65+ in the United States:2010

"In 2011, the Baby Boom generation, people born 1946 to 1964, began to turn age 65. As the large Baby Boom cohort ages, the United States will experience rapid growth in both the number aged 65 and older and their share of the total population. The social and economic implications of the aging of the U.s. population will be of significant interest to policy makers, the private sector, and individuals..."
65+, Aged

Changes in Areas With Concentrated Poverty: 2000 to 2010

"In 2010, approximately 14.9 percent  of the total U.S. population lived in poverty. However, poverty is not distributed evenly across neighborhoods. There are neighborhoods in every state that have higher than average poverty rates. The U.S. Census Bureau designates any census tract with a poverty rate of 20.0 percent of more as a "poverty area". In 2010, more than 77 million people lived in poverty areas"...
Poverty levels

A Releases Latest Nationwide Data on Access to Veterans Health Care

"Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) posted the second in a series of bi-monthly data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments.

Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson announced that VA has now contacted approximately 70,000 Veterans across the country to get them off of wait lists and into clinics for medical appointments. Gibson also announced the release of the latest updated, facility-level patient access data, which demonstrates that the number of appointments has increased by almost 200,000 from May 15 to June 1..."

Veterans, health care

VA Provides Guidance to Same-Sex Married Couples Seeking Benefits

"After close consultation with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is providing guidance to same-sex married couples on the benefits and services to which they are entitled under current laws and regulations.

"VA worked closely with DOJ to develop guidance to process cases involving same-sex marriages and to implement necessary changes swiftly and smoothly in order to deliver the best services to all eligible Veterans," said Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which governed the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" for all federal agencies. However, there remain certain provisions of federal law governing Veterans' benefits and services that, like DOMA, define a spouse as a member of the opposite sex. In September 2013, the U.S. Attorney General announced President Obama's directive to cease enforcement of those VA-specific definitional provisions..."
Veterans, Same-Sex Marriages

Criticizing Wisconsin’s Voter Id Statute, Attorney General Holder Pledges Aggressive Enforcement of Remaining Parts of Voting Rights Act

"On the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Eric Holder pledged Wednesday that the Justice Department would remain aggressive in using Section 2 of the law—which was left intact by the Court’s decision—to guard against unjust voting restrictions.

Section 2, which prohibits barriers to voting that disadvantage minority groups, provided the basis for the department’s lawsuits last year against voting laws in North Carolina and Texas. It also formed the basis for a recent challenge to a voter ID statue in Wisconsin. In April, a federal district court sided with the plaintiffs in that case, declaring that the Wisconsin law violated both the equal protection clause of the Constitution and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act..."

Wisconsin; Voting Rights

Beach Closing Location

Find information on beach closing for the entire U.S. by address or zip code.
Beaches

Carbon Storage in U.S. Eastern Ecosystems Helps Counter Greenhouse Gas Emissions

"On the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today released a new report showing that forests, wetlands and farms in the eastern United States naturally store 300 million tons of carbon a year (1,100 million tons of CO2), which is nearly 15 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions EPA estimates the country emits each year or an amount that exceeds and offsets yearly U.S. car emissions..." 
Carbon storage, gas emissions

How a Wind Tunnel Works

 "From massive wind farms generating power to small turbines powering a single home, wind turbines around the globe generate  generate clean electricity for a variety of power needs.

In the United States, wind turbines are becoming a common sight. Since the turn of the century, total U.S. wind power capacity has increased more than 24-fold. Currently, there’s enough wind power capacity in the U.S. to generate enough electricity to power more than 15 million homes, helping pave the way to a clean energy future..."

Wind tunnel

Stay Safe During Lightning

"You can protect yourself from risk even if you are caught outdoors when lightning is close by.
Safety precautions outdoors

• If the weather forecast calls for thunderstorms, postpone your trip or activity.
• Remember: When thunder roars, go indoors. Find a safe, enclosed shelter.
• If no shelter is available, crouch low, with as little of your body touching the ground as possible. Lightning causes electric currents along the top of the ground that can be deadly over 100 feet away.
• Stay away from concrete floors or walls. Lightning can travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring..."
•  Lightning safety

High-Frequency Trading: Background, Concerns, and Regulatory Developments

"High-frequency trading (HFT) is a broad term without a precise legal or regulatory definition. It

is used to describe what many characterize as a subset of algorithmic trading that involves very rapid placement of orders, in the realm of tiny fractions of a second. Regulators have been scrutinizing HFT practices for years, but public concern about this form of trading intensified following the April 2014 publication of a book by author Michael Lewis. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Office of the New York Attorney General, and the Massachusetts Secretary of Commerce have begun HFT-related probes..."

