Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the lead implementer and planner for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)--an ambitious, multiyear, multibillion-dollar overhaul of systems, procedures, aircraft performance capabilities, and supporting infrastructure that will create an air transportation system that uses satellite-based surveillance and navigation and network-centric operations. NextGen was designed as an interagency effort to leverage expertise and funding throughout the federal government. The Senior Policy Committee--the overall governing body for NextGen, chaired by the Secretary of Transportation--consists ocabinet-level officials from each of the partner agencies. The initial planning for NextGen, which began with Vision 100 in 2003 and was carried out by the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) within FAA, focused on improvements to the air transportation system that would be implemented through 2025. JPDO produced three key planning documents--a Concept of Operations, a NextGen Enterprise Architecture, and an Integrated Work Plan (IWP). Recently, FAA has shifted its focus from the longer term (i.e., beyond 2018) and emphasized improvements that can be implemented in the near term and midterm (2010 through 2018). The shift responds, in part, to concerns expressed by stakeholders and Members of …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has long relied on the Delta II medium class launch vehicle to launch science missions. Delta II, however, is no longer in production, and no other vehicle in the relative cost and performance range is currently certified for NASA use. Thus, NASA faces a potential gap in the availability of medium class launch vehicles that could cause design challenges, delays, or funding issues. GAO was asked to assess (1) NASA's and the Delta II contractor's, steps to ensure resources (budget, workforce, and facilities) are available to support safe Delta II operations through the last planned NASA flight in 2011; (2) NASA's plans and contingencies for ensuring a smooth transition from current small and medium class launch vehicles to other launch vehicles for future science missions; (3) the risks associated with NASA's planned approach to fill the medium launch capability gap; and (4) technical and programmatic implications to science missions if NASA commits to new launch vehicles before they are certified and proven. GAO identified and assessed transition plans and mitigation activities and interviewed responsible NASA and government officials."

pppropriations acts generally make budget authority (or BA) available for use (or obligation) at the start of the fiscal year covered by the act. Sometimes appropriations bills provide a different date for specified budget authority within the act to become first available so that the funding cycle does not coincide with the fiscal year generally covered by the act. There are three types of this kind of budget authority: advance appropriations, forward funding, and advance funding.

International child custody disputes are likely to increase in frequency as the global society becomes more integrated and mobile. Since 1988, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction ("Hague Convention" or "Convention") has been the principal mechanism for enforcing the return of abducted children to the United States. This report will discuss the applicability of the Hague Convention and current U.S. laws, both civil and criminal, which seek to address the quandary of children abducted by parents to foreign nations. In addition, pending legislation, including H.R. 3240 and H.R. 3487, is discussed.

The focus of this report is Algeria, a country in North Africa that is increasingly important for U.S. efforts to counter international terrorism as a key partner in the fight against Al Qaeda linked groups. As an energy producer, it also is a significant source of natural gas for the United States and not a major recipient of U.S. aid. This report discusses Algeria's current political conditions and Algeria-related U.S. policy.

This report begins by looking at the current production capacity of the oil refineries operating in the United States, and the sources and changes in crude oil supply. It then examines the changing characteristics of petroleum and petroleum product markets and identifies the effects of these changes on the refining industry. The report concludes with discussion of the policy and regulatory factors that are likely to affect the structure and performance of the industry during the next decade.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States recognized the independence of all the former Central Asian republics, supported their admission into Western organizations, and elicited Turkish support to counter Iranian influence in the region. The Administration's diverse goals in Central Asia reflect the different characteristics of these states. U.S. interests in Kazakhstan include securing and eliminating Soviet-era nuclear and biological weapons materials and facilities. In Tajikistan, U.S. aid focuses on economic reconstruction. U.S. energy firms have invested in oil and natural gas development in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. This report outlines the above, as well as several ongoing debates regarding general relations between the U.S. and Central Asia.

This report focuses on the American impeachment process, which places in the legislative branch the authority to remove the President, Vice President, and other federal civil officers in the executive and judicial branches upon a determination that such officers have engaged in treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. This report summarizes impeachment proceedings in the 111th Congress, examines relevant constitutional provisions, and provides a brief historical overview.

