Trafficking in Persons Report 2015

"This year’s Report places a special emphasis on human trafficking in the global marketplace. It highlights the hidden risks that workers may encounter when seeking employment and the steps that governments and businesses can take to prevent trafficking, including a demand for transparency in global supply chains.

"The bottom line is that this is no time for complacency. Right now, across the globe, victims of human trafficking are daring to imagine the possibility of escape, the chance for a life without fear, and the opportunity to earn a living wage. I echo the words of President Obama and say to them: We hear you, and we will do all we can to make that dream come true. In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about how to break up human trafficking networks and help victims recover in safety and dignity. In years to come, we will apply those lessons relentlessly, and we will not rest until modern slavery is ended." – John F. Kerry, Secretary of State..."

Human trafficking

Economic Espionage: Nationwide Awareness Campaign Announced

"Economic espionage is a problem that costs the American economy billions of dollars annually and puts our national security at risk.

To raise awareness of the issue, the FBI and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center have launched a nationwide campaign and released a short film aimed at educating anyone with a trade secret about the threat and how they can help mitigate it. Based on an actual case, The Company Man: Protecting America’s Secrets illustrates how one U.S. company was targeted by foreign actors and how that company worked with the FBI to resolve the problem and bring the perpetrators to justice..."
Economic espionage

Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces

View a facsimile of President Harry Truman's Executive Order 9981,  issued on July 26, 1948 establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services committing the government to integrate the armed forces..."
Armed forces desegregation

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 25th Anniversary

"July 26th marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a civil rights law that strengthens the inclusion of people with disabilities at work, school, or other community settings. Learn what CDC is doing to include people with disabilities in public health research and health promotion activities.

Anyone can have a disability at any point in their life. Disabilities, which limit how a child or adult functions, may include difficulty walking or climbing stairs; hearing; seeing; or concentrating, remembering, or making decisions. An estimated 37 million¹ to 57 million² people are living with a disability in the United States, and many people will experience a disability at some time during the course of their life.

Enacted on July 26, 1990, the goals of the ADA are to promote equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.³ The ADA has made a positive difference in the lives of those who have disabilities by providing better access to buildings, transportation, and employment. However, access to health care, and the inclusion of people with disabilities in health promotion, and disease prevention programs is still a challenge; people with disabilities continue to face significant differences in health compared to people who do not have disabilities.."
ADA

Labor Day 2015: Sept. 7

" The first observance of Labor Day was likely on Sept. 5, 1882, when some 10,000 workers assembled in New York City for a parade. That celebration inspired similar events across the country, and by 1894 more than half the states were observing a “workingmen’s holiday” on one day or another. Later that year, with Congress passing legislation and President Grover Cleveland signing the bill on June 29, the first Monday in September was designated “Labor Day.” This national holiday is a creation of the labor movement in the late 19th century — and pays tribute to the social and economic achievements of American workers. 

Download FFF: Labor Day 2015 [PDF - <1 .0="" a="" mb="">

Who Are We Celebrating?

157 million

Number of people 16 and over in the nation’s labor force in June 2015.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table A-1
<http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf>..."
Labor Day 2015

Who Votes? Congressional Elections and the American Electorate: 1978–2014

"Voting is among our most fundamental domestic responsibilities and important civic opportunities. Without free and open elections, American democracy would not exist. Maintaining and improving our system of elections requires not only documenting election results, but also understanding the composition of America’s electorate, both historically and presently.
Since 1964, the U.S. Census Bureau has fielded the Voting and Registration Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS) every 2 years. Generally speaking, national American elections fall into two categories: elections where voters decide on the office of the President and congressional seats, and elections where congressional seats are the highest offices decided. To avoid confusion with presidential elections, the following report refers to nonpresidential year elections as “congressional elections.” Election results and voting patterns tend to vary between these two types of elections (specifically, voting and registration rates are lower in years with congressional elections only), and the majority of this report will focus on congressional election years only (2014, 2010, 2006, etc.)..."
Voting

International report confirms: 2014 was Earth’s warmest year on record

"In 2014, the most essential indicators of Earth’s changing climate continued to reflect trends of a warming planet, with several  markers such as rising land and ocean temperature, sea levels and greenhouse gases ─ setting new records.  These key findings and others can be found in the State of the Climate in 2014 report released online today by the American Meteorological Society (AMS)..."
Climate

CDC's VetoViolence Website

"VetoViolence is CDC's online source of free violence prevention trainings, tools, and resources. Check out the VetoViolence website to learn how to stop violence, before it happens.

