World Bank's New Climate Action Plan

According to an April 7, 2016 news release, the World Bank announced its new Climate Change Action Plan  that will "help developing countries add 30 gigawatts of renewable energy – enough to power 150 million homes – to the world’s energy capacity, bring early warning systems to 100 million people and develop climate-smart agriculture investment plans for at least 40 countries – all by 2020." The plan focuses on helping countries develop national policies and leverage private sector investment. Instead of a one-size-fits all plan, it stress differentiated actions and supports according to the point a country is starting from and its emission levels.

Senate Approves New Education Secretary, John B. King, Jr.

On March 14, 2016, the Senate confirmed John B. King, Jr. as Arne Duncan's replacement for Secretary of Education. Although Mr. King's parents were educators in New York City, both died from illness by the time he was 12. He credits public school teachers with " saving his life by providing transformative educational experiences and giving him hope about the future." He began his own education career as a high school social studies teacher in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Boston. He then became co-founder and co-director for curriculum and instruction at Roxbury Preparatory Charter School in Massachusetts where the school outperformed even affluent Boston suburban schools. He also served as a managing director at Uncommon Schools, a chain of high-performing charter schools in Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. He then served first as a senior deputy commissioner and then commissioner of education in New York before coming to the Education Department as principal senior adviser whose duties were to carry out the tasks of the deputy secretary and to oversee President Obama's My Brother's Keeper task force formed to address "persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color."

Dr. King has a "Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University, a Master of Arts in the teaching of social studies from Columbia University's Teachers College, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a Doctor of Education degree in educational administrative practice from Columbia University's Teachers College."

To learn more about Dr. King, read his biography on the Education Department's website.

Census Bureau Irish Statistics for St. Patrick's Day

The Census Bureau has a Facts for Features section on its web page that celebrates holidays and seasonal/special events. The page that is dedicated to celebrating St. Patrick's Day has a wide variety of statistics ranging from the educational and income status of Irish Americans to beef and cabbage production. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day (March 17) with fun facts.

Encryption: Selected Legal Issues

Debate has been raging about whether Apple should grant the FBI's request to provide a technological way to obtain encrypted content stored on an iPhone when legally requested. On March 3, 2016 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a new report that "provides background to the ongoing encryption debate, including a primer on encryption basics and an overview of Apple, Google, and Facebook’s new encryption policies." Entitled Encryption: Selected Legal Issues by Richard M. Thompson II, Legislative Attorney and Chris Jaikara, Analyst in Cybersecurity Policy, the authors chose to focus on two questions from the many political, economic, and legal questions being raised: 

1. Does the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination bar such a request?
2. Can the All Writs Act federal statue that "provides federal courts with residual authority to enforce its orders be interpreted broadly enough to cover compelled assistance on the part of the device and software manufacturer?"

Mobile Friendly govinfo to replace GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys)

According to a February 3, 2016 news release, the Government Publishing Office has launched govinfo (www.govinfo.gov), a mobile friendly way to access government information on the three branches of the Federal Government.  In 2017 it will replace FDsys (Federal Digital System). In addition to being mobile friendly, govinfo provides an ABC list of collections and has quick links to popular publications. One feature likely to be popular is the ability to browse documents by the issuing Congressional committee.

Natural Born Citizen as President Debate

Since questions have been raised about what it means for a U.S. President to be natural born, the Social Science Research Network is hosting two opposite opinions. Taking a broad view is Michael D. Ramsey from the University of San Diego School of Law in his January 7, 2016 article, "The Original Meaning of 'Natural Born.' " Taking the narrow view is Mary Brigid McManamon in the Catholic University Law Review, v.64,  no. 2 (2015), Widener Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 14-21, "The Natural Born Citizen Clause as Originally Understood."

New Authorization for Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State

On January 15, 2016 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report by Specialist in Foreign Policy Legislation Matthew C. Weed entitled A New Authorization for Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State. Since "a number of members of Congress have raised numerous questions and concerns about the President's authority to use military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State," the report "focuses on the several proposals for a new AUMF specifically targeting the Islamic State made during the 113th and 114th Congresses." Included are "a brief review of existing authorities and AUMFs, as well as a discussion of issues related to various provisions included in existing and proposed AUMFs that both authorize and limit presidential use of military force." The appendix section provides " a comparative analysis of similar provisions in new AUMFs proposed in the 113th and 114th Congresses."  

Weed notes that the "report will be updated to reflect congressional activity."

Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons

On January 14, 2016 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal entitled Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons by Paul K. Kerr, Analyst in Nonproliferation and Mary Beth Nikitin, Specialist in Nonproliferation. The summary reveals that Pakistan has approximately 110-130 or more nuclear warheads. Despite taking steps in recent years to increase the security of its nuclear arsenal, instability in the area causes some to have concerns especially about the fear of a "radical takeover of the Pakistani government or diversion of material or technology by personnel within Pakistan't nuclear complex." The report also highlights issues for Congress.

Library of Congress Receiving 9/11 Responder Oral History Collection

According to a Dec. 18, 2015 news release, the Library of Congress will receive a collection of oral histories of first responders to the 9/11 attacks on the New York World Trade Center. Donated by Dr. Benjamin Luft, the Edmond Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and director of the Stony Brook WTC Wellness Program who treated the responders. the collection includes "200 oral histories (each one hour to 1.5 hours long) and more than 1,000 digital photographs, manuscript materials, logbooks and indexes involving the personnel who responded to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers and who worked on response to the event, including rescue and recovery work on the building debris pile, over subsequent months." Future installments are expected since this represents only a portion of what Dr. Luft collected.

Additional 9/11 materials are part of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center collections. Between October 2001 and May 2002 ethnographers from around the country sent audio and video recordings documenting peoples' experiences about and reactions to 9/11 to form the "September 11, 2001, Documentary Project."  In addition, recorded StoryCorps personal narratives about 9/11 were donated to their archival collection.

Census Bureau Report on Child Support

On January 19, 2016 the Census Bureau released a report entitled Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2013 containing data from the Child Support Supplement to the April 2014 Current Population Survey. The report "presents a snapshot of custodial parents and child support payments — either legal or informal — that were reported as received from noncustodial parents living outside the home." Highlights include:

• About half (48.7 percent) of all custodial parents had either legal or informal child support agreements, and custodial mothers were more likely to have agreements (52.3 percent) than custodial fathers (31.4 percent).
• The aggregate amount of child support due in 2013 was $32.9 billion, a decrease of $14.0 billion from a decade earlier when adjusted to 2013 dollars.
• About 68.5 percent of the $32.9 billion in child support due in 2013 was reported as received, averaging $3,950 per year per custodial parent who was due support.