High Frequency Trading

As the Nation Ages, Seven States Become Younger

" The median age declined in seven states between 2012 and 2013, including five in the Great Plains, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today. In contrast, the median age for the U.S. as a whole ticked up from 37.5 years to 37.6 years. These estimates examine population changes among groups by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin nationally, as well as all states and counties, between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2013..."
Population, states

Banking Organization Systemic Risk Report

"The Federal Reserve Board today announced the availability of data that can be used to evaluate the individual systemic footprint of 33 large U.S. bank holding companies.  The data will help to ensure comparability when evaluating the systemic risk profile of each banking organization.

The data cover five categories often used when considering the potential systemic risk of a banking organization: size; interconnectedness; complexity; substitutability, which is a measure of how easily a firm's activities can be replaced by another firm; and cross-jurisdictional activity, which includes foreign liabilities and claims..."

Banks, banking

Nation to Become a Plurality, but Some Areas Already Are

"While the nation is projected to become both a “majority-minority” and a “plurality” nation by 2043, some states and many counties have already crossed these thresholds. California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, and the District of Columbia have populations that are already “majority-minority.” Nearly one-third of Americans already live in a “majority-minority” county. According to new Census Bureau estimates released today, this was the case in 355 (11 percent) of the nation’s 3,143 counties in 2013..."
Plurality, Diversity

On the Map for Emergency Management

Here you can find U.S. Census Bureau data for disasters, natural hazards, and weather events in a graphic format.
Mapping & Emergency Management

Quadrennial Homeland Security Review

"Four years ago, the Department of Homeland Security’s first quadrennial review answered the question, “What is homeland security?”, laying out the vision, five mission areas, and goals and objectives for homeland security.
This second quadrennial review reflects a more focused, collaborative Departmental strategy, planning, and analytic capability..."Quadrennial Homeland Security

Teen Birth Rates

"Teen birth rates (live births per 1,000 15–19-year-old U.S. females) decreased 6% overall from 2011 (31.3) to 2012 (29.4).¹ Decreases occurred for all races and for Hispanics. Despite these declines, geographic, socioeconomic, and racial and ethnic disparities persist. Achieving health equity, eliminating disparities, and improving the health of all groups is an overarching goal of Healthy People 2020..."
Teen Births

Diabetes Latest

"More than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes, up from the previous estimate of 26 million in 2010, according to a new report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in 4 people with diabetes doesn't know they have it.

Another 86 million adults – more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults – have prediabetes, where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. Without weight loss and moderate physical activity, 15 percent to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years..."
Diabetes

The Fourth Amendment Third-Party Doctrine

"In the 1970s, the Supreme Court handed down Smith v. Maryland and United States v. Miller

, two of the most important Fourth Amendment decisions of the 20th century. In these cases, the Court held that people are not entitled to an expectation of privacy in information they voluntarily

provide to third parties. This legal proposition, known as the third-party doctrine, permits the

government access to, as a matter of Fourth Amendment law, a vast amount of information about

individuals, such as the websites they visit; who they have emailed; the phone numbers they dial;

and their utility, banking, and education records, just to name a few. Questions have been raised

whether this doctrine is still viable in light of the major technological and social changes over the

past several decades..."

Fourth Amendment

U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil

"North America is experiencing a boom in crude oil supply, primarily due to growing production

in the Canadian oil sands and the recent expansion of shale oil production from the Bakken fields

in North Dakota and Montana as well as the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins in Texas. Taken

together, these new supplies are fundamentally changing the U.S. oil supply-demand balance. The

United States now meets 66% of its crude oil demand from production in North America,

displacing imports from overseas and positioning the United States to have excess oil and refined

products supplies in some regions..."

U.S. rail/crude transportation

NOAA ANNUAL GREENHOUSE GAS INDEX

"Increases in the abundance of atmospheric greenhouse gases since the industrial revolution are mainly the result of human activity and are largely responsible for the observed increases in global temperature [IPCC 2007]. However, climate projections have model uncertainties that overwhelm the uncertainties in greenhouse gas measurements. We present here an index that is directly proportional to the direct warming influence (also know as climate forcing) supplied from these gases.."
Greenhouse Gas Index

Have you ever heard of the Healthy Eating Index? The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) measures the quality of Americans’ food choices. At USDA we use the HEI to see how closely Americans are following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate. The HEI assigns scores to diets on a scale in which the maximum score of 100 indicates that the diet meets all Dietary Guidelines recommendations. The HEI shows us that the diets of most Americans could use some improvement. - See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/06/10/the-healthy-eating-index-how-does-america-score/#sthash.3FseIg51.dpuf

