Democracy Promotion: An Objective of U.S. Foreign Assistance

"Promoting democratic institutions, processes, and values has long been a U.S. foreign policy objective, though the priority given to this objective has been inconsistent. World events, competing priorities, and political change within the United States all shape the attention and resources provided to democracy promotion efforts and influence whether such efforts focus on supporting fair elections abroad, strengthening civil society, promoting rule of law and human rights, or other aspects of democracy promotion.

Proponents of democracy promotion often assert that such efforts are essential to global development and U.S. security because stable democracies tend to have better economic growth and stronger protection of human rights, and are less likely to go to war with one another. Critics contend that U.S. relations with foreign countries should focus exclusively on U.S. interests and stability in the world order. U.S. interest in global stability, regardless of the democratic nature of national political systems, could discourage U.S. support for democratic transitions—the implementation of which is uncertain and may lead to more, rather than less, instability..." 
Democracy promotion

Harmful Algal Blooms

"Harmful algal blooms can produce toxins that are dangerous to people, animals, and the environment. Learn what harmful algal blooms are, how you and your pets can avoid them, and what CDC is doing to protect the public’s health.

Warm weather brings many happy occasions: picnics, ballgames, and back yard fun. It also is a time when microscopic plant-like organisms – algae and cyanobacteria – are more likely to overgrow in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

These overgrowths, called algal blooms, occur across the country. Sometimes they are just eyesores – an unpleasant scum or mats of green, red, blue, or brown organisms in the water that look or smell bad. Sometimes they also cause harm to people, animals, and the environment. In this case, they are known as harmful algal blooms. But you can’t tell if a bloom is harmful just by looking at it..."

Algal blooms

Worker Hearing Loss

"Did you know that within every industry sector, there are workers at risk for work-related hearing loss? Work-related hearing loss is common and preventable. Learn more about hearing loss within your industry and how to prevent it.

Is work-related hearing loss a major problem?

In the United States, hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition after high blood pressure and arthritis. It is more common than diabetes, vision trouble, or cancer. Not surprisingly, hearing loss is among the most common work-related illnesses. Over 11% of the working population has hearing difficulty, and nearly one out of four cases of worker hearing difficulty are caused by work-related exposures. These exposures include loud noise and chemicals causing damage to the inner ear (ototoxic chemicals). Ototoxic chemicals include organic solvents like trichloroethylene, heavy metals like mercury and lead, and asphyxiants like carbon monoxide..."
Hearing loss

Crime Against Persons With Disabilities, 2009-2015 - Statistical Tables

"Presents 2009-2015 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) estimates of nonfatal violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) against persons age 12 or older with disabilities. Disabilities are classified according to six limitations: hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living. The report compares the victimization of persons with and without disabilities living in noninstitutionalized households, including distributions by sex, race, Hispanic origin, age, disability type, and other victim characteristics. It also includes crime characteristics, such as victim-offender relationship, time of crime, reporting to police, and use of victim services agencies. NCVS data were combined with data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to generate victimization rates.

Highlights:

• During the 5-year aggregate period from 2011 to 2015, for each age group measured except persons age 65 or older, the rate of violent victimization against persons with disabilities was at least 2.5 times the unadjusted rate for those without disabilities.
• Among those with disabilities, persons ages 12 to 15 (144.1 per 1,000 age 12 or older) had the highest rate of violent victimization among all age groups measured.
• The rate of violent victimization against males with disabilities was 31.8 per 1,000, compared to 14.1 per 1,000 males without disabilities.
• For females with disabilities, the rate of violent victimization was 32.8 per 1,000, compared to 11.4 per 1,000 females without disabilities.
• Males and females had similar rates of total violent victimization in every disability type measured, except independent living disabilities..."

Disability statistics

Protect Your Baby from Group B Strep!

"All pregnant women should get a group B strep test when they are 35–37 weeks pregnant. Babies can get very sick and even die if their mothers pass group B strep bacteria to them during childbirth.

If you are pregnant, talk with your doctor or midwife about getting a group B strep (GBS) test. CDC recommends getting it when you are 35–37 weeks pregnant. The test shows if you are carrying group B streptococcal bacteria, which you can pass to your baby during childbirth. If you carry this bacteria, you need an antibiotic during labor to keep your baby from getting sick..."

Group B Strep

How Cardiac Rehabilitation Can Help Heal Your Heart

"If you have a heart attack or other heart problem, cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) is an important part of your recovery. Cardiac rehab can help prevent another, perhaps more serious, heart attack and can help you build heart-healthy habits. Learn more about who needs cardiac rehab and how it can help your recovery.

Nearly 800,000 people in the United States have a heart attack every year. About 1 in 4 of those people had already had a heart attack.¹ Cardiac rehab not only can help a person recover from a heart problem, but it can also prevent another heart problem in the future..."

