This report discusses the current political state of Iran, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.

This report examines aviation consumer protections following the 1978 elimination of most governmental control regarding airline business practices. It explains the roles of Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in protecting airline consumers, and discusses some major passenger rights issues and related laws and regulations.

This report provides an overview of many of the key arms control and nonproliferation agreements and endeavors of the past 40 years. It is divided into three sections: (1) arms control efforts between the United States and the states of the former Soviet Union, (2) multilateral nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and (3) treaties and agreements that address chemical, biological, and conventional weapons.

This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Congressional readers with questions about an issue discussed in this report should contact the author or authors of the section discussing that issue. The authors are identified by footnote at the start of each section.

Detonation waves in insensitive, TATB based explosives are believed to have multi-time scale regimes. The initial burn rate of such explosives has a sub-microsecond time scale. However, significant late-time slow release in energy is believed to occur due to diffusion limited growth of carbon. In the intermediate time scale concentrations of product species likely change from being in equilibrium to being kinetic rate controlled. They use the thermo-chemical code CHEETAH linked to an ALE hydrodynamics code to model detonations. They term their model chemistry resolved kinetic flow as CHEETAH tracks the time dependent concentrations of individual species in the detonation wave and calculates EOS values based on the concentrations. A HE-validation suite of model simulations compared to experiments at ambient, hot, and cold temperatures has been developed. They present here a new rate model and comparison with experimental data.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.

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This report looks at the background of Cuba's oil industry, and also three legislative initiatives introduced by the 112th Congress which take different approaches toward Cuba's offshore oil development.

This report describes how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO) deal with the issue of currency manipulation. It also discusses apparent discrepancies in their charters and ways those differences might be addressed.

A low-budget surface slope measuring instrument, the Developmental Long Trace Profiler (DLTP), was recently brought into operation at the Advanced Light Source Optical Metrology Laboratory [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 616, 212-223 (2010)]. The instrument is based on a precisely calibrated autocollimator and a movable pentaprism. The capability of the DLTP to achieve sub-microradian surface slope metrology has been verified via cross-comparison measurements with other high-performance slope measuring instruments when measuring the same high-quality test optics. In the present work, a further improvement of the DLTP is achieved by replacing the existing bulk pentaprism with a specially designed mirror based pentaprism. A mirror based pentaprism offers the possibility to eliminate systematic errors introduced by inhomogeneity of the optical material and fabrication imperfections of a bulk pentaprism. We provide the details of the mirror based pentaprism design and describe an original experimental procedure for precision mutual alignment of the mirrors. The algorithm of the alignment procedure and its efficiency are verified with rigorous ray tracing simulations. Results of measurements of a spherically curved test mirror and a flat test mirror using the original bulk pentaprism are compared with measurements using the new mirror based pentaprism, demonstrating the improved performance.

This report discusses the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173), which was implemented as part of financial regulatory reform initiatives undertaken by Congress in light of the recent global economic crisis. The legislation focuses on executive compensation.

This report provides a legal overview of the regulatory structure of consumer finance under existing federal law, which is followed by an analysis of how the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 will change this legal structure, with a focus on the Bureau's organization and funding; the entities and activities that fall (and do not fall) under the Bureau's supervisory, enforcement, and rulemaking authority; the Bureau's general and specific rulemaking powers and procedures; and an analysis of the act's preemption standards over state consumer protection laws as they apply to national banks and thrifts.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) leads detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs into the United States in support of law enforcement agencies. DOD reported resources of more than $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2010 to support its counternarcotics activities. Congress mandated GAO report on DOD's counternarcotics performance measurement system. Specifically, this report addresses the extent to which (1) DOD's counternarcotics performance measurement system enables DOD to track progress and (2) DOD uses performance information from its counternarcotics performance measurement system to manage its activities. GAO analyzed relevant DOD performance and budget documents, and discussed these efforts with officials from DOD and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The overall goal of the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy, prepared by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is to reduce illicit drug use in the United States. GAO has issued more than 20 products since 2000 examining U.S.-funded international programs aimed at reducing the supply of drugs. These programs have been implemented primarily in drug source countries, such as Colombia and Afghanistan as well drug transit countries, such as Mexico, Guatemala, and Venezuela. They have included interdiction of maritime drug shipments on the high seas, support for foreign military and civilian institutions engaged in drug eradication, detection, and interdiction; and rule of law assistance aimed at helping foreign legal institutions investigate and prosecute drug trafficking, money laundering, and other drug-related crimes."

