The question has puzzled criminologists for decades: Why did violent crime rates start to soar across the U.S. from the 1960s, before beginning “a spectacular decline” in the 1990s—a decline that’s continued ever since? Theories abound, from improved policing strategies to the end of the crack epidemic. But a more likely possibility is a molecule, said Kevin Drum in Mother […]
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American culture is sick, and secularism is the cause of our disease. That, said Steve Chapman, is the contention of religious conservatives like presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who insist that feminists, liberals, and gay marriage have undermined traditional morality, and that only a return to our Christian roots will cure what ails us. But all evidence suggests that this view […]
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In the United States, a theft occurs every 4 seconds, a burglary every 10 seconds, an assault every 29 seconds, a rape every 5 minutes and a murder every 21 minutes.
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Radioactive residue from the Cold War could provide a valuable tool for stemming the deadly trade in illegal ivory, National Geographic News reports. Poachers killed an estimated 30,000 African elephants last year alone for their tusks—an ongoing slaughter that threatens the long-term survival of the species, whose population numbers about 500,000. Ending poaching has been nearly impossible because it is […]
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Tokyo ‘Silver shoplifters’: Facing cuts in welfare and pensions, Japan’s swelling ranks of the elderly are turning to crime—many of them stealing food. Shoplifters are now more likely to be over 65 than under 18. Criminal offenses by the over-65 set have doubled in the past decade, even as overall crime has dropped. “Senior citizens shoplift lunch boxes and bread […]
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Johannesburg With cameras rolling, a South African journalist was robbed by two men just moments before he was to give a report. The video shows the two assailants scuffling with reporter Vuyo Mvoko, who shouts, “Hey we’re being mugged!” as he gives up his cellphone and a laptop. “Every South African lives with the reality of crime,” said the South […]
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“Man charged with throwing alligator into fast food restaurant”, read the headlines when this Florida fast food restaurant got a customer it wasn’t expecting who tossed a live alligator through a drive-thru window. Joshua James, 23, of Jupiter, Florida, had wanted to play a practical joke on a friend working at the Wendy’s restaurant in Royal Palm Beach when he […]
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