US: 43.7M Cases - 706.3K Dead - 33.1M Recovered
Worldwide: 232.6M Cases - 4.7M Dead - 209.2M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 315  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 422
*Red indicates change in total deaths

COVID Cases by Region Since July

60 Million to Get Booster Shots
States Begin a Complex Booster Shot Rollout for Pfizer Recipients
WASHINGTON - State health officials rushed on Friday to roll out campaigns to provide coronavirus booster shots for millions of vulnerable people who got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and to help a confused public understand who qualifies for the extra shots.

Among their challenges: making sure that recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines know that they are not yet eligible for boosters, reaching isolated elderly people and informing younger adults with medical conditions or jobs that place them at higher risk that they might be eligible under the broad federal rules.

After Dr. Walensky's announcement, President Biden said 20 million people could get boosters immediately because they had gotten their second Pfizer-BioNTech shot at least six months ago. In all, he said, 60 million people will be eligible for a Pfizer-BioNTech booster over the coming months.

Pharmacies are providing roughly 70 percent of coronavirus vaccinations as of this week, according to the C.D.C. Mr. Biden said booster shots would be available at 80,000 locations around the country, including more than 40,000 pharmacies. CVS, Walmart and Sam's Club said Friday they're ready to provide booster shots. nytimes.com

The Johns Hopkins Pandemic Dashboard is #1
The Rise of the Pandemic Dashboard
Governments around the world have created online tools for the public to view the latest data on Covid-19, but some platforms are better than others.

The resulting platforms - while sometimes flawed because of incomplete data, technology constraints or just awkward presentation - have become a mainstay of the pandemic. They've helped people assess risk and understand what's happening near them. And, thanks to the multiple charts and maps available through these interfaces, they've also contributed in developing data literacy around the world.

The PHE Covid-19 dashboard provides vaccination, cases and deaths for the country of England. Originally a team of three, there are now 17 people working on the Covid-19 dashboard (not all full time.) The dash has gone through 11 redesigns since its inception and went from being a few line charts to a full-fledged data hub, with an interactive map where users can search for the number of cases and vaccinations in their zip code.

The PHE dashboard team faces intense public scrutiny and constant feedback (their email inbox is always full). And when PHE makes a mistake, it has to handle and rectify it immediately.

Skyrocketing Dashboard Demand

"All of these dashboards were launched very early in the pandemic," said Damir Ivankovic, a PhD student at the University of Amsterdam. "Some of them were developed literally overnight, or over three sleepless nights in certain countries." With Ph.D. researcher Erica Barbazza, Ivankovic has been leading a set of studies about Covid-19 dashboards with a network of researchers. For an upcoming paper that's still unpublished, the pair have talked to more than 30 government dashboard teams across Europe and Asia to better understand their dynamics and the political decisions at stake in their creation.

The number of non-corporate businesses using Microsoft Power BI has skyrocketed during the pandemic, according to lead engineer Arun Ulagaratchagan. Power BI has been around for about six years, and new features are released every week. In the software world, that's a lot. bloomberg.com

Can Companies Have a Hybrid Workplace-and Keep Things Fair?

Some employers are trying to make sure that hybrid work arrangements don't reverse gains among historically marginalized groups

There will be a new protocol for meetings. If one employee of the internet-infrastructure company is remote and dialing in via Zoom, everyone in the office attending that meeting will also dial in.

The idea might seem counterintuitive: More than 18 months into the pandemic, many workers are tired of video calls and eager to work in person again. But there are other factors to consider.

"We want that one person, maybe in New York or London, to have an equitable experience," says Janet Van Huysse, Cloudflare's chief people officer.

Hybrid work arrangements-a mix of office and remote-have emerged as a popular model companies plan to adopt once more offices reopen. Flexibility is what most knowledge workers want, according to surveys. But hybrid work has downsides, including tensions over whether people who go into the office more will be perceived as harder workers and have better chances at upward mobility. 