Have you ever heard of the Healthy Eating Index? The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) measures the quality of Americans’ food choices. At USDA we use the HEI to see how closely Americans are following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate. The HEI assigns scores to diets on a scale in which the maximum score of 100 indicates that the diet meets all Dietary Guidelines recommendations. The HEI shows us that the diets of most Americans could use some improvement. For example, HEI scores for 2007-08 averaged about 53.5 points out of 100 points, and these scores have not changed substantially since 2001-02 - See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/06/10/the-healthy-eating-index-how-does-america-score/#sthash.3FseIg51.dpuf

Have you ever heard of the Healthy Eating Index? The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) measures the quality of Americans’ food choices. At USDA we use the HEI to see how closely Americans are following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate. The HEI assigns scores to diets on a scale in which the maximum score of 100 indicates that the diet meets all Dietary Guidelines recommendations. The HEI shows us that the diets of most Americans could use some improvement. For example, HEI scores for 2007-08 averaged about 53.5 points out of 100 points, and these scores have not changed substantially since 2001-02 - See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/06/10/the-healthy-eating-index-how-does-america-score/#sthash.3FseIg51.dpuf

Overturning the Racial Integrity Act. Decision, Loving v. Virginia, 06/12/1967

"In June 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a black woman, quietly married in Washington, DC. They returned home to Virginia and woke up one morning with policemen in their bedroom. The Lovings were arrested for violating the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. 

Richard and Mildred were found guilty and sentenced to one year in jail, or they could accept a plea bargain and leave Virginia. So they left. But by 1963, they sought legal help and the case was eventually sent to the United States Supreme Court..."
Loving v Virginia

EPA Identifies Safer Substitutes for Toxic Flame Retardants..

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing safer alternatives to the flame retardants now used in consumer and commercial products, including building insulation and products with flexible polyurethane foam...

Flame retardant chemicals such as hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE) raise concerns for human health and the environment including potential reproductive, developmental, and neurological effects and can be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic to aquatic organisms.

EPA is releasing the final report on alternatives to the flame retardant HBCD and releasing an updated draft report on alternatives to the flame retardant pentaBDE. These alternatives were identified through EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) Alternatives Assessment Program..."
Toxic Flame Retardant Substitutes

CDC Releases 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

"In the United States, schools play a critical role in promoting the health and safety of young people and helping them establish lifelong healthy behaviors. Each school day, the nation's schools provide an opportunity for more than 50 million students to learn about the dangers of unhealthy behaviors and practice the skills that promote a healthy lifestyle. Unhealthy behaviors, or risk behaviors, are often established during childhood and persist into adult­hood. However, they are largely preventable..."
Youth and risks

Need Childhood Vaccine Info? Find It Here

"As a parent—whether you have a newborn baby or a college-bound freshman—you do everything you can to keep your child safe and healthy. From securing a baby gate, to providing nutritious meals, to getting the brakes checked on your teen's car, their well-being is your top priority.

Vaccination is another important way you can protect your child. Vaccinating your child according to the recommended schedule is one of the best ways you can protect them from 16 serious diseases. To learn more about these diseases and the vaccines that prevent them, talk to your child's doctor and visit CDC's website for parents..."
Vaccines and parents

Stop Ticks

"Reduce your chances of getting a tickborne disease by using repellents, checking for ticks, and showering after being outdoors. If you have a tick bite followed by a fever or rash, seek medical attention.
Gardening, camping, hiking, and playing outdoors – when enjoying these activities, don't forget to take steps to prevent bites from ticks that share the outdoors. Ticks can infect humans with bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause serious illness. Diseases that you can get from a tick bite include..."Ticks

The Economic and Societal Impact Of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2010

"In 2010 the total economic cost of motor vehicle crashes in the United States was $277 billion. This represents the present value of lifetime economic costs for 32,999 fatalities, 3.9 million non-fatal injuries, and 24 million damaged vehicles. These figures include both police -reported and unreported crashes. When

quality-of-life valuations are considered, the total value of societal harm from motor vehicle crashes in 2010 was $871 billion..."

Motor vehicle crashes

Close to Half of New Immigrants Report High English-Language Speaking Ability

"In 2012, 44 percent of the foreign-born population age 5 and older who arrived in the United States in 2000 or later reported high English-language speaking ability, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. This means they either reported speaking only English at home or reported speaking it "very well" whether or not they did so at home..."
Immigrants & English-speaking

How much fertilizer is too much for Earth's climate?

"Helping farmers around the globe apply more precise amounts of fertilizer nitrogen can combat climate change.

