The Google Library Project: Is Digitization for Purposes of Online Indexing Fair Use Under Copyright Law?
"The Google Book Search Library Project, announced in December 2004, raised important
questions about infringing reproduction and fair use under copyright law. Google planned to digitize, index, and display “snippets” of print books in the collections of five major libraries without the permission of the books’ copyright holders, if any. Authors and publishers owning copyrights to these books sued Google in September and October 2005, seeking to enjoin and recover damages for Google’s alleged infringement of their exclusive rights to reproduce and publicly display their works. Google and proponents of its Library Project disputed these allegations. They essentially contended that Google’s proposed uses were not infringing because
Google allowed rights holders to “opt out” of having their books digitized or indexed. They also argued that, even if Google’s proposed uses were infringing, they constituted fair uses under copyright law..."

U.S. EPA Releases Annual Enforcement Results and Mapping Tool
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released enforcement results for fiscal year 2009, and has developed a new Web-based tool and interactive map that allows the public to get detailed information by location about the enforcement actions taken at approximately 4,600 facilities.

In FY2009, EPA concluded enforcement actions requiring polluters to invest more than $5 billion on pollution controls, cleanup, and environmental projects. Civil and criminal defendants committed to install controls and take other measures to reduce pollution by approximately 580 million pounds annually once all required controls are fully implemented.

The new mapping tool allows the public to view the locations of facilities that were the subject of those enforcement actions on interactive maps of the U.S. and territories. The maps show facilities where civil enforcement actions were taken for environmental laws for air, water, and land pollution, and a separate map shows criminal enforcement actions..."

FDA Launches New Pet Health and Safety Widget
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched its pet health and safety widget for consumers as part of an ongoing effort to provide timely, user-friendly, public health information.

“Our new pet health and safety widget provides users with information to help them in managing their pet’s health,” said Joshua Sharfstein, M.D., FDA’s principal deputy commissioner.

The widget, a portable application embedded in a Web page that can be copied onto any other Web site or blog, will include topics such as how to report a problem with your pet food, purchasing pet drugs online, and caring for your pet in a disaster. The widget allows users to access content on the FDA’s Web site without having to leave another site or Web page.

“The pet health and safety widget allows users to add a new dimension to their Web site by providing consumers with the latest news and information from the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine,” said Bernadette Dunham, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

The widget has two tabs, one titled “tips” and, the other, “updates. The Tips tab highlights pet health and safety articles. The Updates tab will provide up-to-the-minute recall notices and veterinary drug news for consumers.

The pet health and safety widget is available at www.fda.gov/PetHealthWidget requires no technical maintenance on the part of the user. The FDA will provide updates to content displayed on the widget."

County Compensation by Industry, 2008
"Compensation grew in over 80 percent of the 3,112 counties in the U.S., as the average annual compensation per job in the U.S. grew by 2.6 percent to $56,116, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).¹ Total compensation of U.S. workers grew 2.3 percent in 2008, as net job losses partially offset compensation growth. Inflation measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, grew 3.3 percent..."

Census Bureau: Texas Gains the Most in Population Last State Population Estimates Before 2010 Census Counts
"Texas gained more people than any other state between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009 (478,000), followed by California (381,000), North Carolina (134,000), Georgia (131,000) and Florida (114,000), according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates
California remained the most populous state, with a July 1, 2009, population of 37 million. Rounding out the top five states were Texas (24.8 million), New York (19.5 million), Florida (18.5 million) and Illinois (12.9 million).

"This is the final set of Census Bureau state population estimates that will be published before the official 2010 Census population counts to be released next December," said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves. "We are focused now on ensuring we get a complete and accurate count in 2010. The census counts will not only determine how many U.S. House seats each state will have but will also be used as the benchmark for future population estimates."

Wyoming showed the largest percentage growth: its population climbed 2.12 percent to 544,270 between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009. Utah was next largest, growing 2.10 percent to 2.8 million. Texas ranked third, as its population climbed 1.97 percent to 24.8 million, with Colorado next (1.81 percent to 5 million).

The only three states to lose population over the period were Michigan (-0.33 percent), Maine (-0.11 percent) and Rhode Island (-0.03 percent). The latter two states had small population changes..."

Crime in the United States: Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January - June 2009
"Preliminary figures indicate that, as a whole, law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation reported a decrease of 4.4 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention for the first six months of 2009 when compared with figures reported for the same time in 2008. The violent crime category includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The number of property crimes in the United States from January to June of 2009 decreased 6.1 percent when compared with data from the same time period in 2008. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Arson is also a property crime, but data for arson are not included in property crime totals. Figures for 2009 indicate that arson decreased 8.2 percent when compared to 2008 figures from the same time period.

The data presented in Tables 1 and 2 indicate the percent change in offenses known to law enforcement for the first 6 months of 2009 compared to the first half of 2008 by population group and region, respectively. Table 3 reflects the percent change within the Nation for consecutive years (each year compared to the prior year). Table 4 presents the number of offenses known to law enforcement for agencies having a resident population of 100,000 and over and providing 6 months of complete data for 2009. In addition, Table 4 presents 6 months of 2008 data, where available, as a point of comparison. All data in this Report are preliminary..."

2010-11 EDITIONS OF THE OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK AND THE CAREER GUIDE TO INDUSTRIES AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET
"The 2010-11 editions of the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Career Guide to
Industries were released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Handbook and the Career Guide can be accessed online at www.bls.gov/oco and www.bls.gov/oco/cg, respectively. The print version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook is expected to be available in the spring of 2010.

Considered the Government's premier source of career information, the Handbook and
Career Guide profile hundreds of occupations and dozens of industries, respectively. Both publications provide comprehensive, up-to-date, and reliable labor market information that has helped millions of people plan their future work lives. In addition, this information has proven invaluable to counselors, students, jobseekers, career changers, education and training officials, and researchers..."

Assessment of Epidemiology Capacity in State Health Departments --- United States, 2009
"Since 2001, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) periodically has conducted a standardized national assessment of state health departments' core epidemiology capacity (1--3). During April--June 2009, CSTE sent a web-based questionnaire to the state epidemiologist in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The assessment inquired into workforce capacity and technological advancements to support surveillance. Measures of capacity included total number of epidemiologists and self-assessment of the state's ability to carry out four essential services of public health (ESPH). This report summarizes the results of the assessment, which determined that in 2009, 10% fewer epidemiologists were working in state health departments than in 2006. Compared with 2006, the percentage of state health departments with substantial-to-full (>50%) epidemiology capacity decreased in three ESPH, including 1) capacities to monitor and detect health problems, 2) investigate them, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of population-based services. The percentage of departments with substantial-to-full epidemiology capacity for bioterrorism/emergency response decreased slightly, from 76% in 2006 to 73% in 2009. More than 30% of states reported minimal-to-no (<25%) capacity to evaluate and conduct research and for five of nine epidemiology program areas, including environmental health, injury, occupational health, oral health, and substance abuse. Working together, federal, state, and local agencies should develop a strategy to address downward trends and major gaps in epidemiology capacity..."

DOD Evaluates Sexual Harassment & Violence Programs At Military Service Academies
" The Department of Defense (DoD) today released key findings from “The DoD Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the United States Military Service Academies for Academic Program Year (APY) 2008-2009.” The report integrates findings from evaluations of the academies’ sexual assault prevention and response programs, prevention of sexual harassment programs, and cadet and midshipman focus groups.

The academies saw an overall decrease in the number of sexual assault reports made to authorities in APY 2008-2009. During the evaluation period, there were a total of 25 reports of sexual assault at the academies. All cadets and midshipmen who reported a sexual assault were able to access support services through their sexual assault response coordinators.

“One sexual assault is too many,” said Gail H. McGinn, performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. “Our assessment shows the academies understand and have institutionalized some remarkable programs to prevent and respond to this crime.”

