Sunday, Nov. 05, 2006
Numbers
1,770 Number of people known to have been executed in China last year--81% of the world's total. The true number is a state secret but is thought to be much higher because executions are not always disclosed. To reduce capital punishment, China's government last week said the Supreme Court would review all death sentences
68 Crimes that carry the death penalty in China, including tax evasion and drug smuggling
51% Growth in college and grad-school enrollment among minorities in the U.S. from 1993 to 2003--the most recent year for which data are available--due largely to the Hispanic population boom
3.4% Increase in white enrollment over the same period
$167 billion Amount that migrant workers worldwide sent to their home countries in 2005, up from about $85 billion in 2000
85% Portion of those remittances used by recipients in developing nations to pay daily bills, preventing savings and investment that could pump up their countries' economy
2013 Year until which NASA says the now 16-year-old Hubble Space Telescope will be able to send images of the universe back to Earth, if a repair mission scheduled for May 2008 is successful
$900 million The mission's estimated cost. Astronauts plan to add a new camera to the Hubble
Sources: Amnesty International; USA Today; American Council on Education (2); Wall Street Journal (2); NASA (2)