40% fewer officers killed by gunfire in '08-"The number of police officers killed by gunfire in 2008 dropped to its lowest level in more than 50 years, says a report out today by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Forty-one officers were shot and killed in 2008, down 40% from 68 in 2007. That's the lowest number since 1956, when 35 officers died from gunfire. The U.S. population today is 305 million, compared with 169 million in 1956."

Fewer illegal immigrants caught sneaking into U.S.-"The number of people caught trying to sneak into the USA from Mexico is at its lowest level since the mid-1970s, signs of tougher enforcement and a weaker U.S. economy, officials say.
The Border Patrol caught 705,000 people along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, according to new agency figures. That's nearly 2,000 a day and the lowest number since 1976, when 675,000 people were caught entering illegally between San Diego and southern Texas, the figures show...."

Advertisement: