1.
Puerto Rico
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Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea. It is an archipelago that includes the island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones such as Mona, Culebra. The capital and most populous city is San Juan and its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates. The islands population is approximately 3.4 million, Puerto Ricos rich history, tropical climate, diverse natural scenery, renowned traditional cuisine, and attractive tax incentives make it a popular destination for travelers from around the world. Four centuries of Spanish colonial government transformed the ethnic, cultural and physical landscapes primarily with waves of African captives, and Canarian. In the Spanish imperial imagination, Puerto Rico played a secondary, in 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States appropriated Puerto Rico together with most former Spanish colonies under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Puerto Ricans are natural-born citizens of the United States, however, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. As a U. S. territory, American citizens residing on the island are disenfranchised at the level and may not vote for president. However, Congress approved a constitution, allowing U. S. citizens on the territory to elect a governor. A fifth referendum will be held in June 2017, with only Statehood, in early 2017, the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis posed serious problems for the government. The outstanding bond debt that had climbed to $70 billion or $12,000 per capita at a time with 12. 4% unemployment, the debt had been increasing during a decade long recession. Puerto Ricans often call the island Borinquen – a derivation of Borikén, its indigenous Taíno name, the terms boricua and borincano derive from Borikén and Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. The island is also known in Spanish as la isla del encanto. Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint John the Baptist, eventually traders and other maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, while San Juan became the name used for the main trading/shipping port and the capital city. The islands name was changed to Porto Rico by the United States after the Treaty of Paris of 1898, the anglicized name was used by the US government and private enterprises. The name was changed back to Puerto Rico by a joint resolution in Congress introduced by Félix Córdova Dávila in 1931, the ancient history of the archipelago known today as Puerto Rico is not well known. The scarce archaeological findings and early Spanish scholarly accounts from the colonial era constitute the basis of knowledge about them. The first comprehensive book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra in 1786, the first settlers were the Ortoiroid people, an Archaic Period culture of Amerindian hunters and fishermen who migrated from the South American mainland
2.
Federal Communications Commission
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The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the media, public safety and homeland security, and modernizing itself. The FCC was formed by the Communications Act of 1934 to replace the radio regulation functions of the Federal Radio Commission, the FCC took over wire communication regulation from the Interstate Commerce Commission. The FCCs mandated jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the FCC also provides varied degrees of cooperation, oversight, and leadership for similar communications bodies in other countries of North America. The FCC is funded entirely by regulatory fees and it has an estimated fiscal-2016 budget of US$388 million. Consistent with the objectives of the Act as well as the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act and these are, Broadband All Americans should have affordable access to robust and reliable broadband products and services. Competition Competition in the provision of services, both domestically and overseas, supports the Nations economy. The competitive framework for communications services should foster innovation and offer consumers reliable, Media The Nations media regulations must promote competition and diversity and facilitate the transition to digital modes of delivery. Public Safety and Homeland Security Communications during emergencies and crisis must be available for public safety, health, defense, the Nations critical communications infrastructure must be reliable, interoperable, redundant, and rapidly restorable. The FCC is directed by five appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate for five-year terms. The U. S. President designates one of the commissioners to serve as chairman, only three commissioners may be members of the same political party. None of them may have a financial interest in any FCC-related business, importantly, commissioners may continue serving until the appointment of their replacements, but may not serve beyond the end of the next session of Congress following term expiration. In practice, as of 2016 this means that commissioners may serve up to 1 1/2 years beyond the term expiration dates listed above if no replacement is appointed. The Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau develops and implements the FCCs consumer policies, CGB serves as the public face of the FCC through outreach and education, as well as through their Consumer Center, which is responsible for responding to consumer inquiries and complaints. CGB also maintains partnerships with state, local, and tribal governments in such areas as emergency preparedness. The Enforcement Bureau is responsible for enforcement of provisions of the Communications Act 1934, FCC rules, FCC orders, major areas of enforcement that are handled by the Enforcement Bureau are consumer protection, local competition, public safety, and homeland security. S. The International Bureau also oversees FCC compliance with the international Radio Regulations, the Media Bureau also handles post-licensing matters regarding direct broadcast satellite service. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau regulates domestic wireless telecommunications programs and policies, the Wireline Competition Bureau develops policy concerning wire line telecommunications. The Wireline Competition Bureaus main objective is to promote growth and economical investments in technology infrastructure, development, markets
3.
