America's Children: Key Indicators of Well-Being 2005

The new edition of America's Children: Key Indicators of Well-Being 2005 is now available from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. It is a biennial report to the Nation on the condition of children in America. Nine contextual measures describe the changing population, family, and environmental context in which children are living, and 25 indicators depict the well-being of children in the areas of economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. This year's report has special features on children with asthma, children with specified blood lead levels, and parental reports of children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. In addition, the report includes a special section on family structure and the well-being of children.

Historical Census Data

U.S. Census Bureau recently released a report, Historic Census statistics on population totals by race, 1790 to 1990, and by Hispanic origin, 1970 to 1990, for large cities and other urban places in the United States.
Within this report, historical information can be found for Muscogee, Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

National Boating Information

The Extent of Boating Information in the 2001 Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation provides some data on one of America's summer past times.

In 2001, the number of days people spent fishing in freshwater lakes and ponds was 443,247,000 and the number of days spent fishing from a boat was 190,796,000. The price tag attached to these activities were $127,803,000 for boat-launch fees and $1,259,753,000 for boat fuel.

The complete national survey can be found by clicking here.

Evolution of American Life: Impact of the Internet

The Pew Internet & American Life Project put together a report that examined how the Internet has changed American Life over the past decade. It has changed the way we inform ourselves, amuse ourselves, care for ourselves, educate ourselves, work, shop, bank, and stay in touch.

On a typical day at the end of 2004, some 70 million American adults logged onto the Internet to engage in a variety of activities. That represents a 37% increase from the 51 million Americans who were online on an average day in 2000.

To read this statistical report of the changes in American life, click here.

Database for Tracking Terrorist Incidents Worldwide

The National Counterterrorism Center is the primary center for U.S. government analysis of terrorism. The NCTC recently revealed a new database, the Worldwide Incidents Tracking System (WITS). In a recent news article, the WITS tracked nearly 3,200 incidents in 2004.

Majority Trust the Media

Despite criticisms, most Americans continue to view media outlets in a positive way. The following ratings are based upon Americans' favorable opinions of...daily newspapers (80%), local TV news (79%), cable TV news (79%), network TV news (75%), and major national papers (61%).

For the full survey, please click here.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is an independent opinion research group that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues.

America's Public School Libraries: 1953-2000

American Public School Libraries: 1953-2000

Drawn from more than 25 sources, mostly federal reports and surveys, this booklet presents a history of federal legislation and national standards affecting school library media centers and key characteristics of school libraries at the national level, from 1953–54 to1999–2000. This booklet is based on the report Fifty Years of SupportingChildren’s Learning: A History of Public School Libraries and FederalLegislation from 1953–2000.

Computer & Internet Use by Children

The National Center of Education Statistics issued a new report--Rates of Computer and Internet Use by Children in Nursery School and Students in Kindergarten Through Twelfth Grade: 2003.

The report indicates the use of computers and the Internet by children is increasing rapidly. Some factors included into this report are the parent's education level, family income level, ethnicity, and comparison of children and adult usage of computers and the Internet.

Live 8: Economic Independence for Africa

While Amercia celebrates her Independence Day, the world's musicians are asking for the wealthiest and most powerful countries to recognize economic independence on the continent of Africa.

Live 8 is a worldwide concert event that will bring together 150 musicians and entertainers in 10 different cities around the world to raise public awareness of third world debt and poverty. Live 8 wants to influence the world leaders attending the G8 Summit to forgive all debt and to increase aid and support for Africa.

Independence Day History

The formal declaration was adopted July 4, 1776, by representatives of the Thirteen Colonies in North America announcing the separation of those colonies from Great Britain and making them into the United States.

Did you know July is National Hot Dog Month?

It is estimated that 155 million hot dogs will be consumed during the Independence Day weekend.

Did you know July is Fireworks Safety Month?

In 2003, four persons died and an estimated 9,300 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries in the U.S. For more facts about fireworks-related injuries, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control has created the following factsheet.

Did you know the U.S. imports American Flags from China?

Star-Mangled Banner, an entertaining tribute to controversial and botched renditions of our national anthem.

© 2005 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
© National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and U.S. Census Bureau