As part of the comprehensive review, DoD officials met with personnel from the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, reviewed academy policies and procedures, conducted an extensive data call for reports and investigative files, and held focus groups with cadets and midshipmen. Based on information obtained during these site visits, DoD officials found that the academies’ programs fulfilled, and in some cases, surpassed the requirements of existing DoD policies and directives..."

Sebelius Releases New Report: Protecting Families and Putting More Money in Your Pocket: How Health Insurance Reform Will Lower Costs and Increase Choices
"HS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report, Protecting Families and Putting More Money in Your Pocket: How Health Insurance Reform Will Lower Costs and Increase Choices. The report highlights how health insurance reform will benefit families across the country and is available now at www.HealthReform.gov.

“Health insurance reform isn’t about politics, it’s about families. Every day, millions of families across the country wonder how they will pay their skyrocketing medical bills or what they will do if their children get sick,” Secretary Sebelius said. “Those families are our priority and we are fighting to give them the affordable, secure, stable coverage they need.”

Under the health care status quo, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer is $13,375, more than double the premium in 2000 and premiums have grown more than three times faster than wages. The number of people in working families who spend more than ten percent of their income on health care has more than tripled. Additionally, a recent survey estimated that 72 million non-elderly adults have accumulated medical debt or had difficulty paying medical bills in the past year -- and 61 percent of them had insurance.

Health insurance reform will ensure that every American can find affordable health care coverage, control costs for families and provide Americans with unprecedented stability and security. Reform will also help strengthen the American economy and put more money in the pockets of American families. Lowering health care costs by 1 percent will create 320,000 jobs nationwide and raise median family income by $6,800 by 2030. Reform will also drive down premiums for families and limit out-of-pocket costs that eat into the family budget."

EPA Releases First-Ever Baseline Study of U.S. Lakes
" The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its most comprehensive study of the nation’s lakes to date. The draft study, which rated the condition of 56 percent of the lakes in the United States as good and the remainder as fair or poor, marked the first time EPA and its partners used a nationally consistent approach to survey the ecological and water quality of lakes. A total of 1,028 lakes were randomly sampled during 2007 by states, tribes and EPA.

“This survey serves as a first step in evaluating the success of efforts to protect, preserve, and restore the quality of our nation’s lakes,” said Peter Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “Future surveys will be able to track changes in lake water quality over time and advance our understanding of important regional and national patterns in lake water quality.”

The National Lakes Assessment reveals that the remaining lakes are in fair or poor condition. Degraded lakeshore habitat, rated “poor” in 36 percent of lakes, was the most significant of the problems assessed. Removal of trees and shrubs and construction of docks, marinas, homes and other structures along shorelines all contribute to degraded lakeshore habitat.

Nitrogen and phosphorous are found at high levels in 20 percent of lakes. Excess levels of these nutrients contribute to algae blooms, weed growth, reduced water clarity, and other lake problems. EPA is very concerned about the adverse impacts of nutrients on aquatic life, drinking water and recreation. The agency will continue to work with states to address water quality issues through effective nutrient management...

EPA Releases National Water Program Research Strategy to Advance and Broaden Research Partnerships
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its National Water Research Strategy to engage a broader range of researchers in meeting the challenges of protecting and improving our nation’s water resources. The strategy identifies and promotes the research needs of EPA’s national water program to potential partners.

The strategy outlines the water program’s four research priorities: healthy watersheds and coastal waters, safe drinking water, sustainable water infrastructure and water security. Each priority also focuses on five technical areas: aquatic life health effects, human health effects, method development, occurrence and exposure, and treatment technologies and effectiveness.

The objective of the strategy is to diversify the science the water program uses to develop its regulatory and non-regulatory water management tools and decisions. Expanding the science base will expedite the production of the needed tools and help achieve faster and better-quantified water quality outcomes.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/strategy"

Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders --- Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, United States, 2006
"Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities characterized by atypical development in socialization, communication, and behavior. The symptoms of ASDs typically are present before age 3 years and often are accompanied by abnormalities in cognitive functioning, learning, attention, and sensory processing (1). The term "spectrum disorders" is used to indicate that ASDs encompass a range of behaviorally defined conditions, which are diagnosed through clinical observation of development. These conditions include autistic disorder (i.e., autism), Asperger disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder--not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) (2--4). Persons with Asperger disorder or PDD-NOS have fewer diagnostic symptoms of ASDs compared with autism, and the symptoms often are indicative of more mild impairment. The complex nature of these disorders, the current lack of consistent and reliable genetic or biologic diagnostic markers, and changes in how these conditions are defined and identified make evaluating ASD prevalence over time challenging.

Since the early 1990s, the number of persons receiving services for ASDs has increased substantially (5--11). However, identifying children for services for autism might not be equivalent to using consistent diagnostic standards to identify persons in the population because services within communities are not available uniformly to all persons with ASDs. For this reason, studies that rely exclusively on single-source administrative datasets (e.g., disability service records or annual reports of special education counts) most likely underestimate ASD prevalence and might not adequately capture changes in the ASD population over time (8,12--14)..."

History Museum or Records Access Agency? Defining and Fulfilling the Mission of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Statement of Wm. Clay Lacy, Chairman of the Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, Dec. 16, 2009.
"The purpose of today’s hearing is to examine the National Archives’, or NARA’s,
mission, and how it is defined and fulfilled. We will consider several important topics,
including the views of the new Archivist of the United States on NARA’s mission; learning
how the leaders of similar agencies, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of
Congress, balance competing needs while fulfilling their core missions; and hearing the
opinions of agency stakeholders on NARA’s performance..."

Witness Testimony:
Prepared testimony of David S. Errriero, Archivist of the United States
Prepared testimony of the Hon. G. Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
Prepared testimony of Hon. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress
Prepared testimony of Ms. Anne L. Weismann, Chief Counsel, Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington
Prepared testimony of Ms. Janet A. Alpert, President, National Genealogical Society
Prepared testimony of Mr. Kevin M. Goldberg, Legal Counsel, American Society of Newspaper Editors
Prepared testimony of Mr. Carl Malamud, President and Founder PublicResource.org

Death in the United States, 2007
"Key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality

In 2007, the age-adjusted death rate for the United States reached a record low of 760.3 per 100,000 population. Life expectancy at birth reached a record high of 77.9 years.

States in the southeast region have higher death rates than those in other regions of the country.

In 2007, the five leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and accidents. These accounted for over 64 percent of all deaths in the United States.

White females have the longest life expectancy (80.7 years), followed by black females (77.0 years).

The gap in life expectancy between white persons and black persons declined by 35 percent between 1989 and 2007. The race differential was 4.6 years in 2007.

Mortality in the United States, as summarized by the age-adjusted death rate-a measure that accounts for changes in the age distribution of the population-has declined in an almost uninterrupted manner since 1960. The death rate is now 43 percent lower than in 1960 (declining from 1,339.2 per 100,000 standard population in 1960 to 760.3 in 2007) (1,2). However, not all Americans have benefited equally from this decline. While there is a decline in mortality among all groups, longstanding gaps only recently began to diminish. Much of the recent improvements in death rates and life expectancy for all population groups can be attributed to ongoing reductions in death rates from major causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and stroke (1)."

Congressional Budget Office Estimates: S. 1733: Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act
"...CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that over the 2010-2019 period
enacting this legislation would:

 Increase federal revenues by about $854 billion; and

 Increase direct spending by about $833 billion.

In total, those changes would reduce budget deficits (or increase future surpluses) by
about $21 billion over the 2010-2019 period. (All estimated effects would be on-budget.)
In years after 2019, direct spending would be less than the net revenues attributable to the
legislation in each of the 10-year periods following 2019. Therefore, CBO estimates that
enacting S. 1733 would not increase the deficit in any of the four 10-year periods
following 2019..."

