety net holes without programs like TEFAP.

The frozen catfish promise to be a popular item.

"Protein items are extremely hard to get, so any time there are meat or fish purchases, it's always an item that is highly sought after and moves extremely quickly through the food system," Calvert said.

Pentecost, who has seen many small catfish farming operations go under in recent years, said the program won't necessarily keep the industry afloat.

But "any sale is a sale that moves product ... . We appreciate any help we can get," he said.

(Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko; Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Xavier Briand)

Atlantic Highlands' popular short film festival showcases a creative range of films that run under two minutes,and this year celebrates the remarkable spirit of the Jersey Shore areaafter the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. This free town-wide celebration of the short short filmhas become an exciting exhibition of the art of filmmaking and a must-attend event at the shore. Filmmakers from around the world and across the country are showcased on a giant outdoor screen. FilmOneFest's free Smart Phone and iPad app feature all 2013 entries, as well as selected films from previous years. Information can be found at.

The film screenings begin at dark, but the festivities begin at 7pm in the Harbor, with artists and craftspeople exhibiting and demonstrating their creations, stilt-walkers, face-painters, and clowns delighting children, food from the local restaurants, and live music provided by the Matt Wade Band.

Admission and parking are free. Audience members may bring their own lawn chairs and blankets. A limited number of premium seats are available to purchase at. Rain date is July 21st. In case of rain and/or high wind on July 21st, the festival will move to the Charles Hess Parish Center, South Ave, Atlantic Highlands.

This program is sponsored by the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council [] and is made possible in part by the Monmouth County Arts Council through funding from the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the County Historical Commission, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National.

The AHAC is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The mission of the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council is to strengthen community through the arts.

Contact:,732-737-7160

SOURCE Atlantic Highlands Arts Council

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index touched a one-week high on Tuesday as weakness in gold producers and smartphone maker BlackBerrywas offset by robust gains in the energy sector, fueled by a jump in the price of oil, and by a rise in Valeant Pharmaceuticals .

Investors were encouraged by data showing U.S. new motor vehicle sales in June were poised to record their strongest month in more than 5-1/2 years and that factories posted a second straight month of gains in new orders in May.

The index climbed for a third straight session, playing catch-up with gains in global equities on Monday, when the Toronto market was closed for the Canada Day holiday.

The energy sector had the biggest positive influence on the Canadian market as supply worries in the Middle East and Africa boosted oil prices.

"We're seeing value across the resource space, including energy, but definitely not without some volatility," said Youssef Zohny, portfolio manager at Stenner Investment Partners, a unit of Richardson GMP. "On a relative basis, the valuations are becoming very attractive in the energy sector."

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite indexclosed up 49.27 points, or 0.41 percent, at 12,178.38. The index hit a high of 12,217.36 earlier in the session.

Despite Tuesday's gain, the resource-heavy index is down about 2.1 percent this year because of a lackluster outlook for commodities, trailing the S&P 500and other global tock market measures.

"It is a stock picker's market," said Jordan Zinberg, managing director and portfolio manager at Donville Kent Asset Management. "Investors who are buying the index are going to be fairly disappointed; they have been fairly disappointed over the past few years."

"We're quite negative on the resource market," he added. "I don't think you'll see global money coming back to the Canadian market until you see the resource market pick up."

Donville Kent's Capital Ideas Fund, whose biggest holdings include Constellation Software Incand Paladin Labs Inc , has had a return of investment of more than 12 percent since the start of the year.

Seven of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher on Tuesday.

Shares of energy producers added 1.2 percent.Canadian Natural Resources Ltdgained more than 2.1 percent to C$30.28, and Enbridge Incwas up 1.5 percent at C$44.88.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, rose 0.2 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank

Valeant advanced 4.8 percent to C$95 after RBC raised the stock's price target. The drugmaker played the biggest role of any single stock in leading the index higher and helped the healthcare group gain 2.1 percent.

But the materials sector, which includes mining stocks, gave back 2.1 percent. The group was dragged down by a nearly 3 percent drop in gold-mining shares as the bullion price slipped.

Barrick Gold Corplost 7.7 percent to C$15.32. The miner was also hit by its plans to slow construction at its already delayed Pascua-Lama gold project in South America as it looks to rein in spending.

