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Insider Report from Newsmax.com Headlines (Scroll down for complete
stories):
1. Massive U.S. Oil Reserves
'Locked Up' on Federal Lands The Green River Formation, a largely vacant
area where Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming come together, contains about as much
recoverable oil as all the rest the world's proven reserves combined, the
Government Accountability Office reports. Most of the oil is beneath federal land overseen
by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management, but the
government has "locked up" development of the huge resource, critics charge. Anu K. Mittal, the GAO's director of
natural resources and environment, said in written testimony submitted to the
House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment: "The Green River Formation -- an
assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming -- contains the world's largest deposits of oil
shale. "USGS [U.S. Geological Survey] estimates
that the Green River Formation contains about 3 trillion barrels of oil, and
about half of this may be recoverable, depending on available technology and
economic conditions. "The Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research
organization, estimates that 30 to 60 percent of the oil shale in the Green
River Formation can be recovered. At the midpoint of this estimate, almost
half of the 3 trillion barrels of oil would be recoverable. This is an amount
about equal to the entire world's proven oil reserves." For purposes of comparison, the entire
Middle East is estimated to have less than 700 billion barrels of proven
reserves. Mittal also stated: "Being able to tap this
vast amount of oil locked within this formation will go a long way to help to
meet our future demands for oil. "As you can imagine, having the technology
to develop this vast energy resource will lead to a number of important
socioeconomic benefits including the creation of jobs, increases in wealth,
and increases in tax and royalty payments for federal and state governments."
She added that the federal government
therefore is in "a unique position to influence the development of oil
shale," according to GAO testimony. But in testimony that the Obama administration
could seize upon to rebuff calls for development of the oil shale, which
environmentalists generally oppose, Mittal also noted: "While large-scale
oil-shale development offers socioeconomic opportunities, it also poses
certain socioeconomic challenges that also should not be overlooked. "Oil shale development like other
extractive industries can bring a sizable influx of workers who along with
their families put additional stresses on local infrastructure. "Developing oil shale and providing
power for oil shale operations and other activities will require large
amounts of water and could have significant impacts on the quality and
quantity of surface and groundwater resources. "Oil shale operations will also require the
clearing of large surface areas of topsoil and vegetation which can affect
wildlife habitat, and the withdrawal of large quantities of surface water
which could also negatively impact aquatic life." However, Investor's Business Daily observes
that the GAO testimony is "exploding the Big Lie pushed by President Obama
that we can't drill our way out of high gas prices because we have but 2
percent of the world's proven oil reserves. "Just one small part of the U.S. is capable
of outproducing the rest of the planet. "Given that current U.S. daily oil
consumption is running at 19.5 million barrels, the staggering amount of
Green River reserves would by itself supply domestic oil consumption for more
than 200 years. "So why are we keeping it locked up on
federal lands?" 2. Bill Clinton Won't Endorse Old
Ally Rangel Former President Bill Clinton is abandoning
his longtime political ally Charles Rangel, who is facing a difficult
re-election challenge following redistricting in New York State. Rangel, 81, has been in office since 1971,
but his new district is 57 percent Hispanic and just 27 percent
African-American. He is being challenged in the Democratic primary by state
Sen. Adriano Espaillat and former Clinton aide Clyde Williams. Williams was a domestic policy adviser in
the Clinton administration and also served as a top aide at the Clinton
Foundation. Clinton "is grateful for Clyde's work with
the foundation," a Clinton official told the New York Post. "Because he has personal relationships with
several of the candidates in the race, he doesn't feel it's appropriate to
weigh in on the race." Clinton strongly endorsed Rangel's
re-election in 2010 when the longtime incumbent was facing House ethics
violations that later led to a congressional censure. Clinton even taped a
message to voters on Rangel's behalf, according to the Post. Rangel for his part strongly defended
Clinton during his impeachment ordeal and helped Hillary Clinton get elected
to the Senate from New York. He also backed Hillary against primary
rival Barack Obama in 2008. Like Bill Clinton, Obama is staying neutral in
this year's primary. 3. Obamacare to Produce Huge Doctor
Shortage By 2015, the United States will face a
shortfall of nearly 30,000 primary care physicians, due largely to Obamacare
-- and a shortage of 65,800 by 2025, the Association of American Medical
Colleges predicts. The shortfall is attributable in part to
deterrents to entering the field, such as relatively lower incomes compared
to specialists, and the growth of the elderly population in America. But the biggest culprit would be Obamacare.
If the healthcare reform bill is not overturned by the Supreme Court, up to
33 million previously uninsured Americans will be covered by health
insurance, leading to a sharp increase in the demand for medical services.
And even if Obamacare is not fully implemented and merely expands Medicaid
coverage, 17 million Americans will be added to the Medicaid rolls by 2020. There is, however, a readily available
solution for reducing the demand for primary care physicians, according to
Dr. John Rowe, professor in the department of health policy and management at
the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. "One of the best ways to alleviate this
shortage is to expand the scope of practice for advanced practice registered
nurses (APRNs), well-trained registered nurses with specialized
qualifications who can make diagnoses, order tests and referrals, and write
prescriptions," he writes in The Atlantic. "APRNs could provide a variety of services
that primary care physicians now provide." He cites a report from the Institute of
Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences that found that properly trained
APRNs can provide core primary care services as effectively as physicians. But Rowe points to a problem: Nurses are
permitted to practice "independently to the full extent of their training and
competence" in only 16 states and the District of Columbia, while the other
states impose regulations limiting their practice. And the American Medical Association, the American
Academy of Family Physicians, and several other professional organizations
oppose expanded use of APRNs, despite recent research showing that such use
would have "no impact on primary care physician income," observes Rowe, who
was previously president of the Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School
of Medicine in New York City. He adds that nurses can be trained faster
and at a much lower cost than doctors, and declares: "Tapping nursing's
potential is the fastest and least expensive way to meet growing demand for
primary care." 4. U.S. Envoy: Plans to Strike Iran
Are 'Ready' American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro
says plans for a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities are "fully
available" and "ready." In remarks aired by Israel's Army Radio on
Thursday, Shapiro said: "It would be preferable to resolve this
diplomatically and through the use of pressure than to use military force.
