New Online Tool Provides Health Snapshot of All 435 U.S. Congressional Districts

{NYU Grossman School of Medicine]

"Today, researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), unveiled the Congressional District Health Dashboard (CDHD), a new online tool that provides critical health data for all 435 congressional districts and the District of Columbia. The dashboard incorporates 36 key measures of health, such as deaths from cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, along with conditions that affect health, like housing affordability and access to nutritious foods. Until now, most of these data were not available at the congressional district level, nor were they compiled in a single location or easily available to the public.

The Congressional District Health Dashboard’s data reveal stark geographic, and racial and ethnic differences in health and wellbeing across congressional districts in the United States. For example, people living in congressional districts in the 11 states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act are twice as likely to be uninsured compared to those in states with expanded Medicaid coverage. In fact, residents of congressional districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas on average are almost 3.5 times more likely to be uninsured than those in congressional districts in New England. On average, Hispanic residents have the highest rates of uninsurance in most congressional districts across the country.

“The Congressional District Health Dashboard will help fill a critical need for timely, rigorous, and actionable data that can inform evidence-based policymaking,” says Marc Gourevitch, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health and the initiative’s principal architect. “Now, policymakers, advocates, and others can drill down to their specific congressional districts to identify the opportunities and challenges affecting the health and wellbeing of all the people they serve, regardless of income, race, or zip code.”.."
Congressional District Health Dashboard 

Mass Attacks in Public Spaces, 2016-2020

"For 25 years , the U.S. Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center(NTAC) has enhanced the agency's protective and investigative operations and supported our no-fail mission to safeguard this nation's highest elected officials. NTAC's pioneering research and expertise continue to inform the development of prevention and protection strategies employed by the Secret Service and have further assisted our public safety partners in their efforts to prevent targeted violence imp;acting communities across the United States. This important work continues with the release of NTAC's most recent publication, Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016-2020.

This five-year study analyzed 173 targeted attacks that occurred form 2016-2020 in public or semi-public locations in the United States, including businesses, schools, houses of worship, open spaces, and other locations where we live our lives. This is the latest entry in a series of reports that examine attacks during which three or more individuals were inured or killed. By applying NTAC's unique behavioral analysis to incidents of targeted violence occurring over a five-year period, Mass Attacks in Public Spaces:2016-2020 , represents NTAC's most comprehensive examination to date of mass violence and its perpetrators.."
Mass Attacks 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES STATEMENT OF THE COURT CONCERNING THE LEAK INVESTIGATION

"In May 2022, this Court suffered one of the worst breaches of trust in its history: the leak of a draft opinion. The leak was no mere misguided attempt at protest. It was a grave assault on the judicial process. To meet our obligations as judges, we accept submissions from parties and amici, we engage advocates at oral argument, and we publish explanations of our final decisions. All of this we do in the open. Along the way, though, it is essential that we deliberate with one another candidly and in confidence. That phase of the judicial process affords us an opportunity to hone initial thoughts, reconsider views, persuade one another, and work collaboratively to strengthen our collective judgment. It is no exaggeration to say that the integrity of judicial proceedings depends on the inviolability of internal deliberations.

For these reasons and others, the Court immediately and unanimously agreed that the extraordinary betrayal of trust that took place last May warranted a thorough investigation. The Chief Justice assigned the task to the Marshal of the Supreme Court and her staff. After months of diligent analysis of forensic evidence and interviews of almost 100 employees, the Marshal’s team determined that no further investigation was warranted with respect to many of the “82 employees [who] had access to electronic or hard copies of the draft opinion.” Marshal’s Report of Findings & Recommendations 11 (Jan. 19, 2023). In following up on all available leads, however, the Marshal’s team performed additional forensic analysis and conducted multiple follow-up interviews of certain employees. But the team has to date been unable to identify a person a preponderance of the evidence. Id., at 17. A public version of the Marshal’s report is attached.."
Supreme Court Leak Investigation 

Aquaponics: Growing Crops on the ‘Open Water

"It may be winter, but it is still possible to access fresh, locally-grown produce. How? With aquaponics. Americans and people living around the world can grow crops year-round in a soilless hydroponic environment regardless of their regions’ climate or season. It also has the added benefit of supplying fresh fish to the local food system.

“Aquaponics is a blend of aquaculture and hydroponics, and is the most rapidly growing segment of global agriculture,” said Carl Webster, research biologist at the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center in Arkansas.

The aquaponics system begins with tanks where fish are grown – usually tilapia, channel catfish, and hybrid striped bass. In these tanks, bacteria breaks down fish waste (feces and ammonia) into natural fertilizer. Farmers then irrigate their plants with this fertilizer in a hydroponic growing chamber. Plants raised using aquaponics typically include crops like lettuce, spinach, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and peppers.

