The Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program

"In response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Federal Reserve (Fed) created a series of emergency lending programs, including the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP). The MSLP supports lending to eligible businesses and nonprofits and marks the first time the Fed has lent to nonfinancial businesses since the1930s (though it purchased commercial paper[short-term debtsecurities] issued by nonfinancial businesses in 2008 and 2009). 

COVID-19 and Main Street Businesses

Due to the effects of COVID-19, the U.S. economy has experienced a sudden and deep recession. The unemployment rate hasreached its highest level since the Great Depression, and the decline in output in the second quarter of 2020 was record-breaking. Normal commerce was severely disrupted starting in March and has only partially recovered in the following months. Social distancing and fears of the virus hit many “main street businesses”in retail and hospitality industries particularly hard. Many disrupted businesses, even if solvent prior to COVID-19, began to experience cash flow problems and faced difficult decisions abouthow to stay in business..."
Federal Reserve 

Deep Fakes and National Security

"“Deep fakes”—a term that first emerged in 2017 to describe realistic photo, audio, video, and other forgeries generated with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies—could present a variety of national security challenges in the years to come. As these technologies continue to mature, they could hold significant implications for congressional oversight, U.S. defense authorizations and appropriations, and the regulation of social media platforms.

 How Are Deep Fakes Created?

 Though definitions vary, deep fakes are most commonly described as forgeries created using techniques in machine learning (ML)—a subfield of AI—especially generative adversarial networks (GANs). In the GAN process, two ML systems called neural networks are trained in competition with each other. The first network, or the generator, is tasked with creating counterfeit data—such as photos, audio recordings, or video footage—that replicate the properties of the original data set. The second network, or the discriminator, is tasked with identifying the counterfeit data. Based on the results of each iteration, the generator network adjusts to create increasingly realistic data. The networks continue to compete—often for thousands or millions of iterations—until the generator improves its performance such that the discriminator can no longer distinguish between real and counterfeit data.

Though media manipulation is not a new phenomenon, the use of AI to generate deep fakes is causing concern because the results are increasingly realistic, rapidly created, and cheaply made with freely available software and the ability to rent processing power through cloud computing. Thus, even unskilled operators could download the requisite software tools and,  data, create increasingly convincing counterfeit content..."
Deep Fakes 

The Fourth Report of the Congressional Oversight Commission

"This is the fourth report of the Congressional Oversight Commission (Commission) created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).1 The Commission’s role is to conduct oversight of the implementation of Division A, Title IV, Subtitle A of the CARES Act (Subtitle A) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve). Subtitle A provides $500 billion to the Treasury for lending and other investments “to provide liquidity to eligible businesses, States, and municipalities related to losses incurred as a result of coronavirus.”

 Of this amount, $46 billion is set aside for the Treasury itself to provide loans or loan guarantees to certain types of companies. Up to $25 billion is available for passenger air carriers, eligible businesses certified to perform inspection, repair, replace, or overhaul services, and ticket agents. Up to $4 billion is available for cargo air carriers, and up to $17 billion is available for businesses “critical to maintaining national security.”3 Any unused portions of this $46 billion, and the remaining $454 billion, may be used to support emergency lending facilities established by the Federal Reserve.

The CARES Act charges the Commission with submitting regular reports to Congress on:

  The use by the Federal Reserve of authority under Subtitle A, including with respect to the use of contracting authority and administration of the provisions of Subtitle A
 The impact of loans, loan guarantees, and investments made under Subtitle A on the financial well-being of the people of the United States and the U.S. economy, financial markets, and financial institutions.
 The extent to which the information made available on transactions under Subtitle A has contributed to market transparency.."
CARES Report 

Facts on U.S. immigrants, 2018

[Pew Research Center ]
"There were a record 44.8 million immigrants living in the U.S. in 2018, making up 13.7% of the nation’s population. This represents a more than fourfold increase since 1960, when 9.7 million immigrants lived in the U.S., accounting for 5.4% of the total U.S. population. Click the link below each summary table to download the data.

To find more context on the figures below, visit the blog post “Key findings about U.S. immigrants,” and for a downloadable version of the tables below, see the PDF and the Excel workbook. For facts on Latinos in the United States, see our profile on U.S. Hispanics.