Keeping things fair: Continue Reading

Idaho morgues are running out of space for bodies as covid-19 deaths mount - Rents refrigerated trailer

Covid cases plateau in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, showing effectiveness of vaccines, experts say

24 states vow to challenge Biden's vaccine mandate

California has the lowest coronavirus rate in the nation. Here's what we know

Senior Executive Crime
White Collar Crime

Whistleblower Filed Lawsuit Under False Claims Act
CEO & Manufacturing Partner ran the scheme for ten years

DOJ: Criminal & Civil Charges Filed Against CEO Of Apparel Company - Engaging In Customs Fraud
"George Illulian," the CEO of an apparel online retailer company located in New York, New York. ILOULIAN was charged with participating in a years-long scheme to defraud CBP by submitting invoices to CBP that falsely understated the true value of the goods his company imported into the United States, - evading the obligation to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in customs duties.

ILOULIAN was arrested last Thursday. In addition, a civil fraud lawsuit against ILOULIAN and his company, DELTA UNIFORMS, INC. ("DELTA"). The civil complaint asserts that ILOULIAN and DELTA violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting the true value and nature of the goods on entry documents submitted to CBP. The conduct in this matter was first brought to the attention of federal law enforcement by a whistleblower who filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act.

Iloulian now faces criminal charges for his alleged fraud, and the government's civil suit seeks treble damages and penalties against Iloulian and his company." "Iloulian allegedly evaded the obligation to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in customs duties using a double-invoicing scheme.

From 2010 through at least in or about 2020, ILOULIAN, and others known and unknown, including individuals associated with overseas manufacturers. ILOULIAN is facing a max. of 42 years in prison.  justice.gov

Wholesaler/Retailer Pres. & Manufacturer Double Invoicing Fraud to Evade Customs
DOJ: Calif. Tobacco President Pled Guilty to Conspiracy to Evade $9M+ Federal Excise Taxes on Dominican Cigars

President of online retailer & wholesaler of tobacco and marijuana products

Miami, Florida - A California tobacco company executive admitted his participation in a fraudulent scheme to avoid the payment of millions of dollars in excise taxes.

Akrum Alrahib, 43, of Los Angeles, California, was the President of Trendsettah USA, Inc. ("Trendsettah"), a California tobacco company.. Trendsettah sold various tobacco products, such as large cigars, and marijuana paraphernalia, such as "blunt wraps," imported from the Dominican Republic through Miami.

Alrahib partnered with Gitano Pierre Bryant, Jr., a tobacco importer to import large cigars and agreed to lower their costs by underreporting the Federal Tobacco Excise Tax. Alrahib paid over $21 million for Dominican tobacco products and received over $700,000 in kickbacks from Bryant. Alrahib also admitted his participation in a witness tampering scheme.

Alrahib can be sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution. Bryant, Alrahib's partner, was charged in a separate case (16-cr-20838). He pled guilty, was sentenced to four years in prison, and ordered to pay over $9 million in restitution. justice.gov

Huawei's CFO & Founder's Daughter Embroiled in Bank Fraud & Wire Fraud Charges - Goes Home to China
The Western World is Clamping Down on Huawei

DOJ: Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Admits to Misleading Global Financial Institution

Meng Enters into Deferred Prosecution Agreement to Resolve Fraud Charges

The Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Wanzhou Meng, 49, of the People's Republic of China (PRC), appeared Friday in federal district court in Brooklyn, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud.

In entering into the deferred prosecution agreement, Meng has taken responsibility for her principal role in perpetrating a scheme to defraud a global financial institution," said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicole Boeckmann for the Eastern District of New York. "Her admissions in the statement of facts confirm that, while acting as the Chief Financial Officer for Huawei, Meng made multiple material misrepresentations to a senior executive of a financial institution regarding Huawei's business operations in Iran in an effort to preserve Huawei's banking relationship with the financial institution.

Since her arrest, global pressure on Huawei has intensified. The company has long faced scrutiny by the U.S., which has effectively blocked the company from installing its telecom equipment in major U.S. networks because of concerns that its gear could be used to spy on Americans, suspicions Huawei forcefully rejects.

