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Hot Topics: Mars Rover, Hollow-Point Bullets, and Melting Countries

Want to be part of the national conversation? Check out these hot topics.

And the Rover roves!

Yesterday, Aug. 22, NASA announced that Mars rover Curiosity completed its first drive. 

“It couldn’t be more important. We built a rover, so unless the rover roves, we really haven’t accomplished anything,” said Curiosity Project Manager Pete Theisinger at Wednesday's news conference. “The fact that we completely exercised it, and everything was on track, is a big moment.”

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The rover drove for around four minutes, a truly historic accomplishment. 

The middle what?

Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Pew Research Center has confirmed what economists have been predicting for years: the middle class is shrinking before our very eyes. Since 2000, according to the Pew Research Center, "the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith in the future."  

For the first time since World War II, middle class income not only shrank, but the class itself shrunk in size. In 1971, 61 percent of Americans were middle class. Now, that number is 51 percent. 

Ammunition for conspiracy theorists

According to multiple media outlets, the Social Security Administration recently requested 174,000 .357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point bullets

I won't even tell you what Alex Jones is thinking, but the conspiracy theories abound. 

The agency said that "SSA agents have duties comparable to state and federal law enforcement officials," according to Huffington Post. They employ 295 special agents. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ordered an additional 46,000 rounds, but that was on accident, according to Fox News

Oh, and Greenland melted

Pretty much all of it. The most ever recorded. National Geographic calls it "shocking," but possibly just part of a heat wave.

It melted in about four days, which was unexpected to say the least. Still, scientists say that this could happen every 150 years, though they aren't sure because they only started keeping track 30 years ago.  

What do you think about all this? Share your opinions with us in the comments!


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