• $500 million
• Source: Stateline   |   Nation   |   July 17, 2012
• The amount of money that 43 states will share from the nation's largest health-care fraud settlement. Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline will pay the federal and state governments to resolve charges of illegally marketing certain prescription drugs and overcharging publicly funded programs.

• 17%
• Source: New York Times   |   New York City   |   July 16, 2012
• The rise, on average, in taxi fares in New York City that's expected to go into effect in September. It's the first major increase in the rate in eight years.

• $242.6 billion
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   July 13, 2012
• The amount state and local governments spent on construction in May -- the lowest since 2006. Meanwhile, private construction spending has soared to its highest level in more than two years.

• 12
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   July 12, 2012
• The number of states that have considered offering government-run retirement plans for private-sector employees. Massachusetts is the only one to pass such a policy.

• $7.25
• Source: Wall Street Journal   |   Scranton, Pa.   |   July 11, 2012
• The new wage of nearly 400 city workers in Scranton, Pa. where Mayor Chris Doherty temporarily cut police, firefighters and his own pay, among others.

• 30
• Source: NPR   |   Nation   |   July 10, 2012
• The number of times the Republican-dominated U.S. House has tried to repeal, defund or dismantle the health care law that the Supreme Court upheld last month. The next attempt will occur this week.

• $2 billion
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   July 9, 2012
• The amount spent annually to impound, shelter, euthanize and dispose of homeless animals. Pittsburgh has begun to shift funds away from impounding and euthanizing cats and dogs toward a free spaying and neutering program.

• 12
• Source: Autoblog   |   Texas   |   July 6, 2012
• The number of hours a woman spent in a Texas jail after using a sign to warn motorists about a police speed trap. She was arrested for allegedly standing in the street instead of on the sidewalk.

• 42
• Source: American Pyrotechnics Association   |   Nation   |   July 5, 2012
• The number of states plus the District of Columbia that allow some or all types of consumer fireworks. Four states allow only sparklers and four others ban consumer fireworks altogether.

• 22.3 Million
• BY: Brian Peteritas   |   July 3, 2012
• The number of Americans without insurance that have incomes falling below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, the new Medicaid eligibility threshold under the ACA. If all states implement the Medicaid expansion then they will gain coverage in 2014.

• 12%
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Baltimore   |   July 2, 2012
• The reduction in crime that resulted from a 10 percent increase in tree cover in Baltimore. The study concluded that the more trees an area has, the less crime it has.

• $39 million
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   June 29, 2012
• The amount of money that Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has already transferred from other places in the budget to help fight the fires raging through the state. Communities will also get help from the federal government, since the White House declared the wildfires a federal disaster yesterday.

• 20%
• Source: AP/USA Today   |   Nation   |   June 28, 2012
• The portion of HIV-positive Americans who don't know they're infected with the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recently announced plans to offer free HIV tests at pharmacies and clinics in 24 municipalities nationwide.

• 38%
• Source: New York Times   |   Chicago   |   June 27, 2012
• The rise in the rate of homicides in Chicago from this time a year ago. In contrast, homicides have remained steady or dropped in New York City and Los Angeles.

• 48
• Source: New Hampshire Watchdog   |   New Hampshire   |   June 26, 2012
• The number of bills that New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch has vetoed -- more than any other governor in the state's last quarter century.