Data & Eggs
Volume 246
In this week’s edition: unreliable FBI data, shifting voting laws, and immediate abortion ban effects.
01
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What Can FBI Data Say About Crime in 2021? It’s Too Unreliable to Tell
In 2021, the FBI retired its nearly century old national crime data collection program (UCR) in favor of a new system (NIBRS). Despite years of warning and hundreds of millions of dollars spent on aiding the transition, nearly 40% of law enforcement did not submit any data in 2021, including New York City and Los Angeles. This massive gap in information will make it difficult to determine crime trends heading into the midterm elections.
02
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The New Geography of the Russian Elite
Before the invasion of Ukraine, wealthy Russians used to treat European cities as their playground. But since the international sanctions set in, they’ve started traveling more and more to another city: Dubai. A New York Times analysis of flight data shows that 14% of private flights departing Russia flew to the UAE in May, up from 3% before the invasion began.
03
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Has Your State Made It Harder To Vote?
Following President Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election was “stolen”, many states have enacted voting laws making it harder to cast a ballot. FiveThirtyEight’s review of data from the Brennan Center for Justice shows that 24 states have passed 56 new laws restricting voting, in some cases affecting every step of the process. This tracker helps you make sense of any recent changes in your state.
04
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How Abortion Bans Will Ripple Across America
At the start of the month, nearly all women in America lived within a few hours’ drive of an abortion clinic. But with Roe vs. Wade overturned, abortion clinics quickly closed in numerous states across the country. By the time that the political and legal battles play out over the coming months, a quarter of U.S. women of reproductive age could have to travel more than 200 miles for a legal abortion. Other estimates peg that number at nearly half.
05
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A Visual Guide to the Aztec Pantheon
The latest project from The Pudding explores the Aztec Gods, including their names, functions, and origins. The Aztec people worshiped a pantheon of these gods, each of which had a specific role in their cosmology, ranging from the spiritual to the material. Gwendal Uguen and Luc Guillemot explore the symbolism embedded in 137 restored illustrations of Aztec iconography.