13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery

"The House Joint Resolution proposing the 13th amendment to the Constitution, January 31, 1865; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-1999; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archive.

Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
13th Amendment

Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2019

"The report draws on a wide array of surveys and administrative datasets to present statistics on high school dropout and completion rates at the state and national levels. The report includes estimates of the percentage of students who drop out in a given 12-month period (event dropout rates), the percentage of young people in a specified age range who are high school dropouts (status dropout rates), and the percentage of young people in a specified age range who hold high school credentials (status completion rates). In addition, the report includes data on the percentage of students who graduate with a regular diploma within four years of starting ninth grade (adjusted cohort graduation rates). This report updates a series of NCES reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988.
Online Availability: Browse this document. Download, view and print the report as a pdf file.  (2.95MB).."

School dropout rates

CDC Adolescent and School Health Surveys

"CDC supports adolescent and school health efforts using state-of-the-art surveillance systems designed to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on youth risk behaviors and school health policies and practices.

CDC is committed to protecting and improving the health of adolescents. Our nation’s education agencies and schools are partners in the effort to protect the health of adolescents and help educate them about how to live a healthy life now and into adulthood.

CDC’s Monitoring Systems Support School-based Health Efforts

Identification of trends in youth health risk behaviors and in school health policies and practices are strategies CDC uses to achieve its mission to improve the health and quality of life of adolescents. CDC manages surveillance systems that collect, analyze, and disseminate critical data. These systems are School Health Profiles (Profiles) and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).

The School Health Profiles (Profiles) is a system of surveys that provides representative data on school health policies and practices in states, large urban school districts and territories. Since 1994, Profiles has been conducted every 2 years by education and health agencies among middle and high school principals and lead health education teachers to learn about the status of

• School health education requirements and content;
• Physical education and physical activity;
• Practices related to bullying and sexual harassment;
• School health policies related to tobacco-use prevention and nutrition;
• School-based health services;
• Family engagement and community involvement; and
• School health coordination..."
  Adolescent and school health survey

What You Should Know About Flu Antiviral Drugs

"Can flu be treated?

Yes. There are prescription medications called “antiviral drugs” that can be used to treat flu illness. CDC recommends prompt treatment for people who have flu infection or suspected flu infection and who are at high risk of serious flu complications, such as people with asthma, diabetes (including gestational diabetes), or heart disease.

What are antiviral drugs?

Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid, an inhaled powder, or an intravenous solution) that fight against flu viruses in your body. Antiviral drugs are not sold over-the-counter. You can only get them if you have a prescription from a health care provider. Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics, which fight against bacterial infections.

What should I do if I think I am sick with flu?

If you get sick with flu, antiviral drugs are a treatment option. Check with your doctor promptly if you are at high risk of serious flu complications (see box below for the full list of high risk factors) and you develop flu symptoms. Flu signs and symptoms can include feeling feverish or having a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Your doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs to treat your flu illness..."
Flu antiviral

A Look at America’s Family Farms

"The more than 2 million farms in the U.S. vary greatly in size and characteristics. For example, annual gross revenue can range from as little as $1,000 to more than $5 million.

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) recently released its widely used annual report that describes characteristics of different types of U.S. farms, titled America’s Diverse Family Farms: 2019 Edition. Farms are classified based on ownership of the farm, annual gross revenue, and the primary occupation of the principal operator..."
Family farms

The Impeachment Process in the Senate

"After the House impeaches a federal officer, the Senate conducts a trial to determine if the individual should be removed from office. The Senate has a set of rules specific to the conduct of an impeachment trial, most of which originated in the early 19th century.

The impeachment rules lay out specific steps that the Senate takes to organize for a trial. House managers (Members of the House who present the case against the impeached officer in the Senate) read the articles of impeachment on the Senate floor. The Presiding Officer and Senators take an oath to do impartial justice, and the Senate issues a “summons” to the accused and requests that a written answer be filed. The House Managers are also invited to respond to the answer of the impeached officer.

Actions after these organizing steps, however, are not specified in the impeachment rules. The impeachment rules mention some actions that are common in judicial trials, such as opening and closing statements by the parties to the case and the examination of witnesses, but provide little specific guidance. Instead, the rules allow the Senate, when sitting for a trial, to set particular procedures through the approval of “orders.” Some orders of the Senate are unanimous consent agreements, but others are proposals adopted by the Senate. If such a proposal is considered while the Senate is sitting for the trial, then debate is limited by the impeachment rules. As a result, the support of three-fifths of the Senate to invoke cloture is not necessary to reach a vote to approve a procedural proposal. In previous trials, such proposals have been subject to amendment. Senate published precedents do not provide guidance on what can or cannot be included in such an order..."
Impeachment in Senate

Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General

"Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S. Although the percentage of adults who smoke is at an all-time low in the U.S., 34 million adults still smoke and therefore continue to be at risk of developing smoking-related diseases.

This report makes it clear that one of the most important actions people can take to improve their health is to quit smoking. This is true regardless of their age or how long they’ve been smoking.