This report discusses the Navy's plan to develop and design a class of 12 next-generation ballistic missile submarines, or SSBN(X)s, as replacements for the 14 Ohio class SSBNs currently in operation. The report explores certain related issues for Congress, including the affordability of the project and its potential impact on other Navy shipbuilding programs, alternatives to the program, and which shipyard or shipyards will build the proposed ships.

This report discusses the recession that began in the United States in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009 and how this recession affected employment rates. This report analyzes the trend in long-term unemployment over the postwar period and offers explanations for its unusually high incidence during the most recent postwar recession. It compares the individual, job, and household characteristics of the long-term unemployed during the latest recession (2007-2009) with the long-term unemployed at the end of the two previous recessions (1990-1991 and 2001).

Photograph of eight individuals at The Workshop of Ernest F. de Soto: Master Printer exhibition hosted by the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas. Lulu Flores, Ernesto de Soto, and Sylvia Orozco stand in the middle of the group. They stand in front of a title wall.

Photograph of Ernesto de Soto and Sam Coronado standing in a workshop at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas. De Soto stands on the left. He wears a beige suit and green dress shirt. Coronado, right, wears a patterned shirt and jeans.

A series of forty experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [E. I. Moses et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 041006 (2009)] to study energy balance and implosion symmetry in reduced- and full-scale ignition hohlraums was shot at energies up to 1.3 MJ. This paper reports the findings of the analysis of the ensemble of experimental data obtained that has produced an improved model for simulating ignition hohlraums. Last year the first observation in a NIF hohlraum of energy transfer between cones of beams as a function of wavelength shift between those cones was reported [P. Michel, et al, Phys of Plasmas, 17, 056305, (2010)]. Detailed analysis of hohlraum wall emission as measured through the laser entrance hole (LEH) has allowed the amount of energy transferred versus wavelength shift to be quantified. The change in outer beam brightness is found to be quantitatively consistent with LASNEX [G. B. Zimmerman and W. L. Kruer, Comments Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 2, 51 (1975)] simulations using the predicted energy transfer when possible saturation of the plasma wave mediating the transfer is included. The effect of the predicted energy transfer on implosion symmetry is also found to be in good agreement with gated x-ray framing …

Natural accumulations of CO{sub 2} occur in the Duperow and other Devonian strata on the western flank of the Williston Basin in lithologies very similar to those into which anthropogenic CO{sub 2} is being injected as part of an EOR program in the Weyburn-Midale pool. Previous workers have established the stratgraphic and petrographic similarities between the Duperow and Midale beds (Lake and Whittaker, 2004 and 2006). As the CO{sub 2} accumulations in the Devonian strata may be as old as 50 Ma, this similarity provides confidence in the efficacy of long-term geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2} in the Midale-Weyburn pool. Here we attempt to extend this comparison with whole rock and mineral chemistry using the same sample suite used by Lake and Whittaker. We provide XRD, XRF, and electron microprobe analysis of major constituent minerals along with extensive backscattered electron and x-ray imaging to identify trace phases and silicate minerals. LPNORM analysis is used to quantify modal concentrations of minerals species. Samples from depth intervals where CO{sub 2} has been observed are compared to those where CO{sub 2} was absent, with no systematic differences in mineral composition observed. Gas accumulation can be correlated with sample porosity. In particular gas-bearing samples …

The materials development summarized here is in support of the Waste Forms campaign, Volatile Radionuclide task. Specifically, materials are being developed for the removal and immobilization of iodine and krypton, specifically 129I and 85Kr. During FY 2010, aerogel materials were investigated for removal and immobilization of 129I. Two aerogel formulations were investigated, one based on silica aerogels and the second on chalcogenides. For 85Kr, metal organic framework (MOF) structures were investigated.

