Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Consumer Credit–United States
Source: Federal Trade Commission
All Americans Will Soon Have Be Able to Access FREE Copies of Their Credit Reports
From the announcement, “The Federal Trade Commission has issued its final rule regarding free annual credit reports under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). FACTA, which was enacted on December 4, 2003, amends the FCRA and requires, among other things, that the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) [Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union] provide to consumers, upon request, a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months…Under the final rule, the nationwide CRAs [Experian, Trans-Union, Equifax] must establish a “centralized source” for accepting consumer requests for free credit reports (called annual file disclosures in the final rule). This centralized source must include a dedicated Internet Web site, a toll-free telephone number, and a postal address. Roll-out dates are included in the news release.
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Business–United States–Lists & Rankings
Source: Business Week
Hot Growth Companies (The 100 best small companies)
Complete List/Methodology (PDF) ||| Background Articles
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New/Updated Congressional Research Service Reports
+ Small-scale Terrorist Attacks Using Chemical and Biological Agents: An Assessment Framework and Preliminary Comparisons (via FAS)
+ Immigration-Related Detention: Current Legislative Issues (via FAS, FPC)
+ Gasoline Price Surge Revisited: Crude Oil and Refinery Issues (via FPC)
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Fine Art–Databases
Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal
We first mentioned this portal and database on ResourceShelf when it launched in September, 2003. The database has added more than 3000 items in the past six months. A bit more from a recent email update, “106 museums are now participating in the Portal project, and the number of objects registered stands at 12115. As a reminder, the inclusion of an object in the Portal does not necessarily mean that it has any gaps in its provenance. The Portal includes objects in US museum collections that might have been sold or transferred anywhere in Continental Europe during the Nazi era,1933-1945, regardless of the completeness or incompleteness of their provenance. As always, people seeking lost objects should repeat their searches in the Portal from time to time to check the latest listings. 18 additional museums have joined the Portal since our last update, and participating museums are still listing new objects nearly every week.”
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Astronomy
Transit Headquarters: Venus Crosses the Sun June 8
Source: Space.com
“On June 8, Venus will cross in front of the Sun for the first time since 1882, and backyard skywatchers can see the spectacle. The best view will be from Europe, but parts of America and most of Asia and Africa can witness the historic passage, weather permitting.” What, where, when it will happen, how to watch safely, live webcasts, history of transits, related links.
See also: BBC: The Transit of Venus
See also: NASA — 2004 Transit of Venus (2004 Observer’s Handbook) (slow/erratic link)
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U.S. Military Records
U.S. History–World War II
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Released Today, National Archives Makes World War II Enlistment Records Available Online
From the announcement, “World War II enlistment records for over nine million Army soldiers are now available online, the National Archives and Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced today. The records are in the World War II Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File available through the Access to Archival Database (AAD) section on NARA’s web site (www.archives.gov/aad). AAD is the first publicly accessible application developed under the auspices of NARA’s Electronic Records Archives (ERA) Program.” This news release explains how the material was converted.

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