Quitting smoking can be difficult, but there are proven treatments and strategies to help people quit smoking successfully. The report outlines the latest research on these treatments including counseling (in-person and over the telephone with a quitline) and medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The report also sheds light on new and emerging opportunities to further promote and support cessation in our country.

We know more about the science of quitting than ever before. Ultimately, the report serves as a call to action to our nation—we can and must do more to ensure that proven cessation treatments are reaching the people that need them.

Full Report

Download Full Report (PDF - 10 MB)

Download Executive Summary (PDF - 305 KB)""

"
Smoking cessation

2019 Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report

"Preliminary statistics show overall declines in both violent and property crime in the first half of 2019 compared to the same time frame the previous year, according to FBI crime statistics released today.

The Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report covers January through June 2019. It contains data from more than 14,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide that voluntarily submitted information to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

According to the report, all categories of violent crime offenses decreased between the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2019, including:

• Robbery (-7.4 percent)
• Rape (-7.3 percent)
• Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter (-3.9 percent)
• Aggravated assault (-0.3 percent)

Property crime also declined during the same period, specifically:

• Burglary (-11.1 percent)
• Motor vehicle theft (-6.7 percent)
• Larceny-theft (-4.2 percent)

The full Crime in the United States, 2019 report will be released later this year.."
Crime statistics

Presidential Pardons: Overview and Selected Legal Issues

"Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes the President “to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The power has its roots in the king’s prerogative to grant mercy under early English law, which later traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to the American colonies. The Supreme Court has recognized that the authority vested by the Constitution in the President is quite broad, describing it as “plenary,” discretionary, and largely not subject to legislative modification. Nonetheless, there are two textual limitations on the pardon power’s exercise: first, the President may grant pardons only for federal criminal offenses, and second, impeachment convictions are not pardonable. The Court has also recognized some other narrow restraints, including that a pardon cannot be issued to cover crimes prior to commission.

The pardon power authorizes the President to grant several forms of relief from criminal punishment. The most common forms of relief are full pardons (for individuals) and amnesties (for groups of people), which completely obviate the punishment for a committed or charged federal criminal offense, and commutations, which reduce the penalties associated with convictions. An administrative process has been established through the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney for submitting and evaluating requests for these and other forms of clemency, though the process and regulations governing it are merely advisory and do not affect the President’s ultimate authority to grant relief..."
Presidential pardons

City of Madison Workplace Climate Survey Report

"EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 In the summer of 2019, the Multicultural Affairs Committee (MAC) and Women’s Initiatives Committee (WIC) administered a survey to all City of Madison employees to evaluate the workplace culture and climate, particularly in areas of concern to women and employees of color. A total of 913 employees responded to the survey.

After reviewing and analyzing the results, MAC and WIC identified the following themes:

Safe/Respectful Workplace Concerns

One out of four survey respondents (25%) said they had experienced workplace harassment, bullying, or discrimination in the past year.

 Less than half of respondents reported their experience with harassment, bullying or discrimination. The main reasons these respondents didn’t report is because of the fear of social retaliation (being ostracized or shunned at work), closely followed by not trusting the complaint process or outcome.

 Respondents said most of the harassment and bullying was instigated by peers (40% of incidents), supervisors (33% of incidents), and patrons/members of the public (18% of incidents). Multiple employees in frontline positions described a hostile work environment where patrons/members of the public harass and verbally abuse staff with impunity. Some employees reported being stalked or physically assaulted..."
Workplace climate

NOAA Analyses Reveal 2019 Second Warmest Year on Record

"According to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Earth's global surface temperatures in 2019 were the second warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.

Globally, 2019 temperatures were second only to those of 2016 and continued the planet's long-term warming trend: the past five years have been the warmest of the last 140 years.

This past year, they were 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (0.98 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1951 to 1980 mean, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

“The decade that just ended is clearly the warmest decade on record,” said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. “Every decade since the 1960s clearly has been warmer than the one before.”

Since the 1880s, the average global surface temperature has risen and the average temperature is now more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (a bit more than 1 degree Celsius) above that of the late 19th century. For reference, the last Ice Age was about 10 degrees Fahrenheit colder than pre-industrial temperatures.."
2nd warmest year on record

HPV Diseases and Cancers

"HPV infections can lead to certain to certain types of cancer in men and women. Whether you have a son or daughter, talk to your child’s doctor about the HPV vaccine to prevent these cancers.

6 types of cancer caused by HPV

HPV can cause cancers of the:

• Cervix, vagina, and vulva in women
• Penisexternal icon in men
• Anusexternal icon and back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils (oropharynx), in both women and men

Cancer often takes years, even decades, to develop after a person gets HPV. CDC recommends HPV vaccination at ages 11-12 to protect against these cancers.