The result of aquaponics is a steady supply of fresh fish and vegetables that are available in local communities throughout the year and are grown in just about any environment – from an abandoned inner-city warehouse to a climate-controlled facility in the middle of a desert. Additionally, aquaponics does not just benefit local communities; it also serves as an innovative and invaluable tool in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges like hunger and climate change..."
Aquaponics 

Annual Report to the Nation: Cancer deaths continue downward trend;

"Overall cancer death rates continued to decline among men, women, children, and adolescents and young adults in every major racial and ethnic group in the United States from 2015 to 2019, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. From 2014 to 2018, overall cancer incidence, or new cases of cancer, remained stable for men and children but increased for women and adolescents and young adults. This year’s report, published October 27, 2022, in Cancer, also highlights longer-term trends in pancreatic cancer, as well as racial and ethnic disparities in incidence and death rates for many individual cancer sites.

All of the findings in this report are based on data from before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Today’s report is good news in our fight against cancer and is a reminder of the importance of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot℠ initiative,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “I’m deeply impressed by the progress we’re making against cancer and firmly believe we can meet the President’s goal of reducing the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years. We can and must end cancer as we know it.”

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer is a collaborative effort among the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the American Cancer Society (ACS); and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR).

The report is based on a combined cancer incidence data set from NAACCR composed of data collected by CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, as well as mortality data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The report shows that from 2015 to 2019, overall cancer death rates decreased by 2.1% per year in men and women combined. Among men, death rates decreased by 2.3% per year; among women, death rates decreased by 1.9% per year. The annual declines in death rate accelerated from 2001 to 2019 in both men and women.."
Cancer deaths 

Federal Budget Deficits: 2023

"The federal budget deficit was $418 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, the Congressional Budget Office estimates—$41 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were $26 billion (or 2 percent) lower and outlays were $15 billion (or 1 percent) higher from October through December 2022 than they were in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Outlays in fiscal year 2023 were reduced by the shifting of certain payments—totaling $63 billion—from October 1, 2022 (the first day of fiscal year 2023), into fiscal year 2022 because October 1 fell on a weekend. In addition, as was the case in fiscal year 2022, outlays increased in the first quarter of this fiscal year (through December 2022) because certain payments that otherwise would have been due on January 1, a holiday, were instead made in December. If those various shifts had not occurred, the first-quarter deficit in fiscal year 2023 would have been $455 billion, or $102 billion more than the first-quarter deficit of $353 billion in fiscal year 2022, an increase of 29 percent..."
Budget Deficits 

Measuring Household Experiences during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Household Experience "Wht is the at is the Household Pulse Survey?

The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with multiple federal agencies, is in a unique position to produce data on the social and economic effects of coronavirus and other emergent issues on American households. The Household Pulse Survey is designed to deploy quickly and efficiently, collecting data to measure household experiences during the coronavirus pandemic and recovery. Data will be disseminated in near real-time to inform federal and state response and recovery planning.

DATA TABLES

PUBLIC USE FILES

INTERACTIVE TOOL.."

Household Experience 

Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters

"The U.S. has sustained 341 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment to 2022). The total cost of these 341 events exceeds $2.475 trillion.

2022 in Context…

In 2022, there were 18 weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect the United States. These events included 1 drought event, 1 flooding event, 11 severe storm events, 3 tropical cyclone events, 1 wildfire event, and 1 winter storm event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 474 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. The 1980–2022 annual average is 7.9 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2018–2022) is 17.8 events (CPI-adjusted)..."
Weather and climate disasters 

The Style Guide for America’s Highways: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

[Beautiful Public Data]

"Driving across America today, you will encounter a dizzying variety of cultures, landscapes, people and animals. But the one consistent thing that will stay the same from Maine to California are the signs you pass on the highway. And that is because America’s roads and highways have a big, fat style guide.

First published in 1935, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control” (MUTCD), is a hefty tome consisting of close to 900 pages that contains the federal standards for all traffic safety signs, roadway markings and other “traffic control devices” that a driver on a road in the U.S. might encounter.

The MUTCD states that it “shall be recognized as the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, bikeway, or private road open to public travel”. Exact specifications for the font, size, spacing of letters, background colors, reflectivity, mounting location and orientation help ensure that traffic signs are consistently readable at a glance while driving anywhere in the U.S."
Traffic Control Devices 

Cervical Cancer Awareness

"You can lower your risk for cervical cancer by getting screened regularly, starting at age 21.

Screening Tests

The HPV test and the Pap test are screening tests that can help prevent cervical cancer or find it early.

