WOMEN IN GOVERNMENT
Women accounted for a record 22% of legislators worldwide last year, according to the Interparliamentary Union.
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China: Destination For Immigrants
China has surpassed Mexico as the largest source of new U.S. immigrants. China was the country of origin for 147,000 immigrants in 2013, compared with Mexico at 125,000, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau study.
Read moreRecord migrant rescues, deaths
Nearly 10,000 desperate refugees were rescued from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean this week, a record high, but another 400 are believed to have drowned when one of the boats sank, also a record. Most of the migrants were from Syria or sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing war and poverty. European Union officials said some half-million people are massed in Libyan ports […]
Read morePleading Guilty
Percentage of all criminal defendants in the United States who forgo a trial by pleading guilty: 97 Percentage of U.S. convicts exonerated last year who had previously pleaded guilty without a trial: 17
Read moreMilitary Golf Courses
Number of golf courses worldwide operated by the U.S. military: 151
Read moreTreated Sewage Water Used To Make Beer
A home-brew club in Oregon will soon start making beer from treated sewage water. Clean Water Services, which runs four wastewater treatment plants in the Portland area, will let the Oregon Brew Crew use recycled sewage to make batches of beer. “I’m excited,” said Lee Hedgmon, president of the club. “I’m trying to think of a really cool recipe.” Hedgmon […]
Read moreFootball and Rugby
Percentage change since 2009 in the number of Americans who play football: -17 Who play rugby: +77
Read moreChange In The Number Of Overweight People
Percentage change in the number of overweight people in the developing world since 1980: +261
Read moreArmed Robberies
Percent increase in armed robberies at pharmacies since 2006: 81
Read moreCovered In Bees
Wearing only his underpants, a Chinese beekeeper set a new Guinness World Record this week after he covered himself in 240 pounds of bees. Organizers placed several queen bees on Gao Bingguo, 55, to attract the workers, and then dumped boxes of bees on Gao until he was wearing a buzzing coat of 1.1 million insects. He smoked a cigarette […]
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