Alaska's rate jumped from 9.3% in 2013 to 11.2% in 2014. The state also experienced an increase in its child poverty rate, going from 12.1% to 15.8%, as did North Dakota (12% to 14.8%) and New Hampshire (10.2% to 13%). New Hampshire, however, had the lowest overall poverty rate among the 50 states at 9.2%. Mississippi did see its poverty rate decline from 24% in 2013 to 21.5% in 2014, which was “among the largest percentage-point decline of states,” according to the Census Bureau.   read more

Meth lab seizures in dry jurisdictions were nearly 4 per 100,000 people, while the rate in wet counties was just over 2 per 100,000. “Our results add support to the idea that prohibiting the sale of alcohol flattens the punishment gradient, lowering the relative cost of participating in the market for illegal drugs,” according to the study. In other words, once you get used to breaking the law by smuggling booze into a dry county, it’s a short step to getting into the meth business.   read more

As of this year, first-generation immigrants made up 13.9% of the U.S. population. That’s the highest rate since 1910, when it was 14.6%, the Pew Research Center reported. “There were a record 41.3 million immigrants living in the U.S. in 2013, making up 13.1% of the nation’s population,” Anna Brown and Renee Stepler reported. “This represents a fourfold increase since 1960, when only 9.7 million immigrants lived in the U.S., accounting for just 5.4% of the total U.S. population.”   read more

Initially, Denson was charged with being both the perpetrator and the victim of two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor—herself—because she took a photo and possessed it. Copening was arraigned on five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, four for making and possessing photos of himself and one for receiving the photo that his girlfriend sent him.   read more

“They’re integrating as well as, or even faster, than immigrants who came from Europe in the last century,” Waters said. “In that way, I think it should be reassuring to Americans who are often worried that somehow the immigrants are not learning English, are not progressing well, or becoming full Americans." The authors also found that immigrants are healthier than the native-born population as a whole and less likely to commit crimes than those already here.   read more

Selfie fatalities exceed shark attack deaths by 33% this year. Tragedies include people falling off cliffs or being hit by trains while trying to incorporate danger into their images. A Cessna pilot, distracted while taking selfies, lost control of his plane, killing himself and his passenger. People have been shot to death when guns they held to their heads for selfies accidentally discharged. A musician died in a traffic accident while snapping selfies as he rode his motorcycle.   read more

The Norwegian operators of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault were asked for some seeds back by officials with the ICARDA, which was based in the Syrian city of Aleppo until the war broke out. Now operating in Beirut, ICARDA had submitted 325 boxes of seeds to the vault. It informed Svalbard that 130 boxes containing 116,000 samples are needed. The seeds include samples of wheat, barley and grasses. Researchers requested the seeds after the gene bank near Aleppo was damaged in the war.   read more

Gilligan was the inspiration for the film “Arsenic and Old Lace” after she was convicted of poisoning a resident of a nursing home she ran in Windsor. She was originally charged with five murders, including that of her second husband, and may have been responsible for dozens of others. She was confined to a psychiatric hospital from 1924 until she died in 1962. The court stopped the release of 200 pages of psychiatric records related to Gilligan. Author Robillard had requested their release.   read more

Those who are eligible will work 20 hours a week and receive half their pay and half their retirement annuity. But at least 20% of their work time has to be devoted to mentoring other employees so someone is in a position to take over once they fully retire. “The idea is to keep talented employees with valuable institutional knowledge on the job a little longer so they can train other workers, while they also enjoy a partial retirement,” Kellie Lunney wrote at Government Executive.   read more

The number of banged-up players was quite high even before the Week 2 games. There were 234 players hurt before teams played their second games of the season. This total included 40 knee injuries, 12 concussions and two neck injuries. Then, Week 2 was played and another 16 players went down. All were taken out of their games. A report released last week found that 87 of 91 deceased NFL players studied were found to have suffered from a brain disease linked to repetitive brain trauma.   read more

The groups argue the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, established in 1929, should replace its Summary Reporting System (SRS) with the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) within the next five years. A gradual transition from SRS to NIBRS has already been in progress, but the coalition is urging the agency to set its sights on a complete changeover within that time frame. Currently, more than 6,500 law enforcement agencies, representing 34 states, regularly report to NIBRS.   read more

The Colorado Department of Revenue has reported that it collected nearly $70 million in marijuana taxes during the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Alcohol taxes generated less than $42 million during that period. The state made so much money from marijuana taxes that it was required by law to have a tax “holiday,” during which pot sales would not be taxed.   read more

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa hires “Borgata Babes” to serve cocktails to its casino patrons. The Babes, both men and women (but mostly women), are told upon hiring that they’ll be “part fashion model, part beverage server, part charming host and hostess. All impossibly lovely.” To maintain their standard of loveliness, Borgata requires that its Babes gain no more than 7% of their body weight.   read more

Only 23% of history students were in classes led by a teacher with both a college major and certification in the subject. Among history teachers, only 26% had both credentials—and 34% lacked both credentials. In comparison, most music teachers were fully qualified to teach their subject, according to the survey. Only 2% of music teachers lacked both certification and a degree in the field, while 87% held a postsecondary degree in the subject and were certified.   read more

“Using historical data on both the pageant winners and the average American woman, we were able to estimate that the only decades during which Miss America fell into the same range as the average U.S. woman were the 1940s and 1950s,” according to PsychGuides. But since then, “the pageant winners have become markedly thinner, while the average woman’s BMI has been increasing."   read more

“Despite what the media would have you believe,” said Woods, “2015 is actually the safest year for police officers in 20 years.” The leading cause of police deaths during the past three years has been car accidents. Also, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that police work is far from the most dangerous in the country. On a list of the 18 deadliest jobs in America, police officers rank at the bottom, below such professions as bartenders, farmers, and garbage collectors.   read more