• The human papillomavirus (HPV) test looks for the virus that can cause cell changes on the cervix.
• The Pap test (or Pap smear) looks for precancers, which are cell changes on the cervix that might become cervical cancer if they are not treated appropriately.

Screening Options

Worried about the cost?

If you have a low income or don’t have health insurance, you may qualify for free or low-cost cervical cancer screening through CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

You should start getting Pap tests at age 21. If your Pap test result is normal, your doctor may tell you that you can wait three years until your next Pap test.

If you’re 30 to 65 years old, you have three options. Talk to your doctor about which testing option is right for you.

• An HPV test only. If your result is normal, your doctor may tell you that you can wait five years until your next screening test.
• An HPV test along with the Pap test. If both of your results are normal, your doctor may tell you that you can wait five years until your next screening test.
• A Pap test only. If your result is normal, your doctor may tell you that you can wait three years until your next Pap test.

If you’re older than 65, your doctor may tell you that you don’t need to be screened anymore if you have had normal screening test results for several years and you have not had a cervical precancer in the past, or you have had your cervix removed as part of a total hysterectomy for non-cancerous conditions, like fibroids..."
Cervical Cancer 

The Importance of Self-Care for Diabetes Management

"Did you know the key to successfully manage diabetes is you? But you don’t have to figure it out alone. Participating in diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) can help you improve your diabetes management skills in seven key areas.

If you have diabetes, you know that managing it day to day can take time and practice. Even when you have a daily routine down, life happens and can knock you off your game. And when it does, you’ll want to make sure you have the tools, resources, and skills to get back on track. That’s why participating in DSMES is an important part of learning how to live with diabetes.

Learning 7 Self-Care Behaviors

DSMES services have been shown to help people with diabetes lose weight (if needed) and improve A1C levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. It can even help reduce the risk of diabetes complications and hospitalizations. Since diabetes is managed mainly by the person who has it, the focus of DSMES is to help people with diabetes develop the skills they need to self-manage their diabetes. You will learn seven key areas of self-care to help you live well with diabetes.

Healthy coping

Your emotional well-being plays an important role in your self-care. Negative thoughts and feelings can affect how well you take care of yourself. Healthy coping can help you manage the emotional side of diabetes. This key area of self-care helps you recognize negative emotions and how to take steps to reduce the impact they may have on managing diabetes. Joining a peer support group can be a great way to connect and share stories from daily management to mental health. And remember, your doctor or diabetes care and education specialist is also there to support you. Talk to them about your experiences, concerns, or any questions you may have about managing diabetes. Learn more by watching this video on healthy coping.

Healthy eating

If you have diabetes, you know that eating well is key to managing your blood sugar. But that doesn’t mean always giving up your favorite meals, restaurants, or dessert. Work with a diabetes care and education specialist to learn about the foods you eat and how they affect your diabetes management. They’ll help you create a healthy eating plan that’s specific to your health needs, lifestyle, beliefs, taste, and culture. Learn more by watching this video on healthy eating..."
Diabetes 

The Budget of the U.S. Government : Fiscal Year 2023

"THE BUDGET MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT

To the Congress of the United States

There is no greater testament to the grit and resilience of the American people than the extraordinary progress we have made together over the last year

America entered 2021 in the midst of a devastating health crisis, on the heels of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We ended 2021 having created over 6.5 million new jobs, the most our Nation has ever recorded in a single year. Our economy grew at a rate of 5.7 percent, the strongest growth in nearly 40 years. As of February, the unemployment rate has fallen from 6.4 percent when I took office to 3.8 percent—the fastest decline in recorded history. We are bringing everyone along, and leaving no one behind; child poverty is projected to reach the lowest level ever recorded, while long-term unemployment, youth unemployment, and Black and Hispanic unemployment have all dropped at record rates. Though family budgets are still tight, millions more Americans are earning paychecks today—and families have more money in their pockets than they did a year ago.

This progress was no accident. It was a direct result of the new economic vision for America I ran on—to build our economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

That vision was reflected in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which lifted our Nation out of crisis; fueled our efforts to vaccinate America and combat the COVID-19 pandemic globally; enabled small businesses and State and local governments to hire, rehire, and retain workers; and delivered immediate economic relief to tens of millions of Americans—to put food on their tables, keep a roof over their heads, enable them to work by keeping schools and child care providers open, and maintain their dignity in the face of the pandemic.."
U.S. Budget 

Final Report For Select Committee On The Attack On The US Capitol

The Final Report for Select Committee on the Attack on The US Capitol is available for purchase from the
GPO: U.S. Government Bookstore.
Select Committee for the Attack on the US Capitol