Public pension funds lost $1 trillion in market crash, and more

Public pension funds lost $1 trillion in market crash

Public pension funds set up for retiring teachers, police, and other municipal workers lost $1 trillion in the recent market crash. Even if the funds return 8 percent every year, they will have only half the money they need to pay benefits in 15 years, according to a new study.

The Washington Post

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New York City cops stop blacks and Hispanics the most often

Each year, police in major U.S. cities stop and question more than a million people, frisking many of them. A recent study found that in New York City, 51 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent were Hispanic, and 11 percent were white.

Associated Press

The perfect Halloween party costume

If you attend a Halloween party, expect to see convicted swindler

Bernie Madoff, who is the model for one of the most popular Halloween masks this year. “It’s perfect,” said one Madoff mask buyer. “You carry around a bunch of fake hundreds and throw them all over the place.”

New York Daily News

No paid sick days for half of U.S. workers

Nearly half of all U.S. workers do not receive paid sick days, making it unlikely they’ll stay home if they feel early symptoms of the flu.

The Boston Globe

Deaths from highway accidents drop 7 percent

With Americans driving less due to economic hard times, deaths on U.S. highways dropped to a record low during the first six months of 2009; 16,626 people died in traffic accidents, a 7 percent decline

from the same period last year.

Minneapolis Star Tribune