COVID-19 Vaccines for Moderately to Severely Immunocompromised People

CDC: “HHS announced a plan to begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots this fall. CDC’s independent advisory committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, will continue to meet and discuss data on the evolution of the pandemic and the use of COVID-19 vaccines. ACIP will make further recommendations on the use of boosters for the …

Subjects: Government Documents, Health Care, Medicine

Background Check Agency Wants a Social Media Search Tool

Nextgov: “The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency wants a tool to automatically cull social media and other public websites to create a searchable database of posts, actions and interactions that can be used in insider threat investigations. Along with conducting background investigations for all of government, DCSA also manages the insider threat program for the …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Congress.gov August 2021 New, Tip, and Top

In Custodia Legis: “At the end of July, Andrew shared the enhancements from the last Congress.gov release, which included adding Key Word In Context (KWIC) search results for the Bound Congressional Record and new customization options for bill alerts. With this month’s release, a link to the treaty errata tab from the overview section on …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

TSA extends into January mask rule for airline passengers

AP: “Federal officials are extending into January a requirement that people on airline flights and public transportation wear face masks, a rule intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Transportation Security Administration’s current order was scheduled to expire Sept. 13. An agency spokesman said Tuesday that the mandate will be extended until Jan. 18. …

Subjects: Health Care, Transportation

MIT Living Wage calculator

“What is the Living Wage Calculator? Families and individuals working in low-wage jobs make insufficient income to meet minimum standards given the local cost of living. We developed a living wage calculator to estimate the cost of living in your community or region based on typical expenses. The tool helps individuals, communities, and employers determine …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System

Investigative Tactics That Reporters Love

Global Investigative Journalism Network: “Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to interview dozens of investigative journalists about their favorite tools and techniques. In a series of stories, their tips have shown our global audience of reporters that there are scores of muckraking tactics that can help their reporting, and that effective digital tools …

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Humanoid robots demonstrate their whole-body athletics

“Parkour is the perfect sandbox for the Atlas team at Boston Dynamics to experiment with new behaviors. In this video our humanoid robots demonstrate their whole-body athletics, maintaining its balance through a variety of rapidly changing, high-energy activities. Through jumps, balance beams, and vaults, we demonstrate how we push Atlas to its limits to discover …

Subjects: Legal Research

Wide partisan divide on whether voting is a fundamental right or a privilege with responsibilities

Pew: “As political battles continue around the nation over voting access and restrictions, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that a majority of Americans (57%) say voting is “a fundamental right for every adult U.S. citizen and should not be restricted in any way.” Fewer (42%) express the view that “voting is a privilege …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Legal Research

It is time for a mask upgrade

Axios: “Experts warn it’s time to invest in higher-quality masks with a tight fit in the wake of the Delta variant, especially among the unvaccinated like children and other vulnerable populations. Why it matters: Much of the public health message has been to persuade people to wear any mask let alone which kind to buy. …

Subjects: Health Care