Selected Internet Resources --Government Resources for Science Images
"Most images are protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced without permission from the copyright owner. The exceptions are U.S. Government images, which generally are in the public domain and free from copyright.

Even though the following image sources are from government Web sites, it is always good practice to make sure that the image is not protected by copyright. One way to do this is to look for the artist credit and copyright symbol (©). If there is a copyright symbol, ©, and a date (©2002) then that image is protected by copyright. If you wish to use a copyrighted image, you will need to seek permission from the copyright owner. Once you are ready to use an image, be sure to include image credit and source.

The Internet resources below are organized by broad scientific classes. Since many of these sites are interdisciplinary in nature, there may be some overlap.

For a complete list of Government image Web sites, see the USA.gov graphics list

Progress Report: the Transformation to a Clean Economy
"MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT

FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT

SUBJECT: Progress Report: The Transformation to A Clean Energy Economy

I’m pleased to report that the administration is laying the foundation for a clean energy economy that will create a new generation of jobs, reduce dependence on oil and enhance national security. Through the Recovery Act and more effective use of programs already in existence, the administration is taking the critical steps to transform the United States into a global clean energy leader. The energy components of the Recovery Act represent the largest single investment in clean energy in American history and are leveraging private investment and fostering American innovation and ingenuity. The Recovery Act investments of $80 billion for clean energy will produce as much as $150 billion in clean energy projects. Existing investment programs could produce up to $90 billion in additional clean energy projects.2 These investments are designed to accelerate investment in clean energy projects and pull private investment off the sidelines. They are jumpstarting a major transformation of our energy system including unprecedented growth in the generation of renewable sources of energy, enhanced manufacturing capacity for clean energy technology, advanced vehicle and fuel technologies, and a bigger, better, smarter electric grid..."

Occupational Employment Projections to 2018
"The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes  long-term  occupational  employment projections  every 2  years. Various  factors afect occupational employment levels over time, including population and  industry growth,  technological advances,  and changes in consumer demand.  Total employment,  a measure of all jobs in the U.S. economy, is projected  to  increase by 15.3 million over the 2008–18 period,  representing a growth rate of 10.1 percent. Among occupational groups,  strong employment growth is expected in healthcare occupations and in computer-related occupations,  whereas employment in production occupations as well as farming, fshing, and forestry occupations is expected to decline..."

Annual Energy Outlook 2010 Early Release with Projections to 2035
Energy statistical outlook for 2010 and projections to 2035.

Census Bureau Releases 2010 Statistical Abstract Depicting the State of Our Nation
"How r u? The way we communicate is rapidly evolving, as evidenced by the fact that the number of text messages sent on cell phones has more than doubled from 48 billion in December 2007 to 110 billion in December 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010. [The original news release issued indicated the data on text messages sent pertained to the entire year; they actually pertain to only December of the reference years indicated above.]
The Statistical Abstract, aka “Uncle Sam’s Almanac,” perennially the federal government’s best-selling reference book, has been published since 1878 — before automobiles, airplanes and motion pictures had even been invented. Contained in the 129th edition are more than 1,400 tables of social, political and economic facts which collectively describe the state of our nation and the world. Included are 53 new tables, covering topics such as worldwide space launch events this decade, the use of complementary and alternative medicine, the type of work flexibility provided to employees, employment status of veterans and road fatalities by country.

The statistics come not only from the U.S Census Bureau but also from other governmental agencies and private organizations. The data are generally for the most recent year or period available by summer 2009. Most of the data are national-level, but some tables present state- and even city- and metropolitan-level data as well..."

Department Issues FOIA Annual Report in More Accessible Format as Part of the President’s Initiative on Transparency and Open Government
"As part of President Obama’s initiative on Transparency and Open Government, the Department of Justice is setting a transparency precedent for the rest of government by releasing on its Web site, the Department of Justice’s Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Report in a more publicly accessible format.

At the same time, the department is releasing, in this machine-readable format, 19 other agency annual FOIA reports from a sampling of other federal agencies, making a total release of 20 distinct data sets. As a result of the new format, members of the public, including public interest organizations, scholars, and the media, will be able to more easily track FOIA performance.

The department announced today’s initiative in response to the Open Government Directive issued by the White House yesterday.

The Directive directs all federal agencies to make their annual FOIA reports available in this machine-readable format starting with Fiscal Year 2009. The department in turn will make all of the machine-readable reports available in one location on the department’s Web site (www.justice.gov) as well on the Data.gov Web site..."

WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION -- 2008
"A total of 157.5 million persons worked at some point during 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2008 was 65.6 percent, down from 68.4 percent in 2007. The number of persons who experienced some unemployment in 2008 increased by 6.1 million to 21.2 million. This sharp increase reflects
weak labor market conditions due to a recession that began in December 2007..."

Productivity and Costs by Industry: Manufacturing Industries, 2007
"Labor productivity – defined as output per hour – rose in 53 percent of detailed manufacturing industries in 2007, the .S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was about unchanged from the proportion that recorded productivity increases the previous year. (See table 1.) Unit labor costs declined in 19 percent of the industries.

Output fell and hours declined in more industries in 2007 than in 2006. Output fell in 58 percent of the 86 4-digit NAICS industries in 2007 and hours fell in 63 percent. More industries experienced sharp increases or large declines in productivity in 2007 than in the previous year. Productivity rose by 10 percent or more in ten industries and declined by 10 percent or more in nine industries. Two of the ten largest detailed industries by employment size – aerospace products and parts manufacturing and semiconductors and electronic components manufacturing – posted double-digit output and productivity growth in 2007.

Unit labor costs fell in 16 of the 86 manufacturing industries in 2007. (See table 1.) Unit labor costs reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output. Increases in labor productivity help to offset increases in hourly compensation and thus limit increases in unit labor costs..."

2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update
"Key Flu Indicators
December 11, 2009, 1:30 PM

Each week CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes findings of key flu indicators in a report called FluView. During the week of November 29-December 5, 2009, influenza activity decreased over the previous week across all key indicators except for deaths, but most indicators remain higher than normal for this time of year..."

Comparison of Rights in Military Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court
"Attorney General Holder’s decision to try certain detainees in federal criminal court, including
those accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and to try other detainees by
military commission, has focused attention on the procedural differences between trials in federal
court and those conducted under the Military Commissions Act, as recently amended. Some who
are opposed to the decision argue that bringing detainees to the United States for trial poses a
security threat and risks disclosing classified information, or could result in the acquittal of
persons who are guilty. Others have praised the decision as recognizing the efficacy and fairness
of the federal court system and have voiced confidence in the courts’ ability to protect national
security while achieving justice that will be perceived as such among U.S. allies abroad. Some
continue to object to the planned trials of detainees by military commission, despite the
amendments Congress enacted as Title XVIII of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2010, P.L. 111-84, because they say it demonstrates a less than full commitment to
justice or that it casts doubt on the strength of the government’s case against those detainees..."

Keep The Worms Out Of Your Pet’s Heart! The Facts About Heartworm Disease
"Heartworm Disease – What Is It And What Causes It?

Heartworm disease is a serious disease that results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage, and death in pets, mainly dogs, cats, and ferrets. It is caused by a parasitic worm called Dirofilaria immitis.The worms are spread through the bite of a mosquito. The dog is the definitive host, meaning that the worms mature into adults, mate, and produce offspring while living inside a dog. The mosquito is the intermediate host, meaning that the worms live inside a mosquito for a short transition period in order to become infective (able to cause heartworm disease). The worms are called “heartworms” because the adults live in the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels of an infected animal.

In the United States, heartworm disease is most common along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from the Gulf of Mexico to New Jersey and along the Mississippi River and its major tributaries, but it has been reported in dogs in all 50 states..."