Why Use VetoViolence?

Are you a busy violence prevention practitioner, short on time, doing more with less, and looking for ways to maximize your resources? CDC's VetoViolence website offers free, online, interactive, and engaging violence prevention tools, trainings, and resources based on the best available evidence and research. The tools, trainings, and resources provide practical knowledge and skills to assist and enhance the work of violence prevention practitioners..."
Vetoviolence

New Productivity Report, July 2015

"The seven regions analyzed in this report accounted for 95% of domestic oil production growth and all domestic natural gas production growth during 2011-13..."

Energy production

Singles, Mingles and Wedding Jingles: Partnerships and Living Arrangements from 1967 to 2014

" For nearly half a century, the Census Bureau has been collecting data on America’s living arrangements. Young adults age 18 to 34 have experienced significant changes in who they live with when compared over several generations. This blog will examine some of those differences.
In 1967, almost nine in 10 young adults were living in just two arrangements, either with a parent or with a spouse. While about half of 18- to 24-year-olds still live with a parent today, the other half live in more diverse arrangements. Among young adults between the ages of 25 and 34, the majority no longer live with a spouse but with a partner, alone or with others (see Figure 1). Living with others includes living with relatives other than a parent (such as a child) or nonrelatives.."Singles mingles and wedding

President Obama Announces 46 Commutations in Video Address: "America Is a Nation of Second Chances"

"As a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and criminal defense attorney, I'm well acquainted with how federal sentencing practices can, in too many instances, lead nonviolent drug offenders to spend decades, if not life, in prison. Now, don't get me wrong, many people are justly punished for causing harm and perpetuating violence in our communities. But, in some cases, the punishment required by law far exceeded the offense.

These unduly harsh sentences are one of the reasons the President is committed to using all the tools at his disposal to remedy unfairness in our criminal justice system. Today, he is continuing this effort by granting clemency to 46 men and women, nearly all of whom would have already served their time and returned to society if they were convicted of the exact same crime today..".
Presidential 46 commutations

Families and Living Arrangements: 2014

"For nearly half a century, the Census Bureau has been collecting data on America’s living arrangements. Young adults age 18 to 34 have experienced significant changes in who they live with when compared over several generations. This blog will examine some of those differences.

In 1967, almost nine in 10 young adults were living in just two arrangements, either with a parent or with a spouse. While about half of 18- to 24-year-olds still live with a parent today, the other half live in more diverse arrangements. Among young adults between the ages of 25 and 34, the majority no longer live with a spouse but with a partner, alone or with others (see Figure 1). Living with others includes living with relatives other than a parent (such as a child) or nonrelatives.."
Family and Living Arrangements

Adults Meeting Fruit and Vegetable Intake Recommendations — United States, 2013

"Eating more fruits and vegetables adds nutrients to diets, reduces the risk for heart disease, stroke, and some cancers, and helps manage body weight when consumed in place of more energy-dense foods (1). Adults who engage in <30 1.5="" 2="" activity="" and="" class="Apple-converted-space" consume="" cup="" cups="" daily="" equivalents="" fruit="" minutes="" moderate="" of="" physical="" should="" span="" vegetables=""> 
daily.* However, during 2007–2010, half of the total U.S. population consumed <1 76="" 87="" and="" cup="" cups="" daily="" did="" fruit="" intake="" meet="" not="" of="" recommendations="" span="" vegetable="" vegetables="">2). Although national estimates indicate low fruit and vegetable consumption, substantial variation by state has been observed (3). Fruit and vegetable intake information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the sole source of dietary surveillance information for most states, but frequency of intake captured by BRFSS is not directly comparable to federal intake recommendations, which are expressed in cup equivalents. CDC analyzed median daily frequency of fruit and vegetable intake based on 2013 BRFSS data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) and applied newly developed prediction equations to BRFSS to calculate the percentage of each state's population meeting fruit and vegetable intake recommendations. Overall, 13.1% of respondents met fruit intake recommendations, ranging from 7.5% in Tennessee to 17.7% in California, and 8.9% met vegetable recommendations, ranging from 5.5% in Mississippi to 13.0% in California. Substantial new efforts are needed to build consumer demand for fruits and vegetables through competitive pricing, placement, and promotion in child care, schools, grocery stores, communities, and worksites..."Fruits and Vegetables 

