Author: SeniorWomenWeb

*GAO Investigates Elder Care: As Many as 1 in 10 Older US Adults are Abused Each Year with Physical, Sexual, or Emotional Abuse, Financial Scams and Neglect

Researchers estimate that as many as 1 in 10 older US adults are abused each year. This includes physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, financial scams, and neglect. It can occur at the hands of family, guardians, caregivers, or others.

The Department of Justice has investigated and prosecuted cases of elder abuse, provided training and grants, and taken other actions to combat it. However, DOJ has not developed goals that could help guide these efforts.

The GAO recommended that DOJ develop and document elder justice goals and outcome measures to better guide its elder justice efforts.

Examples of Scams Commonly Committed Against Older Adults in the US

What GAO Found

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has established several efforts to address elder abuse, including neglect and exploitation, but its planning and assessment of its elder justice efforts are limited. For example, DOJ has established several working groups and in accordance with the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (EAPPA)—enacted in October 2017—designated an elder justice coordinator in each of its 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. In addition, DOJ provides training and educational materials on elder justice topics for its own staff, as well as state and local officials, and also offers grants to state and local entities that can be used to address elder abuse.

Despite these efforts, DOJ has not developed and documented goals (e.g., enhancing coordination with state and local officials) that articulate the common outcomes it seeks to achieve through its elder justice work. DOJ also has not developed outcome measures that track the agency’s progress on its overall elder justice efforts, for example, a means to measure if its coordination practices have been useful and relevant over time to state and local officials. DOJ officials stated that they do have goals, and noted that one of them is to comply with EAPPA. However, implementing the requirements outlined in EAPPA is not a goal that articulates a common outcome that the agency is seeking to achieve through its efforts. Developing and documenting goals and outcome measures, which is consistent with both leading practices and internal control standards, would assist with DOJ’s planning—providing direction for what it seeks to achieve—and its assessment of overall effectiveness.

The Department of State has a number of policies and procedures to assist all US citizens arrested abroad, including older US citizens, and the Department of Homeland Security conducts some arrest investigations abroad. For example, trained Department of State staff at overseas posts and in Washington, DC provide emergency and non-emergency services to US citizens arrested abroad, such as visits to the place of detention and medical assistance. They also take actions to ensure that US citizens arrested abroad are treated humanely and fairly. In December 2018, the Department of State revised its policies by adding “elderly prisoners” to the list of special arrest cases, or cases that may require additional attention. The Department of Homeland Security investigates arrests in foreign countries of US citizens, including older US citizens, who were tricked into smuggling drugs by international criminal enterprises.

Why GAO Did This Study

Researchers estimate that as many as 1 in 10 older adults in the United States — age 60 or older — experience abuse each year. Elder abuse may involve physical, sexual, emotional, or financial abuse or neglect. It can occur by family, guardians, or caregivers as well as by strangers and international criminal enterprises, which operate schemes for monetary gain or to facilitate other criminal activities. According to media reports and congressional testimony, some older US citizens who have traveled abroad have unwittingly participated in illicit activities, and in some cases, have been arrested in foreign countries.

EAPPA included a provision for GAO to review elder justice efforts in the federal criminal justice system. This report examines (1) the ways DOJ works to address crimes against older adults, and to what extent DOJ is planning for and assessing its efforts; and (2) how the Departments of State and Homeland Security address the arrest of older US citizens abroad, including arrests involving international criminal enterprises. GAO reviewed agency policy documents, and interviewed agency officials, as well as a non-generalizable sample of elder abuse stakeholders and state and local officials selected for their experience in this area.

What GAO Recommends

GAO made two recommendations related to developing and documenting goals and outcome measures for DOJs elder justice work. In its response, the agency outlined steps to address the recommendations.

For more information, contact Gretta L. Goodwin, (202) 512-8777 or goodwing@gao.gov or Jenny Grover at (202) 512-7141 or groverj@gao.gov.

Editor’s Note:

We’ve included pages of Elder Abuse Summary by the GAO (seen below) as well as Guardianships: Cases of Financial Exploitation, Neglect, and Abuse of Seniors: GAO-10-1046: Published: Sep 30, 2010. Publicly Released: Oct 27, 2010.

https://www.gao.gov/key_issues/elder_abuse/issue_summary

*The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the “congressional watchdog,” GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, reliable information to help the government save money and work more efficiently. For example, we identified $73.9 billion in financial benefits in fiscal year 2017 — a return of about $128 for every $1 invested in us. We also identified 1,280 other benefits that led to program and operational improvements across the government.