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2009
"Presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. It also provides the most current detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools and school environments and responses to violence and crime at school. Data are drawn from several federally funded collections including the National Crime Victimization Survey, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, School Survey on Crime and Safety, and the Schools and Staffing Survey.

Information was gathered from an array of sources including:
- National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) (1992-2007)
- School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (1995, 1991, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007)
- Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007)
- School Survey on Crime and Safety (1999-2000, 2003-04, 2005-06, and 2007-08)
- School and Staffing Survey (1993-94, 1999-2000, 2003-04, and 2007-08)
Highlights include the following:

In 2007, students ages 12–18 were victims of about 1.5 million nonfatal crimes (theft plus violent crime) while they were at school, compared to about 1.1 million nonfatal crimes while they were away from school.
In 2007, 10 percent of male students in grades 9–12 reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the past year, compared to 5 percent of female students.
During the 2007–08 school year, a greater percentage of teachers in city schools (10 percent) reported being threatened with injury than teachers in town schools (7 percent) and suburban or rural schools."

Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs
"In 2007, substance abuse treatment facilities operated by the VA were more likely than non-VA facilities to offer specially designed programs for clients with co-occurring psychological and substance abuse problems (60 vs. 39 percent)

VA facilities were more likely than non-VA facilities to offer testing services including HIV testing (92 vs. 29 percent), TB screening (91 vs. 34 percent), hepatitis B or C screening (91 vs. 22 percent), and STD testing (89 vs. 20 percent)

VA facilities were more likely than non-VA facilities to offer mental health services (93 vs. 54 percent) and HIV/AIDS education, counseling, or support (86 vs. 56 percent).."

Probation and Parole in the United States, 2008
"Presents the number of adults under community supervision (probation or parole) at yearend 2008 and the growth rates in these populations during the year and since 2000. The report examines factors associated with changes in the probation and parole populations, such as the number of entries and exits, the rate at which probationers and parolees exit supervision, changes in the populations within jurisdictions, and compositional changes in both populations. The bulletin also provides 2008 detailed data in appendix tables by jurisdiction, including entries and exits by type, gender, race and Hispanic origin, type of offense, supervision status, offenders (including sex offenders) tracked through a Global Positioning System (GPS), and other information.

Highlights include the following:

Nearly 5.1 million adults were under community supervision at yearend 2008—the equivalent of about 1 in every 45 adults in the United States.
Probationers (4,270,917) represented the majority (84%) of the community supervision population in 2008; parolees (828,169) accounted for a smaller share (16%).
The probation (0.9%) and parole (0.9%) populations grew at the same rate during 2008. The probation population increased by 36,446 probationers while the parole population increased by 6,992 parolees during the year."

Prisoners in 2008
"
"Presents data on prisoners under jurisdiction of federal or state correctional authorities on December 31, 2008, collected from the National Prisoner Statistics series. This annual report compares changes in the prison population during 2008 to changes from yearend 2000 through yearend 2007. These are the only comprehensive national-level data on prison admissions and releases. Findings cover data on decreasing growth in state and federal prisons through declining admissions and increasing releases; imprisonment rates for prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year by jurisdiction; the number of males and females in prison; age, race, and gender distributions; the number of inmates in custody in state and federal prison and local jails; and custody incarceration rates. The report also includes the count for inmates held within facilities operated by and for the military, U.S. territories, Indian country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and juvenile authorities.

Highlights include the following:

The U.S. prison population grew at the slowest rate (0.8%) since 2000, reaching 1,610,446 sentenced prisoners at yearend 2008.
Growth of the prison population since 2000 (1.8% per year on average) was less than a third of the average annual rate during the 1990s (6.5% per year on average).
Between 2000 and 2008 the number of blacks in prison declined by 18,400, lowering the imprisonment rate to 3,161 men and 149 women per 100,000 persons in the U.S. resident black population."

Lobbying the Executive Branch: Current Practices and Options for Change
"...This report outlines the development of registration requirements for lobbyists engaging
executive branch officials since 1995. It also summarizes steps taken by the Obama
Administration to limit and monitor lobbying of the executive branch; discusses the development
and implementation of restrictions placed on lobbying for Recovery Act and EESA funds;
examines the Obama Administration’s decision to stop appointing lobbyists to federal advisory
bodies and committees; considers third-party criticism of current executive branch lobbying
policies; and provides options for possible modifications in current lobbying laws and practices..."

2008 Annual Survey of State Government Finances
State governments took in nearly $1.7 trillion in total revenues in fiscal year 2008, a 15.8 percent decrease from 2007, according to new data on state government finances released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The largest share of those revenues came from taxes ($780.7 billion), which made up 46.5 percent. The decline was primarily because of a decrease in insurance trust revenue, which fell by $377.7 billion (72.7 percent).

Insurance trust systems are comprised of public employee retirement systems, the unemployment compensation system, state government workers’ compensation programs and other state social insurance trusts.

Total state government expenditures increased 6.2 percent from fiscal year 2007, totaling slightly more than $1.7 trillion in 2008. Education ($546.8 billion), public welfare ($412.1 billion) and highways ($107.2 billion) represented the top three outlays, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all state government total expenditures.

The findings come from the 2008 Annual Survey of State Government Finances, which includes data on revenues, expenditures, debt, and cash and security holdings for each state, as well as a national level summary. The major source of these finance statistics is the governments’ own accounting systems, either directly from a government’s own records or through intermediate reporting systems.nual Survey of State Government Finances..."

Executive Order-- Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal Programs
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in the interest of reducing payment errors and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal programs, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. When the Federal Government makes payments to individuals and businesses as program beneficiaries, grantees, or contractors, or on behalf of program beneficiaries, it must make every effort to confirm that the right recipient is receiving the right payment for the right reason at the right time. The purpose of this order is to reduce improper payments by intensifying efforts to eliminate payment error, waste, fraud, and abuse in the major programs administered by the Federal Government, while continuing to ensure that Federal programs serve and provide access to their intended beneficiaries. No single step will fully achieve these goals. Therefore, this order adopts a comprehensive set of policies, including transparency and public scrutiny of significant payment errors throughout the Federal Government; a focus on identifying and eliminating the highest improper payments; accountability for reducing improper payments among executive branch agencies and officials; and coordinated Federal, State, and local government action in identifying and eliminating improper payments. Because this order targets error, waste, fraud, and abuse -- not legitimate use of Government services -- efforts to reduce improper payments under this order must protect access to Federal programs by their intended beneficiaries..."

Obama Administration Releases New Date On Making Home Affordable Program, Includes State-Specific Modifications to Date
"Today, [12/10/09] the Obama Administration released the next monthly report for the Making Home Affordable (MHA) loan modification program. As part of an ongoing commitment to transparency, the report includes for the first time state-specific trial modification numbers. With more than 650,000 modifications under way across the country, the program is on track to meet its goals over the next several years.

"As this report demonstrates, struggling homeowners in every state now benefit from reduced monthly mortgage payments and have an opportunity to stay in their homes," said Treasury Assistant Secretary Michael S. Barr. "The program is having a pronounced impact in areas particularly hard hit by the housing crisis. We're reaching borrowers at a larger scale than any other modification program to date, but there is still much more work to be done."
Monthly Making Homes Affordable report

OPEC Revenue Fact Sheet
"Based on projections from the EIA December 2009 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could earn $575 billion of net oil export revenues in 2009 and $759 billion in 2010. Last year, OPEC earned $965 billion in net oil export revenues, a 41 percent increase from 2007. Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of these earnings, $284 billion, representing 29 percent of total OPEC revenues. On a per-capita basis, OPEC net oil export earning reached $2,671 in 2008, a 38 percent increase from 2007."

