Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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  • transcript

    Washington State High Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban

    Washington, D.C. The Washington State Supreme Court today ruled, 5-4, that the state constitution does not guarantee a right to same-sex marriage. The decision came after 19 gay and lesbian couples sued to overturn Washington’s Defense of Marriage Act, a 1998 law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. The Pew Forum provides answers to the following […]

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    Public Opinion Trends on Gay Marriage

    A Pew Forum Fact Sheet The Pew Research Center has tracked public opinion on gay marriage as it has fluctuated over the past several years. Following is an excerpt from a June 2006 survey analysis by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, followed by links to earlier surveys that include analyses […]

  • short reads

    Is U.S. Middle East Policy Fair?

    That’s the number of Americans surveyed by The Pew Global Attitudes project in May 2003 who said they regarded U.S. policies in the Middle East as fair. In the poll, which covered 21 countries, pluralities or majorities in every other country — including Israel — believed that the United States favors Israel over the Palestinians too much. Nearly half (47%) of Israelis said that U.S. policy favors Israel too much.

  • short reads

    State Actions on Stem Cell Research

    That’s the number of states that have allocated funds to support embryonic stem cell research. President Bush’s veto of a measure to expand federal funding of such research leaves a handful of states on the contentious cutting edge of government efforts to boost the fledgling science.

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    Challenges to the Newspaper Industry

    In the third of our roundtables on the future of the news media, industry experts analyze the health of the newspaper business and offer their ideas on what it can and should do to survive.

  • transcript

    The Revival of Shia Islam

    Washington, D.C. Recent violence between Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim guerrilla group, and Israel; sectarian conflict in Iraq and escalating tensions around Iran’s nuclear ambitions have drawn urgent attention to the resurgence and politicization of Shiite Islam and its relationship to Sunni Islam. The Pew Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations invited Vali Nasr, author […]

  • transcript

    The Death Penalty Today: Defend It, Mend It or End It?

    National Press Club Washington, D.C. Since the Supreme Court lifted its moratorium on the death penalty 30 years ago, 38 states and the federal government have reinstated capital punishment. In recent years, there has been a nationwide debate over the proper application, morality and constitutionality of the death penalty. Some argue that there are systemic […]

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    Radio News Roundtable

    Where does audio (or radio) lie on the fragmenting old media vs. new media spectrum? Can this medium, with its long, rich history, evolve to fit a changing information universe, or is it an endangered species?

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    The U.S. Public’s Pro-Israel History

    A substantial plurality of the American public has been steadfast in its support for Israel as the intensity of armed conflict in the Middle East has waxed and waned through the years.