Violent crime in U.S. rising for two years
Violent crime, including homicides, rose for the second consecutive year in 2016, driven by increases in a few urban centers including Baltimore, Chicago and Las Vegas, according to FBI data released Monday.
Violent crimes increased nationally last year by 4.1 percent and homicides rose by 8.6 percent, one year after violence increased by 3.9 percent and homicides jumped by 10.8 percent. A total of 17,250 people were murdered in 2016, the FBI said.
While crime overall and violent crime remain well below their levels of the 1980s and 1990s, last year was the first time violent crime increased in consecutive years since 2005 and 2006, according to the FBI data, which is collected from local police departments around the nation and released annually.
President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have said repeatedly that the nation is in the grip of a crime wave that requires more arrests and harsher penalties, including for nonviolent crimes like drug possession.
Yiannopoulos at Berkeley
BERKELEY, Calif. — Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was greeted by dozens of counterprotesters Sunday as he arrived on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, campus for what turned out to be a very brief speech.
Security was tight and only about 100 people were allowed into the plaza after passing through metal detectors.
Mr. Yiannopoulos spoke briefly to the crowd, sang the national anthem and posed for selfies with supporters before he was escorted away. The entire event lasted about 20 minutes.
Airports more popular
Air traveler satisfaction with U.S. airports has reached an all-time high this year and the reason is what you might call counterintuitive: The Transportation Security Administration.
The agency has resolved some of the deep staffing woes that plagued America’s airports in early 2016, and the reduced wait times have had the desired effect, according to the latest J.D. Power ratings released Thursday. Investments by airlines and airports to install self-tagging baggage and check-in kiosks have also boosted customer satisfaction, the report found.
The J.D. Power analysis is based on responses from 34,695 North America travelers who passed through at least one domestic airport this year and who had both departure and arrival experiences during the past three months. The survey measures six attributes: terminal facilities; airport accessibility; security check; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check; food, beverage and retail offerings.
Irma hurts orange juice
Hurricane Irma plundered Florida’s orange belt, leaving a trail of uprooted trees, downed fruit and flooded groves worse than anything growers say they have seen in more than 20 years.
It could even be the knockout blow for a product — orange juice — that has been slipping in popularity among Americans, although the beverage still ranks as the country’s favorite in fruit consumption.
The most recent estimates of the widespread damage to Florida’s orange trees put the statewide losses as high as 70 percent.
That could lead to orange shortages, price hikes and, for farmers, lost harvests — all on top of a debilitating plant disease called citrus greening and a long-term national decline in orange juice consumption.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the average American drinks 23.74 pounds of orange juice per year — or roughly an ounce each day, more than any other fruit. (By comparison, most Americans eat 10.66 pounds of fresh apples per year, and a measly 2.7 pounds of fresh oranges.)