Cardiac rehabilatation

Cancer Prevention Starts in Childhood

"You can lower your children’s risk of getting cancer later in life. Start by helping them make healthy choices like eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and getting regular physical activity to keep a healthy weight. Then follow the tips below to help prevent specific kinds of cancer.

Stay Safe in the Sun

Just a few serious sunburns can increase your child’s risk of skin cancer later in life. Follow our sun safety tips to protect their skin from the sun whenever they’re outdoors.

Indoor tanning and tanning outside are both dangerous. Don’t let your children or teens tan...."

Children and cancer

Success Stories in Environmental Health

"Learn more about how CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) protect and promote environmental health across the United States.

Your environment is everything around you—the air you breathe, the water you drink, the places where your food is grown or prepared, your workplace, and your home. When your environment is safe and healthy, you are more likely to stay healthy. But when your environment exposes you to dangerous events or harmful amounts of toxic substances, your health can be affected. In fact, 25% of all diseases worldwide are caused by something harmful in the environment..."
Environmntal health

Climate Change: Frequently Asked Questions About the 2015 Paris Agreement

"The Paris Agreement (PA) to address climate change internationally entered into force on November 4, 2016. The United States is one of 149 Parties to the treaty; President Barack Obama accepted the agreement rather than ratifying it with the advice and consent of the Senate. On June 1, 2017, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to withdraw the United States from the agreement and that his Administration would seek to reopen negotiations on the PA or on a new “transaction.” Following the provisions of the PA, U.S. withdrawal could take effect as early as November 2020.

Experts broadly agree that stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere to avoid dangerous GHG-induced climate change would require concerted efforts by all large emitting nations. The United States is the second largest emitter of GHG globally after China. Toward this purpose, the PA outlines goals and a structure for international cooperation to slow climate change and mitigate its impacts over decades to come..."
Climate change and Paris Agreement

Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: An Economic Analysis

"Foreign direct investment in the United States in 2015 increased by 83% over that recorded in 2014. (Note: The United States defines foreign direct investment as the ownership or control, directly or indirectly, by one foreign person [individual, branch, partnership, association, government, etc.] of 10% or more of the voting securities of an incorporated U.S. business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated U.S. business enterprise [15 CFR §806.15 (a)(1)].) In 2015, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data, foreigners invested $379 billion in U.S. businesses and real estate, compared with the $207 billion invested in 2014. Foreign direct investments are highly sought after by many state and local governments that are struggling to create additional jobs in their localities. While some in Congress encourage such investment to offset the perceived negative economic effects of U.S. firms investing abroad, others are concerned about foreign acquisitions of U.S. firms that are considered essential to U.S. national and economic security..." 
Foreign Investment in U.S.

14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)

"Passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868, the 14th amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to former slaves.

Following the Civil War, Congress submitted to the states three amendments as part of its Reconstruction program to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to black citizens. The major provision of the 14th amendment was to grant citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby granting citizenship to former slaves. Another equally important provision was the statement that “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The right to due process of law and equal protection of the law now applied to both the Federal and state governments. On June 16, 1866, the House Joint Resolution proposing the 14th amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states. On July 28, 1868, the 14th amendment was declared, in a certificate of the Secretary of State, ratified by the necessary 28 of the 37 States, and became part of the supreme law of the land..."

14th Amendemen to Constitution

Prevent Mosquito Bites

"Protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites.
Use Insect Repellent.
Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents with one of the active ingredients below. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women..."

Mosquito bites

Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather

"Now is the time to prepare for the high temperatures that kill hundreds of people every year. Extreme heat caused 7,415 heat-related deaths in the United States from 1999 through 2010. Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet many people die from extreme heat each year.

Take measures to stay cool, remain hydrated, and keep informed. Getting too hot can make you sick. You can become ill from the heat if your body can’t compensate for it and properly cool you off. The main things affecting your body’s ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather are:

• High humidity. When the humidity is high, sweat won’t evaporate as quickly, which keeps your body from releasing heat as fast as it may need to.
• Personal factors. Age, obesity, fever, dehydration, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, sunburn, and prescription drug and alcohol use can play a role in whether a person can cool off enough in very hot weather...."

Hot weather

An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2017 to 2027

"CBO projects that over the next decade, if current laws remained generally unchanged, budget deficits would eventually follow an upward trajectory in relation to the nation’s economic output, and federal debt would rise. Economic growth is projected to remain modest, averaging slightly above 2.0 percent through 2018 and averaging somewhat below that rate for the rest of the period through 2027. The budgetary and economic trends discussed in this report are similar to those CBO described in January, when the agency issued its previous estimates..."
Federal budget

National Park Maps

Thinking of going to a national parks this summer and need a map, take a look at the National Park Maps site.
National Parks