Be Aware of Harmful Algal Blooms

"Harmful algal blooms can produce toxins (poisons) that can make people and animals sick and affect the environment. Learn more about them to keep you and your pets safe.

Warm weather is a time when tiny plant-like organisms—algae and cyanobacteria—are more likely to overgrow in rivers, lakes, and oceans. These overgrowths, called algal blooms, can sometimes have foam, scum, or thick layers on the surface, or can look and smell bad. Algal blooms can also make the water appear green, red, brown, or blue. When they contain toxins that affect the health of people, animals, and the environment, they are known as harmful algal blooms.

Blooms are becoming more frequent as temperatures warm and the levels of nutrients in our waters increase.

How People Get Sick

You can’t tell if a bloom is harmful just by looking at it, and not all blooms are easy to see. Health hazards can be present even when you can’t see a harmful bloom. People or pets can get sick when they have contact with contaminated water by:

• Doing recreational activities such as swimming, kayaking, fishing, or wading through water
• Breathing in tiny water droplets or mist that contains toxins from recreational activities or wind-blown sea spray
• Drinking contaminated water
• Eating contaminated seafood (fish or shellfish)

Illnesses and symptoms from harmful algal blooms can vary depending on how people and animals are exposed, how long the exposures last, and the toxins involved.

Symptoms can include:

• Skin, eye, nose or throat irritation
• Abdominal pain
• Headache
• Neurological symptoms
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea.."
  Algal blooms

Policy and Legislative Research for Congressional Staff: Finding Documents, Analysis, News, and Training

"During the legislative process, many documents are prepared by Congress and its committees. Governmental and nongovernmental entities track and record congressional activities, and many more entities chronicle and analyze the development of public policy. The wide availability of such information can be daunting to those involved in policy and legislative research. The purpose of this report is to assist congressional staff in identifying and accessing key resources used during such research.

The resources’ titles and access information are presented in eight tables. The tables provide information on how to find congressional documents (Table 1); information on tracking legislative activity (Table 2); executive branch documents and information (Table 3); information about legislative support agencies (Table 4); congressional news sources (Table 5); policy and scholarly research sources (Table 6 and Table 7); and research-related training and services for congressional staff (Table 8).

This report is not a comprehensive catalog of resources for conducting policy and legislative research; instead, it provides a selection of widely used electronic resources. Some of the resources mentioned are available only with a paid subscription, whereas others are free; this availability is noted in the report along with the access points for congressional staff. Print resources for time periods not covered by the resources listed in the tables may be available from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Law Library of Congress, or the House and Senate Libraries. The inclusion of resources in this report does not imply endorsement by CRS of the content or the products listed. In addition, CRS does not acquire or manage congressional offices’ access to subscription resources..."
Policy and legislative research

Living with Muscular Dystrophy

"Paul and Carly, two people who are living with myotonic dystrophy, are part of a support community for people with myotonic dystrophy and their families near their hometown. Both Paul and Carly had symptoms of myotonic dystrophy for years before they received their diagnoses. Myotonic dystrophy is the one of the most common types of muscular dystrophy, characterized by progressive muscle weakness that can affect many parts of the body, including the heart and lungs. Like other rare diseases, it can take years of going to many different doctors to get the right diagnosis.

The diagnosis explained many of the seemingly unconnected symptoms that each had been dealing with for years. “I probably had some symptoms starting around 18, like hand cramping. Back then I used to just sort of stretch my hands out and go, and not think much about it. I was very active.” says Paul. He started having heart trouble around age 26, but nothing showed up on the tests until one night in his mid-20s when he ended up in the emergency room with an extremely high heart rate. “During one of the tests, my heart stopped, and they brought me back. The doctor didn’t know what was causing it, but they decided to put in a defibrillator.” Six years later, at the age of 32, Paul received his myotonic dystrophy diagnosis.

Myotonic dystrophy affects many parts of the body, so both Paul and Carly need to see many different types of doctors on a regular basis. Even though Paul and Carly are both adults, their fathers often come to their appointments with them and help them coordinate their care. “You have to have someone who knows everything and has been to every appointment,” says Chuck, Carly’s father. For patients with rare diseases, caregivers often become experts in the disease..."
Muscular Dystrophy

Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S. Rises in 2018

"On July 2, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released updated annual statistics on the amount and characteristics of new investments in the United States by foreign investors.

Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses totaled $296.4 billion in 2018, up 8.7 percent from $272.8 billion in 2017.

