Adults With Chronic Conditions: Get Vaccinated.

"Vaccines are an important step in protecting adults against serious, sometimes deadly, diseases. Even if you were vaccinated at a younger age, the protection from some vaccines can wear off with time, or the viruses or bacteria that the vaccines protect against change so your resistance is not as strong. As you get older, you may also be at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases due to your age, job, hobbies, travel, or health conditions.

CDC recommends that all adults get the following vaccines:

• Influenza (flu) vaccine every year to protect against seasonal flu.
• Td vaccine every 10 years to protect against tetanus.
• Tdap vaccine once instead of Td vaccine to protect against tetanus and diphtheria plus pertussis (whooping cough) and during each pregnancy for women.
• Other vaccines you need as an adult are determined by factors such as age, lifestyle, job, health condition, and vaccines you have had in the past. Vaccines you need may include those that protect against: shingles, human papillomavirus (which can cause certain cancers), pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, chickenpox (varicella), measles, mumps, and rubella...."

Chronic conditions and vaccinations

Valley Fever Awareness

"Valley fever is a fungal lung infection that can be devastating. Learning about Valley fever can help you and your doctor recognize the symptoms early.

Valley fever is an infection caused by a fungus that lives in the soil. About 10,000 U.S. cases are reported each year, mostly from Arizona and California. Valley fever can be misdiagnosed because its symptoms are similar to those of other illnesses. Here are some important things to know about Valley fever, also called coccidioidomycosis.

From soil to lungs

The fungus that causes Valley fever, Coccidioides, is found in the southwestern United States, parts of Mexico and Central America, and parts of South America. The fungus has also been found in south-central Washington State. People can get Valley fever by breathing in the microscopic fungal spores from the air in these areas. Valley fever does not spread from person to person..."
Valley fever

National Diabetes Statistic Report, 2017

"Diabetes cases are beginning to level off, but the number is still enormous: more than 100 million people in the United States have diabetes or prediabetes. Much work still needs to be done.

In July, CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) released the National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017. The report presents the “state of the disease” in our nation, providing the most recent scientific data on:

• Diabetes incidence (new cases)
• Diabetes prevalence (existing cases)
• Short- and long-term complications
• Risk factors for complications
• Prediabetes
• Mortality (death rate)
• Costs..."

Diabetes statistics

Protect Your Eyes During a Solar Eclipse

"The Sun in Your Eyes
Looking directly at the sun without the correct eye protection, even for a short time, can cause permanent damage to your retinas, a light-sensitive part of the eye that transmits what you see to your brain. Damage can occur without pain, and it can take a few hours or even a few days after viewing the eclipse to have symptoms of damage, which include not being able to see colors as well and loss of central vision, with only side vision remaining. If you notice any symptoms after viewing the solar eclipse, seek immediate help from your eye care professional.

Safe Watching

The only way to look directly at the sun when it’s not eclipsed or is only partly eclipsed is with a special solar filter, such as eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer. Goggles, homemade filters, or sunglasses, even very dark ones, will not protect your eyes. Also, always avoid looking at the sun through an unfiltered camera, smartphone, telescope, or any other optical device. You’ll need to add a certified solar filter to these devices to safely look at the sun.

Eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers are inexpensive and can be purchased from many retailers. However, not all meet the required ISO 12312-2 international safety standards; make sure yours do. Even if your eclipse glasses meet the safety standards, don’t use them if:

• The lenses are scratched.
• The lenses are wrinkled.
• They are older than 3 years...."
  Solar Eclipse

The Effects of Terminating Payments for Cost-Sharing Reductions

"The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to offer plans with reduced deductibles, copayments, and other means of cost sharing to some of the people who purchase plans through the marketplaces established by that legislation. The size of those reductions depends on those people’s income. In turn, insurers receive federal payments arranged by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to cover the costs they incur because of that requirement.

At the request of the House Democratic Leader and the House Democratic Whip, the Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have estimated the effects of terminating those payments for cost-sharing reductions (CSRs). In particular, the agencies analyzed what would happen under this policy: By the end of this month, it is known that CSR payments will continue through December 2017 but not thereafter..."
Health Care Cost Sharing Reductions

Nuclear Blast

"A nuclear blast is an explosion with intense light and heat, a damaging pressure wave, and widespread radioactive material that can contaminate the air, water, and ground surfaces for miles around. A nuclear device can range from a weapon carried by an intercontinental missile, to a small portable nuclear device transported by an individual. All nuclear devices cause deadly effects when exploded.
Hazards of Nuclear Devices:
The danger of a massive strategic nuclear attack on the United States is predicted by experts to be less likely today. However, terrorism, by nature, is unpredictable.

In general , potential targets incluse: 

• Strategic missile sites and military bases.
• Centers of government such as Washington, DC, and state capitals.
• Important transportation and communication centers.
• Manufacturing, industrial, technology, and financial centers.
• Petroleum refineries, electrical power plants, and chemical plants
• Major ports and airfields.

The three factors for protecting oneself from radisontion and fallout are distance, shielding and time. 