June 17, 2019
The Morgan Library’s Maurice Sendak Set and Costume Designs Exhibit: Props, Costumes, Preliminary Sketches, Storyboard, Finished Watercolors and Painted Dioramas

Maurice Sendak, Design for Ship (Nutcracker), 1982-4, gouache and graphite pencil on paper. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation. The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Maurice Sendak; Photography by Janny Chiu

A summer exhibition now open at the Morgan Library & Museum celebrates an extraordinary bequest from acclaimed author and illustrator of children’s books Maurice Sendak (1928–2012). Best known for his 1963 picture book Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak was an avid music and opera lover. Beginning in the late 1970s, he embarked on a second career as a designer for opera and ballet.

Drawing the Curtain brings together nearly one hundred and fifty drawings from more than 900 by Sendak in the Morgan’s collection, including preliminary sketches, storyboards, finished watercolors, and painted dioramas. Also included are earlier works by Sendak on loan from The Maurice Sendak Foundation, and a number of props and costumes. This is the first museum exhibition dedicated to Sendak’s set and costume designs, offering new insights into the artist’s inspirations and creative process.

Like his children’s book illustrations, Sendak’s designs for the stage embody his singular hand, his fantastical mode of storytelling, and his keen — sometimes bawdy — sense of humor. Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet presents a wide selection of works from five of his most important productions: Mozart’s Magic Flute, Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen, Prokofiev’s Love for Three Oranges, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and an opera based on Where the Wild Things Are. These inventive designs demonstrate his exceptional skill as a visual storyteller.

Above, Sendak (1928-2012), Study for Wild Things costume, with notes (Where the Wild Things Are), 1979, watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite pencil on paper. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation. The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Maurice Sendak

A selection of eighteenth and nineteenth-century works from the Morgan’s collection by artists who influenced Sendak are displayed alongside his designs. Throughout his career, Sendak drew inspiration from his visits to the Morgan, particularly his encounters with the compositions of Mozart, and the drawings of William Blake and Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo. The Morgan’s diverse holdings of music manuscripts, autograph letters, printed books, and Old Master drawings mirrored Sendak’s own wide-ranging passion for music, art, and literature.

June 17, 2019
Collection of 20th Century Souvenir Buildings at the National Building Museum: A Reminder of Travel and a Record of Popular Architecture

David Weingarten Collection … Behind the Scenes: Packing up the 20th Century Souvenir Buildings Collection

The David Weingarten Collection of 20th Century Souvenir Buildings is comprised of over 3,000 three-dimensional miniatures of actual buildings and monuments that exist or have existed in the real world. Amassed over 40 years and representing buildings from over 60 countries, the 20th Century Souvenir Buildings Collection is the leading and most extensive of its kind. After decades of display in museums and private residences, the entire collection was donated to the Museum in 2019.

“Though in a new and memorable setting — the National Building Museum — we imagine this collection of architectural mementos will continue its familiar work: sparking recollection of places modest and monumental, every day and extraordinary, and with this, architecture’s part in all our lives.” — David Weingarten.

Weingarten first began collecting souvenir buildings in 1976, on a trip to Speyer Cathedral in Germany with his uncle, architect Charles Moore. When his uncle purchased a larger miniature of the cathedral, Weingarten opted for a smaller representation. The two Speyer Cathedrals, part of this collection, sparked a decades-long endeavor, later assisted by Margaret Majua, with whom Weingarten wrote two books about the collection, and Lucia Howard, his partner at Ace Architects.

“The collection’s many types and groups of souvenir buildings suggest alternate (and entertaining) ways of thinking about architectural design and history. This history is popular, not pedagogic or polemic, focused not at all on the inexorable progress of the styles, but instead on those buildings people have thought remarkable and memorable, engaging and appealing, swell enough to commit to memory, provoked by a souvenir building.”— David Weingarten

These pocket-sized buildings are at once a reminder of travel, and a record of popular architecture. Included in the collection are iconic tourist destinations, like the Tower of Pisa; Empire State Building; the Parthenon; the Space Needle; the Alamo; the Eiffel Tower; and the Temple of Heaven. Also included are more modest buildings, like dozens of suburban American banks, grain silos, and football stadiums, as well as souvenirs from places with less architectural, but nonetheless popular, pedigrees: Lincoln’s log cabin; Elvis’ Graceland; and the Disneyland Castle.

