Aviation/transportation
- N-number database -- If you know the N-number (also known as a "tail number") of a plane, but need to know who owns it. Current as of Dec. 1, 1996.
- Certified Pilots Database -- If you know the pilot's name, but need to know his address and ratings. Current as of March 1, 1997.
- FAA Service Difficulty Reports -- If you know the N-number or serial number, but need to find out what problems the particular plane has had. Updated weekly.
- FAA Airworthiness Directives -- If you want to know if the FAA has ever noted a problem in a type of plane or engine. Updated daily.
- National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident/Incident Database -- The official repository of aviation accident and incident ("occurrences" other than accidents) data from 1983 to present. Searchable by date, state, aircraft registration number, aircraft make and model, etc.
- For Florida resources, go to the Metro/state section.
Budget
Consumer information
- Consumer Information Catalog -- General Services Administration online brochures. Titles include "Understanding Social Security," "The HUD Home Buying Guide" and "An FDA Guide to Nonprescription Drugs."
- For Florida resources, go to the Metro/state section.
Countries
- 1996 CIA World Factbook -- Concise details of the geography, people, government and economy of the countries of the world, published every year for U.S. government officials.
- Latin American Network Information Center -- Demographics, health, economics, environment, human rights information from the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) at the University of Texas. Search by country or topic.
- Statistics Canada -- Geography, demographics, weather, economy, election results, crime and more.
Crime
Defense
- Defense Fact File -- The Defense Department designed this site for busy reporters who need basic information on military equipment. Check out the link to fact sheets for the public, which answer questions like where to get historical information and military records.
Drugs/alcohol
Education
- AskERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) -- The world's largest database of education research is supported by the federal government and available here for free. Search for abstracts of journal articles and other research. If you need help with keywords, the library has a book of the specific keywords, known as "descriptors," used in ERIC.
- Peterson's Education Center -- Descriptions, locations and web addresses of 3,500 colleges and universities, plus information on elementary and secondary schools, professional degree programs and study abroad.
- For Florida resources, go to the Metro/state section.
Hazardous substances
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry -- Say some kid brings mercury to school and passes it out to his friends. This federal agency's database will help you explain why the whole school now needs to be shut down. "ToxFAQs" or Public Health Statements, both written for the layperson, are simple to locate.
- Emergency Response Notification System -- If a chemical spill occurs, check this database of incidents reported since 1987 to the National Response Center. Search by the company's name to see if it's had a previous problem, or find out what other incidents have happened in the area. Information is updated about every six months.
- Toxic Release Inventory -- Search by area, company or industry in this EPA database to find out about toxic chemicals being released into the air, land, water and underground from 1987-94.
Health/medicine
- CancerNet -- Accurate, current cancer information provided by the National Cancer Institute. Select "Patients and the Public" from main menu, then "Treatment Information," then "PDQ Cancer Treatment Information" for very readable explanations of specific types of cancers.
- Medline -- Abstracts of articles in medical journals over past two years. The News Library has access to more.
- HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report -- Date by state, metropolitan statistical area, mode of exposure, sex, race/ethnicity, age group, etc., published semi-annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- National Health Information Center -- The easily searchable Health Information Resource Database is provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It provides a list of organizations and government agencies that deal with a particular health problem, like heart disease or spinal cord injuries. Link to an organization's web site from here.
- United Network for Organ Sharing
-- How many people are waiting for transplants right now? How many transplants were performed last year? Every fact and statistic on organ transplants you'll ever need.
Homelessness
- National Coalition for the Homeless -- Fact sheets on why people are homeless, how many there are, and the relationship of homelessness to chemical dependency and mental illness.
Legal
- Supreme Court Decisions -- Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute makes it easy to retrieve decisions within hours of their release. Search by date, topic, keyword or party for decisions from May 1990 to the present. Or, for older decisions (1937-75), look here. News researchers can retrieve any decision from 1790 forward through commercial online services.
- U.S. Constitution and State Statutes -- Also from Cornell. Statutes section includes a somewhat limited collection of laws by topic.
- U.S. Code -- From the House of Representatives Internet Law Library. Be aware that this version of the U.S. Code is only current as of Jan. 16, 1996. Ask a news researcher if you need more recent amendments or additions.
Politics
- Congressional Quarterly's VoteWatch -- Our own CQ has come up with an easy way to search voting records. Type in a member of Congress' name and a subject to get votes for the past 18 months.
- FECInfo -- Former Federal Elections Commission staffers have made it possible to search federal campaign contributions by individual name, by occupation or by ZIP. They've also made available a soft-money database, a list of $100,000+ ZIP codes, the top 200 soft-dollar contributors and much more. The News Library has campaign contribution databases, and can help with more complex searching.
Population/demographics
- American Demographics -- Want to know something about Generation X, marriage in the '90s, single-parent families, boomers? Search this Dow Jones Co. magazine and several other databases with a search engine that helps you find demographic information all over the net. It's free, but you must register.
- U.S. population -- the Census Bureau's up-to-the-second estimate .
- U.S. population projections -- A bunch of projections by sex, race, etc. from the Census Bureau.
- For Florida resources, go to the Metro/state section.
Weather
- Sunrise/sunset -- Compute times for any date and any place courtesy of the U.S. Naval Observatory. Moonrise and moonset times are also available.
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Last Modified: April 21, 1997