Sep 25, 2018

By the numbers: Murder rate drops for first time in two years

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New FBI data released Monday found that violent crime and the national murder rate decreased slightly in 2017 after two years of increases.

Yes, but: Despite the dip, violent crime still plagues many parts of the country, and arrests are also rare, a recent Washington Post analysis of decades of homicide arrest data from 50 of the nation’s largest cities found. Meanwhile, last year’s murder rate is still 20.7% higher than the 2013 estimate, and 5% higher than the 2008 figure.

By the numbers: The 2017 national murder rate dipped by 0.7% from the 2016 estimate — down to 5.3 per 100,000 people being murdered in 2017 from 5.4 per 100,000 the prior year.

The number of rapes reported have increased by 2.5%. Richard Myers, executive director of Major Cities Chiefs Association, tells the Wall Street Journal that increase is in part due to the #MeToo movement leading more victims to come forward.

“It’s one of the most underreported crimes. I think as the public consciousness gets sensitized to the problem, we are seeing more people reporting.”

— Richard Myers

Reported cases of manslaughter and murder dropped 0.7% in 2017.

The FBI data relies on information provided by thousands of state and local police departments across the country.

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Orion Rummler

Mass shooting in Milwaukee: What we know

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2012. Photo: John Gress/Corbis via Getty Images

Six people died in a shooting at the Molson Coors Brewing Company in Milwaukee on Wednesday, including the gunman, Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at a Wednesday evening press conference with local police.

Details: All of the victims worked at the brewery complex, as did the shooter who died of "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," police confirmed in a statement late Wednesday.

Go deeperUpdated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Axios

Coronavirus updates: South Korea case count tops 2,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

33 people in California have tested positive for the coronavirus, and health officials are monitoring 8,400 people who have recently returned from "points of concern," Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,850 people and infected over 83,000 others in some 50 countries and territories. The novel coronavirus is now affecting every continent but Antarctica, and the WHO said Wednesday the number of new cases reported outside China has exceeded those inside the country for the first time.

Go deeperUpdated 5 hours ago - Health

Dave Lawler

Syria's darkest chapter

Family room without a family, in Idlib. Photo: Muhammed Said/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The worst humanitarian crisis of Syria’s brutal civil war is colliding today with what could be the war’s most dangerous geopolitical showdown, after at least 29 Turkish troops were killed in an airstrike.

The big picture: The fighting is taking place in Idlib in northwest Syria, where a ferocious Syrian and Russian offensive has displaced 1 million civilians and infuriated Turkey, which borders the region.

Go deeper7 hours ago - World