Judicial Vacancies Rose Under Obama, & More from CRS
The number of district court vacancies during the Obama presidency grew from 41 vacancies in January 2009 to 75 vacancies in September 2016 — an unusual 83% increase, according to a new assessment from the Congressional Research Service.
By contrast, the number of vacancies decreased over the course of the George W. Bush Administration from 58 to 32 (a 45% decrease) and over the course of the Clinton Administration from 93 to 42 (a 55% decrease).
See U.S. District Court Vacancies: Overview and Comparative Analysis, CRS Insight, September 14, 2016
Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
U.S. Circuit Court Vacancies: Overview and Comparative Analysis, CRS Insight, September 14, 2016
How a National Infrastructure Bank Might Work, CRS Insight, September 15, 2016
International Food Aid Programs: Background and Issues, updated September 14, 2016
FDA Regulation of Medical Devices, updated September 14, 2016
Prospects in Colombia: Cease-Fire, Peace Accord Vote, and Potential Disrupters, CRS Insight, September 14, 2016
Nicaragua: In Brief, September 14, 2016
Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress, updated September 14, 2016
“One thing became increasingly clear: AI doesn’t simply introduce a new category of risk. It changes the speed, scale, complexity, and interaction of risks that already exist.”
In an ideal world, we would not have state or federal climate intervention research bans. We would have researchers and institutions that would not shy away from revealing the good, the bad, and the ugly of these technologies and doing so responsibly.
“What excites me is that it’s very tempting to be very discouraged, and say, ‘Oh, we’ve got these archaic institutions that are calcified and you could never change them.’ But I think we’re in the middle of a technological revolution that will upend lots of things, and does provide a window.”
Ask people what worries them most right now, and they’ll say the cost of living and their livelihoods, not climate change. But those concerns are not separate.