Track Santa's Movements Online

A favorite with children during the holiday season is the online Santa Tracker available in several languages. Since 1955 the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), have provided a Santa tracking service to children all over the world. NORAD's creative website includes the Santa tracker and games and images related to the North Pole and Santa's Village. It even has apps to tract Santa from a mobile phone.

State Population Estimates

What states are the most populous? Find out using the December 2015 release from the  Census Bureau entitled "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rice: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015 (NST-EST2015-01." The publication includes the following note:

The estimates are based on the 2010 Census and reflect changes to the April 1, 2010 population due to the Count Question Resolution program and geographic program revisions. See Geographic Terms and Definitions at http://www.census.gov/popest/about/geo/terms.html for a list of the states that are included in each region.  All geographic boundaries for the 2015 population estimates series except statistical area delineations are as of January 1, 2015.  For population estimates methodology statements, see https://www.census.gov/popest/methodology/index.htmlhttps://www.census.gov/popest/methodology/index.html.

U.S. Energy Imports from Canada

On its beta website the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides an overview of Canadian energy imports into the United States. The entry reveals that Canada is the "largest source of U.S. crude oil and refined products" and is "one of the few countries from which U.S. crude oil imports are increasing."  Although the Keystone pipeline did not receive a presidential permit, crude oil from Alberta is being shipped by rail to points in the United States. Of interest to Houston is the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project, which began operating by rail in January 2014 from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast Texas refining sector with plans to expand capacity from the initial 520,000 b/d to 700,000 b/d. To see proposed routes for the actual pipelines especially for the Houston Lateral which would go through Liberty, Chambers and Harris counties, see TransCanada's map.
The EIA website entry also touches on coal, natural gas and electricity exports from Canada.

Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a new report on Dec. 10, 2015 by Rita Tehan entitled "Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents." The report provides links to cybersecurity legislation and hearings from the 112th to the 114th Congresses and information about cybersecurity bills signed by the President. It also references other CRS reports covering various aspects of cybersecurity such as data and statistics and authoritative reports.

President Obama Signs ESSA - No More "No Child Left Behind"

On December 10, 2015 President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act which does away with provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. The four versions of the bill [S.1177.ENR] are available from THOMAS (The Library of Congress).
The White House blog post of Dec. 7, 2015 compares President Obama'a priorities for the Every Student Succeeds Act with those of the Bipartisan Bill and No Child Left Behind. The Senate Legislative Activity page shows the main provisions of the act while the Education Week blog explains them.

GAO Report About Asylum Application Fraud

On Dec. 2, 2015 the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report entitled Asylum: Additional Actions Needed to Assess and Address Fraud Risks. The following provides reasons why the GAO did this study citing the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the DOJ (Department of Justice).

GAO was asked to review the status of the asylum system. This report addresses (1) what DHS and DOJ data indicate about trends in asylum claims, (2) the extent to which DHS and DOJ have designed mechanisms to prevent and detect asylum fraud, and (3) the extent to which DHS and DOJ designed and implemented processes to address any asylum fraud that has been identified. GAO analyzed DHS and DOJ data on asylum applications for fiscal years 2010 through 2014, reviewed DHS and DOJ policies and procedures related to asylum fraud, and interviewed DHS and DOJ officials in Washington, D.C., Falls Church, VA, and in asylum offices and immigration courts across the country selected on the basis of application data and other factors.


GAO recommended:

... that DHS and DOJ conduct regular fraud risk assessments and that DHS, among other things, implement tools for detecting fraud patterns, develop asylum-specific guidance for fraud detection roles and responsibilities, and implement timeliness goals for pending termination reviews.

Webinars, Nov. 17-19, Patent and Trademark Searching for Business Owners

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are offering a free three-day webinar series next week to help business owners, inventors, entrepreneurs, and start-ups understand the value of conducting proper prior patent and trademark searches. The webinars will cover:

• What are patents and trademarks?
• What are the benefits of patent and trademark searching?
• What are some of the strategies for conducting a search?
• What are some of the factors to consider when you conduct a search?

Webinar Topics, USPTO Speakers, and Access Information:

Day 1 – November 17, 1 p.m. ET – Patent Searching – Gwen Blackwell
Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e6dd5325b8a5b560aa7b83a331fa20865
Event number: 995 336 700 Event password: 12345
Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 995 336 700
________________________________________
Day 2 - November 18, 1 p.m. ET – Trademark Searching – Catherine Cain
Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e7792abfcd6fb30f104f369217e276d1a
Event number: 995 724 657 Event password: 12345
Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 995 724 657
________________________________________ Day 3 – November 19, 1 p.m. ET – General Town Hall Q&A Session – Anthony Knight and Scott Baldwin
Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3bd93d06f680e2289b81446df670c4cf
Event number: 991 047 950 Event password: 12345
Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 991 047 950

OpenBeta.USAspending.gov

According to a November 10, 2015 blog post, The United States Department of the Treasury in November 2015 launched OpenBeta.USAspending.gov to seek user input on the design changes to the USASpending.gov site to be completed in 2017. Although USASpending.gov, mandated by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, is currently functioning and provides access to information on how tax dollars are spent, the beta site allows the American public a chance to review, test, and provide feedback about what changes should be made to the site.

Veterans History Sites

As we thank veterans for their service on Veteran's Day, sometimes it's hard to imagine what they went through. Several sites make that imagining easier. The most comprehensive site is the Veterans History Project from the Library of Congress. It makes available personal narratives, correspondence and visual materials of American war veterans from World War I beginning in 1914 through the Iraq War, 2003-2011. Sites concentrating on specific wars also exist. For World War II, the Atlantic Magazine has created a stunning photo gallery including military and civilian photos, while the University of Miami has made available WWII posters encouraging support of the war effort. Texas Tech University has created the Vietnam Center and Archive which includes photographs, slides, maps, periodicals, audio, moving images, and books related to the Vietnam War, Indochina, and the impact of the war on the United States and Southeast Asia.

International Comparisons of the Quality of Life for the Aging

The Global AgeWatch Index has released it 2015 international report comparing quality of life in older age in different countries. The Index is supported by a global advisory panel of more than 40 independent experts in aging, health, social protection and human development and provides data for informed decisions about aging. Coming in at number 9, the United States was surpassed by Japan (8), Iceland (7), the Netherlands (6), Canada (5), Germany (4), Sweden (3), Norway (2), and Switzerland (1).