The primary objective of the work reported here was to develop additional information regarding the DuraLith alkali aluminosilicate geopolymer as a waste form for liquid secondary waste to support selection of a final waste form for the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant secondary liquid wastes to be disposed in the Integrated Disposal Facility on the Hanford Site. Testing focused on optimizing waste loading, improving waste form performance, and evaluating the robustness of the waste form with respect to waste variability.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Following budget cuts and attacks against U.S. embassies in the 1990s, the Department of State (State) began to close some public diplomacy facilities, such as American libraries, and move others onto secure embassy compounds. As a result, the number of visitors to these facilities declined and face-to-face interaction with foreign publics became more difficult. To improve its engagement with foreign audiences, State's new public diplomacy strategic framework calls for expanding outreach platforms. GAO was asked to (1) describe the outreach platforms State uses overseas, (2) examine the challenges and opportunities related to these platforms, (3) review State's plans for these platforms, and (4) assess the extent to which State has evaluated these platforms. GAO analyzed State's public diplomacy framework and planning documents; interviewed State officials; and conducted fieldwork in Brazil, China, and Indonesia. We selected these locations based on the mix of existing and planned platforms."

Epitaxial films along the Fe{sub 3-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 4} (titanomagnetite) compositional series from pure end-members magnetite (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) to ulvöspinel (Fe{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}) were successfully grown by pulsed laser deposition on MgO(100) substrates. Spectroscopic characterization including high resolution x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and synchrotron-based x-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism consistently shows that Ti(IV) substitutes for Fe(III) in the inverse spinel lattice with a proportional increase in lattice Fe(II) concentration. No evidence of Ti interstitials, spinodal decomposition, or secondary phases was found in the bulk of the grown films. At the uppermost few nanometers of the Ti-bearing film surfaces, evidence suggests that Fe(II) is susceptible to facile oxidation, and that an associated lower Fe/Ti ratio in this region is consistent with surface compositional incompleteness or alteration to a titanomaghemite-like composition and structure. The surface of these films nonetheless appear to remain highly ordered and commensurate with the underlying structure despite facile oxidation, a surface condition that is found to be reversible to some extent by heating in low oxygen environments.

This report discusses the 2014 farm bill, which contains 39 programs that received mandatory funding that do not have baseline beyond FY2018. These programs had estimated mandatory spending totaling $2.824 billion over the five-year farm bill.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act directed GAO to conduct a one-time audit of the emergency loan programs and other assistance authorized by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) during the recent financial crisis. This report examines the emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve Board from December 1, 2007, through July 21, 2010. For each of these actions, where relevant, GAO's objectives included a review of (1) the basis and purpose for its authorization, as well as accounting and financial reporting internal controls; (2) the use, selection, and payment of vendors; (3) management of conflicts of interest; (4) policies in place to secure loan repayment; and (5) the treatment of program participants. To meet these objectives, GAO reviewed program documentation, analyzed program data, and interviewed officials from the Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Banks (Federal Reserve System)."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-315, mandated GAO to study the financial and compliance audits and reviews required or conducted for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and the Federal Direct Student Loan (DL) program. The Department of Education's (Education) Office of Federal Student Aid is responsible for administering these programs. This report focuses on (1) identifying differences and similarities in audit requirements and oversight procedures for the FFEL and DL programs, including anticipated changes to selected oversight activities and (2) describing how the Office of Federal Student Aid's policies and procedures are designed to monitor audits and reviews. To do so, GAO interviewed Education and inspector general officials and reviewed numerous audit guides, agency procedures, checklists, and audit tracking systems."

The annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriation funds agencies and program in three federal departments, as well as numerous related agencies and bureaus. Among the more controversial agencies represented in the bill is the Fish and Wildlife Service, in the Department of the Interior. This report analyzes the Fish and Wildlife Services funding levels contained in the FY2012 appropriations bill.

This report is one of two providing Congress with background on the GAO bid-protest process. It analyzes trends in bid protests filed with GAO, why companies protest, the impact bid protests have on acquisitions, the most common grounds for GAO to sustain a protest, and trends in bid protests filed against DOD.