Pew Research Center Staff

That’s the number of Americans who remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the news of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon 5 years ago today.

That’s the percentage of Americans who now think that increasing the U.S. military presence overseas is the best way to reduce the threat of terrorist attacks on the U.S. — a sharp decline from the 48% plurality who thought so on the first anniversary of 9/11.

That’s the percentage of TV critics and online commentators who gave high marks to Katie Couric’s much anticipated debut as “CBS Evening News” anchor. The sample of 43 columns and commentaries was evaluated by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which this week launched its new website at www.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/journalism as an official part of the Pew Research Center. PEJ staffers rated the critics’ comments on a three-point scale ranging from “Boffo” (21%) to “So-So” (46%) to “Uh-Oh” (33%).

This is number of American adults who say that the internet has helped them make big decisions or negotiate their way through major life episodes in the last two years. Research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that 45% of internet users report using the internet as a crucial source of information during a major life decision.

That’s the number of U.S. adults who play fantasy sports — a game in which contestants pick real professional athletes to be on their virtual teams, then compete against other virtual teams based on statistics arising from the real-world performances of the players they have chosen.

That’s the number of states — Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota — that have so-called trigger laws waiting on the books to make abortion illegal as soon as federal policy permits. Three others have adopted policy statements opposing abortion.

That’s the percentage of cable news viewers who tuned into the Fox News Channel during an average night in July 2006. Thus, the Fox News Channel attracted more than half of those watching the three major cable news outlets during primetime hours.

That’s the number of countries in Pew’s latest Global Attitude Survey in which a majority of the public has a very or somewhat favorable view of the United States. In addition to the four majority approval countries — Japan, India, Great Britain and Nigeria — a plurality of those interviewed in China also think favorably of America.

That’s the number of children living with relatives without either parent present.