New Medicaid and Affordable Health Care Act Reports - General Accounting Office

Close to the 3rd enrollment period for the health insurance marketplace which begins Nov. 1, 2015, the General Accounting office has released four new pertinent reports:

• Medicaid: Additional Efforts Needed to Ensure that State Spending is Appropriately Matched with Federal Funds, GAO-16-53 (Released Oct 23, 2015).
• Medicaid and Insurance Exchanges: Additional Federal Controls Needed to Minimize Potential for Gaps and Duplication in Coverage, GAO-16-73:(Released: Oct 23, 2015).
• Medicaid: Additional Federal Controls Needed to Improve Accuracy of Eligibility Determinations and for Coordination with Exchanges GAO-16-157T:(Released: Oct 22, 2015).
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Preliminary Results of Undercover Testing of the Federal Marketplace and Selected State Marketplaces for Coverage Year 2015 GAO-16-159T (Released: Oct 22, 2015).

October is National Employment Disability Awareness Month

From: http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ndeam/2015PosterEnglish.pdf

This year is the 70th anniversary of NDEAM (National Disability Employment Awareness Month) and the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). See the Department of Labor's interactive timeline to learn more about other important events in disability employment history.

DoD Releases Fiscal Year 2014 Defense Spending by State Report

From a September 28, 2015 DoD Press Release:

The Defense Spending by State Fiscal Year 2014 report examines U.S. defense spending in FY 2014, at the state and local levels, for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

According to the budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2015, national defense spending is expected to decline 28 percent from FY 2011 to 2019 in real terms, after increasing by more than 65 percent from FY 2000 to 2010. Sequestration went into effect in March 2013 and required across-the-board cuts to defense and non-defense programs from FY 2013 to 2021. Over this period, defense spending will be reduced by a total of $454 billion.

The impact of these cuts depends in part on the number of defense personnel and amount of defense contract revenue in each state and region. This report highlights factors, such as the regional expenditures from military bases or private contractors, which can be used to evaluate each state's potential exposure to projected declines in defense spending.

View the FY2014 Defense Spending by State Report - Part 1 of 2.

View the FY2014 Defense Spending by State Report - Part 2 of 2.

FCC Plans Open Source Accessibility Platform

According to an August 20, 2015 press release, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will "offer an open source video access platform that will enable Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or who have a speech disability to communicate directly with federal agencies and businesses in American Sign Language (ASL)."

The press release describes the system as follows:

The platform will provide open source applications for mobile and desktop operating systems which – along with direct video calling – will allow for text and high-quality voice communications. In addition, the FCC will provide applications that relay service users can download on their smartphones or desktops in order to communicate directly with agency representatives. An ASL-user will be able to click on who they want to talk to and the call will be connected directly to a customer service center staffed by, most commonly, another person who is deaf or hard of hearing who is fluent in ASL. The Commission plans to roll out a beta version later this year with final release schedule for spring of 2016.

The FCC’s platform will provide the basic building blocks that are common to any IP-based application. The platform also will establish a set of interoperability standards to be used by today’s two-way video communications providers, ensuring seamless usability while maintaining freedom of choice for all ASL users. Giving applications developers open access to source code will enable them to provide apps with easy interoperability for those receiving calls.

Under the leadership of Chairman Tom Wheeler, the FCC has become a leader in using "interactive video to allow deaf and hard of hearing callers direct access to ASL consumer support." Other agencies such as the Small Business Administration, the Census Bureau, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the City of New York are already following or planning to follow the FCC's example.

Smithsonian's Plan for Increased Public Access to Federally Funded Research Results

On August 18, 2015 the Smithsonian Institution released its Plan for Increased Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research  which proposes "to provide increased public access to certain peer-reviewed scholarly publications and supporting digital research data"  for research partially or wholly funded by a federal funding source. The plan applies to "all fields in which the Smithsonian conducts  research, including but not limited to the fields of science, history, art, and culture." 

Address Wildfire Threat with National Seed Strategy

According to an August 17, 2015 press release, as "part of a comprehensive, science-based strategy to address the threat of wildfires that are damaging landscapes across the West, the Department of the Interior today announced the release of a National Seed Strategy for rehabilitation and restoration to help foster resilient and healthy landscapes." More information is available from the press release and the FAQs.

Iran Nuclear Agreement: Selected Issues for Congress

On August 6, 2015 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report entitled Iran Nuclear Agreement: Selected Issues for Congress By Kenneth Katzman and Paul K. Kerr. The agreement between Iran and the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia, and China (countries labelled the P5+1), is under review by Congress until September 17. A paragraph in the report's summary describes the agreement in broad terms:

Broadly, the accord represents an exchange of limitations on Iran’s nuclear program for the lifting or suspension of U.S., U.N., and European Union (EU) sanctions. The text contains relatively complicated provisions for inspections of undeclared Iranian nuclear facilities, processes for adjudicating complaints by any of the parties for nonperformance of commitments, "snap-back" provisions for U.N. sanctions, finite durations for many of Iran’s nuclear commitments, and broad U.N., E.U., and U.S. commitments to suspend or lift most of the numerous sanctions imposed on Iran since 2010. Many of the agreement’s provisions have raised questions about the degree to which the accord can accomplish the P5+1 objectives that were stated when P5+1-Iran negotiations began in 2006.

Legal Background of National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations

Charles Doyle, Senior Specialist in American Public Law, has written a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entitled "National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background." He discusses the five National Security Letter (NSL) federal statutes that authorized "intelligence officials to request information in connection with national security investigations" and the Department of Justice's Inspector General (IG) findings in relation to the five statutes. In the summary he reveals:

The President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies recommended several NSL statutory adjustments designed to eliminate differences between NSLs and court orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“§215 orders”), including requiring pre-issuance judicial approval of NSLs. Instead in the USA FREEDOM Act, P.L. 114-23 (H.R. 2048), Congress opted to adjust the NSL judicial review provisions governing the nondisclosure requirements that may accompany NSLs. It also precludes the use of NSL authority for bulk collection of communications or financial records. Finally, it adjusts existing reporting requirements to permit recipients to publicly disclose the extent to which they have been compelled to comply with NSLs.

