Noted

As prison populations in the U.S. have swelled since the 1970s, so has the number of ex-cons. About 700,000 prisoners are released from state and federal prisons each year. Two out of three, studies say, will commit crimes that will land them back in jail.

U.S. News & World Report

The number of foreign students who attend American colleges and universities has rebounded from the precipitous decrease that followed the 9/11 terror attacks. Nearly 583,000 foreign students took classes in the U.S. last year, just 3,000 fewer than before the State Department toughened visa restrictions in 2002. “America is more relaxed now,” said graduate student Vance Gram of Norway.

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Associated Press

Americans consume an extra $10.5 billion worth of energy and water each year as a result of the additional households created by divorce, a Michigan State University study found. “One way to be more environmentally friendly is to live with other people,” said ecologist Jianguo Liu.

MSNBC.com

Translators are in such demand in Iraq and Afghanistan that Pentagon contractors will pay $180,000 annually for people who can speak Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, or Farsi.

The Dallas Morning News

Of the nine senior members of China’s Politburo, whose ages range from 52 to 67, not a single one has a strand of gray hair. In modern China, black hair is seen as a sign of health and vitality, while gray hair signals that it’s time to groom a successor.

The Wall Street Journal