ROLLA, MO (06/26/2012)(readMedia)-- Adam Paul Reab of Blue Grass, Iowa, graduated from Missouri University of Science and Technology during commencement ceremonies held Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, in the Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building on campus. Reab earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering summa cum laude.

More than 770 candidates received degrees during the ceremonies. The university awards bachelor of science, bachelor of arts, master of science and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.

Missouri S&T has traditionally recognized graduates earning a bachelor's degree with honors by placing the designation "summa cum laude," "magna cum laude" or "cum laude" on their diplomas. The highest honor, summa cum laude, is awarded to students who have earned a cumulative grade point (GPA) of 3.8 or above on a 4.0 scale for all courses counting toward the degree. Magna cum laude is the designation for a GPA of 3.5 to 3.79, and cum laude indicates a GPA of 3.2 to 3.49.

Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla announces the names of students who made the honor list for the 2012 Spring semester.

• Codee Raye Pedersen of Taylor Ridge, Ill., a sophomore in engineering.

• Adam Paul Reab of Blue Grass, Iowa, a senior in electrical engineering.

Those on the list carried a minimum of 12 hours and had grade point averages of 3.2 or above out of a possible 4.0

Missouri S&T is one of four campuses in the University of Missouri System and one of the nation's top technological research universities.

For more information about Missouri S&T, visit the website at www.mst.edu or contact the admissions office at 800-522-0938.

Law to Support Military Families Looking for Jobs;

Illinois 23rd State to Grant Expedited Professional Licenses to Servicemembers and their Spouses

CHICAGO - June 26, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn was joined today by First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama as he signed the Illinois Military Family Licensing Act to support military families as they seek employment. The new law will help servicemembers and their spouses obtain the professional licenses they need to continue working after the family relocates to Illinois for military service. Today's action is the latest Governor Quinn has taken in his long history of supporting military members and their families in Illinois.

"Our military families make great sacrifices every day, and they shouldn't have to put their career on hold while their loved ones are serving their country overseas," Governor Quinn said. "This new law will strengthen Illinois and allow these dedicated professionals to waste no time in finding work and making a difference as they settle into their new home."

Illinois will become the 23rd state to adopt pro-military spouse license portability legislation. As part of her Joining Forces initiative to honor, recognize and support military families, First Lady Michelle Obama has advocated for the 100,000 military spouses who serve in professions that require state licenses or certification, and have to bear high financial burdens to transfer their credentials from state to state as they serve this country. In February, the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden asked Governor Quinn and the rest of the country's governors and spouses to improve job portability for military spouses in their states. At the time the First Lady and Dr. Biden addressed the Governors, only 11 states had legislation. That number has since grown to 23-including Illinois- and an additional 7 states have pending legislation.

"Because of Governor Quinn's efforts, more military spouses will be able to advance in their careers. More businesses, hospitals and schools will get the talented, experienced workers they rely on.  And more families will have the income they need and the financial security they deserve.  And above all, military families will know that America has their back, we are working hard every day to serve them as well as they have served this country," said First Lady Michelle Obama.

Senate Bill 275, sponsored by Illinois State Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and State Representative Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley), provides for temporary expedited professional and educational licenses for active duty members of the military and their spouses. State agencies that issue occupational licenses, including the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the State Board of Education, will be able to grant temporary licenses to military members and spouses who hold credentials in other states in more than 50 professions, such as teachers, doctors, nurses, dentists, plumbers, paramedics, social workers, dieticians and therapists.

"When the White House told me about this issue, I immediately vowed to work with their staff to pass this important measure," Sen. Cullerton said. "This new law will ease the burden placed on military families who want to serve their country even more through noble professions in the fields of education, child care services and public health."

"SB275 will reduce the time needed for service members and their spouses to obtain a professional license so they can continue to work and supplement the family income, while still assuring the skills of the licensee and public safety," Rep. Pritchard said. "I look forward to continuing to address key quality of life issues for our servicemembers and their families in Illinois."

In addition to temporary, 6-month licenses, the Act allows IDFPR to consider all relevant experience and training a servicemember has gained through military service towards meeting certain permanent state licensing requirements. These provisions will help military members and their spouses more easily navigate the patchwork of non-uniform regulations across all 50 states. The law takes effect Jan. 1.

Illinois is the home to three major military bases - Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy's single-site "bootcamp" for training new recruits; Scott Air Force Base, the headquarters for the U.S. Transportation Command, and Rock Island Arsenal, a major weapons manufacturing facility in the U.S.

"This new law is powerful for the more than 16,000 military families who call Illinois home," IDVA Director Erica Borggren said. "Military spouses make tremendous sacrifices to follow their loved ones from duty station to duty station - and temporary, expedited licensure is an important way our State can support them through those sacrifices."

"This is a win-win for Illinois. Military families benefit from increased portability of their professional credentials, and Illinois consumers benefit from increased access to qualified professionals," said DFPR Secretary Brent Adams.

Governor Quinn has long made commitment to veterans, servicemembers and their families one of his top priorities throughout his career in public service. He has led programs including the Illinois Warrior Assistance Program and the Veterans Cash lottery ticket, which has awarded more than $10 million to non-profit organizations across the state that provide health care and post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, housing assistance, disability benefits and other services to Illinois Veterans.

