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Daily Archives: December 30, 2013

State of the Judiciary: Judicial Selection During Obama’s Second Term

Alliance for Justice Report – The State of the Judiciary – Judicial Selection During the 113th Congress, October 2013

“Throughout President Obama’s nearly five years in office, the federal courts have experienced an unprecedented vacancy crisis.  Congress returned from the August 2013 recess to a federal judiciary with 109 current and future vacancies, 45 pending nominees, and more than 60 vacancies without nominees, almost exclusively concentrated in states with at least one Republican senator.  While several major Senate showdowns in the past year have set the stage for progress in filling judicial vacancies, and more than half of the current vacancies have nominees pending either on the Senate floor or in the Senate Judiciary Committee, there are more unfilled vacancies as of this report than there were as of AFJ’s last State of the Judiciary Report in March 2013. Although the numbers appear bleak, the situation as of October 2013 is in some ways less dire than at the start of President Obama’s second term.  Nine nominees await votes on the Senate floor, and there is a backlog of 42 nominees awaiting Judiciary Committee processing.  President Obama has put forth a full slate of nominees to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, each of whom was given the highest possible rating by the American Bar Association.  Nominees are pending for 19 of the 37 vacancies classified as “judicial emergencies.”

Census Bureau Projects U.S. Population of 317.3 Million on New Year’s Day

“As our nation prepares to begin the new year, the U.S. Census Bureau today projected that on Jan. 1, 2014, the United States population will be 317,297,938. This represents an increase of 2,218,622, or 0.7 percent, from New Year’s Day 2013. In January 2014, one birth is expected to occur every 8 seconds in the United… Continue Reading

Research project: Open Data Barometer

“The Open Data Barometer takes a multidimensional look at the spread of Open Government Data (OGD) policy and practice across the world. Combining peer-reviewed expert survey data and secondary data sources, the Barometer explores countries readiness to secure benefits from open data, the publication of key datasets, and evidence of emerging impacts from OGD. In detail: The… Continue Reading

Report – The Science of Hatred – What makes people capable of horrific violence?

The Chronicle of Higher Education – THE SCIENCE OF HATRED – What makes humans capable of horrific violence? Why do we deny atrocities in the face of overwhelming evidence? A small group of psychologists say they are moving toward answers. Is anyone listening? BY TOM BARTLETT, WITH PHOTOS BY TARIK SAMARAH AND MATT LUTTON [snipped] “The… Continue Reading

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Reports

“The reports below document the many stages of the investigation of the December 14, 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Administratively, the investigation consists of three separate case numbers. CFS 1200704559 is the primary investigation, CFS 1200704597 is the processing of the scene at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and CFS 1200705354 is the investigation of the… Continue Reading

CDC – Births: Final Data for 2012

Births: Final Data for 2012 by Joyce A. Martin, M.P.H.; Brady E. Hamilton, Ph.D.; Michelle J.K. Osterman, M.H.S.; Sally C. Curtin, M.A. and T.J. Mathews, M.S., Division of Vital Statistics. National Vital Statistics Report – Volume 62, number 9 – December 30, 2013 “Objectives–This report presents 2012 data on U.S. births according to a wide variety… Continue Reading

OECD – Harmonised Unemployment Rates (HURs)

News release with complete statistics: “The OECD unemployment rate stood at 7.9% in October 2013, unchanged from the two previous months. Across the OECD area, 47.8 million persons were unemployed in October 2013, 13.1 million more than in July 2008.  In the euro area, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 12.1% in October, the first decline… Continue Reading

Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, 2012

“The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is the most widely cited source for data on the ownership and use of wireless telephones. Every 6 months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) releases a report with the most up-to-date estimates available from the federal government concerning the size… Continue Reading

CDC – Deaths: Leading Causes for 2010

Deaths: Leading Causes for 2010 by Melonie Heron, Ph.D., Division of Vital Statistics. Volume 62, Number 6. December 20, 2013. “In 2010, the 10 leading causes of death were, in rank order: Diseases of heart; Malignant neoplasms; Chronic lower respi­ratory diseases; Cerebrovascular diseases; Accidents (unintentional injuries); Alzheimer’s disease; Diabetes mellitus; Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis; Influenza and pneumonia; and Intentional self-harm… Continue Reading