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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

July 28, 2009

Residential property burglaries accounted for 67.9 percent of all burglary offenses in 2007 in the U.S.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program

July 27, 2009

There were an estimated 2,179,140 burglaries in the United States in 2007.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program

July 26, 2009

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage was originally 25 cents per hour on Oct. 24, 1938.
Source: Department of Labor

July 25, 2009

As of July 24, the federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour.
Source: Department of Labor

Health Care Nostrums

The Republican National Committee has released a new Web ad about health care. The RNC has some fun with the issue, framing its ad as a parody of pharmaceutical advertisements. Warning: trying to sort out fact from fiction in this video may lead to headaches, shortness of patience, and excessive Googling. If you experience any of these side effects, we recommend consulting the FactCheck.org archives.
The ad offers the sobering fine-print side effects of "Reforma," the health care reform "drug."

July 24, 2009

On today’s date in 1897, aviator Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas.
Source: Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum

Obama’s Health Care News Conference

President Obama tried to sell his health care overhaul in prime time, mangling some facts in the process. He also strained to make the job sound easier to pay for than experts predict. Obama promised once again that a health care overhaul “will be paid for.” But congressional budget experts say …

Misleading GOP Health Care Claims

Republicans in Washington seem to be shifting into overdrive to keep a health system overhaul from passing Congress before the August recess. Yesterday, July 22, brought two more deceptive assaults (that we know of) on the pending bills, one from Minority Whip Eric Cantor and the other from the top GOP member of the House Immigration Subcommittee, Steve King of Iowa.
Cantor’s is in the form of a video that accuses Obama and the Democrats of being in a “reckless rush”

July 23, 2009

There are about 10,000 bird species in the world.
Source: National Geographic

DSCC Ad Links Crist and Ayotte to Palin

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has released a Web ad linking one confirmed and one potential Republican candidate in the 2010 senatorial races to soon-to-be former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. But one person isn’t quite like the others.

According to a description of the ad on its YouTube channel, the DSCC says, “Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte all have something in common: they all promised to serve the people of their state,