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New Strategic Plan for the National Library of Medicine

According to a June 11, 2015 press release, the National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D, released a new strategic vision for the National Library of Medicine (NLM) created by a NLM Working Group. The vision will help ensure that NLM "remains an international leader in biomedical and health information." The Working Group believes "NLM has an important opportunity to play a key leadership role in one of the most exciting periods of biomedical history: data science is increasing rapidly, computational power is expanding at a breathtaking pace, the breadth and depth of digital health data are undergoing unprecedented and accelerating growth, a movement towards more interdisciplinary work and team science continues to gain momentum, a broad commitment to open science is becoming increasingly adopted, and the demand for services to support an ever more engaged and informed public is expanding." The group made six broad recommendations:

• RECOMMENDATION #1. NLM must continually evolve to remain a leader in assimilating and disseminating accessible and authoritative biomedical research findings and trusted health information to the public, healthcare professionals, and researchers worldwide.
• RECOMMENDATION #2. NLM should lead efforts to support and catalyze open science, data sharing, and research reproducibility, striving to promote the concept that biomedical information and its transparent analysis are public goods.
• RECOMMENDATION #3. NLM should be the intellectual and programmatic epicenter for data science at NIH and stimulate its advancement throughout biomedical research and application.
• RECOMMENDATION #4. NLM should strengthen its role in fostering the future generation of professionals in biomedical informatics, data science, library sciences, and related disciplines through sustained and focused training efforts.
• RECOMMENDATION #5. NLM should maintain, preserve, and make accessible the nation’s historical efforts in advancing biomedical research and medicine, thereby ensuring that this legacy is both safe and accessible for long-term use.
• RECOMMENDATION #6. New NLM leadership should evaluate what talent, resources, and organizational structures are required to ensure NLM can fully achieve its mission and best allocate its resources.

To see more including breakdowns within the recommendation, access the full report (PDF).

Sunlight Foundation Creating Database for Criminal Justice Data

The Sunlight Foundation, a national non-partisan, nonprofit organization committed to open government, has created an inventory of publicly and privately produced criminal justice data as the first step to creating a database. The inventory, Opening Criminal Justice Data, shows what data has been collected so far and provides an opportunity for people to submit their own data, statistics or a finished report. However, no information is given on the main page about how these submissions will be evaluated. Links to data and reports already submitted can be accessed by opening the Google spreadsheet. Most of the reports presently available are from official government agencies.

Audit of the Management of the International Space Station National Laboratory

The General Accounting Office (GA0) released a report covering the April 2014 to April 2015 management of the ISS (International Space Station) National Laboratory. The Highlights section of the report, International Space Station: Measurable Performance Targets and Documentation Needed to Better Assess Management of National Laboratory, explains the purpose of the audit and provides recommendations:

Why GAO Did This Study

The U.S. has spent almost $43 billion to develop, assemble, and operate the ISS over the past two decades. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 required NASA to enter into a cooperative agreement with a not-for-profit entity to manage the ISS National Laboratory and in 2011 did so with CASIS. CASIS is charged with maximizing use of the ISS for scientific research by executing several required activities. Recently, questions have arisen about the progress being made to implement the required activities and the impact it has had on ISS’s return on the investment.

GAO was asked to report on the progress of CASIS’s management of the ISS National Laboratory. GAO assessed the extent to which (1) CASIS has implemented the required management activities, and (2) NASA and CASIS measure and assess CASIS’s performance. To perform this work, GAO reviewed the cooperative agreement between NASA and CASIS, CASIS’s annual program plans, and other documentation and interviewed ISS, CASIS, and NASA officials.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends NASA fully staff the ISS National Laboratory Advisory Committee; NASA and CASIS work together to develop measurable targets for CASIS’s metrics; and NASA begin documenting its annual review of CASIS’s performance. NASA partially concurred and CASIS did not concur with the first recommendation, but concurred with the other two. GAO continues to believe the first recommendation is valid, as discussed further in the report.

Massive National Recall of Takata Air Bags

According to a May 19, 2015 news release, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a national recall of certain types of driver and passenger side air bag inflators made by Takata. The recall, which started with those at highest risk due to age of vehicle and areas of high absolute humidity, is now nationwide with about 34 million vehicles involved. Even if your vehicle is not listed at present, the NHTSA advises you to keep checking the website as new entries continue to be added. The new website created to provide regular updates on the status of this and other recalls is www.SaferCar.gov/RecallsSpotlight.

New Fair Use Index from the U.S. Copyright Office

The U.S. Copyright Office has created a Fair Use Index "to make the principles and application of fair use more accessible and understandable to the public by presenting a searchable database of court opinions, including by category and type of use (e.g., music, internet/digitization, parody)." It includes a wide selection of cases regarding fair use (but not all) and is not a substitute for legal advice. Each decision includes "a brief summary of the facts, the relevant question(s) presented, and the court’s determination as to whether the contested use was fair." Browse all the cases, search for specific cases or review cases from specific courts. Usually only the highest court decision issued in a case is included. The index does not include the court opinions themselves, but provides citations to access those opinions through other free (Google Scholar, Justia, etc.) or commercial databases (Westlaw, LEXIS, etc.).

Humor EPA Style

Need a chuckle? The EPA has created a booklet of trash-related jokes entitled "American the Beautiful: a Collection of the Nation's Trashiest Humor." It's available for download from http://tinyurl.com/op8jk95 as a PDF, TIFF, or unformatted text.

Cuba: Issues for the 114th Congress

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report on April 17, 2015 entitled Cuba: Issues for the 114th Congress. The introduction states:

This report is divided into three major sections analyzing Cuba’s political and economic environment, U.S. policy toward Cuba, and selected issues in U.S.-Cuban relations. While legislative initiatives are noted throughout the report where appropriate, a final section of the report provides a listing of bills and resolutions introduced in the 114th Congress.

The Importance of Data Occupations in the U.S. Economy

The Economics and Statistics Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce released a March 12, 2015 report entitled The Importance of Data Occupations in the U.S. Economy. The report identifies "occupations where data analysis and processing are central to the work performed" and measures "the size of employment and earnings in these occupations, as well as in the industries that have the highest concentration of these data occupations."

The key findings of the report are:

• Employment where data is central to the job was about 10.3 million in 2013 (of which 1.6 million were government workers), or about 7.8 percent of all employment. However, including occupations where working with data is at least an important part of the job dramatically increases that number: to 74.3 million jobs, or over half of the workforce.
• Hourly wages for private-sector workers in data occupations, which are concentrated in the broad categories of business and computer/mathematical occupations, averaged $40.30 in 2013, about 68 percent higher for all occupations
• For these top data occupations, two-thirds or more of the workers have at least a college degree; in comparison about one-third of workers across all occupations have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Private sector industries with the highest concentration of data occupations added 1.8 million jobs over the last decade, representing about 31 percent of total private job growth which was four times faster than in private industries overall
• Data intensive industries are located in many states, but the highest concentrations are in Washington, D.C.; Virginia; Massachusetts; Maryland; and Connecticut.