BlackBerry extended its decline after releasing a disappointing quarterly report on Friday. A slew of brokerages have since cut their ratings and price targets on the stock. BlackBerry dived 7.8 percent to C$10.22.

($1=$1.05 Canadian)

(Editing by Chris Reese; and Peter Galloway)

[More from BGR: ]

This article was

"Cost is crucial for consumers trying to decide on a health plan that is right for them," said Betsy Imholz, Special Projects Director for Consumers Union."Covered California will make it dramatically easier for consumers to compare plans and make smart choices that fit their budget."

Millions of Californians will be able to compare plans easily and choose affordable, high-quality health insurance coverage starting this summer. Californians who aren't covered by their employer or through Medicare or Medi-Cal can apply for coverage from Covered California beginning on October 1, 2013.

The rates announced today, which are still under review by the Department of Managed Care and the Department of Insurance, cover a standardized, comprehensive benefits package that all participating insurers must provide regardless of health history. The standardized design will make it easy for consumers to make apples-to-apples comparisons of different plans based on cost and provider networks.

To increase affordability, the law provides sliding scale financial assistance to individuals and families making below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (currently $44,680 for an individual, $92,200 for a family of four). Covered California is the only place in the state where consumers can use federal subsidies to reduce the cost of private insurance.

"The days of paying premiums and hoping your insurance will cover you if you get sick are coming to an end," said Imholz. "These rates will cover you for pre-existing conditions, chronic conditions and acute care. Covered California is bringing health and financial security to our families."

Covered California, a state authority, will act like a large purchaser for individuals and small businesses. Consumers can apply for coverage on the phone and via the website , which will also make it easier for Californians to understand their choices in the new marketplace.In-person assistance will also be available through community-based Assisters, to be announced in the coming months.

SOURCE Consumers Union

In comments to the state-run Al-Thawra newspaper, Assad rejected the idea that what has transpired in Syria for more than two years is a revolution. Instead, he reiterated his past claims that it is a conspiracy by Western and some Arab states to destabilize his country.

He also praised this week's massive protests by Egyptians against their Islamist leader and said the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi meant the end of "political Islam."

In Syria, more than 93,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011. The crisis began with peaceful protests against Assad's rule, then morphed into civil war after some opposition supporters took up arms to fight a brutal government crackdown on dissent. Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their homes.

Throughout the crisis, Assad has insisted that his government is not facing a popular rebellion, but rather a Western-backed conspiracy against Syria, accusing the rebels fighting to topple his regime of being terrorists, Islamic extremists and mercenaries of the oil-rich Arab Gulf states that are allies of the United States.

"The countries that conspire against Syria have used up all their tools moral, material and psychological and they have nothing left except direct (military) intervention and this is too big for them to attain," Assad said in the interview.

He did not elaborate, but the Obama administration is reluctant to mire the U.S. military in another unpredictable conflict and its allies are unwilling to engage military in Syria alone.

The Assad regime says Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, in addition to the U.S. and its European allies, are on the list of countries conspiring against Syria. These states have been chief supporters of the opposition fighting to overthrow Assad.

The Syrian president's comments coincided with a crushing military offensive on the central city of Homs and a meeting of the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition in Istanbul. It was the second attempt in as many months by Assad's opponents to unify their ranks.

The Western-backed opposition bloc is primarily composed of exiled politicians with little support from Syrians trying to survive the third summer of conflict in a country that has been devastated by the fighting.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has been hard hit by fighting over the past two years. The government controls much of the city, while several neighborhoods in the center of town remain opposition strongholds. A military offensive in the area that is part of the country's heartland is now in its fifth day.

Khaled Saleh, a SNC spokesman, said the situation in Homs has "deteriorated tremendously" and warned that the fall of the city will jeopardize any political solution for the country. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, he said the Syrian regime "has its mind set on taking Homs even if that means killing tens of thousands of people."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged both sides to avoid harming some 2,500 civilians he said remain in the besieged, rebel-held parts of the Homs.

The Syrian government asked the International Committee of the Red Cross Thursday to send relief aid to those trapped by the "terrorist groups" in Homs and evacuate them through safe passages to be provided by the government, according to a Foreign Ministry statement published by the state news agency.

