Over 40 million Americans receive food stamps
For the first time, the number of Americans receiving food stamps topped 40 million in March. That number represents a 21 percent increase from the year before.
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BP buys search terms related to Gulf disaster
BP has bought search terms related to “oil spill” and “Gulf oil disaster” on major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, so that an ad on top of the results directs readers to a BP site with pictures, videos, and news releases that provide the company’s view of cleanup efforts. “Learn more about how BP is helping,” the site says.
New York Post
One-third of the Gulf now closed to fishing
About 15 percent of the U.S.’s seafood comes from the Gulf of Mexico. So far, about a third of the Gulf has been ordered closed to fishing.
Time
Budget shorfalls lead to four-day school week
Due to budget shortfalls, more than 120 school districts across the country now hold classes just four days a week.
Associated Press
Military decimates Iraqi al Qaida leaders
Over the past three months, most of the senior leaders of al Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq—34 out of 42—have been captured or killed, according to the top American commander in Iraq. Gen. Ray Odierno said the terrorist network in Iraq is now in such disarray that it had “lost connection” to al Qaida’s leadership in Pakistan.
The New York Times
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Smartphone collisions, and morefeature Fifty-three percent of all adult mobile-phone owners have been banged into because someone was peering at their smartphone.
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Partisan commencement speeches?, and more
feature No Republican or conservative has been invited to make the commencement speech this year at any of the 50 top U.S. liberal arts colleges.
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Food stamp benefits soar, and more
feature The government spent $74.6 billion on food stamp benefits last year, up from $30.4 billion in 2007.
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Prime-time TV gets racier, and more
feature The networks’ new trick is to show fully naked characters with their breasts, buttocks, and/or genitals pixelated.
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A warm start to the year, and more
feature The U.S. just experienced the warmest start to a year since records began, in 1895.
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Potter films rake in billions, and more
feature The Harry Potter movie series has earned $6.37 billion at the box office over the past decade.
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Jersey Shore captures 8.45 million, and more
feature The season premiere of MTV’s Jersey Shore was viewed by 8.45 million people, more than the average audiences of network news broadcasts on ABC and CBS.
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Wal-Mart's jump in midnight sales, and more
feature Wal-Mart says its stores see a jump in midnight sales on the first of each month, when cash-strapped shoppers receive their monthly government benefits.