Apportionment Countdown
"2010 Census
Apportionment Countdown — Incorporate the 2010 Congressional Apportionment Countdown Clock into your website to help share the importance of census participation. The first data released from the 2010 Census are the official national and state population count, which are used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. As mandated by the Constitution, this data must be delivered to the President of the United States on or before Dec. 31. For the apportionment widget, go to >..."

Apportionment Countdown
"2010 Census
Apportionment Countdown — Incorporate the 2010 Congressional Apportionment Countdown Clock into your website to help share the importance of census participation. The first data released from the 2010 Census are the official national and state population count, which are used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. As mandated by the Constitution, this data must be delivered to the President of the United States on or before Dec. 31. For the apportionment widget, go to >..."

Health Communicator's Social Media Toolkit
Access health resources at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using its' Health Communicator's Social Media Toolkit.

Civil Litigation Management Manual, Second Edition 2010 Judicial Conference of the United States, Committee on Court Administration and Case Management
"This manual provides trial judges a handbook on managing civil cases. It sets out a wide array of case-management techniques, beginning with early case screening and concluding with steps for streamlining trials and final disposition. It also discusses a number of special topics, including pro se and high visibility cases, the role of staff, and automated programs that supports case management. This new edition incorporates statutory and rules changes and contains updated advice on electronic case management, electronic discovery, and ways of containing costs and expediting cases. The manual, which was produced and is being updated pursuant to a requirement set forth in the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990, is based on the experiences of federal district and magistrate judges and reflects techniques they have developed. It was prepared under the direction of the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, with substantial contributions from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Federal Judicial Center, and was approved by the Judicial Conference in March 2010. This new edition supersedes the first edition (2001) and the Manual for Litigation Management and Cost and Delay Reduction (1992)..."

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
"The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened concerns about the region’s future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. On January 12, 2009, the George W. Bush Administration released a presidential directive, called National Security Presidential Directive 66/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 25 (NSPD 66/HSPD 25), establishing a new U.S. policy for the Arctic region.

Record low extent of Arctic sea ice in 2007 focused scientific and policy attention on its linkage to global climate change, and to the implications of projected ice-free seasons in the Arctic within decades. The Arctic has been projected by several scientists to be perennially ice-free in the late
summer by the late 2030s..."

Census Bureau Reports Nearly 1 in 3 Unmarried Women Who Give Birth Cohabit
"The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that among the 1.5 million unmarried women who gave birth during the period between June 2007 and June 2008, about 425,000, or 28 percent, were living with a cohabitating partner. These unmarried mothers included those who were separated and those married with an absent spouse.

These findings are contained in Fertility of American Women: 2008, which reports that 4 million women age 15 to 44 gave birth during that time.

“The report shows that many unmarried new moms are not raising their child alone,” said demographer Jane Dye, who authored the report. “This is actually the first time the Census Bureau has reported on births to women in cohabitational relationships. One of the report's data sources, the Current Population Survey, recently added a direct question on cohabitation in order to measure this population.”

According to the report, by the time women reached the 40 to 44 age range in 2008, they had averaged 1.9 births in their lifetime, down from 3.1 births in 1976, when the Census Bureau first collected data on fertility. This reflects the decline in the likelihood of women having three or more children, as well as the increase in the proportion not having any at all..."

Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2007(Revised)
"This report has been revised. Please note the highlighted revisions in the Mortality in Local Jails PDF file. An errata sheet explaining the purpose of these revisions is also available for review.

Describes the specific medical conditions causing deaths in jails nationwide during an eight-year period. For the leading medical causes of mortality, comparative estimates and mortality rates are presented by gender, age, race and Hispanic origin, and the length of time served in jail. The report includes detailed statistics on causes of death as well as more acute events such as suicides, homicides and accidents. Mortality as related to the size of the jail will also be discussed. Jail inmate death rates are compared with rates in the general U.S. resident population using a direct standardization. Estimates and mortality rates for the top 50 jail jurisdictions in the United States are also presented.

Highlights include the following:

* From 2000 through 2007, local jail administrators reported 8,097 inmate deaths in custody. Deaths in jails increased each year, from 904 in 2000 to 1,102 in 2007.
* The mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates declined from 151 deaths per 100,000 inmates to 141 per 100,000 between 2000 and 2007, while the jail inmate population increased 31% from 597,226 to 782,595.
* Between 2000 and 2007, the suicide rates were higher in small jails than large jails. In jails holding 50 or fewer inmates, the suicide rate was 167 per 100,000; in the largest jails, the suicide rate was 27 per 100,000 inmates..."

US Department of Labor launches Veterans Hiring Toolkit for employers
"The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of a new online toolkit to guide employers through the process for hiring veterans. The free toolkit is designed to assist and educate employers who have made the proactive decision to include veterans and wounded warriors in their recruitment and hiring initiatives.

"Many employers have told us that they are interested in developing or enhancing a veterans hiring initiative for their company, but that they don't know where to begin," said Ray Jefferson, assistant secretary for the department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service. "This toolkit was created with these employers in mind. It's designed to simplify the process and put valuable, vetted resources at the employer's fingertips."

Developed as part of the department's "America's Heroes at Work" initiative, the Veterans Hiring Toolkit features a straightforward six-step process pinpointing helpful tools for a business to design a veterans hiring initiative. These steps include creating an educated and welcoming environment for veteran employees; actively recruiting veterans, wounded warriors and military spouses; learning how to accommodate qualified veterans and wounded warriors in the workplace; and promoting an inclusive workplace to help retain veteran employees. The toolkit also helps employers navigate the plethora of resources for hiring veterans available to them..."
Access the toolkit

Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces
"This report presents U.S. military casualties as well as governmental and nongovernmental
estimates of Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces casualties.

