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Daily Archives: March 17, 2016

Nominations to Supreme Court During Presidential Election Years (1900-Present)

CRS Brief via FAS – Nominations to Supreme Court During Presidential Election Years (1900-Present)

“This CRS Insight provides data and analysis related to nominations made to the Supreme Court during presidential election years from 1900 to the present. As of this writing, there have been eight such nominations since 1900—six to fill actual vacancies that existed at the time a President submitted a nomination to the Senate and two for anticipated future vacancies on the Court (i.e., vacancies that did not exist at the time a President submitted a nomination to the Senate). An anticipated vacancy, for example, arises when a sitting Justice announces his or her intention to retire upon Senate approval of a new Justice…”

DHS Privacy Office 2015 FOIA Report to AG of US, February 2016

Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office 2015 Freedom of Information Act Report to the Attorney General of the United States, February 2016 “DHS was able to make enormous strides in significantly reducing the backlog despite the fact that DHS consistently receives the largest number of FOIA requests of any federal department or agency in each… Continue Reading

Beyond Flint: Excessive lead levels found in almost 2,000 water systems across all 50 states

“While a harsh national spotlight focuses on the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation has identified almost 2,000 additional water systems spanning all 50 states where testing has shown excessive levels of lead contamination over the past four years. The water systems, which reported lead levels exceeding Environmental Protection Agency standards, collectively… Continue Reading

Job openings rise to 5.5 million in January; annual hires and quits increase in 2015

“The number of job openings rose to 5.5 million on the last business day of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires declined to 5.0 million while separations edged down to 4.9 million. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.0 percent, and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.2 percent. This release… Continue Reading

New updates for Amber open source plugin to keep links accessible

“The Berkman Center is excited to announce a new release for Amber, the open source tool for WordPress and Drupal that helps fight Internet censorship and link rot by keeping linked content accessible…Amber v1.4.2 is a result of the feedback and input we’ve received from so many early adopters. The new version for WordPress increases… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – Critical Defense Materials, Federal Real Property, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Private Health Insurance

Critical Defense Materials: Government Collected Data Are Sufficiently Reliable to Assess Tantalum Availability, GAO-16-335: Published: Mar 17, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 17, 2016. Federal Real Property: GSA Could Better Identify Risks of Unforeseen Conditions in Repair and Alteration Projects, GAO-16-273: Published: Mar 17, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 17, 2016. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:… Continue Reading

February global temperature anomaly sets new record for globe

NOAA: “Record warmth across the globe was aided by a strong El Niño that peaked during the winter. The average temperature for the globe during December-February was 2.03°F above the 20th century average according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.  This was the highest temperature for December-February in the 1880-2016 record, surpassing the… Continue Reading

Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits

CRS Report via FAS – Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits, Wendy Ginsberg, Analyst in American National Government; Daniel J. Richardson, Research Assistant, March 16, 2016. “The President’s FY2017 budget request seeks $3,865,000 in appropriations for expenditures for former Presidents, an increase of $588,000 (17.9%) from the FY2016 appropriation level. The increase… Continue Reading

Washington DC Bald Eagle Nest Cam Update

DC Bald Eagle Nest Cam: “In 2014, a pair of mated Bald Eagles chose the most idyllic of nest sites within the United States’ National Capital (Washington, DC), nestled high in a Tulip Poplar tree amongst the Azalea Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum, which is operated by the United States Department of Agriculture. This… Continue Reading