Sarah Karkour, a spokeswoman for the SNC, said that acting leader George Sabra and senior opposition figures Louay Safi and Mustafa Sabbagh are topping the list of candidates for the new leadership, including an interim government.

In late May, the opposition leaders met for more than a week in Istanbul, but failed to elected new leaders or devise a strategy for possible peace talks that the U.S. and Russia have been trying to convene in Geneva.

Assad has repeatedly dismissed his political opponents as foreign-directed exiles who don't represent the people of Syria. He has also shrugged off calls to step down, saying he will serve the rest of his term and could consider running for another one in next year's presidential elections.

In recent weeks, the Syrian army has been waging an offensive to regain control of territory it lost to the opposition, particularly in Homs but also around the capital Damascus and in the country's north.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes between government troops and rebels on Thursday in the Khaldiyeh and Bab Houd districts of Homs, and said regime warplanes repeatedly hit targets there throughout the day. Rebels have held those districts for the past year.

The Observatory said fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah militant movement, which has sided with Assad's forces, have been battling rebels in Homs. Hezbollah fighters helped the Syrian army capture a key town near Lebanon's border last month, dealing a blow to opposition fighters who have been ferrying supplies and fighters over the border.

SANA said the army struck rebels gathering in Palmyra and several other neighborhoods and took control of a number of buildings in Bab Houd, Jouret el-Shayah, Khaldiyeh and Talbiseh.

Also Wednesday, a government official told The Associated Press that deputy Labor Minister, Rakan Ibrahimn, was seriously wounded in a bombing in Damascus. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said a bomb was attached to Ibrahim's car, which was parked in the Baramkeh neighborhood of Damascus. It went off when he started the car, the official said, adding that the deputy minister was taken to a hospital.

Rebels groups, particularly those affiliated with al-Qaida and other Sunni extremist groups, have frequently targeted Syrian government officials, regime loyalists and military installations with car bombs and suicide attacks.

___

Associated Press writers Diaa Hadid in Beirut contributed to this report.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index hit a one-week high on Friday as gold-mining shares shot through the roof after bullion rallied, overshadowing a plunge in smartphone maker BlackBerry .

The gold sector soared more than 8 percent to record its biggest single-day percentage jump in more than 3-1/2 years.

Despite its gain on the last trading day of the second quarter, the index posted its biggest quarterly decline in a year, falling 4.9 percent.

BlackBerry lost more than 26 percent of its market value after its quarterly report offered few signs of a long-promised turnaround. The company posted an unexpected operating loss and gave few details on sales of its make-or-break new line of smartphones, and did not signal a return to profit in the current quarter.

Giving the market support was data that showed Japan's consumer prices stopped falling in May, while labor demand reached its strongest level in five years.

While global markets were hit hard by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's hints last week of a tightening monetary policy, investors took heart from another Fed official's comments on Thursday that Fed asset purchases will be more aggressive than outlined last week if U.S. economic growth falters.

The market is starting to realize that the Fed is not likely to put a sharp end to its massive bond buying program, said Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer at Sun Life Global Investments.

"Bernanke was talking about taking the foot off the pedal, rather than putting the brakes on," he added. "It's loosening the amount that is going in, rather than taking it all out."

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite indexclosed up 123.33 points, or 1.03 percent, at 12,129.11. The benchmark Canadian index is down 2.4 percent this year.

"We'll probably see a sideways-moving market in Canada, probably lower, over the summer," said Adatia, who expects the weakness to result mainly from a slowdown in the country's housing industry and softer commodity prices.

Nine of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher on Friday.

The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, added 4.7 percent. Gold mining shares jumped 8.4 percent as the price of bullion climbed.Goldcorp Incgained 9.5 percent to C$26.12, and Barrick Gold Corprose 6.6 percent to C$16.60.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, were up 0.4 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank

BCE Incshares climbed 2.8 percent to C$43.12 after Canada's broadcast regulator approved a C$3 billion ($2.86 billion) bid by the telecoms company to take over Astral Media Inc .

BlackBerry's drop to C$11.08 caused a 7.7 percent fall in the information technology sector, the only group to decline.

($1=$1.05 Canadian)

(Editing by Peter Galloway)