Jazz Great Freddie Hubbard Dies at 70

Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard died Monday of complications caused by a heart attack. He is eulogized in this New York Times obituary.

Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1938. He studied at the Jordan Conservatory and later founded his own band, the Jazz Contemporaries. In 1958 he moved to New York, where he played with such notables as Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane. In 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts named Hubbard an NEA Jazz Master. You can find the NEA's biography of Hubbard on its website.

The NEA has offered millions of dollars in grants and awards to jazz artists and organizations since 1969. Here you can read more about NEA Jazz Masters programs and link to Jazz Masters profiles from 1982 to the present. This web page also contains links to audio and video clips, including Smithsonian Jazz Oral Histories, interviews with some NEA Jazz Masters, and photos from previous award ceremonies (the January 10, 2006, slideshow includes a picture of Hubbard).

For additional links to government agencies that support jazz and other art forms, see our guides to museums and black history.

Israel Continues Strikes on Gaza for Third Day

Violence erupted in the Middle East on December 27, when Israel began air strikes against the Gaza Strip. According to the BBC News, Israel's defense chief has stated that his country is fighting a " 'war to the bitter end' against Hamas." Yesterday the United Nations issued a report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza that discusses casualties and describes the conflict's effect on hospitals; schools; and access to food, fuel, and other supplies.

In a statement today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded an end to the violence in and around Gaza, condemning both Israel's "excessive use of force" in Gaza and the Hamas rocket attacks that have provoked it. Yesterday U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a statement critical of Hamas' role in the conflict.

See the website of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its perspective on the situation. For a Palestinian point of view, see the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Palestine Media Center.

For additional resources from both the U.S. government and international organizations, take a look at our guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

GAO Releases This Week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as defense logistics, homeland security, and tax compliance. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Defense Logistics: Improved Analysis and Cost Data Needed to Evaluate the Cost-effectiveness of Performance Based Logistics. GAO-09-41, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-41
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0941high.pdf

Correspondence

• DOD Personnel Clearances: Preliminary Observations about Timeliness and Quality. GAO-09-261R, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-261R
• Homeland Security Grant Program Risk-Based Distribution Methods: Presentation to Congressional Committees - November 14, 2008 and December 15, 2008. GAO-09-168R, December 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-168R

Reissued Products

• Tax Compliance: Businesses Owe Billions in Federal Payroll Taxes. GAO-08-617, July 25. [Reissued to correct text in table 1 on page 24 and related text on pp. 15, 23-24, and 26]
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-617
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08617high.pdf
• Tax Compliance: Businesses Owe Billions in Federal Payroll Taxes. GAO-08-1034T, July 29. [Reissued to correct text in table 1 on page 8 and related text on pp. 8 and 11]
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1034T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d081034thigh.pdf

GAO Releases This Week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as the Ryan White CARE Act, Social Security disability, and flood insurance. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Crime Victims' Rights Act: Increasing Awareness, Modifying the Complaint Process, and Enhancing Compliance Monitoring Will Improve Implementation of the Act. GAO-09-54, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-54
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0954high.pdf
• Defense Inventory: Management Actions Needed to Improve the Cost Efficiency of the Navy's Spare Parts Inventory. GAO-09-103, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-103
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09103high.pdf
• Disaster Assistance: Federal Efforts to Assist Group Site Residents with Employment, Services for Families with Children, and Transportation. GAO-09-81, December 11.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-81
• Disaster Recovery: FEMA's Public Assistance Grant Program Experienced Challenges with Gulf Coast Rebuilding. GAO-09-129, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-129
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09129high.pdf
• Flood Insurance: Options for Addressing the Financial Impact of Subsidized Premium Rates on the National Flood Insurance Program. GAO-09-20, November 14.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-20
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0920high.pdf
• Medicare Advantage: Characteristics, Financial Risks, and Disenrollment Rates of Beneficiaries in Private Fee-for-Service Plans. GAO-09-25, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-25
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0925high.pdf
• Results-Oriented Management: Opportunities Exist for Refining the Oversight and Implementation of the Senior Executive Performance-Based Pay System. GAO-09-82, November 21.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-82
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0982high.pdf
  
• Ryan White CARE Act: First-Year Experiences under the Part D Administrative Expense Cap. GAO-09-140, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-140
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09140high.pdf
• Social Security Disability: Collection of Medical Evidence Could Be Improved with Evaluations to Identify Promising Collection Practices. GAO-09-149, December 17.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-149
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09149high.pdf
• United Nations Peacekeeping: Challenges Obtaining Needed Resources Could Limit Further Large Deployments and Should Be Addressed in U.S. Reports to Congress. GAO-09-142, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-142
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09142high.pdf

Correspondence

• Defense Logistics: Department of Defense's Annual Report on the Status of Prepositioned Materiel and Equipment Can Be Enhanced to Better Inform Congress. GAO-09-147R, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-147R
• Global War on Terrorism: Reported Obligations for the Department of Defense. GAO-09-233R, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-233R
• Improvement Continues in DOD's Reporting on Sustainable Ranges, but Opportunities Exist to Improve Its Range Assessments and Comprehensive Plan. GAO-09-128R, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-128R

Feds Approve New Credit Card Regulations

Yesterday the Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration approved regulations that would prohibit certain credit practices, such as increasing interest rates on existing balances unless a payment was received more than 30 days late, charging a late fee if borrowers are allotted less than 21 days to pay, and applying payments so that debts with higher interest rates are repaid last. The regulations would also restrict fees that reduce available credit on subprime credit cards. Financial institutions must comply with the new regulations by July 1, 2010. You can read about the regulations in the Washington Post.

The Federal Reserve issued a press release on Thursday that describes its approval of the final rules. The Office of Thrift Supervision, an agency of the Treasury Department, also issued a release about the ruling. To learn more about the National Credit Union Administration, take a look at its website, which contains fraud alerts, consumer information, credit union data, and links to financial resources.

You can find additional resources on our guide to Banking, Banks, and Credit Unions.