A Child's Day: 2006: (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)
"This is the fourth report examining children’s well-being and their daily activities both at
home and at school based on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Since the SIPP data are now available for various years between 1998 and 2006, this report highlights trends in parental interaction with children, children’s participation in extracurricular activities, and school engagement. This report focuses on two outcome measures: (1) school engagement and (2) whether children are academically on-track. Further, it considers the relative importance of characteristics such as race, Hispanic origin, and parental education on those out-
comes..."

HIV In Prisons, 2007-2008
"Presents year end 2007 and 2008 data from the National Prisoner Statistics and the Deaths in Custody series. The report provides data on the number of female and male prisoners who were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or had confirmed AIDS. Findings include the number of AIDS-related deaths in state and federal prisons, a profile of those inmates who died in state prison, and a comparison of AIDS rates between prison inmates and the general population. The report also covers the circumstances under which inmates were tested for HIV.

Highlights include the following:

At yearend 2008, 1.5% (20,231) of male inmates and 1.9% (1,913) of female inmates held in state or federal prisons
were HIV positive or had confirmed AIDS.
Between 2007 and 2008, California (up 246), Missouri (up 169), and Florida (up 166) reported the largest increases in
the number of prisoners who were HIV positive or had confirmed AIDS.
During 2007, 130 state and federal prisoners died from AIDS-related causes."

Remarks by the President at the Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize
"THE PRESIDENT: Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations -- that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. (Laughter.) In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who've received this prize -- Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela -- my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women -- some known, some obscure to all but those they help -- to be far more deserving of this honor than I..."

Be Prepared: Staying Safe and Healthy in Winter Weather
"Winter storms and cold temperatures can be hazardous, but if you plan ahead, you can stay safe and healthy. Prepare your home and cars. Keep emergency kits stocked. Be ready for power outages. Wear appropriate clothing. Check on children, the elderly and pets..."

The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Mathematics 2009
"Scores for most districts higher than in 2003, but few make gains since 2007

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 18 urban districts participated in the 2009 assessment. Eleven of the districts also participated in earlier assessment years, and seven districts participated for the first time in 2009. Between 1,800 and 4,300 fourth- and eighth-graders were assessed in each district.

In comparison to 2007, average mathematics scores for students in large cities increased in 2009 at both grades 4 and 8; however, only two participating districts at each grade showed gains. Scores were higher in 2009 for Boston and the District of Columbia at grade 4, and for Austin and San Diego at grade 8. No districts showed a decline in scores at either grade.

In comparison to 2003, scores for students in large cities were higher in 2009 at both grades 4 and 8. Increases in scores were also seen across most urban districts that participated in both years, except in Charlotte at grade 4 and in Cleveland at grades 4 and 8, where there were no significant changes."

Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health and the Environment
"After a thorough examination of the scientific evidence and careful consideration of public comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today [12/07/09] that greenhouse gases (GHGs) threaten the public health and welfare of the American people. EPA also finds that GHG emissions from on-road vehicles contribute to that threat.

GHGs are the primary driver of climate change, which can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that threaten the health of the sick, poor or elderly; increases in ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses; as well as other threats to the health and welfare of Americans..."

The Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 2007 & 2008
"The Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 2007 and 2008 — National-level tabulations from the Current Population Survey on this population group are shown by a wide range of characteristics including education, marital status, employment status, occupation and industry, earnings and poverty, and household type and tenure. Unique to this data set are tables that show the foreign-born population by these characteristics crossed by generation status (i.e., first, second or third). Internet address: 2007 | 2008

Solid Waste and Emergency Response Discussion Forum
"In order to enhance the dialogue between EPA and the public, this online forum provides an opportunity for private citizens, environmental groups, businesses, community groups, and local and tribal governments to discuss topics relating to EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. OSWER will post a new discussion topic monthly.

Each question below leads to a conversation on that topic. Click on a link to read or participate in a conversation. We encourage you to comment; knowing your thoughts and ideas helps us shape better environmental policy..."

Afghanistan Buildup
A Special Department of Defense's report on forecoming buildup of troops in Afghanistan.

President Obama Releases National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats
"Today [12/09/09], President Obama released the National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats. This Strategy outlines the President’s vision for addressing the challenges from proliferation of biological weapons or their use by terrorists. It highlights the beneficial nature of advances in the life sciences and their importance in combating infectious diseases of natural, accidental, and deliberate origin. It also outlines how the risks associated with misuse and potential consequences of a biological attack require tailored actions to prevent biological threats. Click HERE for the Strategy.

The Strategy emphasizes the need to (1) improve global access to the life sciences to combat infectious disease regardless of its cause; (2) establish and reinforce norms against the misuse of the life sciences; and (3) institute a suite of coordinated activities that collectively will help influence, identify, inhibit, and/or interdict those who seek to misuse the life sciences. Through this Strategy the United States Government will work with domestic and international partners on the following seven objectives to PROTECT against misuse of the life sciences to support biological weapons proliferation and terrorism.."

Holiday Health and Safety Tips
Tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on staying safe and healthy during the holidays.

FTC Website Educates Kids about Privacy and Fraud
"Today, the Federal Trade Commission opened new areas of a “virtual mall” with content that will help kids learn to protect their privacy, spot frauds and scams, and avoid identity theft. The FTC Web site, www.ftc.gov/YouAreHere, introduces key consumer and business concepts and helps youngsters understand their role in the marketplace. The FTC is the nation’s consumer protection agency.

“YouAreHere presents practical lessons about money and business in a fun and familiar setting,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The new content takes kids behind the scenes to raise their awareness of advertising and marketing, pricing and competition, fraud and identity theft.

At the FTC’s online mall, visitors play games, watch short animated films, and interact with customers and store owners. They can design and print advertisements for a shoe store, investigate suspicious claims in ads and sales pitches, learn to identify the catches behind bogus modeling schemes and vacation offers, and guess the retail prices of various candies based on their supply, demand, and production costs..."

Census 2010
Important information about the 2010 census, including information for 2010 census jobs seekers.

Global Measles Mortality, 2000–2008
"The United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals include a goal (MDG 4) to achieve a two thirds overall reduction of child deaths by 2015 compared with the 1990 level (1). Because many unvaccinated children die from measles, routine measles vaccination coverage is used as an indicator of progress toward this goal. In 2008, all UN member states reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a 90% reduction in measles mortality by 2010 compared with 2000, from an estimated 733,000 deaths in 2000 worldwide to ≤73,300 by 2010 (2). The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have identified 47 priority countries with the highest burden of measles for an accelerated strategy for measles mortality reduction (3). The strategy includes 1) achieving and maintaining high coverage (≥90% nationally and ≥80% in each district) with 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine (MCV) delivered through routine services or supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) (4), 2) implementing effective laboratory-supported disease surveillance, and 3) providing appropriate clinical management for measles cases. This report updates a previously published report (5), provides details on activities implemented during 2008, assesses progress toward the 2010 goal, and evaluates the potential effects of decreased financial support. During 2000--2008, global measles mortality declined by 78%, from an estimated 733,000 deaths in 2000 to 164,000 in 2008, but the reduction in measles mortality has been leveling off since 2007. To reach the 2010 goal, India should fully implement the recommended strategies, and financial support for sustaining measles control in the other 46 priority countries should be secured..."

New Interactive Tools Show Continuing SO2 Reductions at Coal-Fired Power Plants
"New interactive tracking tools are now available on EPA’s Web site to help the public follow nation-wide changes in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal-fired power plants. Using interactive charts and Google Earth satellite maps, the public can now observe recent changes in SO2 emissions and other indicators at individual coal-fired power plants in the Acid Rain Program.

The Acid Rain Program was established under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments requiring power plants to reduce emissions of SO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOx)—the primary causes of acid rain. Since 1995, the program has achieved significant environmental and public health benefits. In 2008, electric generating units subject to the market-based cap and trade SO2 program emitted 7.6 million tons of SO2, well below the current annual emission cap of 9.5 million tons..."