For several years, there were few estimates from any national or international government source
regarding Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces casualties. Now, however, several Iraqi
ministries have released monthly or total casualty statistics. The U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD) releases the monthly trend of Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces deaths. In addition,
the United Nations Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has charted the
trend of civilian casualties from August 2007 to April 2009, and the United Nations Assistance
Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reported on the number of deaths by suicide bombers in 2008.

Nongovernmental sources also have released various estimates of Iraqi civilian, police, and
security forces casualties. This report includes estimates from the Associated Press, the Brookings Institution, Iraq Body Count, the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, Iraq Family Health Survey, the most recent study published in the Lancet, and the British survey firm, Opinion Research Business..."

Gun Control: Statutory Disclosure Limitations on ATF Firearms Trade Data and Multiple Handgun Sales Reports.
"For FY2003-FY2009, a rider on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
appropriations has prohibited that agency from disclosing firearm trace data (based on firearm
transfer records maintained in part by licensed gun dealers) and multiple handgun sales reports
data for any purpose other than supporting a criminal investigation or agency licensing
proceeding. This rider is known as the “Tiahrt” amendment, for its sponsor in full committee
markup of the FY2004 Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill, Representative Todd Tiahrt. A
coalition of 210 city mayors led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg favors the repeal
of this rider, but the Fraternal Order of Police favors retaining it, as does ATF. For FY2008,
Congress included modified Tiahrt amendment language in the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2008 (P.L. 110-161). This modified language states explicitly that it does not prohibit the release of aggregate statistical data on illegal gun trafficking or statistical information on the U.S. firearms industry. For FY2009, similar language was included in the Omnibus Appropriations
Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8). .."

Focus on Fire Safety: Smoke Alarms
"Smoke alarms are a very important means of preventing home fire fatalities by providing an early warning signal so you and your family can escape. According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), an estimated 385,500 fires occur in residential buildings every year resulting in 2,770 civilian deaths and 13,250 injuries. When a smoke alarm sounds, it is time for you to spring into action..."

Drug Courts: Background, Effectiveness, and Policy Issues for Congress
"Drug courts are specialized court dockets, or portions of judges’ calendars of cases, that generally target nonviolent offenders with substance-abuse problems. These programs provide offenders with intensive court supervision, mandatory drug testing, substance-abuse treatment, and other social services as an alternative to adjudication or incarceration. In this way, drug courts are designed to break the cycle of substance abuse, addiction, and crime by changing the behavior of
substance-abusing offenders. Participation in these programs is voluntary. Eligible defendants
must agree to the program’s requirements and successfully complete the program in exchange for
avoiding incarceration, having their criminal charges reduced or dismissed, or having their
sentences reduced. Drug courts encourage participants’ compliance and impose sanctions on
those who fail to comply with the program’s requirements. Drug courts are widely considered an
important strategy for reducing incarceration, providing drug treatment, and reducing drug use
and recidivism (reoffending) among nonviolent offenders..."

Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970 to consolidate numerous
federal pollution control responsibilities that had been divided among several federal agencies.
EPA’s responsibilities grew over time as Congress enacted an increasing number of
environmental statutes and major amendments to these statutes. EPA’s primary responsibilities
include the regulation of air quality, water quality, and chemicals in commerce; the development
of regulatory criteria for the management and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes; and the
cleanup of environmental contamination. EPA also provides financial assistance to states and
local governments to aid them in administering pollution control programs and in complying with
certain federal environmental requirements. Several federal statutes provide the legal authority for
EPA’s programs and activities. The major provisions of each of the following statutes are briefly
summarized in this report, as laid out in existing law as of this writing..."

Defense Surplus Equipment Disposal: Background Information
"The Department of Defense (DOD) through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) component
called DLA Disposition Services [formerly the Defense Utilization and Marketing Service
(DRMS)] has a policy for disposing of government equipment and supplies considered surplus or
deemed unnecessary, or excess, to the agency’s currently designated mission. DLA Disposition
Services is responsible for property reuse (including resale), precious metal recovery, recycling,
hazardous property disposal, and the demilitarization of military equipment. The effort to dispose
of surplus military equipment dates back to the end of World War II when the Federal government
sought to reduce a massive inventory of surplus military equipment by making such equipment
available to civilians. (Note: disposal of surplus real property, including land, buildings,
commercial facilities, and equipment situated thereon, is assigned to the General Services
Administration’s Office of Property Disposal.).."

World Health Organization report via Nursing Schools Blog:
20 Common Illnesses that Kill People in the Developing World
"For those living in corners of the world where clean water flows, food sources sit (mostly) safe and inspected on grocery store shelves, and vaccines, antibiotics and prenatal care are readily available, complacency oftentimes clouds reality. When they suffer from diarrhea, they rarely fret over whether or not it signifies their impending demise — so they easily forget that millions across the globe oftentimes perish violently from the exact same affliction. The flu, measles and other "everyday" diseases that leave an American child out of school for a few days can kill a full-grown man in Somalia. Cures exist for many, but political, cultural, economic, logistical and supply issues all hinder the medical professionals trying to quell the global health crises. The following diseases, supported by statistics from the World Health Organization, exist as some of the more easily dismissed (if not outright invisible) in the developed world — yet they cut a fatal swath through the developing. This list purposely leaves off entirely incurable or shakily unpreventable illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes and heart disease, as all of those place a massive dent on high-income populations as well. Rather, it focuses on those for which medical solutions or vaccines already exist instead as a means of illustrating divides between different regions..."