For details on our regional grouping of countries, see our “Countries by regional classification” document (PDF)..."
U.S. immigrants 

A Brief History of the United States Postal Service

"From 1753 to 1774, as he oversaw Britain’s colonial mail service, Benjamin Franklin improved a primitive courier system connecting the 13 fragmented colonies into a more efficient organization that sped deliveries between Philadelphia and New York City to a mere 33 hours. Franklin’s travels along the post roads would inspire his revolutionary vision for how a new nation could thrive independent of Britain. But not even he imagined the pivotal role that the post would play in creating the Republic.

By the early 1770s, Franklin’s fellow patriots had organized underground networks, the Committees of Correspondence and then the Constitutional Post, that enabled the founders to talk treason under the British radar. In 1775, before the Declaration of Independence was even signed, the Continental Congress turned the Constitutional Post into the Post Office of the United States, whose operations became the first—and for many citizens, the most consequential—function of the new government itself.

James Madison and others saw how the post could support this fledgling democracy by informing the electorate, and in 1792 devised a Robin Hood scheme whereby high-priced postage for letters, then sent mostly by businessmen and lawyers, subsidized the delivery of cheap, uncensored newspapers. This policy helped spark America’s lively, disputatious political culture and made it a communications superpower with remarkable speed. When Alexis de Tocqueville toured the young country, in 1831, the United States boasted twice as many post offices as Britain and five times as many as France. The astonished political philosopher wrote of hurtling through the Michigan frontier in a crude wagon simply called “the mail” and pausing at “huts” where the driver would toss down a bundle of newspapers and letters before hastening along his route. “We pursued our way at full gallop, leaving the inhabitants of the neighboring log houses to send for their share of the treasure.”.."
U.S. Postal Service history 

Preparing for a Hurricane or Tropical Storm

"You can’t stop a tropical storm or hurricane, but you can take steps now to protect yourself and your family.

If you live in areas at risk, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages you to be prepared for hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 through November 30 each year. It’s always important to be prepared for a hurricane.

Planning for hurricane season and other potential disasters can be stressful, and because the 2020 hurricane season comes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it may be especially so. Your planning may be different this year because of the need to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

For tips to help you safely prepare, evacuate, and shelter for severe storms while protecting yourself and others from COVID-19, please see: Preparing for Hurricanes During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Preparing for a Hurricane

Follow these important hurricane preparedness tips from CDC:

• Prepare for a hurricane: Take basic steps now to ensure your safety should a storm hit.
• Get emergency supplies: Stock your home and your car with supplies. Give yourself more time than usual to prepare your emergency food, water, and medicine supplies. Home delivery is the safest choice for buying disaster supplies; however, that may not be an option for everyone. If in-person shopping is your only choice, take steps to protect your and others’ health when running essential errands.
• Make a plan: Create a family disaster plan.
• Prepare to evacuate: Never ignore an evacuation order. Pay attention to local guidance about updated plans for evacuations and shelters, including shelters for your pets.
• Protect older adults: Understand older adult health and medical concerns.
• Protect your pets: Ensure your pet’s safety before, during, and after a hurricane.
• When you check on neighbors and friends, be sure to follow social distancing recommendations (staying at least 6 feet from others) and other CDC recommendations to protect yourself and others..."
  Hurricanes and tropical storms 

Meal Prep to Better Manage Your Diabetes

"Meal prepping, or preparing your meals ahead of time, can help you better manage your diabetes. Read more for tips on how to get started.

A healthy and balanced diet is a key part of diabetes management, and meal prep can help—especially during times of uncertainty when your schedule may be disrupted. Feeling overwhelmed or anxious can lead to shortcuts in the kitchen, and you may end up eating unhealthy foods. Frozen pizza or fast food may be easy choices, but not the best choices for your health.

When you plan your meals and make them in advance, you’ll be less tempted to eat foods that aren’t diabetes-friendly. This can give you some control over your diabetes management even at times when other things can feel out of control.

How to Get Started

Meal planning can be broken down into 5 simple steps.