Investigating Human Rights Reaching Out to Diaspora Communities in U.S. for War Crimes Tips

"Five years ago, nearly a dozen former soldiers who served during the Bosnian civil war in the early ‘90s before settling in Arizona were sentenced for lying on their applications for refugee status when they came to the U.S. Last year, a Bosnian-born Minnesota man was arrested on fraud charges for not disclosing crimes—including murder, kidnapping, and robbery—he allegedly committed during his military service in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In January, a Bosnian-born Vermont man was found guilty of lying to get into the U.S. and obtain his naturalized citizenship.

These cases illustrate efforts across multiple agencies and international borders to hold accountable any individuals who committed war crimes or atrocities overseas before entering and settling in the U.S. And Bosnian war criminals represent just a sampling of the subjects being sought. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is pursuing more than 1,900 leads and cases on individuals from about 96 countries. The FBI, which works alongside HSI and special prosecutors at the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center in Northern Virginia, has pending investigations in nearly a third of our 56 field offices..."
Human rights

Local Police Departments, 2013: Equipment and Technology

"The overall percentage of the more than 12,000 local police departments in the United States authorizing the use of conducted energy weapons (CEWs) increased from 7% in 2000 to 81% in 2013 (figure 1). CEWs include Tasers and stun guns. Large increases were observed in all population categories. About 9 in 10 departments also authorized their officers to use pepper spray and batons in 2013..."
Police & tasers

2015 List of Distressed or Underserved Nonmetropolitan Middle-Income Geographies

"The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today announced the availability of the 2015 list of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies, where revitalization or stabilization activities will receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration as community development.

Distressed nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies and underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies are designated by the agencies in accordance with their CRA regulations.  The criteria for designating these areas are available on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) website (http://www.ffiec.gov/cra).  The designations continue to reflect local economic conditions, including unemployment, poverty, and population changes..."

Distressed Metropolitan areas

Systemically Important or “Too Big to Fail” Financial Institutions

"Although “too big to fail” (TBTF) has been a longstanding policy issue, it was highlighted by the near-collapse of several large financial firms in 2008. Financial firms are said to be TBTF when policy makers judge that their failure would cause unacceptable disruptions to the overall financial system, and they can be TBTF because of their size or interconnectedness. In addition to fairness issues, economic theory suggests that expectations that a firm will not be allowed to fail create moral hazard—if the creditors and counterparties of a TBTF firm believe that the government will protect them from losses, they have less incentive to monitor the firm’s riskiness because they are shielded from the negative consequences of those risks. If so, they could have a funding advantage compared with other banks, which some call an implicit subsidy..."
Financial institutions

Testimony. Understanding the Long-Term Budget Outlook

"The long-term outlook for the federal budget has changed little since last year, according to CBO’s projections. If current laws remained generally unchanged in the future, federal debt held by the public would decline slightly relative to the economy’s annual output, or gross domestic product (GDP), over the next few years, CBO projects. After that, however, growing budget deficits— caused mainly by the aging of the population and rising health care costs—would push debt back to, and then above, its current high level. The deficit would grow from less than 3 percent of GDP this year to more than 6 percent in 2040. At that point, 25 years from now, federal debt held by the public would exceed 100 percent of GDP. (Federal debt is now equivalent to about 74 percent of GDP, a higher percentage than at any point in U.S. history except a seven-year period around World War II.).."
Federal budget

Heroin Epidemic

"Most demographic groups are increasingly using heroin and other drugs. During the past decade,

heroin use has increased across the United States among men and women, most age groups, and all income levels, with some of the greatest increases occurring in demographic groups that have had historically lower rates of heroin use, according to a new Vital Signs report.

