short reads | Jul 1, 2013

Egyptian military gets higher ratings than most political parties

The Egyptian military issued an ultimatum to both President Mohamed Morsi and his opponents today, declaring that the two sides must find a resolution to the country’s political crisis in the next 48 hours or the military will impose its own “roadmap for the future.” Since the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak two and a […]

short reads | Jul 1, 2013

Data show a dent in Americans’ love for cars

The AAA’s annual travel forecast projects that 34.4 million Americans will drive more than 50 miles from home during the July 4th holiday, a tiny dip from 34.7 million last year. The chief reason, according to AAA, is that the five-day holiday period is a day shorter than it was in 2012, when July 4 […]

short reads | Jul 1, 2013

Describing Obama, Bush in a word

Public views of Barack Obama today are very different from those of George W. Bush at about this point in his second term. Obama’s job rating is in positive territory, while Bush’s tilted negative. But a look at the one-word descriptions of the two men finds some common ground. Most notably, the word incompetent appears high on the one-word list for each.

short reads | Jul 1, 2013

Men, for the most part, still run newsrooms

In August, Deborah Turness will become the first woman to head a network news division as she takes the reins as president of NBC News. Nine years ago, she made history in precisely the same way in Great Britain, as she headed ITV News, a BBC rival. But industry data show that men continue to […]

short reads | Jun 29, 2013

As it turns 6, a look at who uses the iPhone (no, not ’everybody’)

As Apple’s iPhone celebrates its sixth(!) birthday today, the pioneering smartphone has carved out a solid market position, and a demographically distinctive user base, within the ever-expanding world of smartphones (which, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, more than half of Americans now own). The iPhone is, along with Google’s Android, […]

short reads | Jun 28, 2013

5 facts about the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012-2013

Note: For more recent facts on the high court, see this post from 2020. Phew, what a week for the U.S. Supreme Court. With major rulings on affirmative action, voting rights and same-sex marriage released this week, we rounded up  five facts about the court and its year of contentious cases and historic votes: Favorable […]

short reads | Jun 28, 2013

Egyptians plan nationwide protests as discontent grows under Morsi

June 30 will mark one year since Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi took office, and the country’s opposition movement is planning to commemorate the anniversary with nationwide protests that, even by recent Egyptian standards, are likely to be quite large. Over the last year, Morsi has presided over growing political polarization and increasing disappointment with the […]

short reads | Jun 28, 2013

Chart of the Week: Supreme Court justices — who agrees with whom?

It’s one thing to talk about voting blocs on the Supreme Court — four conservative justices, four moderate-to-liberal ones and Anthony Kennedy in between, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. It’s another to see the actual voting patterns at work.

Refine Your Results