Souvenir buildings are almost always cast in a mold, mass produced, and made from various materials: cork; every sort of marble; brass and bronze; zinc, iron, silver, copper, and gold; plastic, paper, wood, clay, wax, and rubber; and even soap. In addition to their purpose as a souvenir, some serve other functions: they are inkwells, lamps, and boxes; paperweights, pencils, and pencil weights; salt and pepper shakers, banks, bookends and bottles; cigarette lighters, cigarette boxes, and ashtrays; needle cases, radios; erasers, and candles.

Before arriving at the Museum, objects from the 20th Century Souvenir Buildings Collection formed exhibitions in museums across the United States, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Octagon Museum, St. Louis University, Museum of the City of New York, and SFO Museum. Souvenir Buildings/Miniature Monuments, describing the collection and phenomenon of architectural miniatures, written by David Weingarten and Margaret Majua, was published by Harry Abrams.

June 14, 2019
Swedish Parental Leave Policies: Parents are Entitled to 480 Days of Paid Parental Leave When a Child is Born or Adopted

Photo credit: Anna Walström/imagebank.sweden.se

Swedish income taxes are high — granted. But a large share goes into providing a work–life balance within society. When it comes to choosing a place to start a family, the Swedish society has plenty of family-friendly arguments. Here are ten of them.

#1 special care for mothers

Before a baby is born, expectant mothers in Sweden get prenatal care through free or subsidised courses that help them prepare for the delivery, with breathing techniques, coaching sessions and group support.

Women who work typically strenuous jobs that require heavy lifting or in risky work environments such as construction sites are entitled to additional pregnancy benefits (graviditetspenning) by taking time off work earlier during their pregnancy. Benefits can be paid as early as 60 days (two months) into the pregnancy and continue up to 11 days before the due date. The amount received is roughly 80 per cent of the mother’s daily pay and is paid by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.

Many Swedish hospitals have adjoining ‘hotels’ where new mothers and their partners may stay for two or three days (with all meals included) after a birth so nurses can monitor the mothers and provide postnatal care for newborns.

#2 A very long paid parental leave

In Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave when a child is born or adopted. This number is super high by international standards (see the infographic below) and is perhaps Sweden’s most famous argument when it comes to being a child-friendly system.

For 390 of the days, parents are entitled to nearly 80 per cent of their normal pay. Benefits are calculated on a maximum monthly income of SEK 37,083, as of 2015. The remaining 90 days are paid at a flat rate. Those who are not in employment are also entitled to paid parental leave.

Parental leave can be taken up until a child turns eight. The leave entitlement applies to each child (except in the case of multiple births), so parents can accumulate leave from several children.

Outside the 480 paid days, parents in Sweden also have the legal right to reduce their normal working hours by up to 25 per cent until the child turns eight. Do keep in mind, however, that you get paid only for the time you work.

For more detailed information, go to npr.org.

#3 Gender equality on the agenda

Walk around any Swedish city or town and you’re likely to find fathers pushing prams and sharing coffee with each other while feeding their babies in cafés and parks. Yes, Sweden is home both to latte moms and latte dads. Here, as one journalist put it, men can have it all.

In Sweden’s efforts to achieve gender equality, each parent is entitled to 240 of the 480 days of paid parental leave. Each parent has 90 days reserved exclusively for him or her. Should a father – or a mother for that matter – decide not to take them, they cannot be transferred to the partner.

Today, men in Sweden take nearly a quarter of all parental leave – a figure the government hopes to improve.

#4 Monthly allowance for children

Aside from paid leave, the government provides an additional monthly child allowance (barnbidrag) until a child reaches the age of 16. This allowance is SEK 1,050 per month per child (2015), money parents can use to help with the costs of caring for their children.

If you have more than one child, you also get an extra family supplement (flerbarnstillägg), which increases further with each additional child. So, a family with six children receives not only SEK 6,300 extra per month in child allowance, but also an additional SEK 4,114 per month in family supplement simply because they have six children (figures from 2015).

Residents of Sweden don’t have to worry about putting money aside for their childrens’ education – schooling is free. Photo: Ann-Sofi Rosenkvist/imagebank.sweden.se

June 12, 2019
Update: Hearing: Lessons From the Mueller Report: Presidential Obstruction and Other Crimes; Chairman Nadler Rejects DOJ Demand that House Cancel Contempt Vote Before Resuming Negotiations

Update:

C-Span carried the beginning of this hearing, June 10, 2019; It may be viewed at the committee itself.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?461399-1/john-dean-testifies-lessons-learned-mueller-report&live

House Judiciary Committee Hearings:

Lessons from the Mueller Report: Presidential Obstruction and Other Crimes

If you are unable to play the video in this page, you may also visit the Committee’s USTREAM channel.