New Trends Report: Fuel Economy Increases as CO2 Decreases
"For the fifth consecutive year, EPA is reporting an increase in fuel efficiency with a corresponding decrease in average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for new cars and light duty trucks. This marks the first time that data for CO2 emissions are included in the annual report, “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2009”.

“American drivers are increasingly looking for cars that burn cleaner, burn less gas and won’t burn a hole in their wallets,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re working to help accelerate this trend with strong investments in clean energy technology – particularly for the cars and trucks that account for almost 60 percent of greenhouse gases from transportation sources. Cleaner, more efficient vehicles can help reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, cut harmful pollution, and save people money -- and it’s clear that’s what the American car buyer wants.”

For 2008, the last year for which EPA has final data from automakers, the average fuel economy value was 21.0 miles per gallon (mpg). EPA projects a small improvement in 2009, based on pre-model year sales estimates provided to EPA by automakers, to 21.1 mpg..."

The Use of Agricultural Offsets to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
"Today [12/3/09] CBO’s Assistant Director for Microeconomic Studies, Joseph Kile, testified before the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research on the use of agricultural offsets as part of a cap-and-trade program for reducing greenhouse gases. Discussions about reducing greenhouse gases often focus on limiting the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity or power cars and trucks, yet a variety of other actions—including changing methods of farming and lessening deforestation—could also reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Those activities, which would not be subject to limits on emissions under a cap-and-trade program, would have the potential to “offset” the burden of reducing emissions and reduce the net cost of achieving the environmental objective. This testimony draws upon CBO’s August 2009 brief on the use of offsets as well as our analysis of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which was passed by the House of Representatives..."

Mental Health Advisory Team VI
"Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to face stress from multiple deployments into combat, but report being more adequately prepared for the stresses of deployments. Those were among findings of two teams of behavioral-health experts who surveyed and interviewed troops in the theater as part of the sixth Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT).

Another notable conclusion is that “dwell time” at home between deployments is important to Soldier mental health.

“The dwell time effect is pretty strong. It turned out to be more important than some of the other variables,” commented Lt. Col. Paul D. Bliese, director of the division of psychiatry and neuroscience at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). Bliese led the team in Iraq.

“Cumulative time deployed was less important than immediate dwell time. In other words, someone who had a total of 20 months deployed over several years and 12 months dwell time was better off than someone with 12 months of total deployment, but only eight months dwell time,” Bliese added. The team in Iraq found that behavioral-health problems in maneuver units return to near garrison rates (about 10 percent with problems) after 24 months of dwell time, and completely returned after 30 to 36 months of dwell time.

The teams, working in Iraq from February to March and in Afghanistan from April to June, formed the sixth Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT VI) since the start of the wars, evaluating the psychological health of troops and the behavioral-health care resources in theater. The teams included research psychologists, a social worker, a psychiatric nurse and enlisted behavioral-health specialists. This year sergeants major from WRAIR and U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command also participated..."

Commission Issues 2009 Report on U.S. Ethanol Market Concentration
"he Commission has issued the “2009 Report on Ethanol Market Concentration.” This is the FTC’s fifth annual report on the state of ethanol production in the United States, as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The report concludes that the U.S. fuel ethanol market, measured either on the basis of production capacity or on actual production, remains unconcentrated.

As of September 2009, 160 firms produced ethanol in the United States – the same number as cited in the FTC’s 2008 report. In addition, the largest ethanol producer’s share of capacity remained the same, at 11 percent of domestic ethanol production capacity, down from 16 percent in 2007, 21 percent in 2006, 26 percent in 2005, and 41 percent in 2000..."
View the full report

Promotional Spending for Prescription Drugs
"Pharmaceutical companies’ efforts to promote prescription drugs have attracted the attention of policymakers because such activities may affect the rate at which different drugs are prescribed and consumed, the total amount spent on health care, and, ultimately, health outcomes. Those promotional activities—usually undertaken on behalf of brand-name, rather than generic, drugs—may
influence consumers and health care professionals through a variety of channels. For example, advertisements for prescription drugs that are aimed at consumers may prompt individuals to seek medical treatment they might otherwise have delayed. Such advertisements may also influence
individuals to request a specific drug that is higher or lower in price or that is more or less effective than one they had previously used. Promotional efforts aimed at physicians may help them keep abreast of the latest drug therapies and improve their ability to treat patients. Those
efforts may also lead doctors to prescribe brand-name medications that are more expensive than alternatives..."

The Market Structure of the Health Insurance Industry
"Evidence suggests that health insurance markets are highly concentrated in many local areas.
Many large firms that offer health insurance benefits to their employees have self-insured, which
may put some competitive pressure on insurers, although this is unlikely to improve market
conditions for other consumers. The exercise of market power by firms in concentrated markets
generally leads to higher prices and reduced output—high premiums and limited access to health
insurance—combined with high profits. Many other characteristics of the health insurance
markets, however, also contribute to rising costs and limited access to affordable health insurance.Rising health care costs, in particular, play a key role in rising health insurance costs.

Health costs appear to have increased over time in large part because of complex interactions
among health insurance, health care providers, employers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, tax
policy, and the medical technology industry. Reducing the growth trajectory of health care costs
may require policies that affect these interactions. Policies focused only on health insurance
sector reform may yield some results, but are unlikely to solve larger cost growth and limited
access problems. This report will be updated as events warrant..."

FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
"In January 2009, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) sponsored a special supplement to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) to collect national, state, and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) data on the number of U.S. households that are unbanked and underbanked, their demographic characteristics, and their reasons for being unbanked and under-
banked...

• An estimated 7.7 percent of U.S. households, approximately 9 million, are unbanked. At least 17 million adults reside in these unbanked households...

• The proportion of U.S. households that are unbanked varies considerably among different racial
and ethnic groups, with certain racial and ethnic minorities more likely to be unbanked than the
population as a whole. Minorities more likely to be unbanked include blacks (an estimated 21.7 percent of black households are unbanked), Hispanics (19.3 percent), and American Indian/Alaskans (15.6 percent). Racial groups less likely to be unbanked are Asians (3.5 percent) and whites (3.3 percent)..."

Building Decontamination Alternatives Report
"EPA has published a building decontamination alternatives report, which provides information on how to effectively decontaminate buildings that are contaminated with chemical or biological (CB) warfare agents or toxic industrial compounds. The report includes the review for three categories of technologies:

Liquid
Foam and gel
Gas and vapor-phase.
The following information is provided for each technology reviewed:

A description
An assessment of the technical maturity
An evaluation of existing data (wherever possible, information on material compatibilities, hardware performance, and generation of by-products is provided)
Current uses in addition to building decontamination
User concerns (e.g., health and safety issues)
Advantages and disadvantages
Future research areas..."

From the GovGab blog:
Keep Your Free Credit Report Free
"I'm sure after your Black Friday shopping some of you are wondering if you hurt your credit. By law you are entitled to one free credit report a year from each of the major credit bureaus---Experian, Equifax and TransUnion---and you can find out how to get it at annualcreditreport.com.

It's important to go to that website in particular because as Colleen showed us back in March some websites lure you in and charge you monthly fees. You may have seen TV advertisements from other companies which show people singing about their misfortune due to not checking their credit. When I wanted to check my credit, I signed up for a credit report from one of these websites. Suddenly, I found myself paying $15 a month to find out that nothing on my credit report had changed.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gets complaints about situations like mine and has aired advertisements like the one above to get people to the right website. In October, the FTC proposed new rules to curb consumer confusion and stop deceptive marketing regarding free credit report advertisements. The proposed rules include requirements for these companies to put disclaimers on their advertisements and websites so consumers are less confused. FTC's deadline to implement the new rules is February 22, 2010.

