Persistent calls in 2014 to William Webster and his wife, Lynda, followed the familiar arc of scams that target the elderly: The caller promises riches but requires some form of payment to move the process forward. The caller demands more and more, and then resorts to intimidation when the cooperation tapers off. In the Websters’ case, the former judge was told he had to pay $50,000 to get his prize. When the money wasn’t forthcoming, the frequent calls escalated to scary threats, which led the couple to contact the FBI. “I don't know how the conversation turned sour,” said Webster, 95, director of the FBI for a decade beginning in 1978. “But it did. And at that point, he shifted gears. Instead of sweet talk, he began to threaten her.” 

Jo Freeman Reviews: "William Alsup writes that I was wrong; that there were some young white men who heard the civil rights movement’s message that white supremacy and segregation were wrong. They may not have bought into all of its messages — at least not then — but they heard enough of it to knock cracks in the closed society of Mississippi. The author's memoir is not just about himself, but the small group of young white men who were his pals in his hometown of Jackson and on the campus of Mississippi State University (MSU). It’s about coming of age in the middle of a revolution and being "won over" to the other side."

The occupation table shows the female earnings for full-time, year-round workers in 2017 and figures on the number of women in select occupations. The Census Bureau collects data on industry, occupation and class of worker for the labor force.

"I was also excited to hear about the culturally specific work the Brooklyn Family Justice Center is doing. One of their attorneys works closely with Muslim and immigrant communities, tackling complicated issues like female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C, is one of the most devastating forms of violence against women. It is a problem right here in the United States. The CDC estimates 513,000 women and girls have suffered or are at risk of FGM/C in the US... We must continue to investigate and prosecute the most dangerous abusers, including those who strangle, stalk, or use illegal firearms against their victims."

Rose Madeline Mula writes: I can’t remember when I became an insomniac. It’s mostly my own fault. I break all the rules. I know I’m supposed to limit screens (TV, computer, tablet, cell phone) for a period before bedtime — and certainly not allow any of these Morpheus murderers into my boudoir, but I just can’t do it. I need them all to distract my imaginative, catastrophizing mind from countless concerns, which multiply exponentially the moment I cross the threshold into my bedroom. 

In the five-year prospective study, researchers followed more than 5,800 women ages 63 to 97 to find out if higher amounts of light physical activity were associated with reduced risks of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease. The current study involved a racially and ethnically diverse group of 5,861 women who were enrolled between 2012 and 2014. None had a history of myocardial infarction or stroke. Participants wore hip-mounted accelerometers, a device like a fitness tracker, that measured their movement 24 hours a day for seven consecutive days. The researchers then followed the participants for almost five years, tracking cardiovascular disease events such as heart attacks and strokes.

A team from The Wall Street Journal uncovered secret payoffs that Donald Trump and his associates arranged during the 2016 presidential election campaign to suppress sexual allegations from two women, including a porn star known as Stormy Daniels. The Journal first reported on a Trump-related payoff right before the 2016 election. On Nov. 4, 2016, journalists Joe Palazzolo, Michael Rothfeld and Lukas Alpert broke the news that the company that owns the National Enquirer, American Media Inc., agreed to give former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for her story of an extramarital affair with Trump a decade earlier. But the company, headed by a longtime friend of Trump, did not publish the story, the Journal reported.

Joan L. Cannon wrote: Those two little old ladies couldn't have succeeded any better. It didn't take us long to figure out the gentle scheming between the two aging unmarried friends. We accepted their kind attentions with gratitude. We were married for over fifty-seven years. We have three children and seven grandchildren thanks to the conspiracy of two little old ladies whose interest in such matters completely escaped my notice at the time.

“From shampoo and shaving cream to deodorant and make-up, every American comes into contact with personal care products every day,” said Senator Feinstein. “Families trust that these products are safe, but unfortunately many ingredients have never been independently evaluated. Our bipartisan legislation, which has the support of numerous companies and consumer advocacy groups, would modernize FDA’s oversight authority and give consumers confidence that everyday personal care products won’t harm their health.” “Americans use a variety of personal care products daily, and they should be able to know whether the products that they are applying to their hair or skin are safe,” said Senator Collins. “By updating FDA oversight of the ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products for the first time in nearly 80 years, our legislation will help increase safety for consumers, protect small businesses, and provide regulatory certainty for manufacturers.”

Julia Quittman's grandmother told her she should choose any career that made her happy: Now she's a Senior Computer Systems Engineer keeping BART’s systems running. Maansii Chirag Sheth's parents supported her decision to leave India as a young woman for the United States to pursue higher education and an electrical engineering career. Now she’s a Project Manager for cathodic protection, battling corrosion wherever metal meets water. Van Nguyen loved math and science since childhood and considered medical school, but decided to get an engineering degree in four years. Now she’s a Senior Engineer working on the Transbay Tube earthquake retrofit. Editor's note: One interviewee when asked about the perception that women tend to have more “soft skills,” she said, “You still have to back it up with logic and really knowing your subject matter, being a good manager or engineer.”

