Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Publications

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    In Social Media, Zombies and Cocaine are the Hot Topics

    Health care or zombies and cocaine? In the debate over which is better fodder for discussion, social media last week chose the latter pair—a simulation of a worldwide zombie attack and traces of cocaine on much of the U.S. currency. On YouTube, though, confrontations from the health care town hall meetings captured the most eyeballs.

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    Health Care Still the Summer’s Dominant Story

    Summary of Findings Despite the emergence of several major international stories – including an election in war-ravaged Afghanistan and the release of the so-called Lockerbie bomber – the public continued to be focused on domestic news, particularly the ongoing debate over health care reform. Fully 45% say they followed health care developments more closely than […]

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    Health Care, Afghanistan Emerge as the Summer’s Big Stories

    The fight over health care legislation continued to dominate the news, but with a narrative twist that was tough on Barack Obama. And a crucial election kept the spotlight on Afghanistan, a conflict increasingly showing up in the headlines.

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    Health Care Reform Closely Followed, Much Discussed

    Summary of Findings Public interest in health care reform shows no signs of slackening, with news about the debate continuing to top the public’s news agenda. Fully 46% name health care as the story they followed more closely than any other last week – double the percentage who named the week’s second most closely followed […]

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    Heated Health Care Battle Explodes in the Blogosphere

    For the first week all year, health care was the leading topic of conversation among bloggers. And it was an often contentious conversation as liberals and conservatives accused each other of spreading untruths—and sometimes worse. On Twitter, technology-focused stories led the agenda as Iran dropped out of the top story list for the first time since the disputed June 12 elections.

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    End-of-Life Decisions: How Americans Cope

    While most Americans approve of laws that say treatment can be stopped if that’s what a terminally ill patient desires, they are split on what they would do personally in that situation.