US Labor Department releases updated Employment Law Guide
"The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of an updated version of its popular Employment Law Guide, an online publication that describes the major employment laws administered by the department. The Guide helps the public — workers and employers — understand many of the laws affecting the workplace. For instance, it helps small businesses develop wage, benefit, safety and health, and nondiscrimination policies. It also benefits employees and employee representatives who need information about worker rights and responsibilities under federal employment laws.

"Fair and safe practices in the workplace are a top priority for the Department of Labor, and we want to make it simple for both employers and workers to understand the federal policies that protect them," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Our new Employment Law Guide provides updated and user-friendly information and guidance. We encourage everyone to use it."

Following a topical format and written in plain language, the Employment Law Guide is especially helpful for employers without a dedicated legal or human resources staff. The updated version addresses recent and important changes in employment laws, including the increase in the federal minimum wage and an expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act that grants qualified relatives of veterans leave to care for ill or injured uniformed service members or to fulfill obligations that arise when a relative is called to active duty in the military. The Guide also now includes a chapter on child labor regulations in the agriculture industry and one on the Defense Base Act, which provides workers' compensation benefits to civilian employees working outside the United States on U.S. military bases or under certain contracts with the U.S.."
View the revised Employment Law Guide

Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output as of September 2009 - November 2009
"...Recipients reported that about 640,000 jobs were created or retained with ARRA funding through September 2009. Such reports, however, do not provide a comprehensive estimate of the laws impact on employment in the United States.The impact may be higher or lower for several reasons(in addition to any issues about the quality of data in the report). First, it is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package. Second, the reports filed by recipients measure only the jobs created by employers who received ARRA funding directly or by their immediate subcontractors(so-called primary and secondary recipients). Third, the report do not attempt to report the number of jobs that may have been created or retained indirectly as greater income from recipients boosted demand for products and services. Fourth, the recipients' reports cover only certain appropriations made under ARRA, which encompass only about one-quarter of the total amount spent by the government or conveyed by tax reductions in ARRA through September 2009. The report does not measure the effect of other provisions of the stimulus package, such as tax cuts and transfer payments to individuals..."

Adoption USA: A Chartbook of the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents
"This Chartbook presents findings from the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP). The NSAP is the first-ever survey to provide representative information about the characteristics, adoption experiences, and wellbeing of adopted children and their families in the United States. All information was reported by the children’s adoptive parents. The findings represent children under age 18 who were adopted and living with neither biological parent. This includes children adopted from foster care, from other domestic sources, and from other countries. Furthermore, the Chartbook includes comparable information on children in the general population for many indicators of well-being, based on data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH)..."

HIV Infection Among Injection-Drug Users --- 34 States, 2004--2007
"Injection-drug users (IDUs) acquire human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection by sharing drug equipment with HIV-infected persons and by engaging in risky sexual behavior. In 2007, injection-drug use was the third most frequently reported risk factor for HIV infection in the United States, after male-to-male sexual contact and high-risk heterosexual contact (1). To characterize HIV-infected IDUs aged ≥13 years in the United States, CDC analyzed data from the national notifiable disease reporting system for 2004--2007 from the 34 states that had conducted confidential, name-based HIV surveillance since at least 2003. The results of that analysis indicated that, during 2004--2007, 62.2% of IDUs with a new diagnosis of HIV infection were males, 57.5% were blacks or African Americans, and 74.8% lived in urban areas at the time of their HIV diagnosis. In addition, during 2004--2006, approximately 40% of HIV-infected IDUs received late HIV diagnoses (i.e., diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome [AIDS] <12 months after the date of HIV diagnosis). To reduce the prevalence of HIV infection and late HIV diagnosis among IDUs, HIV prevention programs serving IDUs should have comprehensive approaches that incorporate access to HIV testing as part of community-based outreach, drug abuse treatment, and syringe exchange programs..."

EPA Releases Guide to Help Scientists Understand Children’s Exposure to Pollutants
" The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released a user-friendly document to help risk assessors understand how children are exposed to pollution. The document, titled “Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook,” serves as a quick-reference guide to the more comprehensive “Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook,” published by EPA in 2008. It will serve as an additional resource for those who work on children’s health issues, which the agency has been highlighting during Children’s Health Month.

EPA developed the reference guide to provide important information necessary for answering questions about exposure through drinking water, breathing, and eating foods, such as:

How much exposure to environmental pollutants might children get if they live or play near contaminated sites?

How much dirt from a child’s hands might s/he inadvertently eat?

How much of a child’s exposure to various pollutants might come from skin contact?
Which age groups (childhood life stages) may inhale or ingest the most and thus may be at higher risks?.."

Comparative Evaluation of Rail and Truck Fuel Efficiency on Competitive Corridors
"This study provides a comparative evaluation of rail and truck fuel economy on corridors and services in which both modes compete..."

National Lake Fish Tissue Study
"Environmental monitoring provides crucial data for describing the condition of the environment and for assessing the effectiveness of pollution control activities. In the 1990s, EPA identified a lack of information necessary to accurately characterize the condition of the Nation’s surface waters and responded by designing a series of statistically-based surveys to produce information on the condition of lakes, streams, rivers, and coastal waters in the United States. The National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue (or National Lake Fish Tissue Study) is one of the statistically-based surveys conducted by EPA since the late 1990s.

This study is a national screening-level survey of chemical residues in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in the conterminous United States (lower 48 states), excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake. It is unique among national assessments of fish contamination in lakes because the sampling sites were selected according to a statistical (random) design..."

Estimated County-Level Prevalence of Diabetes and Obesity --- United States, 2007
"Comprehensive disease surveillance systems are important for developing preventive health policies and tracking their impact in populations at high risk. Although existing chronic disease surveillance systems function well at the national or state level, few provide data at the local level, where many policies and interventions ultimately are implemented. To overcome this limitation, Bayesian multilevel models have been applied to reliably estimate disease prevalence at the local level (1). CDC adapted this methodology to estimate diabetes and obesity prevalence in all 3,141 U.S. counties in 2007 (2--4). This report provides an overview of the methodology used and a descriptive analysis of the resulting estimates. The results indicated distinct geographic patterns in diabetes and obesity prevalence in the United States, including high prevalence rates for diabetes (≥10.6%) and obesity (≥30.9%) in West Virginia, the Appalachian counties of Tennessee and Kentucky, much of the Mississippi Delta, and a southern belt extending across Louisiana, Mississippi, middle Alabama, south Georgia, and the coastal regions of the Carolinas. Isolated counties, including tribal lands in the western United States, also had high prevalence of diabetes and obesity. This report demonstrates how model-based estimates can identify areas with populations at high risk, providing local public health officials with important data to assist them in developing targeted programs to reduce diabetes and obesity..."

2009 H1N1-Related Deaths, Hospitalizations and Cases: Details of Extrapolations and Ranges: United States, Emerging Infections Program (EIP) Data
"In order to provide a fuller and more accurate picture of the burden of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic on the United States, CDC has developed a methodology to estimate ranges of 2009 H1N1 cases and related hospitalizations and deaths. This method uses raw data on 2009 H1N1 hospitalizations collected through CDC’s Emerging Infections Program (EIP), which conducts surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalizations in children and adults in 62 counties covering 13 metropolitan areas of 10 states. The estimated ranges generated by this methodology provide a sense of scale in terms of the burden of disease caused by 2009 H1N1. It may never be possible to validate the accuracy of these figures. The true number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths may lie within the ranges provided or it’s also possible that they may lie outside the ranges.
This methodology is not predictive and cannot be used to forecast the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths that will occur going forward over the course of the pandemic because they are based on actual surveillance data. More information about this methodology is contained in this document."

New Report Recommends Enhanced Food Tracing Guidelines
"The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) today released a report from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), which recommends clear objectives be set for all users of a simpler, globally accepted food supply chain that can benefit from existing commercial systems.