Step 1: Talk with your family about foods they like. Think about how they can be a part of well-balanced meals that help you avoid high and low blood sugar levels.

Step 2: Shop at home. Before you head to the store or order your groceries for delivery, look at what you have at home. Do you need to use up produce before it spoils? Make a list of the foods you have on hand to help you choose recipes. Low on staples such as beans, oil, or pasta? Add them to your grocery list.

Step 3: Find recipes that match your family’s tastes and your health goals. Start by looking at recipes you know your family loves. Are there ways to make them healthier? If you want to add new meals, save recipes from newspapers, magazines, or food blogs..."
Food and diabetes 

10 Dangerous Food Safety Mistakes

"We all want to keep our families safe and healthy. But sometimes a simple mistake in the way we handle and prepare food can lead to serious sickness. With some germs like Salmonella, just a small amount in undercooked food is enough to cause food poisoning. And just a tiny taste of food with botulism toxin can cause paralysis and even death.

You can protect your family by avoiding these common food safety mistakes.

Mistake #1: Eating risky foods if you are more likely to get food poisoning

thumbs down solid icon

Why It’s a Mistake: Anyone can get food poisoning. But some people are more likely to get sick and to have a more serious illness. This includes:

• Adults aged 65 and older
• Children younger than 5 years
• People who have health problems or who take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness (weakened immune systems)
• Pregnant women.."
  Food safety 

Squeezing the middle class: Income trajectories from 1967 to 2016

[Brookings Institution]
"There is growing concern over both income inequality and the plight of the middle class. But most studies of these questions rely on cross-sectional data, rather than tracking the same people over time.

In this paper I examine changes in income and class position over two fifteen-year periods (1967 to 1981 and from 2002 to 2016). Specifically, for individuals aged 25 to 44 at the start of these periods, I use data from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine:

 • Group Income growth (average)
• Individual Income losses and gains
• Changes in the size of income classes
• Transitions between income classes
• Income class composition by race
• Income class composition by education

 Comparing the two periods, the main findings are as follows:

• The median income growth experienced by prime-age Americans over a fifteen-year period has been cut by almost two thirds, from 27% to 8%
• The proportion experiencing a large income loss has more than tripled, from 4% to 12%.
• The upper middle class has expanded significantly, while the “middle” middle class (MMC) has shrunk from 50% to 36% ..."
Middle class income 

Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Civil Aviation Operations

"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large impact on civil aviation, particularly commercial passenger airline operations. The combination of travel restrictions; state and local mandates to stay at home, shelter-in-place, and self-quarantine after travel from certain areas; and public concerns over the risk of contracting COVID-19 from travel-related activities has resulted in a significant decrease in air travel demand since March 2020. Passenger air travel is not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2023 at the earliest.

 The COVID-19 outbreak is the first major global pandemic having widespread impact on passenger jet air travel, and the federal government lacked a comprehensive plan for responding to communicable disease outbreaks across the aviation system despite considerable efforts to study the risks and develop airport-specific response plans. Initial federal response to the COVID-19 outbreak focused on international travel restrictions from countries experiencing outbreaks starting in late January 2020 with restrictions on travelers from China. Restrictions were later expanded to include travelers from Iran, Europe, and later from Brazil. Additionally, the Department of State had issued a global health advisory, urging U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel. The European Union also imposed restrictions on travelers from the United States which remains in effect even through restrictions on travel to Europe from certain other countries have been eased.."
COVID-19 and Civil Aviation 

Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence United State Senate on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election. , Vol 5.

"FINDINGS (U) 

The Committee found that the Russian government engaged in an aggressive, multifaceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Parts of this effort are outlined in the Committee's earlier volumes on election security, social media, the Obama Administration's response to the threat, and the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). 