The 2015 Economic Report of the President written by the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers is now available for download (full report or by chapter) in PDF format. Statistical appendix tables are also available in either PDF or Excel format.

In the introduction President Obama notes that 2014 was a "breakthrough year" with the lowest unemployment rate in over six years, health coverage for more Americans, continued investment in renewable energy and a cut in dependence on foreign oil. For 2015 President Obama would like to focus on three initiatives for the middle class:

• affordable childcare, college, health care, a home, and retirement
• upgraded skills so more Americans can "earn higher wages down the road."
• high-skilled, high-wage jobs supported by "21st century infrastructure — modern ports, stronger bridges, better roads, clean water, clean energy, faster trains, and the fastest internet."

Ferguson Police Department Investigation Report

The U.S. Department of Justice released its Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department dated March 4, 2015. The following paragraph from the summary section of the report highlights issues of concern:

Ferguson’s law enforcement practices are shaped by the City’s focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs. This emphasis on revenue has compromised the institutional character of Ferguson’s police department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing, and has also shaped its municipal court, leading to procedures that raise due process concerns and inflict unnecessary harm on members of the Ferguson community. Further, Ferguson’s police and municipal court practices both reflect and exacerbate existing racial bias, including racial stereotypes. Ferguson’s own data establish clear racial disparities that adversely impact African Americans. The evidence shows that discriminatory intent is part of the reason for these disparities. Over time, Ferguson’s police and municipal court practices have sown deep mistrust between parts of the community and the police department, undermining law enforcement legitimacy among African Americans in particular.

The report ends with broad recommendations about changes Ferguson should make to its police and court practices and states that the Justice Department will "work with the City of Ferguson toward developing and reaching agreement on an appropriate framework for reform."

Fair Use Week, Feb. 23-27, 2015

ARL, the Association of Research Libraries, is coordinating a celebration of Fair Use Week from February 23-27, 2015. ARL states:

[Fair Use Week] celebrates the important role fair use plays in achieving the Constitutional purpose of intellectual property rights in the US: to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. The flexible nature of the fair use doctrine has permitted copyright to adapt to new technologies and changes.

Information about ways to participate in Fair Use Week are available from http://www.fairuseweek.org  and from ARL.

National Security Strategy

On February 6, 2015 the White House released the latest National Security Strategy (29p. PDF). In the introduction, President Obama addresses the United States' strengths and speaks of the following challenges:

Now, at this pivotal moment, we continue to face serious challenges to our national security, even as we are working to shape the opportunities of tomorrow. Violent extremism and an evolving terrorist threat raise a persistent risk of attacks on America and our allies. Escalating challenges to cybersecurity, aggression by Russia, the accelerating impacts of climate change, and the outbreak of infectious diseases all give rise to anxieties about global security. We must be clear-eyed about these and other challenges and recognize the United States has a unique capability to mobilize and lead the international community to meet them.

For a quick overview, access Fact Sheet: The 2015 National Security Strategy http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/06/fact-sheet-2015-national-security-strategy

USGS Releases Historic Hydraulic Fracturing Data

According to a January 27, 2015 news release, the U.S. Geological Survey has made available online two new publications about hydraulic fracturing, the Scientific Investigation Report and its companion Data Series, The publications highlight historical hydraulic fracturing trends and data from 1947 to 2010. They "provide a basis for making comparisons of current-day hydraulic fracturing to historical applications" and an "improved understanding of where the practice is occurring and how hydraulic fracturing characteristics have changed over time."

Asteroid Visible from Earth on January 26, 2015

According to NASA, an asteroid about a third of a mile in size (0.5 kilometers), will be visible from Earth with binoculars on January 26, 2015 as it passes by about 745,0000 (1.2 kilometers) miles away.

For more information and to see a graphic and a video depiction, access NASA's new story, "Asteroid to Fly By Earth Safely on January 26."

National Taxpayer Advocate 2014 Annual Report to Congress

The National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent organization within the IRS created to help taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS and/or recommend changes to prevent problems, released its 2014 Annual Report to Congress. According to its newsroom report, taxpayers "this year are likely to receive the worst levels of taxpayer service since at least 2001 when the IRS implemented its current performance measures."

The primary sections of the report include:

• Most Serious Problems
• Legislative Recommendations
• Most Litigated Issues
• Volume 2: TAS Research and Related Studies

A link to the Executive Summary and the full report is available at http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/2014-Annual-Report/full-2014-annual-report-to-congress/

The preface to the report was dated Dec. 31, 2014. In January libraries participating in the IRS Tax Outlet program were notified that since Congress cut IRS appropriations in the 2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill, outlets will receive Forms 1040EZ, 1040A and 1040 but not the multi-page instruction booklets (104 pages for 1040; 86 pages for 1040A; 43 pages for 1040EZ). Each program will receive only a reference copy of the popular Publication 17,  the general rules for filing a federal income tax return. Individuals are encouraged to download forms from IRS.gov/Forms or order tax products from IRS.gov/orderforms to be delivered by mail. They may also call 1-800-829-3676, but phone service is one of the problems noted in the report.

Songs from the Selma March

On January 15, 2015 Smithsonian.com spotlighted songs recorded on the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, some of which were used in the Ava DuVernay film Selma. The songs were recorded by Carl Benkert, an architectural interior designer from Detroit who joined the march and captured it with a battery-operated reel-to-reel tape recorder hidden under his overcoat. The songs are available for listening, but require using a free Spotify account.

For more information access Smithsonian's Listen to the Freedom Songs Recorded 50 Years Ago During the March From Selma to Montgomery .

Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today, January 19, 2015, all over the United States celebrations are being held to  commemorate the the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In Houston the Children's Museum is hosting a celebration of his life with activities going on throughout the day. It's a beautiful day to visit MacGregor Park, home to the Houston Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial which honors "Dr. King’s legacy and contributions to peace, justice, equality, human dignity, and education." People also have an opportunity to participate in a National Day of Service to honor his memory. Find service opportunities by entering a zip code at  http://www.nationalservice.gov/mlkday2015 (slow loading page).

To learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. including links to his speeches, access the American Memory Collection from the Library of Congress, or the Martin Luther King Jr., Research and Education Institute, or the King Center."