Additional highlights of the statistics on new foreign direct investment for 2018:

• Expenditures for acquisitions were $287.3 billion, expenditures to establish new U.S. businesses were $5.3 billion, and expenditures to expand existing foreign-owned businesses were $3.8 billion.
• Total planned greenfield investment expenditures—expenditures to establish new U.S. businesses and to expand existing foreign-owned U.S. businesses—for investments initiated in 2018, which include both first-year spending and planned spending in other years, totaled $30.8 billion. 
• Employment at newly acquired, established, or expanded foreign-owned businesses in the United States was 430,600 in 2018.

For more information, read the full report..."
Foreign direct investment

Lee’s Map of the Battle of Gettysburg

"Lee’s Map of the Battle of Gettysburg

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Lee’s Map of the battle of Gettysburg (Accompanying General Lee’s report of the battle.); War Department Collection of Confederate Records; Record Group 109; National Archives.

Considered by many historians as a turning point in the Civil War, the Battle of Gettsburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, was a major defeat for the Confederacy and for General Robert E. Lee in his second invasion of the North. Shown here is one of General Lee’s maps of Gettysburg, showing positions of troops on July 2..."
Battle of Gettysburg map

Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather!

"Learn about heat-related illness and how to stay cool and safe in hot weather.

High temperatures kill hundreds of people every year. Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet more than 600 people die from extreme heat every 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. This 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 all can play a role in whether a person can cool off enough in very hot weather.

Those who are at highest risk include people 65 and older, children younger than two, and people with chronic diseases or mental illness.

Closely monitor people who depend on you for their care and ask these questions:

• Are they drinking enough water?
• Do they have access to air conditioning?
• Do they need help keeping cool?.."
  Extrme heat

Salmonella and Food

"You may know that Salmonella can contaminate poultry and eggs, but it also sneaks its way into many other foods. Learn what you can do to make your food safer to eat.

Salmonella is a bacteria that commonly causes foodborne illness, sometimes called “food poisoning.” CDC estimates Salmonella causes 1 million foodborne illnesses every year in the United States. During the past few years, outbreaks of Salmonella illness have been linked to contaminated cucumbers, pre-cut melon, chicken, eggs, pistachios, raw tuna, sprouts, and many other foods.

Five Facts That May Surprise You

Don’t let Salmonella make you or your loved ones sick. Learn these five facts – and tips for lowering your chance of getting a Salmonella infection.

1. You can get a Salmonella infection from a variety of foods. Salmonellacan be found in many foods including beef, chicken, eggs, fruits, pork, sprouts, vegetables, and even processed foods, such as nut butters, frozen pot pies, chicken nuggets, and stuffed chicken entrees. When you eat a food that is contaminated with Salmonella, it can make you sick. Contaminated foods usually look and smell normal, which is why it is important to know how to prevent Salmonella infection.
2. Salmonella illness is more common in the summer. Warmer weather and unrefrigerated foods create ideal conditions for Salmonella to grow. Be sure to refrigerate or freeze perishables (foods likely to spoil or go bad quickly), prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours. Chill them within 1 hour if the temperature is 90°F or hotter.
3. Salmonella illness can be serious and is more dangerous for certain people. Symptoms of infection usually appear 6–48 hours after eating a contaminated food, but can take much longer. These symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. In most cases, illness lasts 4–7 days and people recover without antibiotic treatment. Some people may have severe diarrhea and need to be hospitalized. Anyone can get a Salmonellainfection, but some groups are more likely to develop a serious illness: older adults, children younger than 5, and people with immune systems weakened from medical conditions, such as diabetes, liver or kidney disease, and cancer or their treatment.
4. Salmonella causes far more illnesses than you might suspect. For every one case of Salmonella illness confirmed by laboratory tests, there are about 30 more cases of Salmonella illnesses that are not Most people who get food poisoning usually do not go to the doctor or submit a sample to a laboratory, so we never learn what germ made them sick.
5. To avoid Salmonella, you should not eat raw eggs or eggs that have runny whites or yolks. Salmonella can contaminate eggs, even perfectly normal-looking ones. But these eggs can make you sick, especially if they are raw or lightly cooked. Eggs are safe when you cook and handle them properly..."
   Salmonella and food

Healthy Weight

"You may not get down to the number you saw on the scale 20 years ago, but you can still get to a weight that enhances your health and your life.

First, what does “healthy weight” mean to you? Is it the weight you think you should be? The same as you weighed 20 years ago? Ten pounds less than your sister-in-law? We can’t provide an exact number for you personally, but we can give you some pointers on how to get to a weight that’s healthy for you and stay there.

