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Hard Numbers: Trump administration lowers refugee limit, 6,7 enshrined in the dictionary, Jamaica’s preparedness paid off in Hurricane Melissa

​Illegal immigrants from Ethiopia walk on a road near the town of Taojourah February 23, 2015. The area, described by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as one of the most inhospitable areas in the world, is on a transit route for thousands of immigrants every year from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia travelling via Yemen to Saudi Arabia in hope of work. Picture taken February 23.

Illegal immigrants from Ethiopia walk on a road near the town of Taojourah February 23, 2015. The area, described by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as one of the most inhospitable areas in the world, is on a transit route for thousands of immigrants every year from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia travelling via Yemen to Saudi Arabia in hope of work. Picture taken February 23.

REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

7,500: The Trump administration will cap the number of refugees that the US will admit over the next year to 7,500. The previous limit, set by former President Joe Biden, was 125,000. The new cap is a record low. White South Africans will have priority access.

6,7: Nobody knows what it means, but every kid says it and every parent can’t stand it. Now it’s Dictionary.com’s “word” of the year.


820 million: Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica’s farms, homes, and infrastructure — but the country’s robust disaster preparedness saved lives and limited chaos. While the rebuilding will take time, the government prepared for the disaster for years within a multilayered financial safety net that swiftly unlocked $820 million in emergency funds, insurance, and loans to aid recovery.

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