A report issued yesterday by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed the United States has the third worst level of income inequality and poverty among the group's 30 member states. Only Mexico and Turkey ranked higher in those categories. OECD states in western Europe, along with Japan, South Korea, Canada and Australia, all recorded better figures than the US, as did central and eastern European states, including Poland and Hungary. USA Today: Homeless numbers 'alarming'. LiveScience: Middle-Age Suicide Rate Rising: The U.S. suicide rate is up for the first time in a decade, and it's rising most among middle-aged white men and women, a new study finds. The researchers don't know why, but say we need to find out more so new prevention plans can be put in place. Suicide claimed 32,637 lives in 2005, a rate of 11 per 100,000 people. The study, released this week, featured an analysis of data from 1999 to 2005.