Witness List at Monday’s Hearing:

John Dean, former White House Counsel, right

Joyce White Vance, former US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama

John Malcom, Vice President, Institute for Constitutional Government, Director of the Meese Center for Legal & Judicial Studies and Senior Legal Fellow for The Heritage Foundation

Barbara McQuade, former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Mich

Lessons from the Mueller Report: Presidential Obstruction and Other Crimes; Chairman Nadler Rejects DOJ Demand that House Cancel Contempt Vote Before Resuming Negotiations

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler issued the following statement:

“We have learned so much even from the redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report. Russia attacked our elections to help President Trump win, Trump and his campaign welcomed this help and the President then tried to obstruct the investigation into the attack. Mueller confirmed these revelations and has now left Congress to pick up where he left off.

“No one is above the law. While the White House continues to cover up and stonewall, and to prevent the American people from knowing the truth, we will continue to move forward with our investigation. These hearings will allow us to examine the findings laid out in Mueller’s report so that we can work to protect the rule of law and protect future elections through consideration of legislative and other remedies.

“Given the threat posed by the President’s alleged misconduct, our first hearing will focus on President Trump’s most overt acts of obstruction. In the coming weeks, other hearings will focus on other important aspects of the Mueller report.”

Background:

The House Judiciary Committee has already held hearings and taken other actions related to its investigation into obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power.

On March 27, 2019, the Committee held a hearing on the pardon power.

On April 19, 2019, the Committee subpoenaed the Mueller report and underlying documents.

On May 2, 2019, Attorney General William Barr refused to appear for a scheduled hearing before the Committee. The Committee voted to authorize a contempt resolution on May 8, 2019.

On May 15, 2019, the Committee held a hearing on executive privilege.

On May 20, 2019, the White House blocked former White House Counsel Don McGahn from appearing for a scheduled hearing before the Committee.

On May 21, 2019, the Committee issued subpoenas for Annie Donaldson, former chief of staff for former White House counsel Don McGahn and for Hope Hicks, former White House Communications Director. Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson were sent document requests as part of the Committee’s investigation on March 4, 2019.

June 8, 2019
It’s Time to Celebrate Woman Suffrage

by Jo Freeman

With everyone talking about the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and the 30th anniversary of the Tian’anmen Square massacre, few noticed that June 4 was also the beginning of the 100 anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

Those who do know about this centenary think that it all happened in 1920. Few know that it was on June 4, 1919 that Congress proposed to the states an amendment to the US Constitution which said “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

This proposal had first been introduced into Congress in 1878. It was introduced into every successive Congresses for the next forty years. The turning point in the long struggle came on November 7, 1917 when the male voters of New York granted suffrage to New York’s women.

President Woodrow Wilson, who personally did not like woman suffrage, saw the handwriting on the wall. On January 10, 1918, he appealed to the House to support the amendment. It did so by one more vote than the two-thirds necessary. It failed in the Senate, where the Southern Senators maintained their wall of opposition.

On September 30, Wilson asked a joint session of Congress to pass it as a war measure. Once again, it was the Democratic Senate which came up short.

In November, the voters replaced the Democratic majority in both houses with a Republican majority.

Only two days after the beginning of its first session, on May 21, 1919, the proposed amendment again passed the House. On June 4, it finally passed the Senate and was sent to the states.

This anniversary was not completely ignored. The Library of Congress posted an exhibit. The Woman’s National Democratic Club hosted an evening’s celebration of the “Songs of Suffrage.” If other women’s groups did anything on the beginning of the suffrage centenary, they were quiet about it.

There will be a lot of other anniversaries to celebrate. Ratification got off to a quick start when Illinois ratified on June 10, followed by eight more states by the end of June. Ratification screeched to a halt in March of 1920 with one state left to go. Finally, on August 18, 1920, Tennessee pushed the total over the edge, by one vote. Twenty-nine of those 36 states had Republican legislatures.

On August 26, 1920 the Secretary of State proclaimed that the 19th Amendment was officially part of the US Constitution.

Other states took their time, even though their women could no longer be denied the right to vote. The Southern states were generally the last to ratify. The last state was Mississippi, on March 22, 1984.