• A wider variety of people are using heroin. Rates remained highest among males, 18–25 year olds, people with annual incomes less than $20,000, people living in urban areas, and people with no health insurance or those enrolled in Medicaid. However, rates increased significantly across almost all study groups. They doubled among women and more than doubled among non-Hispanic whites.
• It is common for people who use heroin to use other drugs. Nearly all (96 percent) people who reported heroin use also reported using at least one other drug in the past year. More than half (61 percent) used at least three other drugs. Prescription opioid painkiller abuse or dependences was the strongest risk factor for heroin abuse or dependence; 45% of people who used heroin also abused or were dependent on prescription opioid painkillers in the past year.
• As heroin abuse or dependence increased, so have heroin-related overdose deaths. From 2002 through 2013, the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled..."
  Heroin

Tune in on July 13 to Join a National Conversation on Aging in America

"2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act, as well as the 80th anniversary of Social Security. On July 13, President Obama will host the 2015 White House Conference on Aging. It will be an opportunity to recognize the importance of these landmark programs, while looking ahead to address the issues that will improve the quality of life for older Americans for the next decade..." 
2015 Whitehouse Conference on Aging

President Obama Provides an Update on Our Strategy to Degrade and Destroy ISIL

" Today, President Obama provided an update on the U.S. mission to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group, ISIL. Watch his remarks at the Pentagon here:

ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) was formerly al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has since gained territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border by taking advantage of sectarian strife and the Syrian civil war. Although ISIL calls itself the “Islamic State,” the President has emphasized that the terrorist group is neither Islamic nor a state..."
ISIL

EPA Finalizes Rule to Reduce Climate-Damaging HFCs

"Today, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a rule to prohibit certain uses of chemicals that significantly contribute to climate change in favor of safer, more climate-friendly alternatives. This action responds to President Obama's Climate Action Plan by reducing emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a class of potent greenhouse gases used in air-conditioning, refrigeration, and other equipment.

“Today’s action delivers on the President’s Climate Action Plan and the administration’s commitment to acting on climate. And it is in line with steps leading businesses are already taking to reduce and replace HFCs with safer, climate-friendly alternatives,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “This rule will not only reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, but also encourage greater use and development of the next generation of safer HFC alternatives.”

In the United States, HFC emissions are expected to nearly double by 2020 and triple by 2030. New technologies and new climate-friendly refrigerants can significantly reduce these emission increases. EPA estimates this final rule will reduce greenhouse gas emissions of 54 to 64 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, equal to the carbon dioxide emissions from the annual energy use of more than 5.8 million homes..."

HFCs climate reduction

Tips for Using Public Wi-Fi Networks

"Wi-Fi hotspots in coffee shops, libraries, airports, hotels, universities, and other public places are convenient, but often they're not secure. If you connect to a Wi-Fi network, and send information through websites or mobile apps, it might be accessed  by someone else.

To protect your information when using wireless hotspots, send information only to sites     that are fully encrypted, and avoid using mobile apps that require personal or financial information..."
Public wi-fi networks

Procedures for Congressional Action in Relation to a Nuclear Agreement with Iran: In Brief

"An April 2015 framework for negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran suggests that a final agreement that results in the easing of many existing sanctions on Iran might be reached. Amid concerns among some in Congress about the terms of the possible agreement, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-17).1 The act establishes a period for Congress to review any comprehensive agreement, during which certain presidential actions to provide relief from sanctions on Iran are barred. It also provides for congressional action during this period that could prevent (or allow) such relief. After this review period, further, the act requires the President to make certain certifications of Iran’s compliance with the agreement, and if these certifications are not made, it establishes expedited congressional procedures for legislation that could reinstate sanctions waived by the President..."
Iran

Appointment and Confirmation of Executive Branch Leadership: An Overview

"The Constitution divides the responsibility for populating the top positions in the executive branch of the federal government between the President and the Senate. Article II, Section 2 empowers the President to nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the principal officers of the United States, as well as some subordinate officers.
These positions are generally filled through the advice and consent process, which can be divided into three stages:
• First, the White House selects and clears a prospective appointee before sending a formal nomination to the Senate.
• Second, the Senate determines whether to confirm a nomination. For most nominations, much of this process occurs at the committee level.
 • Third, the confirmed nominee is given a commission and sworn into office, after which he or she has full authority to carry out the duties of the office.
Executive branch appointments

Start with Security: a Guide for Business

"When managing your network, developing an app, or even organizing paper files, sound security is no accident. Companies that consider security from the start assess their options and make reasonable choices based on the nature of their business and the sensitivity of the information involved. Threats to data may transform over time, but the fundamentals of sound security remain constant. As the Federal Trade Commission outlined in Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business, you should know what personal information you have in your files and on your computers, and keep only what you need for your business. You should protect the information that you keep, and properly dispose of what you no longer need. And, of course, you should create a plan to respond to security incidents..."
Business security