But that doesn't mean that option is not fully available -- not just
available, but it's ready. "The necessary planning has been done to
ensure that it's ready." Israel has hinted it could launch a
pre-emptive attack on Iran's nuclear development program, which Iran insists
is for peaceful purposes but Israel believes is aimed at producing nuclear
weapons. However, many analysts believe the United
States alone has the ability to inflict lasting damage on Iran's program, the
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Award-winning journalist Arnaud de
Borchgrave recently told Newsmax in an interview that a U.S. strike against
Iran would be "the height of strategic madness" because it could escalate
rapidly into a regional war. But Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
recently asserted that a "radical Islamic Republic of Iran with nuclear
weapons would be far more dangerous both for the region and, indeed, the
world" than an attack on Iran. Ambassador Shapiro's comments came days
before the scheduled resumption of talks between Iran and Western allies in
Baghdad. 5. One-Third of Young Americans Are
Underemployed The struggling U.S. economy has been
particularly hard on young people -- Americans ages 18 to 29 are suffering
higher unemployment and underemployment rates than other age groups, a new
Gallup poll reveals. Unemployment among young adults stood at
13.6 percent in April, up from 12.5 percent in March and the same as in April
2011. Among those ages 30 to 49, the unemployment
rate stood at 7 percent in April, and at just 6.2 percent among those ages 50
to 64. In addition to the unemployed, 18.4 percent
of young Americans are working part time but looking for full-time work.
Combining that figure with the 13.6 percent unemployed brings the
underemployment total to 32 percent -- essentially one-third of all Americans
ages 18 to 29, according to Gallup. That's up from 30.1 percent in March and
30.7 percent in April 2011, so their situation is not improving. Underemployment in April was 14 percent
among those ages 30 to 49, and 13.6 percent among those ages 50 to 64. "April has brought gloomy job news for
young Americans and underscores that this group has been struggling
disproportionately for some time," Gallup observes. Gallup points out that only 3.1 percent of
young adults say they are self-employed, compared to 7.3 percent of all
Americans in the workforce. Most young people lack the necessary experience
and knowledge to succeed in self-employment. "Nearly one in three young adults in the
workforce are not now able to gain full-time job experience," Gallup concludes.
"This not only hurts them temporarily, but
deprives them of the experience they need to get a better job in the future.
It also deprives U.S. companies of the skilled and experienced workers they
will need for their businesses to prosper in the years ahead." 6. . Forbes: Jennifer Lopez
'World's Most Powerful Celebrity' Forbes magazine has released its new list
of "The World's Most Powerful Celebrities," and singer-actress-entrepreneur
Jennifer Lopez tops the list, replacing the previous list's top celeb, singer
Lady Gaga. Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh are also
high on the new list. Forbes' "Celebrity 100" list -- which
includes film and television actors, TV personalities, models, athletes, authors,
musicians, and comedians -- is based on "money and fame," Forbes explains. "We define fame as media visibility in
print, television, radio, and online, plus social media power, which we
measure by looking at each celebrity's presence on Facebook and Twitter. "The earnings consist of pretax income
between May 1, 2011, and May 1, 2012. Management, agent, and attorney fees
are not deducted." After several down years, Lopez rebounded
in 2010 by landing a judge's chair on "American Idol," although there are
reports she is leaving the show to devote more time to other endeavors. "The job gave her a platform to promote her
music and turn her image around," Forbes observed. "It didn't hurt that she also split from
her husband, Marc Anthony. Suddenly a single mother, Lopez lapped up the
media attention and scored lucrative endorsement deals with companies like
L'Oreal and Gillette. She now has a line of clothing at Kohl's and a
top-selling fragrance. "With 6.6 million followers on Twitter and
12 million fans on Facebook, she's also proved a master of social media." Lopez reportedly earned $52 million during
the year. In second place on the list is Oprah
Winfrey, whom Lady Gaga unseated for No. 1 last year. Winfrey was the top
earner on the list, bringing in $165 million thanks in part to her of
spin-off shows including "Dr. Phil." Rounding out the top 10, in order: Justin
Bieber (55 million in earnings), Rihanna ($53 million), Lady Gaga ($52
million), Britney Spears ($58 million), Kim Kardashian ($18 million), Katy
Perry ($45 million), Tom Cruise ($75 million), and Steven Spielberg ($130
million). Other interesting inclusions on the list:
Tiger Woods at No. 12, Donald Trump (No. 14), Rush Limbaugh (19), and Glenn
Beck (23).
7. We Heard... THAT Sen. Marco Rubio will
appear at a fundraiser for Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock,
who is running for the Senate from the Hoosier State. Mourdock spent nearly all his campaign
funds in defeating longtime incumbent Richard Lugar in the Republican
primary, and is facing Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly in November's general
election. The fundraising event is scheduled for June
4, and tickets range from $25 for students to $2,500 for a private roundtable
with Rubio, The Hill reports. The Florida senator and Mourdock are both tea party favorites. |
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