• 7%
• Source: USA Today   |   Nation   |   March 12, 2012
• The rise in the rate of speed-related traffic deaths since 2000, contrasting the 3 percent drop in drunk-driving deaths and 23 percent drop in deaths that resulted from someone not wearing a seat belt.

• 1985
• Source: The Associated Press   |   Kansas   |   March 9, 2012
• The year that Kansas outlawed happy hour. The state House recently passed a bill to allow bars, restaurants and clubs to sell alcohol at different prices at different times of the day again.

• 13.5%
• Source: The Associated Press   |   New York City   |   March 8, 2012
• The drop in salmonella infections in New York City from 2010 to 2011 -- the first full year the city gave letter grades to restaurants based on their sanitary conditions.

• 9
• Source: The Daily Beast   |   Nation   |   March 7, 2012
• The number of female mayors in the nation's 100 largest cities. In state legislatures, women make up 23 percent of elected representatives.

• 419
• Source: The Associated Press   |   Nation   |   March 6, 2012
• The number of delegates at stake in today's GOP presidential primaries in Virginia, Vermont, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Idaho, Georgia and Alaska. 1,144 are needed for the nomination.

• 24
• Source: The Associated Press   |   Nation   |   March 5, 2012
• The number of states considering bills to ban the use of foreign laws in U.S. courtrooms. Critics say it's a response to a made-up threat of Shariah law, the Islamic legal code.

• 16,000
• Source: Wall Street Journal   |   Massachusetts   |   March 2, 2012
• The number of jobs that could be lost by 2016 if paid sick leave legislation is passed in Massachusetts, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

• EF4
• Source: CBS News/AP   |   Harrisburg, Ill.   |   March 1, 2012
• The strength of the tornado that touched down in Harrisburg, Ill. An EF4 rating is the second strongest rating a tornado can get based on damage. The tornado, killing six, had winds up to 170 mph according to scientists.

• 59
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   February 29, 2012
• The number of delegates at stake in the Michigan and Arizona Republican primaries Feb. 28.

• 8.3%
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   Nation   |   February 28, 2012
• The rise in methamphetamine lab seizures from 2010 to 2011. Clandestine meth labs are most common in the Midwest and the South.

• More than 30%
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   February 27, 2012
• The portion of adults who had a bachelor's degree as of last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The country's rate of college-educated adults is a record high, but the U.S. still dropped in global rankings.

• $700,000
• Source: USA Today   |   February 24, 2012
• The amount of money Pennsylvania has made from selling items, such as pocket knives and scissors, that the Transportation Security Administration confiscated from airline passengers since 2004.

• More than $400M
• Source: The Associated Press   |   Nation   |   February 23, 2012
• The amount of money unions are planning to spend this year to help re-elect President Barack Obama. They spent $400 million during the 2008 election, but are expected to spend more during this race.

• 78%
• Source: GOVERNING   |   San Francisco   |   February 22, 2012
• The portion of waste that San Francisco diverts from landfills through recycling and composting. San Francisco was the first major U.S. city to require composting in 2009.

• 7
• Source: The Hill   |   Nation   |   February 20, 2012
• The number of states that received waivers from the federal health law's medical loss ratio, which requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care or give customers rebates. The Department of Health and Human Services denied waivers to ten states.