(U) The fifth and final volume focuses on the counterintelligence threat, outlining a wide range of Russian efforts to influence the Trump Campaign and the 2016 election. In this volume the Committee lays out its findings in detail by looking at many aspects of the counterintelligence threat posed by the Russian influence operation. For example, the Committee examined Paul Manafort' s connections to Russian influence actors and the FBI' s treatment of reporting produced by Christopher Steele. While the Committee does not describe the final result as a complete picture, this volume provides the most comprehensive description to date of Russia's activities and the threat they posed. This volume presents this information in topical sections in order to address coherently and in detail the wide variety of Russian actions. The events explained in these sections in many cases overlap, and references in each section will direct the reader to those overlapping.."
Senate report on Russian interference in 2016 Election  

Protect Your Eyes

"You only have one pair of eyes, so take care of them! Healthy Habits = Healthy Eyes. Taking proper care of your contact lenses can help you see better and keep your eyes healthy.

When cared for properly, contact lenses can provide a safe and effective way to correct your vision. In fact, more than 45 million Americans wear contact lenses. However, wearing contact lenses can increase your chance of getting an eye infection—especially if you do not care for your lenses the right way.

Contact Lens Health Starts with You
 

Your habits, supplies, and eye care provider are all essential to keeping your eyes healthy. Both contact lens wearers and eye care providers play an important role in proper eye care. By following your eye care provider’s instructions on how to properly wear, clean, and store your lenses, you can enjoy the comfort and benefits of contact lenses while lowering your chances of an eye infection..".
Contact Lens

Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use in the U.S.

"Excessive alcohol use is responsible for more than 93,000 deaths in the United States each year, or 255 deaths per day. These deaths shorten the lives of those who die by an average of almost 29 years, for a total of 2.7 million years of potential life lost. It is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and cost the nation $249 billion in 2010.

More than half of alcohol-attributable deaths are due to health effects from drinking too much over time, such as various types of cancer, liver disease, and heart disease. However, short-term health effects from consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time accounted for most of the years of potential life lost, such as deaths due to poisonings that involved another substance in addition to alcohol (e.g., drug overdoses), suicide, and motor vehicle crashes.

The Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application allows users to see estimates of alcohol-related deaths and years of potential life lost from 58 conditions by age, sex, and state. Of all alcohol-attributable deaths, more than 70% involved men and more than 80% involved adults aged 35 or older. Death rates due to excessive alcohol use varied across states, ranging from 20 per 100,000 population in New York and New Jersey to 52 per 100,000 population in New Mexico.."
Alcohol use deaths 

Social Security Handbook

Use the online edition of the Social Security Handbook to find information about benefits, rules and regulations of the Social Security program.
Social Security Handbook 

 

COVID-19 Testing: Frequently Asked Questions

"The United States is reporting some of the highest number of cases and deaths from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic globally, and the disease is affecting communities nationwide. In response, federal, state, and local governments have undertaken containment and mitigation efforts to “flatten the curve”—that is, to slow widespread transmission that could overwhelm the nation’s health care system and to reduce spread of the disease while treatments and vaccines are being developed that will lessen the health impact of the virus.

 Diagnostic testing is a critical part of the clinical management of COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Both diagnostic (i.e., testing for active infection) and serology testing (i.e., testing for the presence of antibodies, potentially indicating a previous infection) over a wide population may be a key component of efforts to ease mitigation measures and allow people to return safely to work and school. Ongoing testing can be used for public health purposes to identify and isolate positive cases of COVID-19, thereby reducing spread of the disease. However, the use of testing for public health purposes rather than for the clinical diagnosis of individuals poses legal and policy complications, because regulation and payment policies can differ based on how the test is used.

Further, COVID-19 testing in the United States is provided in a number of health care and community-based settings. Insurance coverage and payment for a given COVID-19 test can depend on a number of factors, including the entity administering the test or processing test results, and the reason for which the test is administered. These factors can determine whether a certain payment mechanism may be used to pay for a given test. Congress, through several coronavirus legislative packages, has enacted various insurance coverage requirements along with other funding mechanisms to help pay for testing..."
COVID-19 Testing 

 

14th Report on Carcinogens

"U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the 14th Report on Carcinogens on November 3, 2016. The Report on Carcinogens is a congressionally mandated, science-based, public health document that NTP prepares for the HHS Secretary. This cumulative report currently includes 248 listings of agents, substances, mixtures, and exposure circumstances that are known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans.