That's the conclusion of a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In the paper, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) provide an improved prediction of nitrogen fertilizer's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural fields..."
Fertilizers & climate change

Keeping Kids Safe this Summer

"Kids like to dive into summer to relax, unwind, and have fun. Warm weather brings more opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Here are some ways to stay safe while indoors and outdoors..."
Kids & Summer

Air Quality Index: a Guide to Air Quality and Your Health

"The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health ..."
Air Quality Index

It's 2014, and the Picture Has Changed for Working Dads

"Our work force -- and families -- look different than ever before. Like moms, many dads don't have access to paid leave or flexible workplaces. And it's harder than ever for them to balance work and family. Take a look at what that looks like, and then share this if you learned something new..."
Working dads

Foreign Born Population of the United States:2012

"This table series provides a range of social and economic characteristics for the foreign-born population and their children and is the only federal source of data on the "second generation" and "third-and-higher generation" populations. These data were collected from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Internet address: <http://www.census.gov/population/foreign/data/cps.html>..."
Foreign Born Population

D-Day: 70th Anniversary

"To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, known as D-Day, the Census Bureau presents data on the number of World War II veterans at different points since 1960..."
D-Day anniversary

Hiring a Contractor

"Adding a room, renovating a basement, or doing some much-needed repairs? Finding a good contractor is important — a home improvement project gone wrong can cost you. A good ad isn’t proof a contractor does quality work. Find out for yourself. Check with friends, neighbors, or co-workers who’ve had improvement work done, and check out a contractor’s reputation on online ratings sites you trust. Get written estimates from several firms, keeping in mind the lowest bidder may not be the best choice. Also important: know the signs of a scam..."
Hiring contractor

"Gas-Saving" Products

"When gas prices go up, it seems like the number of ads for gas-saving products does, too. Although there are practical steps you can take to increase your gas mileage, be on the lookout for gas-saving claims for automotive devices or oil and gas additives. Even for the few gas-saving products that have been found to work, the savings are small..."
Gas saving products

Reason for Moving: 2012 to 2013

"Between 2012 and 2013, 35.9 million people 1 year and over living in the United States moved to a different residence. The mover rate for this period was 11.7 percent. Why did these people move?  As displayed in Figure 1, housing -related reasons were the most popular response with 17.2 million (48.0 percent). Family-related reasons were the second most selected choice with 30.3 percent, followed by job-related (19.4 percent) and other (2.3 percent).."
Moving

The Recession and Recovery in Perspective

"The 2007-2009 recession officially ended in June of 2009 (the second quarter). How bad was this recession, and how quickly is the economy recovering? How does this recession and recovery compare to previous cycles?.."
Recession and Recovery

The Year of Concentrating Solar Power

"We recently rolled out the Energy Department’s new report, 2014: The Year of Concentrating Solar Power, which focuses on five of the most innovative CSP plants in the world. All of these projects are expected to be switched on in the southwestern United States by the end of the year as a result of sustained, long-term investments by the Department and committed solar industry partners..."
Solar power

Skin Cancer Awareness

" Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. Most cases of melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, are caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. To lower your skin cancer risk, protect your skin from the sun and avoid indoor tanning..."
Skin Cancer

10 Years of Tourette Syndrome Education and Research

"Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological condition that causes people to have tics, which are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. Having TS can have a serious impact on individuals and their families. In order to improve the lives of people with TS, CDC is bridging the gap between TS and Public Health by:

• Educating professionals and the public about TS
• Conducting research about TS and its impact on children's lives.."  
• Tourette Syndrome

EPA Clean Power

"At the direction of President Obama and after an unprecedented outreach effort, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is today [6/2/2014] releasing the Clean Power Plan proposal, which for the first time cuts carbon pollution from existing power plants, the single largest source of carbon pollution in the United States. Today’s proposal will protect public health, move the United States toward a cleaner environment and fight climate change while supplying Americans with reliable and affordable power..."
Clean Power

Measles, Jan. May 2014

 "Measles is a highly contagious, acute viral illness that can lead to serious complications and death. Although measles elimination (i.e., interruption of year-round endemic transmission) was declared in the United States in 2000 (1), importations of measles cases from endemic areas of the world continue to occur, leading to secondary measles cases and outbreaks in the United States, primarily among unvaccinated persons (2). To update national measles data in the United States, CDC evaluated cases reported by states from January 1 through May 23, 2014. A total of 288 confirmed measles cases have been reported to CDC, surpassing the highest reported yearly total of measles cases since elimination (220 cases reported in 2011)..."
Measles

Foodborne Disease Outbreak, 2012

"CDC has a long history of summarizing outbreak reports from local and state health departments. CDC collects outbreak data and makes it available to the public. Tracking and reporting outbreak data is the first step towards prevention.

Highlights of New Reports:

CDC published two new reports for 2011 and 2012. The data from these reports help show the human impact of foodborne disease outbreaks..."
Foodborne diseases

Characteristics of New Housing: 2013

 "This page provides national, annual data on the characteristics of new privately-owned residential structures, such as square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, type of wall material, and sales prices. Many characteristics are available at the region level. The data are from the Survey of Construction (SOC), which is partially funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)..."
 New Housing