Hard Numbers

242,000: The solar power industry employed 242,000 Americans in 2018, according to a new study. That was down slightly from a year earlier, as Trump administration tariffs on Chinese solar panels and changes to state policies for solar power hit demand for new projects. The Solar Foundation industry group expects the number of jobs to rise again next year as overall panel prices fall.

3,000: Turkish courts have convicted over 3,000 soldiers and civilians accused of participating in an attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Erdogan has cracked down on political opponents in the wake of the botched putsch, including supporters of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he blames for organizing the plot.

74: A new poll shows that 74 percent of Americans, including 65 percent of Republicans, support a tax on the wealth of the country's richest individuals. Several Democrats who're bidding for the 2020 presidential nomination have promised to implement such a policy if elected.

61: A recent poll commissioned by the Campaign to Stop Killer robots found that 61 percent of respondents across 26 countries favored a ban on "lethal autonomous weapons systems" that can attack and kill without human intervention. So far just 28 countries have signed on to an effort at the United Nations to prohibit the technology.

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Reuters

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