NORAD's Santa Tracker

Since 1955 the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), have provided a Santa tracking service to children all over the world. Volunteers from NORAD personally respond to phone calls and emails and use the internet to track Santa. NORAD's creative website includes the Santa tracker and games and images related to the North Pole and Santa's Village. It even has an app to tract Santa from a mobile phone. To find Santa's exact location children can call 1-877-446-6723 to talk with a NORAD staff member from 3:00 a.m. MST on December 24 until 3:00 a.m. MST on December 25, or on December 24 they can email noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.

Happy Holidays!

Report on the Future of Privacy

On December 18, 2014 Pew Research, a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, released a report that looks "into the future of privacy in light of the technological change, ever-growing monetization of digital encounters, and shifting relationship of citizens and their governments that is likely to extend through the next decade." Digital Life in 2025: The Future of Privacy canvassed thousands of experts and Internet builders to share their predictions. (They use the term canvas since this was not a representative randomized survey.) Questions asked of the responders were:

• Will policy makers and technology innovators create a secure, popularly accepted, and trusted privacy-rights infrastructure by 2025 that allows for business innovation and monetization while also offering individuals choices for protecting their personal information in easy-to-use formats?
• Describe what you think the reality will be in 2025 when it comes to the overall public perception about whether policy makers and corporations have struck the right balance between personal privacy, secure data, and compelling content and apps that emerge from consumer tracking and analytics. 
• Consider the future of privacy in a broader social context. How will public norms about privacy be different in 2025 from the way they are now?

Common thoughts shared by those interviewed were:

• Privacy and security are foundational issues of the digital world
• People are living in an unprecedented condition of ubiquitous surveillance
• People require little more inducement than personal convenience to disclose their personal information
• Norms are always evolving, and privacy will certainly change in coming years 
• An arms-race dynamic is unfolding
• Renegotiation and compromise will be a constant in privacy-security policy space

For more information and to obtain a PDF of the report, access 

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/12/18/future-of-privacy/

CIA Torture Report

On December 9, 2014 the Senate released the recommendations, executive summary, and findings of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program commonly known as the CIA Torture Report.  Read a PDF of the Executive Summary, Findings and Conclusions and/or a PDF of the Minority Views of Vice Chairman Chambliss and Senators Burr, Risch, Coats, Rubio and Coburn.

The official digital version (PDF) is now available on GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys). The print version is available for purchase at GPO’s retail and online bookstore for $29.

Understanding Pearl Harbor

U.S.S. Shaw burning in Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98506923

To help us understand the background of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and what it was like to live through it, government agencies have posted material online. For example, the Senate has made available the summary of the work of the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack as well as a PDF of their report. The Naval History and Heritage Command website has an overview and selected images about the Pearl Habor raid. The Library of Congress' American Folklife Center (AFC) has "man on the street interviews" featuring "opinions recorded in the days and months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor from more than two hundred individuals in cities and towns across the United States." The AFC also hosts the Veterans History Project making accessible personal accounts of American veterans from World War I to the present. Bibliographic records are available online for all the interviews with about 10% of the interviews (those with a VIEW DIGITAL COLLECTIONS button) being available online. Enter "Pearl Harbor" in the search box to access interviews relating to that fateful day.

Free Election Data

According to Library Journal and also Data Driven Journalism, Derek Willis, New York Times interactive news developer, and Sedar Tumgoren, Washington Post news apps developer, have created a free comprehensive database of past U.S. election results with the approval but not sponsorship of their employers. Supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's News Challenge, OpenElections aims to "create the first free, comprehensive, standardized, linked set of election data for the United States, including federal and statewide offices."

Warren Commission Report Available Online

Notice from the Government Printing Office (GPO):

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the release of the Warren Commission Report, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) makes the complete report and 26 hearing volumes available on GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys). The Commission was created by President Lyndon Johnson and chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren to investigate President Kennedy's assassination. GPO worked with Boston Public Library to digitize the 26 hearing volumes after digitizing the Warren Commission Report last year. Now the complete, official Warren Commission Report and hearing volumes are digitally available through GPO.

For link to complete Warren Commission Report, click here 

For link to historic video of GPO’s production of the Warren Commission Report, click here

GPO produced the Warren Commission Report and 26 hearing volumes in 1964. Altogether, GPO's work for the Commission resulted in nearly 235,000 copies of the report and nearly 5,600 sets of the hearings. All of these materials were made available to the public through distribution to Federal depository libraries nationwide and sales via GPO's bookstores.

“GPO is committed to digitization efforts and providing future generations of Americans with digital access to historical content,” Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks. “I thank Boston Public Library for collaborating with GPO to digitize the hearing volumes. This digitization effort reflects GPO’s digital transformation from printing the report 50 years ago to making digitally available today.”

The post President Kennedy assassination audio tape recordings of conversations between various individuals in Washington, DC and Air Force One pilots and officials on board during the flight from Dallas to Andrews Air Force Base are also available on FDsys.

For link to post assassination audio tape recordings, click here.

Affordable Care Act Legislation

On Sept. 12, 2014 the Congressional Research Service released Legislative Actions to Repeal, Defund, or Delay the Affordable Care Act (PDF link) by C. Stephen Redhead and Janet Kinzer. Three appendices summarize legislative actions to repeal, defund, delay, or otherwise amend the ACA law's enactment:

• Table A-1 in Appendix A - "summarizes the authorizing legislation to amend the ACA that has been approved by both chambers and enacted into law."
• Table B-1 in Appendix B - "summarizes the ACA provisions in authorizing legislation that passed the House in the 112th Congress (2011-2012) but was not approved by the Senate. It also lists the ACA-related legislation that the House has passed to date in the 113th Congress (2013-2014), but which has not been taken up by the Senate."
• Table C-1 in Appendix C  - "summarizes the ACA-related provisions in enacted annual appropriations acts for each of FY2011 through FY2014."

The report also contains background information on the core provisions of the ACA and an overview of the law's impact on federal spending.

Journalists Killed Worldwide since 1992

The Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ)  maintains a database listing journalists killed worldwide since 1992.  Deaths are classified as "motive confirmed" if there is reasonable certainty the journalist was murdered in direct reprisal for his or her work, or killed in crossfire during combat, or killed while carrying out a dangerous assignment. If the motive is unclear, the case is labeled "unconfirmed" and investigation continues.

CPJ is an "an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal."

Microfilm and Microfiche Cabinets Available for Free

Please Note: These cabinets are no longer available.

Rice University’s Fondren Library is giving away a number of used bookshelves and microfilm and microfiche cabinets on a first come, first served basis. Institutions that take these free cabinets and/or shelves are responsible for moving, disassembling (if necessary), loading and transporting them. Cabinets and shelves must be picked up by the end of September and are provided as is.


