Verizon claims to have caught an employee — “Bob” — outsourcing his daily coding duties to China so he could spend his time browsing Reddit, watching cat videos, and surfing eBay.
(Source: theweek.com)
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On this day in 1868, the Senate impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson began. The House of Representatives had already impeached the president on 11 counts of trying to fire War Secretary Edwin Stanton and for violating post-war Reconstruction Acts. After a dramatic two-month Senate trial, Johnson was acquitted by a single vote. Bill Clinton is the only other president to have been impeached.
Here’s what else happened on this day in history -
On this day in 1857: In a decision that helped lead to the Civil War, the Supreme Court, in its famous “Dred Scott Decision,” ruled that neither slaves — nor their descendants — could ever become U.S. citizens. The decision is also acknowledged for the influential role it played in altering the national political landscape: It launched Abraham Lincoln’s national political career and ultimately allowed for his election.
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Only in America:
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In 2008, 79.8 percent of Americans making $100,000 or more voted, vs. just 51.9 percent of people making less than $20,000.
Here, a deeper look at How America Votes.
(By the way, we’ll be doing infographics like this one every week from now on!)
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PHOTO: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
This pair of high-heeled shoes were worn by Linda Lopez, a staffer of the Fiduciary Trust Company, as she fled the South Tower. At one point, she decided to carry her shoes and ran barefoot down 97 flights of stairs and across broken glass and debris.
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Only in America: A lifeguard at Florida’s Hallandale Beach was rewarded for saving a drowning swimmer by being fired from his job. Lifeguard Tomas Lopez, 21, rushed to the aid of a man in an area where people are warned that they are swimming at their own risk — a slice of ocean outside of Lopez’s designated patrol territory. Lopez’s employer says coming to the aid of someone outside the area that the company is paid to patrol is a liability, puts swimmers within Lopez’s zone at risk, and is therefore prohibited. Lopez has since been offered his job back — an offer he declined.
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A taped ‘X’ marks the spot for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as introductions are made at a rally in Cornwall, Pa., on June 16. The stop was one of many during Romney’s six-state “Believe in America” bus tour, during which the GOP presidential candidate tried to connect with undecided voters and brush up on his ”small talk” skills.
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Why is violent crime so low? The conventional wisdom is that crime rises during hard economic times. According to new F.B.I. statistics, however, U.S. crime rates in 2011 hit their lowest levels since World War II.
38 — Percent drop in violent crime from the peak in 1992
14,468 — Total approximate murders in the U.S. in 2011
1968 — Last year the total number of murders was lower, at 13,800
2,392 — Violent crimes in Flint, Mich. (pop. 102,357), including 52 murders — the highest rate of any city of 100,000+
95 — Violent crimes in Temecula, Calif. (pop. 101,274), including 0 murders — the lowest total of any city of 100,000+
37.2 — The median age in America, a historic high
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Jim Wilson, 69, of Buckingham, Va., does some patriotic decorating ahead of Mitt Romney’s campaign stop on May 10.
Wilson, who frequently appears in photographs showing his support for Romney, has been traveling around the country to rally voters behind the GOP nominee.
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Only in America: A 6-year-old Colorado boy was suspended from school for reciting the rap lyric “I’m sexy and I know it” to a female classmate. The LMFAO track recently topped the national charts, but school officials said first-grader D’Avorite Meadows committed sexual harassment by quoting its chorus. “I’m floored,” said his mom.
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This week, America launched its first-ever tourism ad campaign in Japan, Canada, and Britain, and is planning on expanding the feel-good media blitz in the coming months to Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, and South Korea.
In one ad, a guitar-strumming Roseanne Cash, backed by an almost-too-diverse-to-be-believed band of musicians, beckons tourists to “come and find your land of dreams” over burnished shots of vintage Cadillacs, elderly dominoes players, and wedding celebrations — largely in lieu of classically tourist-friendly activities.
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77 percent of Americans think all citizens should be able to pass the civics portion of the U.S. naturalization test.
35 percent of voting-age Americans would fail to answer more than half the questions correctly — and thus fail the test.
98 percent of immigrants seeking citizenship pass the civics portion of the exam.
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Only in America: Recite a Bible verse, get a cheap oil change
The Kwik Kar Lube & Service in Plano, Texas, is offering customers a righteous deal: Drivers who willingly recite a New Testament verse get a 50 percent discount on an oil change. The verse, John 3:16, is a concise declaration of owner Charlie Whittington’s Christian faith: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Hmph, gripes atheist blogger Hemant Mehta. “You never see an atheist business owner saying she’ll give you a discount if you say ‘God is a myth.’”
More from our collection of strange revelations about the nation