The Devonian carbonates of the Duperow Formation on the western flank of the Williston Basin in southwest Saskatchewan contain natural accumulations of CO{sub 2}, and may have done so for as long as 50 m.y. in the views of some investigations. These carbonate sediments are characterized by a succession of carbonate cycles capped by anhydrite-rich evaporites that are thought to act as seals to fluid migration. The Weyburn CO{sub 2} injection site lies 400 km to the east in a series of Mississippian carbonates that were deposited in a similar depositional environment. That natural CO{sub 2} can be stored long-term within carbonate strata has motivated the investigation of the Duperow rocks as a potential natural analogue to storage of anthropogenic CO{sub 2} that may ultimately provide additional confidence for CO{sub 2} sequestration in carbonate lithologies. For the Duperow strata to represent a legitimate analog for Midale injection and storage, the similarity in lithofacies, whole rock compositions, mineral compositions and porosity with the Midale Beds must be established. Previous workers have demonstrated the similarity of the lithofacies at both sites. Here we compare the whole rock compositions, mineralogy and mineral compositions. The major mineral phases at both locales are calcite, dolomite …

This paper describes the structure of the electric current generated by external kink modes at the plasma edge using the ideally conducting plasma model. It is found that the edge current layer is created by both wall touching and free boundary kink modes. Near marginal stability, the total edge current has a universal expression as a result of partial compensation of the δ-functional surface current by the bulk current at the edge. The resolution of an apparent paradox with the pressure balance across the plasma boundary in the presence of the surface currents is provided.

A gas puff imaging diagnostic is used in the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment [M. Ono, et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)] to study the edge turbulence and intermittency present during H-mode discharges. In the case of low power Ohmic H-modes the suppression of turbulence/blobs is maintained through the duration of the (short lived) H-modes. Similar quiescent edges are seen during the early stages of H-modes created with the use of neutral beam injection. Nevertheless, as time progresses following the L-H transition, turbulence and blobs reappear although at a lower level than that typically seen during L-mode confinement. It is also seen that the time-averaged SOL emission profile broadens, as the power loss across the separatrix increases. These broad profiles are characterized by a large level of fluctuations and intermittent events.

This Corrective Action Decision Document/Corrective Action Plan (CADD/CAP) has been prepared for the 92-Acre Area, the southeast quadrant of the Radioactive Waste Management Site, located in Area 5 of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The 92-Acre Area includes Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 111, 'Area 5 WMD Retired Mixed Waste Pits.' Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) were developed for the 92-Acre Area, which includes CAU 111. The result of the DQO process was that the 92-Acre Area is sufficiently characterized to provide the input data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives (CAAs) without the collection of additional data. The DQOs are included as Appendix A of this document. This CADD/CAP identifies and provides the rationale for the recommended CAA for the 92-Acre Area, provides the plan for implementing the CAA, and details the post-closure plan. When approved, this CADD/CAP will supersede the existing Pit 3 (P03) Closure Plan, which was developed in accordance with Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 265, 'Interim Status Standards for Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities.' This document will also serve as the Closure Plan and the Post-Closure Plan, which are required by 40 CFR 265, for the 92-Acre …

Daily newspaper from Sweetwater, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This month's issue has the following articles: (1) World's Most Intense X-Ray Laser Focuses on Livermore Science - Commentary by William H. Goldstein; (2) Groundbreaking Science with the World's Brightest X Rays - Experiments with x rays of unparalleled brightness and extremely short duration aim to reveal new information about atoms and molecules in motion; (3) From Data to Discovery - Ongoing control system enhancements at the National Ignition Facility bolster the understanding of experimental data and keep the system performing at its peak; (4) The Sun in All Its Splendor - Onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Livermore-developed multilayer mirrors are enabling unprecedented full-disk, high-resolution images of the Sun; and (5) Drilling Deep into Plant Veins - A novel combination of imaging techniques is being used to understand the three-dimensional architecture of plant cell walls.

The influence of the active gain medium on the spectral amplitude and phase of amplified pulses in a CPA system is studied. Results from a 10-PW example based on Nd-doped mixed glasses are presented. In conclusion, this study shows that, by using spectral shaping and gain saturation in a mixed-glass amplifier, it is possible to produce 124 fs, 1.4 kJ laser pulses. One detrimental effect, the pulse distortion due to resonant amplification medium, has been investigated and its magnitude as well as its compensation calculated.

Article on the design of district emergency operations centres and a case study of Indian Oil Corporation Jaipur depot explosion.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Procter. Procter volunteered for the Navy in 1944. He was assigned to the gunnery division on the USS Hornet (CV-12). Procter was aboard when the Hornet was supporting at Okinawa. He describes the operation of the 5-inch gun and going through a typhoon that heavily damaged the flight deck. Procter remained aboard after the surrender and took part in Operation Magic Carpet to return servicemen to the States.