Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Politics

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    Paris Hilton Becomes a National News Story

    Summary of Findings Paris Hilton’s legal problems became a national news story last week. Coverage of Hilton being released from and then returned to jail filled 4% of the newshole, making it the fifth most heavily covered story of the week. Roughly a third of Americans (34%) said they followed news about Hilton very or […]

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    ’No Child Left Behind’ Gets Mixed Grades

    Summary of Findings As Congress prepares to debate reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, Americans express mixed views about the nation’s signature education law. Among those who have heard about the law, 34% say the law has made schools better; 26% say it has made schools worse; and 32% say it has had […]

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    Mixed Views on Immigration Bill

    Summary of Findings The public is ambivalent about the immigration bill being debated by the Senate. Most Americans favor one of its key objectives, but the bill itself draws a mostly negative reaction from those who have heard about it. Just a third of those who have heard something about the bill favor it, while […]

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    Tuberculosis Story: Lots of Coverage, Lots of Interest

    Summary of Findings News about an Atlanta man infected with a dangerous form of tuberculosis drew a large audience last week. The saga of the man’s illness and his travels abroad was the second most closely followed news story of the week – trailing only the situation in Iraq. Nearly a quarter of the public […]

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    Public Wants to Know More about Darfur and Many Favor U.S. Involvement

    As world leaders gather in Germany for the annual G-8 meeting, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur will be high on their agenda. Pew’s latest surveys find nearly half of Americans believing the United States has a moral obligation to do something about the ethnic genocide there, and a modest plurality thinking the U.S. should send […]

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    Thompson Demonstrates Broad Potential Appeal

    Summary of Findings Former Sen. Fred Thompson has broad potential appeal among Republican voters even before his expected entrance into the presidential race. Thompson is not nearly as well known as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani or the other leading GOP candidates. But 37% of the Republican and Republican-leaning voters who have heard […]