Plus, data on which countries own US debt, Section 8 housing and more.
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** How many people injure themselves on Christmas decorations?
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Decorating for Christmas is a tradition for many families. However, emergency room visits climb ([link removed]) during the holiday season due to decor-related accidents. In past seasons, an annual average of around 18,400 people visited emergency rooms because of Christmas decorations. These incidents affect young children and adults and often involve common, seemingly innocuous items.
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* The Sunday after Thanksgiving is often the busiest day for Christmas decoration-related ER visits. From 2013 to 2022, an annual average of 660 people sought medical attention for injuries on this day.
* Toddlers often ingest or chew decorations. Around 1,900 annual injuries (or 10%) involve children younger than four. That’s higher than usual for product-related accidents, indicating that Christmas decorations can be hazardous for toddlers.
* Adults are more likely to fall or slip off roofs or ladders while decorating. Approximately 5,300 people ages 40 to 60 annually visit the ER for decoration-related injuries. Given typical product-related accident patterns, that's nearly 50% more than usual.
See more data ([link removed]) explaining common incident descriptions during Christmas decoration-related ER visits.
** What is Section 8 housing?
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The federal government provides housing support ([link removed]) for millions of people living in poverty. Just over 9 million people receive housing subsidies through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 8 program.
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* Households in Section 8 and other assisted housing programs had an average 2022 household income of $16,019, or 21.5% of the national median of $75,580.
* HUD offers two Section 8 rental assistance programs: housing choice vouchers and project-based rental assistance. Housing choice vouchers aided 5.2 million people last year. Recipients had an average annual household income of $16,610. The 2.01 million people who received project-based rental assistance had a yearly average household income of $14,405.
* Seventy-five percent of new households accepted into the Section 8 program each year are extremely low-income, defined as income less than 30% of the local area median income.
Learn more about how the government supports people with Section 8 housing ([link removed]) .
** Which countries own the nation’s debt?
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The US government owes trillions of dollars in debt to foreign entities, including governments, central banks, companies, and individual investors. This debt includes US Treasury bonds and other securities. Foreign ownership of US debt ([link removed]) has shifted over time, but the primary holders have remained consistent for decades.
* The US government offers two main types of debt: public and intragovernmental. Public debt, comprising Treasury bonds, bills, and notes, is sold to outside investors, including foreign governments. In contrast, intragovernmental debt is owed to US government programs, such as Social Security and Medicare.
* In January 2023, foreign countries owned $7.4 trillion in Treasurys — roughly 24% of total US debt. This percentage is up from 18% in 2000 ($1.7 trillion) but down from 34% in 2014 ($7.7 trillion).
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* Between 2004 and 2006, Japan and China held almost 50% of all foreign-owned US debt, which declined to approximately 25% by 2022. The United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion) rounded out the top five foreign owners.
* Between 2000 and 2022, Japan and China owned more US Treasurys than other nations. Japan’s ownership grew from $534 billion to just over $1 trillion. China’s ownership grew from $101 billion to $855 billion.
Get the debt numbers on dozens of nations in this article ([link removed]) .
** Data behind the news
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On the first day of the United Nations’ COP 28 Climate Summit, delegates agreed to launch a fund to help vulnerable nations pay for damage caused by climate disasters. About 43% of billion-dollar natural disaster events in the US have occurred in the last decade ([link removed]) .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu cases are rising. USAFacts has insight into who gets vaccines ([link removed]) and how many people die from the flu ([link removed]) .
It’s time for the weekly facts quiz ([link removed]) . Did you study?
** One last fact
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In 2022, 2.8% of veterans, approximately 250,000, were unemployed ([link removed]) . The veteran population had a lower unemployment rate than non-veterans (3.6%). Also, older and disabled veterans have higher unemployment rates than the total veteran population.
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