NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed that movement in sand dune fields on the Red Planet occurs on a surprisingly large scale, about the same as in dune fields on Earth.  This is unexpected because Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, is only about one percent as dense, and its high-speed winds are less frequent and weaker than Earth's. For years, researchers debated whether sand dunes observed on Mars were mostly fossil features related to past climate, rather than currently active. In the past two years, researchers using images from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera have detected and reported sand movement. 

PASADENA, Calif.

Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids. The results reveal new information about their total numbers, origins and the possible dangers they may pose.

Potentially hazardous asteroids, or PHAs, are a subset of the larger group of near-Earth asteroids. The PHAs have the closest orbits to Earth's, coming within five million miles (about eight million kilometers), and they are big enough to survive passing through Earth's atmosphere and cause damage on a regional, or greater, scale. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

is proposing a $395,850 civil penalty against US Airways Inc., of Tempe, Ariz., for allegedly violating U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations. 

Chief Financial Officer Sentenced in $78 Million Dream Home Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

Received $413,075 in Compensation During Her 20 Months of Employment Despite Knowing That No Revenue was Being Made to Pay Off Investors’ Mortgages..

GREENBELT, MD

U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Carole Nelson, age 53, of Washington, D.C., today to 29 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for money laundering in connection with her participation in a massive mortgage fraud scheme which promised to pay off homeowners’ mortgages on their “Dream Homes” but left them to fend for themselves. Judge Titus also entered an order requiring Nelson to pay restitution of $34,340,830.13.

Second Former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Manager Pleads Guilty in Alleged $30 Million Bribery and Kickback Scheme

WASHINGTON

Kerry F. Khan, 54, a former program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, pled guilty today to federal charges of bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a scheme that allegedly involved more than $30 million in bribes and kickback payments and the planned steering of a government contract potentially worth $1 billion. 

FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Announce Reward for Information Leading to the Arrest and Conviction of the Person(s) Responsible for the Recent Mailings of White Powder Letters in the North Texas Area 

Since 2008, more than 380 letters featuring a postmark from North Texas and containing a white powder substance have been sent to various locations around the country—more than 20 were sent last week alone. All of the letters are believed to have come from the same person, who has taken steps to conceal his activities and prevent law enforcement from finding physical evidence of his crimes, including his fingerprints.

 

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2012

It is more important than ever that service members exercise judgment in the age of Twitter, You Tube, Flickr, I-Phones and Facebook, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told troops at Fort Benning, Ga., today.  The secretary spoke to the men and women of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. He spoke about how the actions of a very small number of service members have affected crucial operations. Today, it can take only seconds for a photo to become an international headline, Panetta said. “And those headlines can impact the mission that we’re engaged in,” the secretary said. “They can put your fellow service members at risk. They can hurt morale. They can damage our standing in the world, and they can cost lives.”

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2012
In a proclamation issued today declaring May 19 Armed Forces Day, President Barack Obama urged all Americans to recognize and honor U.S. military members for their “unparalleled service” in defense of the nation.

“With every assignment and in every theater, America's men and women in uniform perform their duties with the utmost dignity, honor, and professionalism,” Obama said in his proclamation. “Through their dauntless courage and dedication, they live up to our nation's highest ideals in even the most perilous circumstances.” 

Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced today the indictment of Martin S. Kimber, 59, of Ruby, New York. Kimber is charged in three counts with violations of the chemical weapon statute (counts one and two), which prohibits individuals from possessing, stockpiling, or using a toxic chemical as a weapon; and with a violation of the consumer product tampering statute (count three).