As Lieutenant Governor, Governor Quinn championed the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund Act, which established a fund to provide grants to families of Illinois National Guard members and Illinois residents serving in the U.S. Armed Forces Reserve components who were called to active duty as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. These grants help service members and their families with the costs of food, housing, utilities, medical services and other expenses they struggle to afford because a wage-earner has temporarily left civilian employment to be placed on active military duty.

In 2011, Governor Quinn launched the Welcome Home Heroes program to promote homeownership for Illinois Veterans, active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members. The financing package is available statewide, and provides a forgivable grant up to $10,000 toward the purchase of a new home, as well as an additional mortgage tax credit up to $20,000 over the life of the loan. Welcome Home Heroes will make homeownership even more affordable for thousands of military families and create more than 400 jobs throughout Illinois.

For more information about programs for our Veterans, visit Veterans.Illinois.Gov or call the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs at 217-782-6641 or 312-814-2460.

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Take "Mobile Pregúntele a Karen" with you for on-the-go tips to prevent

foodborne illness this summer

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2012?A new Spanish-language food safety app is available to consumers around the clock on their mobile devices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. "Mobile Pregúntele a Karen" is the Spanish-language version of Mobile Ask Karen, the virtual expert who answers smartphone users' questions about properly handling, storing and preparing food to prevent illness. The English version of Mobile Ask Karen was launched in May 2011.

 

"Expanding our food safety information to multiple languages means we are reaching a wider audience and preventing more foodborne illness," said USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elisabeth Hagen. "As consumers become familiar with these user-friendly mobile applications, they will develop good food safety habits and have instant access to reliable food safety information."

 

The Pregúntele a Karen website has been available from desktop browsers since September 2010. However, FSIS recognized that consumers often need answers to questions like, "To what temperature should I cook steak?" or, "How can I keep food safe outdoors?" when they are not able to access a computer. The new mobile format now allows people to take the food safety information "Karen" provides in Spanish with them to the barbecue grill, farmers market, grocery store and kitchen.

 

Both Mobile Pregúntele a Karen, which is optimized for iOS and Android devices, and the desktop-based Pregúntele a Karen are available 24 hours a day at m.PregunteleaKaren.gov or PregunteleaKaren.gov, with more than 1,200 food safety answers searchable by topic and by product. Consumers can also email, chat with a live representative, or call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline directly from the app. To use these features on the app, simply choose "Contact Us" from the menu. The live chat option and the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854), are available in Spanish and English from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.

 

Mobile Pregúntele a Karen is part of a multi-faceted USDA initiative to prevent foodborne illness. As part of this initiative, USDA recently joined the Ad Council, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to launch Food Safe Families, a consumer food safety education campaign. Food Safe Families is the first joint public service campaign to empower families to further reduce their risk of foodborne illness at home by checking their key food safety steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill. For more information, go to www.foodsafety.gov.

 

Today's action is in addition to other significant public health measures FSIS has put in place during President Barack Obama's Administration to date to safeguard the food supply, prevent foodborne illness, and improve consumers' knowledge about the food they eat. These initiatives support the three core principles developed by the President's Food Safety Working Group: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery. Some of these actions include :

• Test-and-hold policy that will significantly reduce consumer exposure to unsafe meat products, should the policy become final, because products cannot be released into commerce until Agency test results for dangerous contaminants are known.
• Labeling requirements that provide better information to consumers about their food by requiring nutrition information for single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products and ground or chopped products.
• Public Health Information System, a modernized, comprehensive database with information on public health trends and food safety violations at the nearly 6,100 plants FSIS regulates.
• Performance standards for poultry establishments for continued reductions in the occurrence of pathogens. After two years of enforcing the new standards, FSIS estimates that approximately 5,000 illnesses will be prevented each year under the new Campylobacter standards, and approximately 20,000 illnesses will be prevented under the revised Salmonella standards each year.

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DES MOINES -- Today, Vice President Biden will deliver remarks in Waterloo, Iowa.

Below are excerpts of his remarks as prepared for delivery --

 

"Here's the bottom line:  Bain and their companies made a lot of money facilitating the outsourcing and offshoring of American jobs.

"Yeah, they made a lot of money, but in the process, they devastated American communities."

"So give Mitt Romney credit:  He is a job creator.  In Singapore.  And China.  And India."

"As governor, his administration signed a $160,000 a month contract that paid people abroad to help poor people in Massachusetts get food stamps.

"And when the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill saying you couldn't outsource state contracts overseas...he vetoed it."

"His whole career, Mitt Romney has looked at the American worker as part of  the problem...

"The president and I see you -- the American worker --  as part of the solution.  ---

"So to all those skeptics -- and to our Republican opponents especially:

"Don't tell me that America can't make things anymore...  can't compete on the world market again...  can't lead the world again."

 

 

"You don't have to look any further than Waterloo.   Look at the John Deere local.  Over the last two years, Deere has added 850 jobs - almost all of them good, union, manufacturing jobs -- and is looking at the highest total employment in 15 years.

"You're not only making them, you're exporting them.

"And Romney called the President 'out of touch' for encouraging young people - you --  to try to get manufacturing jobs.  'Out of touch.'  "Out of touch?

"A perspective president with a Swiss bank account and a retirement account in the Cayman Islands.  Anyone here have a Swiss bank account?   Did you ever think the nominee of a major political party running for President would have a Swiss bank account?  "Talk about out of touch."

"We will never outsource our way to greatness.

"The greatness of this nation is in the grit and determination of the American people.

"And it's because of you, our country is coming back."

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