There is no way to know which people who have HPV will develop cancer or other health problems. People with weakened immune systems (including individuals with HIV/AIDS) may be less able to fight off HPV and more likely to develop health problems from it..."
HPV

Portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Born on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key leader of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. King and his followers fought for the equal rights and equal justice that the United States Constitution ensures for all its citizens. The great legal milestones achieved by this movement were the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the later 1960s, the targets of King's activism were less often the legal and political obstacles to the exercise of civil rights by blacks, and more often the underlying poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and blocked avenues of economic opportunity confronting black Americans..."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Campaign and Election Security Policy: Overview and Recent Developments for Congress

"In the United States, state, territorial, and local governments are responsible for most aspects of selecting and securing election systems and equipment. Foreign interference during the 2016 election cycle—and widely reported to be an ongoing threat—has renewed congressional attention to campaign and election security and raised new questions about the nature and extent of the federal government’s role in this policy area.

This report provides congressional readers with a resource for understanding campaign and election security policy. This includes discussion of the federal government’s roles; state or territorial responsibilities for election administration and election security; an overview of potentially relevant federal statutes and agencies; and highlights of recent congressional policy debates. The report summarizes related legislation that has advanced beyond introduction during the 116th Congress. It also poses questions for consideration as the House and Senate examine whether or how to pursue legislation, oversight, or appropriations..."
Election security

Overtime Pay Rules Were Implemented on January 1. Here’s What You Need to Know.

"The U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule making 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay took effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Here’s what you need to know about the changes and where to find compliance assistance resources.

What’s new? The final rule updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, and allows employers to count a portion of certain bonuses/commissions towards meeting the salary level. Specifically:

• The “standard salary level” is now $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker).

• The total annual compensation requirement for “highly compensated employees” is now $107,432 per year.

• Employers are allowed to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level, in recognition of evolving pay practices.

• The special salary levels for workers in U.S. territories and the motion picture industry have been updated..."
  Overtime pay

Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products

"CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners are investigating a national outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI).

On This Page

• What is New
• What We Know
• What We Don't Know
• Key Facts about E-Cigarette Use, or Vaping
• Key Facts about Vitamin E Acetate.."

• Latest Outbreak Information
• Map of Reported Cases
• Epi Chart of Reported Cases
• What CDC is Doin

 Lung injury and e-cigarettes

Make Health Your Resolution in 2020

"Six Tips for 2020

1. Make an appointment for a check-up, vaccination, or screening. Regular oral and medical exams and tests can help find problems before they start. They also can help find problems early, when your chances for treatment and cure are better.
2. Wash your hands often with soap and water to prevent the spread of infection and illness. Handwashing involves five simple and effective steps – wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry. Learn more about when and how to wash your hands.
3. Make healthy food choices. A healthy eating plan emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products. It also includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts, and is low in saturated fats, trans fatsexternal icon, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.
4. Get active! Start small – try taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking further from your destination. Consider mall walking if the weather is cold or icy. Adults should get at least 2½ hours a week of moderate-intensity physical activity.
5. Be smokefree. If you are ready to quit, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (1-855-335-3569 for Spanish speakers) for free resources, including free quit coaching, a free quit plan, free educational materials, and referrals to other resources where you live. Need inspiration? Check out these videos from the Tips From Former Smokers^® campaign.
6. Get enough sleep. Insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions—such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Adults need seven or more hours per night..."
   Healthy living in 2020

Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2018

"This report is the latest in a series on cigarette sales, advertising, and promotion that the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”) has prepared since 1967. The tables appended to this report provide information on domestic cigarette sales and advertising and promotional activity by the largest manufacturers.

1. The 2018 sales and expenditure information in the tables was compiled from data contained in special reports submitted to the Commission pursuant to compulsory process by the parent companies of the major manufacturers of cigarettes sold in the United States: Altria Group, Inc.; ITG Holdings USA Inc.; Reynolds American, Inc.; and Vector Group Ltd.2

II. TOTAL SALES AND ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL EXPENDITURES

The total number of cigarettes reported sold by the major manufacturers, 216.9 billion in 2018, decreased by 12.2 billion units (5.3 percent) from 2017. Advertising and promotional expenditures decreased during that same period, from $8.637 billion to $8.401 billion. The largest single category of these expenditures in 2018 was price discounts paid to cigarette retailers in order to reduce the price of cigarettes to consumers, which accounted for $6.155 billion (73.3 percent of total advertising and promotional expenditures)..."
Cigarette report

National Do_Not Call

"The Federal Trade Commission has issued its biennial report to Congress focusing on the use of the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry by both consumers and businesses and other organizations over the past two years.

This year’s report includes: 1) a summary of current Registry operations; 2) a summary of the impact on the Registry of new telecommunication technologies; and 3) a discussion of the impact of the established business relationship exception in the Commission’s enforcement efforts.

The DNC Registry currently has more than 239 million active registrations, an increase of more than 4.1 million registrations from the previous fiscal year (FY). According to the report, during fiscal year 2019, 2,014 businesses and other entities paid more than $12 million to access the Registry. More than 15,000 entities subscribed to access the Registry, including those who registered for five or fewer area codes free of charge, and 541entities (such as charitable organizations) claimed “exempt organization” status and also received free access to the Registry..."
Do-Not Call