•  Distance - the more distance between you and the fallout particles, the better. An underground area such as a home or office building basement offers more protection than the first floor of a building. Shielding - the heavier and denser the materials - thick walls, concrete, bricks, books and earth - between you and the fallout particles, the better.
• Time - fallout radiation loses its intensity fairly rapidly. In time, you will be able to leave the fallout shelter. Radioactive fallout poses the greatest threat to people during the first two weeks, by which time it has declined to about 1 percent of its initial radiation level..."
  Nuclear blast

Protected Area Database

"The Protected Areas Database of the United States is the official inventory of protected open space in United  States. With over 3 billions acreas in thousands of holdings, the spatial data in the PAD-US includes  publiclands, overlappings management designations, and Marine Protected Areas held in trust by national, state, and some local governments, and some nonprofit conservation organizations..." 
Protected land areas

National Climate Repott, June 2017

"The July average temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 75.7°F, 2.1°F above the 20th century average and was the 10th warmest July in 123 years of record-keeping. Much-above-average temperatures were observed across the West and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The year-to-date (January–July) average temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 54.5°F, 3.2°F above average and second warmest on record. This was slightly warmer than the same period in 2006 and 1.2°F cooler than the record set in 2012.

The July precipitation total was 2.74 inches, 0.04 inch below the 20th century average and was near the middle value of the 123-year period of record. Above-average precipitation in the Southwest, Midwest and Northeast offset below-average precipitation in the Northwest and Northern Plains. The year-to-date precipitation total was 20.68 inches, 2.59 inches above average. This was the seventh wettest year-to-date on record and wettest since 1998..."
National Climate Report

Coastal Change Analysis Program Regional Land Cover and Change

"Nationally standardized, raster-based inventories of land cover for the coastal areas of the U.S. Data are derived, through the Coastal Change Analysis Program, from the analysis of multiple dates of remotely sensed imagery. Two file types are available: individual dates that supply a wall-to-wall map, and change files that compare one date to another.

The use of standardized data and procedures assures consistency through time and across geographies. C-CAP data forms the coastal expression of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and the A-16 land cover theme of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. The data are updated every 5 years..."

Coastal areas and change

Restitution for Wartime Internment

"Approved August 10, 1988, H.R. 442, or "An Act to implement recommendations of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians" awarded restitution payments of $20,000 to Japanese-American survivors of World War II civilian internment camps..."
President Reagan’s Remarks on Signing H.R. 442...
Restitution for WW11 Japanese intirnment

U.S. State Department Alerts and Warnings

View the latest travel alerts and warnings from the U.S. Department of State.
Travel warnings

Condition of Education: 2017

"The Condition of Education is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The 2017 Condition of Education report presents 50 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary education, as well as labor force outcomes and international comparisons. Also included in the report are 4 Spotlight indicators that provide more in-depth analyses on selected topics.

• Browse this document.
• Download, view and print the report as a pdf file.  (15.73KB)
• Download, view and print the At A Glance section as a pdf file.  (164KB)
• Download, view and print the Highlights section as a pdf file.  (533KB)..."
  Condition of Education

Disgest of Education Statistics: 2015

"The Introduction provides a brief overview of current trends in American education, highlighting key data that are presented in more detail later in this volume. Topics outlined include the participation of students, teachers, and faculty in U.S. educational institutions; the performance of U.S. elementary/secondary students overall and in comparison to students in other countries; the numbers of high school graduates and postsecondary degrees; and the amounts of expenditures on education at the elementary/secondary and postsecondary levels.

In fall 2015, about 75.8 million people were enrolled in American schools and colleges (table 105.10). About 4.6 million people were employed as elementary and secondary school teachers or as college faculty, in full-time equivalents (FTE). Other professional, administrative, and support staff at educational institutions totaled 5.3 million FTE employees. All data for 2015 in this Introduction are projected, except for data on educational attainment. Some data for other years are projected or estimated as noted. In discussions of historical trends, different time periods and specific years are cited, depending on the timing of important changes as well as the availability of relevant data..."

Education Statistics

What Should I Do If My Home Has Problem Drywall?

"CPSC has received about 4,051 reports from residents in 44 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico, who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to problem drywall. State and local authorities have also received similar reports. Homeowners report corrosion or blackening of metal in or on electrical fixtures, appliances, plumbing and air conditioner coils. Consumers largely report that their homes were built in 2006 to 2007, when an unprecedented increase in new construction occurred in part due to the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.

Where Has Problem Drywall Been Reported?

How Can I Tell If My Home Has Problem Drywall?

Other Frequently Asked Questions..."

Drywall

Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke

"Dry conditions in parts of the United States increase the potential for wildfires in or near wilderness areas. Stay alert for wildfire warnings and take action to protect yourself and your family from wildfire smoke.

When wildfires burn in your area, they produce smoke that may reach your community. Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. This smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases.

Who is at greatest risk from wildfire smoke?

• People who have heart or lung diseases, like heart disease, chest pain, lung disease, or asthma, are at higher risk from wildfire smoke.
• Older adults are more likely to be affected by smoke. This may be due to their increased risk of heart and lung diseases.
• Children are more likely to be affected by health threats from smoke. Children’s airways are still developing and they breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults. Also, children often spend more time outdoors engaged in activity and play..."

Wildfires