On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges against Huawei for allegedly stealing trade secrets from U.S. business partners. A day later, a German government official said the country is exploring ways to ban the use of Huawei products in its telecommunications infrastructure, and has also found itself under intensifying scrutiny from multiple Western governments. justice.gov wsj.com

EN: Within hours she was on a plane to China after spending three years in her two multimillion dollar homes in Vancouver with an 11 pm curfew, watched around the clock by a security detail and wearing an ankle bracelet monitor, and fighting extradition to the U.S. And the Chinese released the two Canadian executives they were holding in retaliation almost at the same time.

Meanwhile Republican Lawmakers Keep Up the National Security Fight
Lawmakers Share Huawei Concerns with US State Department
Republican lawmakers have expressed additional concerns around Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to the nation's top diplomat. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., outline the global proliferation of Huawei's cloud services and request answers on the Biden administration's handling of the company, long believed to be tied to the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, and previously sanctioned by U.S. agencies. govinfosecurity.com
 

China Basically Legalizes Intellectual Property Theft
China Wields New Legal Weapon to Fight Claims of Intellectual Property Theft

A Delaware firm preparing to sue a Chinese smartphone maker for patent infringement was beaten to the punch with anti-suit injunction

Chinese technology giants have seized on a new legal tactic to fight claims of intellectual property theft, raising concerns in the U.S. that Beijing's promises to strictly enforce patent and copyright laws will be undermined by Chinese courts.

In four major cases since 2020, Chinese courts granted so-called anti-suit injunctions blocking foreign companies from taking legal action anywhere in the world to protect their trade secrets.

Three of the rulings were in favor of Chinese telecom companies-Huawei Technologies Co., Xiaomi Inc. and BBK Electronics. The fourth supported South Korea's Samsung Electronics Corp. in a dispute with Swedish telecom giant Ericsson AB. (EN: Huawei is at the top of the list folks).

Xiaomi, the world's biggest smartphone maker, has sold millions of handsets using InterDigital patents since 2013, a Delaware firm that holds patents on wireless and digital technology used in smartphones, under industry practice that allows companies to sell while licensing fees are being negotiated. Xiaomi, was recently granted an anti-suit injunction against InterDigital Inc. Meaning they'll lose all licensing fees in the millions.

To trade lawyers and others who have tangled with Chinese companies over intellectual property, the InterDigital case is the latest sign of how China disregards the patents, copyrights and trade secrets of foreign companies.

U.S. companies have long complained about Intellectual property theft by Chinese companies. When the Trump administration initiated the U.S.-China trade war in 2018, it used a report on China's intellectual property theft as the initial legal justification for the tariffs. It estimated that theft or underpayment was harming U.S. companies by about $50 billion annually.

The Chinese courts also asserted jurisdiction over patent licensing fees globally, in what attorneys say is a break from standard practice in the West. wsj.com

Any Executives traveling to China over the next few months? Update Risk Assessments?
You may disagree with me but there's just to much pressure and conflict right now

China Detains Business Chiefs as Its Corporate Crusade Expands

New Goal of "Common Prosperity" Replacing Communist Party's Private Sector Tolerance

BEIJING - China has kicked up its campaign to tame its free-spending, debt-laden companies, as the authorities punished the corporate chiefs of two troubled companies while letting a troubled property giant continue to struggle under the weight of more than $300 billion in debt.

The authorities in China have taken into custody and police have seized the top two executives of HNA Group, a transportation and logistics conglomerate that bought up businesses around the world before quickly collapsing under heavy debts. One of which appears to be a U.S. citizen.

They also held two Canadian executives and convicted one of them for espionage in retaliation for the U.S. charging Huawei's CFO and founder's daughter for financial fraud and trying to extradite her from Canada, and Canada going along with it. Having just resolved this Friday, China frees the two Canadian executives within hours of Hauwei's CFO release.

Over the last year Jinping has executed one top executive for misdeeds, pulled the reins back on Alibaba's Jack Ma - with him disappearing for three months and all of this on the backdrop of pressure on corporate practices that the Chinese Communist Party increasingly regards as dangerous to the economy and its own grip on power. And demanding firms contribute extensively more to the party.

