Puerto Rico's senators have approved a plan to dismantle the island's independent Institute of Statistics (PRIS). The plan will see the institute become part of the government's Department of Economic Development, which would then outsource statistical work to the private sector.
Rick Wicklin, over at The DO Loop blog, published an interesting graph showing the ages of US Presidents at the beginning and end of their terms, from George Washington to the current occupant of the White House.1 Inspired by his analysis, we extracted data2 from Wikipedia on ages of the Prime Ministers (PMs) of the UK – from Robert Walpole in 1721, regarded as the first PM, to the incumbent, Theresa May.
The “Brexit” referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union (EU) took place on 23 June 2016. The result was essentially 52-48 in favour of Leave, as the observed proportion of Leavers was 51.9%. On this basis, statements like “the majority of the UK chose to leave the EU” or “the British people have voted to leave the European Union” or “the will of the British people is…” have pervaded political discourse and newspaper articles since. However, all those statements are untrue or – at best – unproven.
Analysis of public opinion surveys in the US suggests that increased proximity to mass shootings is associated with heightened support for stricter gun control. The research, by political scientists Benjamin Newman and Todd Hartman, was published online the day after a gunman shot and killed 58 people, wounding 546 others, at a Las Vegas music festival.
Kevin Lin, winner of the 2017 Statistical Excellence Award for Early-Career Writing, explores political engagement via the social media site Reddit in the years leading up to the election of President Donald Trump.
