Shot In The Back
Number of U.S. police officers who have been prosecuted in the past decade for shooting someone in the back: 28 Number convicted: 6
Read moreCategory: Facts & Trends
Army Qualification
Just 30 percent of Americans aged 17 to 24 are eligible to become soldiers, according to the U.S. Army. The remaining 70 percent of young people are either too obese or are disqualified because they have a criminal history or didn’t finish high school.
Read moreAverage American Income
The average American’s income declined almost 1 percent in 2014, to $64,432.The income of the poorest fifth of the population fell by 3.5 percent, to $9,818, while the income of the wealthiest fifth rose by nearly 1 percent, to $166,048.
Read moreBuilding a wall
To keep out foreign extremists and refugees seeking work, Saudi Arabia is now building a 600-mile wall along its border with Iraq, and is strengthening fortifications along its 1,060- mile border with Yemen.
Read moreProperty Tax Paid Using Dollar Bills and Loose Change
A California man has paid off a $14,000 property-tax bill using only dollar bills and loose change. Larry Gasper says he wasn’t deliberately trying to inconvenience county officials with the unorthodox payment, which he transported to county offices in a wheelbarrow—causing the clerks’ jaws to drop. It’s just that he’s very short of money, and had to scrape up the […]
Read moreCan’t Afford To Post Bail
Some 480,000 suspects are currently locked up in American jails awaiting trial. About 75 percent of them are low-level offenders accused of nonviolent infractions, and are in jail simply because they can’t afford to post bail.
Read moreSmoking ban in Russia
Russia, the world’s second biggest cigarette consumer after China, has banned smoking in most public places as well as all tobacco advertising. Even popular Soviet-era cartoons featuring pipe smokers are to be censored. It’s unclear, though, how the ban will be enforced. Moscow police chief Anatoly Yakunin said his force has no plan to arrest violators. “We hope that they will […]
Read moreDept. of Homeland Security and Low Morale
The Department of Homeland Security has spent $2 million over the past three years on four studies analyzing why its workers suffer from such chronically low morale. It has yet to publish or act on the findings of any of those reports.
Read moreOccupy Wall Street Poster Price
Price of an Occupy Wall Street poster being sold by Walmart: $52.25
Read moreCost of Tobacco
$15.6 BILLION – The amount of money Quebec Justice Brian Riordan ruled three tobacco companies must pay to more than 1 million smokers in Quebec who have become ill from tobacco use or say they can’t quit smoking. The companies said they would appeal the ruling.
Read more