Microfilm cabinets available (good condition):

10-12 Russ Bassett Gemtrac high density cabinets. Tan. 90"H x 30W. (Note: typically these are installed in pairs)
19 Russ Bassett Lower Vertical Cabinets. 11 drawers with five rows. Dark Gray. 57.5”H x 23.75W
9 JB Lower Vertical Cabinets. 12 Drawers with five rows. Gray. 57.5"H x 23.75W
2 Watson Lower Vertical Cabinets. 11 drawers with five rows. Dark Gray. 57.5”H x 23.75W
4 Russ Bassett Upper Overflow Drawers. 5 Drawers with Six Rows. Dark Gray. 34"H x 25W
18 JB Upper Overflow Drawers. 5 Drawers with 6 Rows. Gray. 31.75"H x 23.75W

Microfilm/ microfiche cabinets available (fair to poor condition):

We also are making available a number of microfilm and microfiche cabinets that are in fair to poor condition (e.g. stained with ink, scuffed up exteriors, mismatched drawers, loose handles, etc):

Recordak Microfilm Cabinet

• 1 JB Overflow Upper Microfilm Drawers. 31.75"H x 23.75W
• 3 Recordak Microfilm Cabinet (10 drawers/5 rows). 32.75"H x 23.5W
• 5 Russ Bassett Overflow Upper Microfilm Drawers . 34"H x 25W
• 29 Watson Overflow Upper Microfilm Drawers. 52"H x 23.5"W
• 23 Watson Lower Microfilm Cabinets (11 Drawers/5 Rows). 57.5"H x 23.75W
• 2 Microfiche Cabinets (no manufacturers’ label) 9 Drawers/2 Rows. 18.25H x 57.25W
• 4 Microfiche Cabinets ((no manufacturers’ label) 7 Drawers/2 Rows. 18.25H x 51.5W
• 3 General Firing Proof Company Microfiche Cabinets. 9 Drawers/2 Rows. 13"H x 41.75W

Bookshelves available (good condition):

95 Aetnastack double-facing shelving units. 84" H x 36" W x 16.5" D
13 double-facing gray shelving units. 36" H x 37.5" W x 12" D

Contact information: 
If you are interested in any of these cabinets or shelves, please contact:

Lisa Spiro, Executive Director of Digital Scholarship Services
lspiro@rice.edu
713-348-2480

Feel free to spread the word about the availability of the cabinets and shelves.

Online Access to Archives of Five Courts Discontinued

Due to changes in technology, online access to records of five courts through the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system has been discontinued. A notice on the PACER webpage states the locally developed legacy case management systems in the five courts listed below are now incompatible with the new PACER Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system;

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit - Cases filed prior to January 1, 2010
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit - Cases filed prior to January 1, 2008
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit - Cases filed prior to January 1, 2010
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - Cases filed prior to March 1, 2012
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California - Cases filed prior to May 1, 2001

A note says to contact the court directly to obtain copies of documents and dockets in the above cases. Contact information for each court is available on the Court Locator page.

A Washington Post blog article contains statements from Charles Hall, a spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and Brian Carver, an assistant professor at the University of California at Berkeley School of Information and co-founder of the nonprofit Free Law Project. The project along with Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy maintains RECAP, a crowd-sourced platform hosting free archives of documents obtained through the paid PACER system.

New Copyright Publication

The U.S. Copyright Office has made available for viewing a public draft of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition, the first major revision in more than two decades. According to the announcement,

the draft presents more than 1200 pages of administrative practices and sets the stage for a number of long-term improvements in registration and recordation policy. It will remain in draft form for 120 days pending final review and implementation, taking effect on or around December 15, 2014.

More information and a link to download the draft is available at http://copyright.gov/comp3/.

For previous editions see The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, First Edition (1973) and Second Edition (1984).

Overview of Nonmarital Births

On July 30, 2014 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report by Carmen Solomon-Fears, Specialist in Social Policy, entitled Nonmarital Births: An Overview. CRS studied this topic because "although marriage and family life are generally considered private issues, they have become part of the public arena primarily because of public policies that help families affected by negative outcomes associated with nonmarital births to maintain a minimum level of economic sufficiency." The report "analyzes the trends in nonmarital childbearing, discusses some of the characteristics of unwed mothers, addresses some issues involving the fathers of children born outside of marriage, and offers some concluding remarks."

Africa Rising: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released an August 2014 working paper revealing "Africa will account for 80 percent of the projected 4 billion increase in the global population by 2100." The authors of the paper, Paulo Drummond, Vimal Thakoor, and Shu Yu, state that the increase in this working age population "creates a window of opportunity, which if properly harnessed, can translate into higher growth and yield a demographic dividend." To translate this opportunity into concrete economic growth, the right supportive policies fostering human capital accumulation and job creation must be in place.

For more information access working paper WP/14/143, Africa Rising: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend.

Dodd-Frank Act a Failure?

On July 21, 2014 the House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) released a committee staff report that concludes "the Dodd-Frank Act did not end 'too big to fail' as the law’s supporters claim, but actually had the opposite effect of further entrenching 'too big to fail' as official government policy. The report also examines the causes of the 2008 financial crisis and the bailouts to large financial institutions. Both a description of the report and a link to it are available from The Committee on Financial Services press release page.

Financial Literacy of Teenagers

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) released the results of its 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) financial literacy assessment of 15 year old students from 18 countries including the United States. Results from the US include:

• Students in the US ranked somewhere between 8 and 12 among the 18 countries represented.
• More than one in six US students did not reach the baseline level of proficiency in financial literacy.
• About one in ten students in the US is a top performer able to "take into account features of financial documents that are significant but unstated or not immediately evident, such as transaction costs, and can describe the potential outcomes of financial decisions."
• In the US about 70% of advantaged students have a bank account compared to 32% of socio-economically disadvantaged students.

FCC Proposed Rule on the Open Internet

On May 15, 2014 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a proposed rule about protecting and promoting the Open Internet with a comment date of July 15, 2014 and and reply to the comments date of September 10, 2014. The document includes both supporting and dissenting opinions. The third point made in the introduction states the purpose of the notice:

3. Today, there are no legally enforceable rules by which the Commission can stop broadband providers from limiting Internet openness. This Notice begins the process of closing that gap, by proposing to reinstitute the no-blocking rule adopted in 2010 and creating a new rule that would bar commercially unreasonable actions from threatening Internet openness (as well as enhancing the transparency rule that is currently in effect).