Two ways to get a ballpark idea if your weight is healthy or not: body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.

BMI measures your height compared to your weight. For example, a person who is 5’7” and weighs 170 pounds has a BMI of 26.6, which is in the overweight range:

Weight status	BMI
Underweight	Less than 18.5
Normal	18.5–24.9
Overweight	25–29.9
Obesity	30 or greater

But experts note that BMI doesn’t measure belly fat, and that’s important. Too much belly fat can increase your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Waist circumference (waist size) takes belly fat into account and helps predict your risk of health problems from being overweight. Women whose waist measures more than 35 inches and men whose waist measures more than 40 inches are at higher risk. Losing weight can reduce belly fat and lower that risk!

To measure your waist correctly, stand and place a tape measure around your middle, just above your hipbones. Measure your waist just after you breathe out..."
Healthy weight

Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry

"In June of 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work. The order also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce the new policy..."
Execurive order 8802

Minorities and Women Are at Greater Risk for Alzheimer's Disease

"Are you more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease? Read about who is at risk and what you can do.

Hispanic and African Americans in the United States will see the largest increases in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias between 2015 and 2060.¹ Dementia is not a specific disease but rather a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Current estimates are that about 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including 5.6 million aged 65 and older and about 200,000 under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s.²

By 2060, the number of Alzheimer’s disease cases is predicted to rise to an estimated 14 million people, with minority populations being affected the most.¹

• Cases among Hispanics will increase seven times over today’s estimates.
• Cases among African Americans will increase four times over today’s estimates.

Health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes may account for these differences, as they are more common in the Hispanic and African American populations. Lower levels of education, higher rates of poverty, and greater exposure to adversity and discrimination may also increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease.²

Among all races, women are nearly two times more likely to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease than men.^1,2 The difference is due primarily to women living longer.²

Understanding the disparities in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias is the first step toward developing prevention strategies and targeting services to those most at risk for developing the disease..."
Alzheimer disease

Technological Convergence: Regulatory, Digital Privacy, and Data Security Issues

"Technological convergence, in general, refers to the trend or phenomenon where two or more independent technologies integrate and form a new outcome. One example is the smartphone. A smartphone integrated several independent technologies—such as telephone, computer, camera, music player, television (TV), and geolocating and navigation tool—into a single device. The smartphone has become its own, identifiable category of technology, establishing a $350 billion industry.

Of the three closely associated convergences—technological convergence, media convergence, and network convergence—consumers most often directly engage with technological convergence. Technological convergent devices share three key characteristics. First, converged devices can execute multiple functions to serve blended purpose. Second, converged devices can collect and use data in various formats and employ machine learning techniques to deliver enhanced user experience. Third, converged devices are connected to a network directly and/or are interconnected with other devices to offer ubiquitous access to users.

Technological convergence may present a range of issues where Congress may take legislative and/or oversight actions. Three selected issue areas associated with technological convergence are regulatory jurisdiction, digital privacy, and data security. First, merging and integrating multiple technologies from distinct functional categories into one converged technology may pose challenges to defining regulatory policies and responsibilities. Determining oversight jurisdictions and regulatory authorities for converged technologies can become unclear as the boundaries that once separated single-function technologies blend together. A challenge for Congress may be in delineating which government agency has jurisdiction over various converged technologies. Defining policies that regulate technological convergence industry may not be simple or straightforward. This may further complicate how Congress oversees government agencies and converged industries due to blending boundaries of existing categories..."
Technological convergence

Population Estimates Show Aging Across Race Groups Differs

"The nation as a whole continues to grow older with the median age increasing to 38.2 years in 2018, up from 37.2 years in 2010. The pace of this aging is different across race and ethnicity groups, according to new 2018 Population Estimates by demographic characteristics for the nation, states and counties, released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

From 2010 to 2018, the U.S. population’s median age increased by 1.0 years. Amongst the different race groups:

• The white alone-or-in-combination population increased by 1.0 years.
• The black or African American alone-or-in-combination population grew by 1.4 years.
• The American Indian and Alaska Native alone-or-in-combination population increased by 2.2 years.
• The Asian alone-or-in-combination population increased by 1.7 years.
• The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone-or-in-combination population increased by 2.6 years.
• The Hispanic (any race) population experienced an increase in median age of 2.2 years..."
  Population and aging

Sickle Cell Disease Monitoring

"CDC is working to improve the lives of people with sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited blood disorder. Learn about CDC’s SCD monitoring projects, and find a suite of online resources that can help you or someone you know live healthy with SCD.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a blood disorder present at birth. People with SCD have “sickle” shaped red blood cells that stick together and block blood and oxygen from reaching all parts of the body, leading to health problems such as pain, anemia, infections, and stroke. Approximately 100,000 Americans are affected by SCD. CDC is committed to studying SCD to improve the health and care of people with this condition.

