When the public was asked to choose between a simple positive and negative assessment, however, it split down the middle: 51% said unions had a negative impact, while 49% said their effect was positive.

WSJ: Peterson, Howell and West: Teachers Unions Have a Popularity Problem

Team engineering chief Paddy Lowe says it is unusual for them to run a split strategy on the cars but that it comes down to driver preference.

BBC: Italian GP qualifying as it happened

The end result, though, is a reminder that modern America remains split down the middle when it comes to political allegiances.

ECONOMIST: Bush triumphs | The

They would split the fish, secure it skin-side down to a wood plank and place the plank vertically, facing the fire but outside the fire ring, to slowly cook.

NPR: Where There's Smoke, There's Flavor

"I've always wanted an addition, since it is a split level and you can go up or down, " she says.

WSJ: The New Rules of Remodeling

What it comes down to is NHL owners upset at the split of league revenues.

FORBES: Connect

It was an issue that split the world's cricket community right down the middle.

CNN: March 8, 2013 -- Updated 1659 GMT (0059 HKT)

Downing Street sought to play down the significance of the split in the Conservative Party, stressing that it had been a free vote.

BBC: Gay marriage: Party leaders hail vote

The focus recently has been on trying to pin down the details of the neutrino's split personality: How far it travels before it changes from one type into another, and which types change into which and with what frequency.

NPR: Neutrinos: A Cursed Subatomic Particle?

"Referees and linesmen have to take split second decisions and yes while I believe the try was created by a forward pass it is down to them in the end, " said the scrum-half.

BBC: Better times ahead, says Hadden