A bill to assist states in carrying out projects to expand the child care workforce, early learning and child care facilities in the states; A bill to deter, prevent, reduce, and respond to harassment in the workplace, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and harassment based on protected categories; A bill to require that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits be calculated with reference to the cost of the low-cost food plans as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes; A bill to provide for the conduct of demonstration projects to provide coordinated case management services for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) recipients; A bill to provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses following a mastectomy; A bill to promote the economic security and safety of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and for other purposes; Hearing: Re-Authorization of the Violence Women Act.   Weekly Legislative Update February 25- March 1, 2019     Bills Introduced   Child C…

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, “Because of Her Story,” strives to be the nation’s most comprehensive undertaking to document, research, collect, display and share the compelling story of women in America. Launched in 2018, the initiative will greatly increase the Smithsonian’s research and programming related to women in the US, past and present. With a digital-first mission and focus, the initiative uses technology to amplify a diversity of women’s voices — not in one gallery or museum, but throughout the Smithsonian’s many museums, research centers, cultural heritage affiliates and wherever people are online — reaching millions of people in Washington, DC, across the nation and around the world. More information about the initiative is available at womenshistory.si.edu. The public can join the conversation on social media at #BecauseOfHerStory.

The first thing I placed in the shipping box was a container with his ashes. It was lightweight because scoops had already been removed and scattered. One batch of my second husband's remains went to Jackson Park where Tommy got a hole in one. Another was spread among the plantings outside the YMCA, his longtime gym; and one more in the park where every morning for 12 years we walked our dog. Sitting outdoors on a perfect Chicago summer day coaxes my mind to travel backward to other unforgettable places where I have perched. And like a jigsaw puzzle whose picture only emerges when all of the parts are snug in place, I add the characters who help create a picture of my past.

The scope of the Oversight Committee’s open public hearing will not include questions relating to the Intelligence Committee’s investigation of efforts by Russia and other foreign entities to influence the U.S. political process during and since the 2016 U.S. election, and the counterintelligence threat arising from any links or coordination between U.S. persons and the Russian government, including any financial or other compromise or leverage foreign actors may possess over Donald Trump, his family, his business interests, or his associates.

This interim staff report was prepared for Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, after multiple whistleblowers came forward to warn about efforts inside the White House to rush the transfer of highly sensitive US nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of the Atomic Energy Act and without review by Congress as required by law — efforts that may be ongoing to this day.

Melissa Ludtke writes: Whether the topic is networks or reunions, DNA or language of family, the two generations of voices I heard in Random Families resonated with me. I sense this will be the case with readers who come to this book without having the same personal connections I do with either donor sperm or adoption. Families like the ones Random Families portrays are rooted in our American landscape. Thankfully, the regrettable era of family secrecy about this form of conception has largely passed, prompted by single women, who in choosing this method for becoming pregnant then made sure their children knew how they’d been conceived. Their push for greater openness made it happen.

Jo Freeman writes: Unlike the Republican Party, the Democratic Party is composed of constituencies. These have changed over time, but they have their own agendas. At the winter meeting, fourteen different Councils and Caucuses met separately for 90 minutes each. I went to five: Senior (which met jointly with Disability), Labor, LGBTQ, Women’s and Black. At each of these meetings, I heard how important each group’s 2018 vote had been to the Democratic wave — even when a little "interpretation" was required. For example, seniors continued to favor Republican candidates in 2018, but not as much as in previous years.

Jo Freeman writes: Brenda’s first arrest came when she and two friends tried to buy a bus ticket at the white counter in the Greyhound bus station. For that she served 28 days in jail, missing the first month of her sophomore year in high school. When she returned, her classmates treated her as a hero; her principal expelled her from school. At a subsequent school assembly the other students talked about walking out in protest; over a hundred of them did so later that day.

From the FTC: Romance scammers lure people with phony online profiles, often lifting photos from the web to create attractive and convincing personas. They might make up names or assume the identities of real people. Reports indicate the scammers are active on dating apps, but also on social media sites that aren’t generally used for dating. For example, many people say the scam started with a Facebook message. Once these fraudsters have people by the heartstrings, they say they need money, often for a medical emergency or some other misfortune. They often claim to be in the military and stationed abroad, which explains why they can’t meet in person.

If he wants me to give my love, he will have to be cheerful, worthy, open and humble; let him argue with no one, and respond to every person kindly; because what suits me is not a mean or prideful man who would harm and diminish my worth, but a free and true, discreet and amorous man if he wants me to let him be in love with me.  

Deborah Masters’ Spirits, whose heads measure up to five feet in height, are clothed in white, robe-like garments, and wear talismans signifying their identities. Suspended from the ceiling by chains, they stare out at us impassively, silently dwelling in their own consciousness. The Little Spirits, both human and animal, have a quirky individuality and engaging liveliness.

Congress generally has sought to address retirement-related issues in an incremental fashion. Also, no one agency is responsible for overseeing the US retirement system in its entirety, so there is no obvious federal agency to lead a comprehensive reform effort. It has been nearly 40 years since a federal commission has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the nation's approach to financing retirement. Without a more comprehensive re-evaluation of the challenges across all three pillars of the system, it may be difficult to identify effective, enduring solutions. Unless timely action is taken, many older Americans risk not having sufficient means for a secure and dignified retirement.

Jane Shortall writes: A Dubliner, a girl in her twenties, envies me for living in that city through the seventies. She and many of her friends do not snigger at those years described as ‘the decade that style forgot.’ They love how things were back then, citing everything from our apparent carefree life, lots of jobs, not so many crazy rules, many different styles of clothing and, in their words, totally brilliant music. ‘Tell me, what music from today will we be listening to in forty years’ time?’ she asked. Yes, I did see lots of bands in Dublin back then. From Led Zeppelin to Horslips, they came to Dublin and belted out their hits.