Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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As drug violence continues to plague their country, Mexicans largely endorse President Felipe Calderón’s campaign against drug cartels. Most also believe the Mexican military is making progress in the drug war, although they are less likely to hold this view now than was the case one year ago.
As the campaign for control of Congress entered its final month, election news once again dominated the headlines—overshadowing almost everything else. Some housing news drove coverage of the economy while President Obama’s suggestion to lengthen the school year helped make education one of the week’s top stories.
Summary of Findings The disclosure of more than 75,000 classified documents about the war in Afghanistan by the website WikiLeaks garnered significant media coverage last week, and those familiar with the story were split over the effect of the leak: about equal percentages say the release harms the public interest as say it serves the […]
Summary of Findings The 2010 congressional elections dominated news coverage last week, but not the public’s attention. Americans continued to focus most closely on news about the nation’s struggling economy and about four-in-ten (39%) say news reports portray the economy “about the way it really is.” Smaller, roughly equal percentages say the media make the […]
With the fall balloting closer on the horizon, the crucial midterm elections topped the headlines last week—with a troublesome economy close behind. The death of a well-known politician and debates over immigration policy also finished among the top five stories as did the oil spill saga—though it is quickly losing steam.
Debate over immigration policy in the past few weeks has focused on the controversial new Arizona immigration law requiring police to verify the legal status of someone they have stopped or detained if they suspect that the person is in the country illegally. A majority of the public (64%), including half of Democrats, approves of […]
Overview The public overwhelmingly views the job situation as a major priority for Congress during the coming months. Fully 80% say it is very important for Congress to pass legislation to address the job situation, which is virtually unchanged from May (81%). Somewhat fewer (70%) say it is very important for Congress to reduce the […]
With balloting little more than a month away, the 2010 congressional elections again topped the media agenda as a good chunk of that narrative focused on the power and potential of the tea party. And one factor that will clearly influence the outcome on election night, the state of the U.S. economy, was the No. 2 topic.
An Internet prank aimed at 16-year-old pop star Justin Bieber provided amusement for many in the social media world last week. Social media also debated several legal issues ranging from immigration to the digital economy. And on YouTube, CNN host Anderson Cooper’s commentary on the lack of media access to the oil spill cleanup drew the most hits.