The Week by the Numbers: August 25-31, 2013

By Matt Phifer

$15/Hour – The Wage Fast-Food Workers were Seeking During a Nationwide Strike

Fast-food workers in 60 cities across the United States including New York and Detroit walked out on August 29^th to demand higher salaries.  The workers, who typically make minimum wage, want their salaries to increase to $15 per hour, almost twice the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

50 Years – Since Martin Luther King Jr.’s Famous “I have a dream” Speech

August 28^th was the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech at the March on Washington.  The day was celebrated with speeches by President Obama as well as speeches by former Presidents Clinton and Carter.  Despite intermittent rain, a large crowd still gathered on the National Mall in the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the anniversary.

1,429 – People Killed in the August 21^st Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria

On August 30^th, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the U.S. had determined that 1,429 Syrians were killed in the August 21^st chemical weapons attacks throughout Damascus.  Kerry added that 429 children were among the dead as he laid the argument out for an American strike on Syrian government installations in the wake of the chemical attacks perpetrated by the Assad regime.  In a later interview, Kerry said that blood and hair samples from the dead showed signs of sarin gas.  Syria is in the midst of a civil war that has lasted two years and left an estimated 100,000 people dead.