Short Reads

The ranks of political independents continue to grow and now stand at 38% of the public.

Nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) said in a March 2011 survey that the government should play a significant role in reducing obesity among children.

The percentage of adults online who use Twitter on a typical day has doubled since May 2011.

More than eight-in-ten registered voters say the economy (86%) and jobs (84%) are very important issues in deciding who to vote for this fall.

Just 2% of Greeks say they are satisfied with the direction of their country, the lowest level of satisfaction among the European Union countries surveyed.

A quarter of Americans say the U.S. has a responsibility to do something about the fighting in Syria.

A 56% majority of Russians say they are satisfied with the results of the March 4 presidential election that brought a first-round win for Vladimir Putin, but views on the fairness of the election are more mixed.

Through mid-May, campaign coverage in 2012 is down by 33% from the same period in 2008.

The percentage of households in a polling sample that are successfully interviewed -- the response rate -- has fallen dramatically: from 36% in 1997 to 9% today.

Despite more than a decade of warfare following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, only about 0.5% of the American population has been on active military duty at any given time.