Xi Jinping, the country's top leader, has ordered businesses to pay greater heed to the government. Legislation approved two years ago requires domestic and foreign companies alike to share extensive information about their operations in China with the government. All but the smallest domestic and foreign companies must have Communist Party cells now. By Gus Downing & nytimes.com

EN: With buyers and executive travel going to China it may be wise to update risk assessments and for senior exec's possibly review security strategy. There's just a lot going on in every sector, with cybersecurity weighing heavily as well. BTW Friday China outlawed cryptocurrencies as illegal transactions. Just some thoughts. -Gus Downing

Getting Facial Recognition Bias to Zero
DHS suggests face biometrics bias reduction method, quantifies demographic effects
Removing facial features associated with race and gender can make face biometric algorithms less likely to confuse people with others based on those demographics, according to new research from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The paper 'Quantifying the Extent to Which Race and Gender Features Determine Identity in Commercial Face Recognition Algorithms' reveals the finding that race and gender sameness contributes about 10 percent to the variation of face biometric similarity scores. biometricupdate.com

FBI Tech Chief Applauds FR Vendors: 'Possibly Eliminating Bias in Facial Rec.'
NGI delivers faster results from more biometric modalities with no
shopping mall storage
FBI biometrics no longer fill a defunct shopping mall, and requests no longer take months to process, but contactless fingerprints remain a challenge for the next-generation identification (NGI) system the agency now uses, attendants of the latest Security Industry Association event heard.

Gary Stroupe, acting assistant section chief, FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Biometric Services Section, delivered a presentation during the third installment in the SIA Identity and Biometric Technology Advisory Board's (IBTAB's) webinar series with customer agencies. Stroupe is the operational lead for the FBI's transition from IAFIS to its NGI.

The launch of NGI allowed the agency to scale its biometric operations and deliver timely results, but also expands the modalities it uses beyond fingerprints.

CJIS' NGI serves more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies and 17,000 non-criminal justice agencies, and currently holds almost 140 million fingerprint identities.

The system has processed more than 35 million fingerprint checks so far this year, or around 117,000 per day, which is significantly reduced from pre-COVID numbers, Stroupe says.

The average turnaround time on a biometric match request is just over four and a half minutes for police, and around twice as long for civil checks. Latent and partial print results are typically returned in less than 30 minutes. One of the key benefits of NGI is a much higher matching accuracy for latent prints, according to Stroupe.

While NGI includes newer biometric modalities like iris recognition, palm prints, which Stroupe says make up roughly 30 percent of all latent prints collected at crime scenes, were also added with the transition beyond IAFIS. NGI now includes some 24 million palm print biometric records.

He also lauded the efforts of biometrics vendor community in reducing, possibly even eliminating bias in facial recognition algorithms. biometricupdate.com

Stop & Shop to Close Nearly 2 Dozen Store Pharmacies

Hy-Vee begins test of shelf-scanning robot Tally in 5 stores


Quarterly Results
Lululemon Q2 Canadian only sales up 46.9%
Canada's Roots Q2 sales up 6.6%
Zumiez Canada's Q2 sales down 17.6%


Last week's #1 article --

Kroger Joins Buy Safe America Coalition
Kroger joins effort to protect businesses, consumers from ORC

The Kroger Co. has joined the Buy Safe America Coalition in an effort to help combat organized crime.

The coalition is a diverse group of retailers, consumer groups, manufacturers and law enforcement who support efforts to combat organized retail crime and protect consumers and communities from the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods.

Store employees have also been put at as organized retail crime rings become increasingly violent and brazen. The surges have spurred businesses to take swift action to protect both employees and customers.

Kroger has been at the forefront of efforts to stop organized retail crime, and has a designated crime unit dedicated to preventing these sprees. Kroger has initiated over 2,000 ORC cases, and trains hundreds of thousands of its associates to better understand and recognize instances of organized retail crime. chainstoreage.com