Although August 26 is generally celebrated as Woman Suffrage Day, the fight wasn’t really over. In some Southern states the deadline for registering to vote had passed. So had the deadline for paying the poll tax (usually required to be paid six months before an election). In many families, there was only enough money to pay the poll tax for one voter. Needless to say that went to the man of the house, not the woman. Women’s organizations in poll tax states began a second suffrage movement to abolish the poll tax in order to make it financially possible for women to cast a vote.

Race was also a factor in limiting which women could vote, but that’s a much longer story.

Suffice it to say that “Votes for Women” was a long-time coming, and there will be a lot of anniversaries to celebrate before we get to August 26, 2020.

(c) 2019 Jo Freeman for SeniorWomen.com　

June 6, 2019
Ferida Wolff’s Backyard: Nature’s Progression and A Robin’s Beautiful Eggs

Nature’s Progression

We are greeted by the most amazing azalea bushes in our front yard. Big puffs of pink remind us of the beauty of Spring. I stop before getting into my car to gently touch the buds and thank the bushes for their greeting.

But the warmer weather is not just about the brilliance of a flowering bush. Before the flowers burst open and awe us, there is the hint of what is coming. Buds slowly appear on bare stalks, anticipating what is waiting to expand into fullness. Then they unfold, expressing their rapturous enthusiasm for being in the world. The energy of the flowers in full bloom interacts with our energy as we appreciate Nature’s offerings. And after the flowers have spent their allotted time with us, they fade and lose their colorful petals, the bush, now green, reminding us that it is still with us and now mature.

It is Nature’s reminder, I think, of the wholeness of being. Not unlike our human progression from conception through infancy, adulthood and our last years here. Our energy remains even when our petals fade. Nature is always offering us a broader picture of life.

Author’s Note: As our communities become more urbanized, the natural features around us tend to get pushed into the background and often go unnoticed. In “Ferida’s Backyard,” I look at the details of nature locally, from a neighborhood perspective, frequently from a backyard vantage point. It excites me to share what I see. An awareness of the natural connection can beautifully enhance our lives.

Editor’s Note: We’re at a moment when Harper Lee’s book has received a new rush of enthusiasm through its current Broadway play version. Consequently, we thought we’d look up one explanation of the azaleas’s symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird:

What do Miss Maudie’s azaleas symbolize in To Kill a Mockingbird?

To Kill A Mockingbird contains many symbols, starting with the title. In the fight for justice, innocence is lost. It is “a sin to kill a mockingbird,” because in singing “their hearts out for us,” they have no malice or personal agendas—much like Tom Robinson in feeling sorry for Mayella Ewell and trying to ease her apparent suffering.

Flowers are a recurring symbol in the book and as Atticus refuses to judge anyone in his community of Maycomb County and looks for the good (the beauty) in everyone, flowers are a reminder of that. People are rude and offensive and their behavior is often disgraceful and yet, Atticus instructs his children to accept and respect the views of others, even when those thoughts are intrinsically flawed and even wicked. Flowers provide the stark contrast between his attitude and that of most of his community. Furthermore, Mayella’s harsh life conflicts with a show of color, even though her geramiums are grown in “chipped-enamel” jars.

In terms of Miss Maudie, she does not want to be stereotyped or stay indoors, because that would be “time wasted,” even if the Maycomb community expects her to. Her azaleas provide the contrast between her friendly disposition and the bitterness and hypocrisy in Maycomb County. Her azaleas need nurturing, and are also a symbol of her efforts to nurture not only her azaleas, protecting them from the snow, but also the children, who are free to spend time with her as long as they do not spoil her azaleas. She also likes the bright colors; she does not discriminate one color over another — a subtle reference to the racial prejudice by which she is surrounded.

June 4, 2019
Rose Madeline Mula’s Long Live Laughter!

Scene from the last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show

By Rose Madeline Mula

I shouldn’t admit it, but I have very plebian tastes. Back in the day, my favorite TV program was The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I actually cried while watching the finale in 1977. More recently, the tears flowed again when The Big Bang Theory said its farewell. I know I should say my faves are Ken Burns documentaries, the History channel’s offerings, everything on PBS …

Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy many of those shows (loved Victoria and The Crown), but nothing captures my heart more firmly than endearing but flawed characters with whom I can identify, an improbable but somehow still believable story, and — especially — a clever punch line. A writer who can make me laugh gets my vote every time. And not just on TV. The same holds true for the written word.