CDC Monitoring Projects

CDC, and participating states, began SCD surveillance (monitoring) in 2010 to learn more about people with SCD and the health problems they experience. SCD monitoring involves collecting information on diagnoses, treatments, and healthcare access for people with SCD in the United States.

CDC coordinated these efforts as part of three projects:

• Registry and Surveillance System for Hemoglobinopathies (RuSH) (from 2010-2012)
• Public Health Research, Epidemiology, and Surveillance for Hemoglobinopathies (PHRESH) (from 2012-2014)
• Sickle Cell Data Collection (SCDC) program (ongoing since 2015)

The SCDC program, which has been ongoing since 2015, is CDC’s current monitoring project. The SCDC program collects health information about people with SCD to study the long-term trends in diagnosis, treatment, and healthcare access for people with SCD in the United States. Currently, Georgia and California are the states participating in the SCDC program. As more resources become available, CDC plans to expand the program to include additional states. The program will help inform policy and healthcare standards to improve and extend the lives of people with SCD..."
Sickle cell disease

The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives

"Under the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to formally charge a federal officer with wrongdoing, a process known as impeachment. The House impeaches an individual when a majority agrees to a House resolution containing explanations of the charges. The explanations in the resolution are referred to as “articles of impeachment.” After the House agrees to impeach an officer, the role of the Senate is to conduct a trial to determine whether the charged individual should be removed from office. Removal requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate.

The House impeachment process generally proceeds in three phases: (1) initiation of the impeachment process; (2) Judiciary Committee investigation, hearings, and markup of articles of impeachment; and (3) full House consideration of the articles of impeachment.

Impeachment proceedings are usually initiated in the House when a Member submits a resolution through the hopper (in the same way that all House resolutions are submitted). A resolution calling for the impeachment of an officer will be referred to the Judiciary Committee; a resolution simply authorizing an investigation of an officer will be referred to the Rules Committee. In either case, the committee could then report a privileged resolution authorizing the investigation. In the past, House committees, under their general investigatory authority, have sometimes sought information and researched charges against officers prior to the adoption of a resolution to authorize an impeachment investigation.

Impeachment proceedings could also be initiated by a Member on the floor. A Member can offer an impeachment resolution as a “Question of the Privileges of the House.” The House, when it considers a resolution called up this way, might immediately vote to refer it to the Judiciary Committee, leaving the resolution in the same status as if it had been submitted through the hopper. Alternatively, the House might vote to table the impeachment resolution. The House could also vote directly on the resolution, but in modern practice, it has not chosen to approve articles of impeachment called up in this fashion. Instead, the House has relied on the Judiciary Committee to first conduct an investigation, hold hearings, and report recommendations to the full House..."
Impeachment

Stay Healthy at Animal Exhibits

"Stay Healthy at Animal Exhibits

Interacting with animals at fairs, educational farms, petting zoos, summer camps, aquariums, schools, and other places can be educational and fun, and helps people learn about and experience animals they may not see in their daily lives. However, it is important to know that animals sometimes carry germs that can make people sick.

Every year, many people get sick after visiting an animal exhibit. From 2010-2015, about 100 outbreaks of illness in people linked to animals in public settings like zoos, fairs, and educational farms were reported to public health officials. Some of the most common harmful germs people get from animals at exhibits are E. coli O157:H7, Cryptosporodium, and Salmonella infections, but there are also many other types of germs that can spread between animals and people. Children 5 years of age and younger, people with weakened immune systems, and adults over 65 years of age  are more likely to get sick from the germs animals can carry, and should take extra precautions at animal exhibits. If you forget to wash your hands after petting an animal, or bring food or drinks into an area with animals, you increase your chance of getting sick. Even animals that look clean and healthy can carry harmful germs, and areas where animals live or roam can be contaminated – you don’t have to touch an animal to get sick.

How to stay healthy if you visit an animal exhibit or have contact with animals in a public setting

Animal encounters such as touching or petting, feeding, and holding animals are becoming more popular, especially at zoos and aquariums. An animal exhibit can be anything from a large zoo to a livestock show at the county fair. You might also encounter animals at schools, as part of local festivals, or just out and about. Wherever you are, it’s important to know ways to stay healthy while enjoying animals..."
Animal exhibits