Radio broadcasting
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Radio broadcasting is a unidirectional wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a radio format. Audio broadcasting also can be done via radio, local wire television networks, satellite radio. The signal types can be either analog audio or digital audio, the earliest radio stations were simply radiotelegraphy systems and did not carry audio. For audio broadcasts to be possible, electronic detection and amplification devices had to be incorporated, the thermionic valve was invented in 1904 by the English physicist John Ambrose Fleming. He developed a device he called an oscillation valve, the heated filament, or cathode, was capable of thermionic emission of electrons that would flow to the plate when it was at a higher voltage. Electrons, however, could not pass in the direction because the plate was not heated. Later known as the Fleming valve, it could be used as a rectifier of alternating current and this greatly improved the crystal set which rectified the radio signal using an early solid-state diode based on a crystal and a so-called cats whisker. However, what was required was an amplifier. The triode was patented on March 4,1906, by the Austrian Robert von Lieben independent from that, on October 25,1906 and it wasnt put to practical use until 1912 when its amplifying ability became recognized by researchers. By about 1920, valve technology had matured to the point where radio broadcasting was quickly becoming viable, however, an early audio transmission that could be termed a broadcast may have occurred on Christmas Eve in 1906 by Reginald Fessenden, although this is disputed. Charles Herrold started broadcasting in California in 1909 and was carrying audio by the next year, in The Hague, the Netherlands, PCGG started broadcasting on November 6,1919, making it, arguably the first commercial broadcasting station. In 1916, Frank Conrad, an engineer employed at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, began broadcasting from his Wilkinsburg. Later, the station was moved to the top of the Westinghouse factory building in East Pittsburgh, Westinghouse relaunched the station as KDKA on November 2,1920, as the first commercially licensed radio station in America. The commercial broadcasting designation came from the type of broadcast license, the first licensed broadcast in the United States came from KDKA itself, the results of the Harding/Cox Presidential Election. In 1920, wireless broadcasts for entertainment began in the UK from the Marconi Research Centre 2MT at Writtle near Chelmsford, England. A famous broadcast from Marconis New Street Works factory in Chelmsford was made by the famous soprano Dame Nellie Melba on 15 June 1920 and she was the first artist of international renown to participate in direct radio broadcasts. The 2MT station began to broadcast regular entertainment in 1922, the BBC was amalgamated in 1922 and received a Royal Charter in 1926, making it the first national broadcaster in the world, followed by Czech Radio and other European broadcasters in 1923
4.
American Forces Network
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The American Forces Network is the brand name used by the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide. AFN broadcasts popular American radio and television programs from the major U. S. networks and it is sometimes referred to as the Armed Forces Network. AFRTS, American Forces Network and AFN are registered trademarks of the U. S. Department of Defense and it is based at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. The American Forces Network is the arm of the American Forces Radio and Television Service. AFN falls under the control of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Editorial control is by the Department of Defense, whereas the British Forces Broadcasting Service, for example, is independent of the Ministry of Defence, AFN employs military broadcasters as well as Department of Defense civilians and contractors. Service personnel hold broadcasting occupational specialties for their military branch, since 1997, all of AFNs military personnel receive primary training at the Defense Information School at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. Before 1997, DINFOS was located at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, in 1997, Fort Benjamin Harrison was largely closed as a function of the 1991 Base Closure and Realignment Commission. Additional/Advanced training is available at Fort George G. Meade. In the 1960s, DINFOS was located at Fort Slocum, NY on an island just off the harbor at New Rochelle. At its peak in 1965, the Army Chaplain school was located here. In 1963 this campus operated in a university setting with a military environment. The Army ran the Information School although training was offered to members of all military branches, Radio types took a rather severe audition written by CBS for their network announcers. Those who survived the audition became Broadcast Specialists with a 703 MOS, some of AFNs broadcasters have previous commercial broadcasting experience before enlisting in the military, but it is not a prerequisite for enlistment in the military as a broadcaster. During their training, the broadcasters are taught to use state-of-the-art audio, AFN management is located at DMA headquarters at Fort Meade. Day-to-day AFN broadcast operations are conducted at the AFN Broadcast Center/Defense Media Center in Riverside, California, from all global radio. The American Forces Network can trace its origins to May 26,1942, a television service was first introduced in 1954 with a pilot station at Limestone Air Force Base, Maine. In 1954, the mission of AFRS was officially recognized
5.
Television set
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A television set, more commonly called a television, TV, TV set, television receiver, or telly, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers for the purpose of viewing television. Introduced in the late 1920s in mechanical form, television became a popular consumer product after World War II in electronic form. The addition of color to broadcast television after 1953 further increased the popularity of television sets in the 1960s, the ubiquitous television set became the display device for the first recorded media in the 1970s, such as Betamax, VHS and later DVD. It was also the display device for the first generation of home computers, in the 2010s flat panel television incorporating liquid-crystal displays, especially LED-backlit LCDs, largely replaced cathode ray tubes and other displays. Modern flat panel TVs are typically capable of display and can also play content from a USB device. Mechanical televisions were sold from 1928 to 1934 in the United Kingdom, United States. The Baird Televisor is considered the first mass-produced television, selling about a thousand units, the first commercially made electronic televisions with cathode ray tubes were manufactured by Telefunken in Germany in 1934, followed by other makers in France, Britain, and America. The cheapest model with a 12-inch screen was $445, an estimated 19,000 electronic televisions were manufactured in Britain, and about 1,600 in Germany, before World War II. About 7, 000–8,000 electronic sets were made in the U. S. before the War Production Board halted manufacture in April 1942, production resuming in August 1945. While only 0. 5% of U. S. households had a television in 1946,55. 7% had one in 1954, and 90% by 1962. In Britain, there were 15,000 television households in 1947,1.4 million in 1952, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, color television had come into wide use. In Britain, BBC1, BBC2 and ITV were regularly broadcasting in colour by 1969, during the first decade of the 21st century, CRT picture tube display technology was almost entirely supplanted worldwide by flat panel displays. By the early 2010s, LCD TVs, which increasingly used LED-backlit LCDs, television sets may employ one of several available display technologies. The production of plasma and CRT displays has been almost completely discontinued, the cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the beam onto the screen to create the images. The images may represent electrical waveforms, pictures, radar targets or others, the CRT uses an evacuated glass envelope which is large, deep, fairly heavy, and relatively fragile. As a matter of safety, the face is made of thick lead glass so as to be highly shatter-resistant and to block most X-ray emissions. In television sets and computer monitors, the front area of the tube is scanned repetitively and systematically in a fixed pattern called a raster
6.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2013 edition".
This article incorporates 