Sure, occasionally I enjoy curling up with one of the Bronte sisters, Hemingway, Du Maurier, or Fitzgerald. And sometimes I try to match wits with James Patterson, David Baldacci, or John Grisham — or even allow myself to be terrorized by a Stephen King horror tale. But for the most part, I love a writer who tickles my funny bone. Erma Bombeck could always do that — as could Nora Ephron, David Sedaris, Woody Allen (not crazy about him, but love his off-the-wall zingers), and Judith Viorst.

If you’re not familiar with her dozens of books, please buy, beg, borrow or steal at least her poetry collections written every decade: When Did I Stop Being Twenty, It’s Hard to be Hip over Thirty, How Did I Get to be Forty, Forever Fifty, Suddenly Sixty, I’m Too Young to be 70 and Unexpectedly Eighty. Some of her poems rhyme. Some don’t. All are wise, witty and wonderful. I just bought and read her latest collection, Nearing Ninety, which inspired me to write the following:

May 31, 2019
If You Have Any Variety of Smart Beds, Sleep Apps Or Mattress Pads, They Know When You Sleep, Toss and Turn and May Be Able to Tell When You’re Having Sex

by Julie Appleby*

Your bed could be watching you.

OK, so not with a camera.

But if you have any of a variety of “smart beds,” mattress pads or sleep apps, it knows when you go to sleep. It knows when you toss and turn. It may even be able to tell when you’re having sex.

Arthur Rackham’s Sleeping Beauty

Sleep Number, one company that makes beds that can track heart rate, respiration and movement, said it collects more than 8 billion biometric data points every night, gathered each second and sent via an app through the internet to the company’s servers.

“This gives us the intelligence to be able to continue to feed our algorithms,” CEO Shelly Ibach told attendees at a Fortune Brainstorm Health conference in San Diego last month.

Analyzing all that personal data, Ibach continued, not only helps consumers learn more about their health, but also aids the company’s efforts to make a better product.

Still, consumer privacy advocates are increasingly raising concerns about the fate of personal health information — which is potentially valuable to companies that collect and sell it — gathered through a growing number of internet-connected devices.

“We don’t know what happens to all that data,” said Burcu Kilic, director of the digital rights program at Public Citizen, an advocacy group in Washington, DC.

The information “is also relevant and important to pharmaceutical companies and those that make hospital-related technology,” Kilic said.

Nonetheless, consumers are flocking to mattresses and under-mattress sensors aimed at quantifying sleep as well as sleep-tracking devices; sleep apps are among the most popular downloads on Apple and Android smartphones.

The Sleep Number bed is one of the most heavily marketed of such products, with press releases and ads often equating good sleep with a better life. Sales of the beds grew 6% from 2017 to $1.5 billion in 2018, company filings show. Early this year, the company signed a partnership with Ariana Huffington’s Thrive Global, a corporate wellness firm she launched after leaving The Huffington Post in 2016. Last year, the bed maker began a multiyear partnership with the NFL, in which the company gives its Sleep Number beds to players.

May 30, 2019
Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III Makes Statement on Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election

Washington, DC; Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Two years ago, the Acting Attorney General asked me to serve as Special Counsel, and he created the Special Counsel’s Office.

The appointment order directed the office to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. This included investigating any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign.

I have not spoken publicly during our investigation. I am speaking today because our investigation is complete. The Attorney General has made the report on our investigation largely public. And we are formally closing the Special Counsel’s Office. As well, I am resigning from the Department of Justice and returning to private life.

I’ll make a few remarks about the results of our work. But beyond these few remarks, it is important that the office’s written work speak for itself.

Let me begin where the appointment order begins: and that is interference in the 2016 presidential election.

As alleged by the grand jury in an indictment, Russian intelligence officers who were part of the Russian military launched a concerted attack on our political system.

The indictment alleges that they used sophisticated cyber techniques to hack into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private information, and then released that information through fake online identities and through the organization WikiLeaks. The releases were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate.

And at the same time, as the grand jury alleged in a separate indictment, a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to interfere in the election.

These indictments contain allegations. And we are not commenting on the guilt or innocence of any specific defendant. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The indictments allege, and the other activities in our report describe, efforts to interfere in our political system. They needed to be investigated and understood. That is among the reasons why the Department of Justice established our office.

That is also a reason we investigated efforts to obstruct the investigation. The matters we investigated were of paramount importance. It was critical for us to obtain full and accurate information from every person we questioned. When a subject of an investigation obstructs that investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government’s effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable.

Let me say a word about the report. The report has two parts addressing the two main issues we were asked to investigate.

May 29, 2019