CFSAN commissioned the IFT report in 2008 as part of the agency's ongoing examination of food product tracing practices, and its commitment to improve the ability of government and industry to trace commercially distributed food products potentially of risk to U.S. consumers. The IFT is a nonprofit scientific society focusing on the science of food.

Food can become contaminated at many different steps in the supply chain. Experience in conducting foodborne disease outbreak investigations suggests that improved product tracing abilities could help identify products associated with disease more quickly, get risky products off the market faster, and reduce the number of illnesses associated with foodborne illness outbreaks.

The IFT report is part of the public record that FDA will consider in determining ways to improve the ability of government and industry to trace food products throughout all stages of the supply chain..."

FDA To Look Into Safety of Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages Agency Sends Letters to Nearly 30 Manufacturers
"The Food and Drug Administration today notified nearly 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages that it intends to look into the safety and legality of their products.

“The increasing popularity of consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages by college students and reports of potential health and safety issues necessitates that we look seriously at the scientific evidence as soon as possible,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs.

Of the combined use of caffeine and alcohol among U.S. college students in the few studies on this topic, the prevalence was as high as 26 percent.

Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, a substance added intentionally to food (such as caffeine in alcoholic beverages) is deemed “unsafe” and is unlawful unless its particular use has been approved by FDA regulation, the substance is subject to a prior sanction, or the substance is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). FDA has not approved the use of caffeine in alcoholic beverages and thus such beverages can be lawfully marketed only if their use is subject to a prior sanction or is GRAS. For a substance to be GRAS, there must be evidence of its safety at the levels used and a basis to conclude that this evidence is generally known and accepted by qualified experts..."

Fuel Economy Increases as CO2 Decreases
"For the fifth consecutive year, EPA is reporting an increase in fuel efficiency with a corresponding decrease in average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for new cars and light duty trucks. This marks the first time that data for CO2 emissions are included in the annual report, “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2009”.

“American drivers are increasingly looking for cars that burn cleaner, burn less gas and won’t burn a hole in their wallets,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re working to help accelerate this trend with strong investments in clean energy technology – particularly for the cars and trucks that account for almost 60 percent of greenhouse gases from transportation sources. Cleaner, more efficient vehicles can help reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, cut harmful pollution, and save people money -- and it’s clear that’s what the American car buyer wants.”

For 2008, the last year for which EPA has final data from automakers, the average fuel economy value was 21.0 miles per gallon (mpg). EPA projects a small improvement in 2009, based on pre-model year sales estimates provided to EPA by automakers, to 21.1 mpg..."

CPSC/EPA/HUD/CDC/ATSDR Press Statement on Initial Chinese Drywall Studies
"Since the early spring, the federal government has dedicated significant resources to helping families affected by the drywall issue in their homes. The government has been and continues to be committed to providing answers and solutions to these homeowners. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and numerous state departments of health have been working together to investigate and analyze how Chinese made drywall entered into the country, where it was used, what is in it, and what impact it may have on human health and corrosion of electrical and fire safety components.

This is a complicated problem, and we have several studies and other activities underway
to help bring the best possible science to bear. The first sets of data released today start to
explain differences between Chinese and non-Chinese drywall, but more remains to be
learned. We are sharing what we know at this point and are outlining the next steps as
we continue to work to answer homeowners’ questions about what is causing the effects
reported and observed..."

EPA Issues Rule to Reduce Water Pollution from Construction Sites
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued a final rule to help reduce water pollution from construction sites. The agency believes this rule, which takes effect in February 2010 and will be phased in over four years, will significantly improve the quality of water nationwide.

Construction activities like clearing, excavating and grading significantly disturb soil and sediment. If that soil is not managed properly it can easily be washed off of the construction site during storms and pollute nearby water bodies.

The final rule requires construction site owners and operators that disturb one or more acres to use best management practices to ensure that soil disturbed during construction activity does not pollute nearby water bodies.

In addition, owners and operators of sites that impact 10 or more acres of land at one time will be required to monitor discharges and ensure they comply with specific limits on discharges to minimize the impact on nearby water bodies. This is the first time that EPA has imposed national monitoring requirements and enforceable numeric limitations on construction site stormwater discharges..."

The Costs of Reducing Greenhouse-Gas Emissions
"Human activities around the world are producing increasingly large quantities of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2) resulting from the consumption of fossil fuels and deforestation. Most experts expect that the accumulation of such gases in the atmosphere will result in a variety of environmental changes over time, including a gradual warming of the global climate, extensive changes in regional weather patterns, and significant shifts in the chemistry of the oceans.1 Although the magnitude and consequences of such developments are highly uncertain, researchers generally conclude that a continued increase in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases would have serious and costly effects.

A comprehensive response to that problem would include a collection of strategies: research to better understand the scientific processes at work and to develop technologies to address them; measures to help the economy and society adapt to the projected warming and other expected changes; and efforts to reduce emissions, averting at least some of the potential damage to the environment and attendant economic losses. Those strategies would all present technological challenges and entail economic costs..."

Hate Crime Statistics 2008
"Statistics released today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that 7,783 criminal incidents involving 9,168 offenses were reported in 2008 as a result of bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or disability. Published by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Hate Crime Statistics, 2008, includes data about hate crime incidents submitted by law enforcement agencies throughout the nation.

Hate Crime Statistics, 2008, includes the following information:

An analysis of the 7,780 single-bias incidents revealed that 51.3 percent were motivated by a racial bias, 19.5 percent were motivated by a religious bias, 16.7 percent were motivated by a sexual orientation bias, and 11.5 percent were motivated by an ethnicity/national origin bias. One percent involved a bias against a disability.

There were 5,542 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in 2008. Intimidation accounted for 48.8 percent of crimes against persons, simple assaults for 32.1 percent, and aggravated assaults for 18.5 percent. Seven murders were reported as hate crimes.

There were 3,608 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against property; the majority (82.3 percent) were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism. The remaining 17.7 percent of crimes against property consisted of robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and other offenses.

Of the 6,927 known offenders, 61.1 percent were white and 20.2 percent were black. The race was unknown for 11.0 percent, and other races accounted for the remaining known offenders...

Secretary Napolitano Unveils New Veterans Website Designed to Highlight Veteran Employment and Contracting Opportunities
"Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today unveiled a new website designed to provide a one-stop location for veterans and veterans organizations to learn about DHS' many veteran outreach initiatives and hiring and contracting opportunities.

"This new website reflects the shared commitment across the Department to hiring American veterans," said Secretary Napolitano. "Veterans play a vital role in the Department of Homeland Security's mission to protect the nation, and this website will help us build our veteran workforce to more than 50,000 Department-wide by 2012."

Today's announcement comes one day after Secretary Napolitano joined President Obama as he signed an Executive Order on the Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government, which emphasizes recruiting and training veterans for employment at federal agencies, increasing the veteran workforce within the executive branch and assisting recently hired veterans in making the adjustment to service in a civilian capacity.

The new website, available at www.dhs.gov/veterans, features information for veterans about how to find employment opportunities at DHS, ways to get involved in community-based efforts like Citizen Corps, and special veteran programs such as Operation Warfighter and Wounded Warrior, which provide employment opportunities for severely wounded or recovering service members to assist their transition back to the military or civilian workforce."

Workplace Injuries and Illness-- 2008
"Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers in 2008 occurred at a rate of 3.9 percent per 100 equivalent full-time workers - a decline from 4.2 cases in 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Similarly, the number of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses reported in 2008 declined to 3.7 million cases, compared to 4 million cases in 2007. The total recordable case (TRC) injury and illness incident rate among private industry employers has declined significantly each year since 2003, when estimates from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) were first published using the 2002 North American Industry Classification system (NAICS)"