• Table of Contents
• Press Release
• Fact Sheet on the 14th Report on Carcinogens
• Federal Register notice.."
  Report on Carcinogens 

Kids Count Data Book: 2019

[Annie E. Casey Foundation]

"The 30th edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT® Data Book begins by exploring how America’s child population — and the American childhood experience — has changed since 1990.

And there’s some good news to share: Of the 16 areas of child well-being tracked across four domains — health, education, family and community and economic well-being — 11 have improved since the Foundation published its first Data Book 30 editions ago.

The rest of the 2019 Data Book — including the latest national trends and state rankings — rely on a shorter review window: 2010 to 2017.

The data reveal, in the United States today, more parents are financially stable and living without burdensome housing costs. More teens are graduating from high school and delaying parenthood. And access to children’s health insurance has increased compared to just seven years ago.

But it is not all good news. The risk of babies being born at a low weight continues to rise, racial inequities remain systemic and stubbornly persistent and 12% of kids across the country are still growing up in areas of concentrated poverty..."
Kids Count Data Book: 2019 

Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery: Responsibilities, Authority, and Appointment

"The Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted on March 27, 2020 (P.L. 116-136). The CARES Act provides over $2 trillion in relief to individuals; businesses; state, local,and tribal government; federal agencies; and industry sectors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to these relief programs, Congress included a variety of provisions to facilitate transparency and oversight in the implementation of the CARES Act. Among these actions was the creation of a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR). The SIGPR is similar in purpose and legal authorities to two other special inspectors general: the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

This Insight provides an introduction to the responsibilities, authority, and selection of the SIGPR. Citations to the relevant provisions of the CARES Act are included in parenthesis as appropriate.

For other CRS materials related to the CARES Act and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, see CRS’s Coronavirus resource page.

Responsibilities

The SIGPR is to lead a new inspector general office within the Department of the Treasury and is directed to “conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations” of the financial assistance programs for businesses included in Title IV of the CARES Act and any other Treasury programs established under the act (§4018(c)(1)). Specifically, the SIGPR is required to collect and summarize the following information (and to maintain appropriate systems to do so):

 a description of the types of transactions entered into by Treasury (§4018(c)(1)(A));

 a listing of eligible businesses receiving assistance (§4018(c)(1)(B));

 an explanation of each loan and loan guarantee and its financial terms (§4018(c)(1)(C));

 biographical information about each person hired to service loans, loan guarantees, and other investments (§4018(c)(1)(D)); and

 estimates of the current status and value of each loan, loan guarantee, and other investment (§4018(c)(1)(E)).."

Pandemic Recovery

Cook Healthy at Home with Nutrition.gov’s New Recipe Page

"Have you been cooking at home more since the coronavirus pandemic started? Nutrition.gov’s new Recipe page can help you prepare nutritious meals that support health and taste great.

With recipes from federal and Cooperative Extension sites, this curated resource offers a variety of healthy recipes from trusted sources all in one place. Plus, Nutrition.gov’s recipe library continues to grow with new recipes being added regularly.

Get fresh recipe ideas to spice up your cooking routine while staying at home. Here are four reasons to check out our Recipe page before heading into the kitchen:

1. Find easy and healthy recipes. Trying to find dinner ideas? Select our “Dinner” search option to narrow down your choices. If you are short on time, try searching recipes by “30 minutes or less”to find this Chinese Vegetable Stir Fry dish and more. You can also search by food group or ingredients.
2. Explore new or popular recipes. Every month, we are highlighting three ‘Recipes of the Month’ to share ideas of what you can cook using trending ingredients, like this refreshing Breakfast Smoothie. Find these recipes on our Recipe homepage and on Twitter.
3. Get ideas for preparing seasonal foods. Click on “What’s in Season” to find a list of recipes highlighting the flavors of the season. Right now, view summer recipes like Confetti Yogurt Popsand Sunshine Roll-Ups.
4. Find kid-approved recipes that the whole family will enjoy. Check out our kid-friendly, simple recipes with common ingredients that are more familiar to kids. With tasty recipes like Crunchy Chicken Nuggets and Apple Nachos, you may even be able to get helping hands in the kitchen!.."
   https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2020/08/03/cook-healthy-home-nutritiongovs-new-recipe-page