What are some of the reactions to the notice? Andrea Peterson of The Washington Post interviewed Lynn Bradley, the director of government relations at the American Library Association's Washington office, about how net neutrality affects all types of libraries and ALA's hope to preserve an open Internet policy.

9/11 Memorial Museum Dedication, May 15, 2014

The National September 11 (9/11) Memorial Museum dedication ceremony is taking place at 9 a.m.(EST) on May 15, 2014. Following the dedication ceremony, the museum will be open around the clock for six days for 9/11 family members and rescue and recovery workers. The museum will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily starting May 21. The ticket price for the museum is $24. Children age 5 and younger will get in free as will rescue and recovery workers and relatives of 9/11 victims. The museum will not charge admission on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Entrance to the World Trade Center memorial plaza with its two huge fountains sitting on the original footprints of the twin towers will continue to be free. The plaza opened on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

DoD Releases Report on North Korea's Military and Security Developments

On March 5, 2014 the Department of Defense released a congressionally mandated unclassified report entitled Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 2013. The report is posted at http://www.defense.gov/pubs/North_Korea_Military_Power_Report_2013-2014.pdf.

Congress asked that the report address:

an assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, the goals and factors shaping North Korean security strategy and military strategy, trends in North Korean security, an assessment of North Korea’s regional security objectives, including an assessment of the North Korean military’s capabilities, developments in North Korean military doctrine and training, an assessment of North Korea’s proliferation activities, and other military security developments.

New Website for Census Bureau

On Feb. 19, 2014 the Census Bureau released a beta version of its new census.gov website, beta.census.gov . The newly designed website is scheduled to become available in mid-March.
The website will feature the following new statistical digital tools:

• Internet response — The Census Bureau offers Internet response for many of its surveys, including the American Community Survey. The Internet option makes responding to surveys more convenient, conducting surveys more cost-effective and America’s statistics more accessible on digital and mobile devices.

• dwellr mobile app — The newest app from the Census Bureau allows people to compare their preferences to find 25 “ideal” dwelling places, based on statistics from the American Community Survey. Users can check their current locations and share their places on Facebook and Twitter.

• Census Explorer — The newest mapping tool from the Census Bureau provides a look at eight topics from the American Community Survey and how they have changed since the 1990 and 2000 censuses.

• Open data application programming interface — The Census API lets developers customize Census Bureau statistics in their Web or mobile apps. The API offers data from the American Community Survey and the 2010, 2000 and 1990 censuses.

• America’s Economy mobile app — The app provides real-time updates for 20 key economic indicators from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Unauthorized Immigrants and Their Families

On December 23, 2013 The Urban Institute released a fact sheet by Maria E. Enchautegui presenting information on the households of the United States' estimated 11.7 million unauthorized immigrants. The majority of the family members of undocumented immigrants are U.S. born citizens under the age of 18. Data used is from the 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey.

China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States

On December 17, 2013 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report by Asian Trade and Finance Specialist Wayne M. Morrison entitled China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States, Mr. Morrison discusses both positive and negative aspects of China's economic growth in relation to the United States.

Iraq: Politics

Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Easter Affairs, has written a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entitled Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights made available December 17, 2013. Mr. Katzman discusses the continuing conflict between Sunni and Shiite factions in Iraq as well as Iraq's efforts to reestablish its place in the Arab world.

FDA Food Safety Proposed Rule

The FDA is proposing a rule that would "require the largest food businesses in the United States and abroad to take steps to prevent facilities from being the target of intentional attempts to contaminate the food supply." Under the proposed rule, a food facility would be "required to have a written food defense plan that addresses significant vulnerabilities in its food production process" and identify and implement strategies to address these vulnerabilities. Companies would also need to "establish monitoring procedures and corrective actions, verify that the system is working, ensure that personnel assigned to the vulnerable areas receive appropriate training and maintain certain records."

More information is available from the FDA News & Events page or from the proposed rule.

MOOCS Letter to the President - Science & Technology Advisory Council

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has released a December 2013 report to President Obama evaluating the present and future impact of MOOCs. The report concludes:

After only two years of practical experience with MOOCs and related technologies, it is too early to tell whether substantial gains in the quality of instruction, access, achievement, and cost will be realized. But there is no question that the new technologies offer the potential for expanding access for millions of Americans, not only to college degrees, but to a wide range of effective and low-cost training modules and courses that might assist in providing the vocational skills that a twenty-first century workforce needs. To be truly successful in promoting both expansion of access and improvement in the quality of education, the MOOCs and their relatives will need to (1) employ excellent technology, (2) foster excellent pedagogy, (3) apply the results of learning science, (4) deploy new techniques of big data analysis to provide rapid feedback to teachers and learners, and (5) cultivate an online social ecosystem to enhance peer-to-peer learning and teaching. Although the jury is out, and there are legitimate reasons to be skeptical, PCAST believes that all of these conditions for success can potentially be met.

The recommendations that follow reflect PCAST’s thinking about how the Federal Government might most effectively contribute to achieving the potential of MOOCs to help address the Nation’s challenges in higher education. Going forward, we intend to explore the potential of information technology to improve K-12 education, technical training, and adult education as well as higher education, and we will report on our findings in the future.

Read the full report at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_edit_dec-2013.pdf

Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer

On December 16, 2013 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a new science and technology report by John F. Sargent, Jr. addressing three topics of interest to Congress regarding nanotechnology: "federal research and development (R&D) in nanotechnology; U.S. competitiveness; and environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns." Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer addresses those three topics plus nanomanufacturing and public understanding of and attitudes toward nanotechnology. The report is available as a PDF.

Google Transparency Reports and Government Requests

In 2010 Google launched the Transparency Report "to provide hard evidence of how laws and policies affect access to information online." They recently released numbers showing how many requests Google received from various governments to remove content from their services. There was a 68 percent increase of government requests to remove content from the last six months of 2012 to the first six months of 2013. Various types of governments or government officials have asked Google to remove political content ranging from judges, police departments, and town councils to countries such as Turkey and Russia. Reasons given for the requests include defamation, privacy and copyright laws.

Google emphasizes:

While the information we present in our Transparency Report is certainly not a comprehensive view of censorship online, it does demonstrate a worrying upward trend in the number of government requests, and underscores the importance of transparency around the processes governing such requests.

The report also includes a link to a safe browsing page detailing how many malware and phishing websites Google detects each week, how many users they warn, and which networks around the world host malware sites. Google also has a series of videos that describe malware infections and the cleanup process.