$15.6 BILLION – The amount of money Quebec Justice Brian Riordan ruled three tobacco companies must pay to more than 1 million smokers in Quebec who have become ill from tobacco use or say they can’t quit smoking. The companies said they would appeal the ruling.
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Of the approximately 11,000 people murdered with guns in the U.S. in 2012, just 322 were killed by an assault weapon or any kind of rifle.The vast majority of killers used handguns.
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A solar-powered airplane landed in India on March 10, completing the second leg of its bid to become the first aircraft to circle the world by solar energy alone. Solar Impulse 2, which launched in Abu Dhabi, will make 12 stops on its 22,000-mile (35,000 km) journey.
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Knowing your limits, after Molly Schuyler, a 120-pound mother of four, won a Texas eating competition by wolfing down 13 pounds of steak in four minutes, 18 seconds. Schuyler said she had room for more steak but got sick of the taste.
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Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 31 with credit-card and student-loan debt, respectively, in 1989: 43, 18 Today: 36, 40
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The Commonwealth Fund ranked health care systems in 11 wealthy nations according to criteria such as quality and access. Below, a sampling of the rankings:
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the worst place in the world to give birth, according to Save the Children. One in 30 Congolese women dies from complications of childbirth, and tens of thousands of them have been impregnated through rape by militants or soldiers. Save the Children ranked countries based on the rates of maternal death and infant […]
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The top 20 percent of taxpayers—those earning $134,300 or more—account for about 84 percent of all federal income tax revenue. When you include all federal taxes, including those on Social Security and Medicare, the top quintile’s share drops to 67 percent. The top 20 percent earn about 51 percent of total U.S. income.
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When you’re angry, your face, head, and arms grow hot When you’re depressed, a cold numbness grips your head and arms. Love triggers a warm glow throughout your upper body, especially around your heart. Human emotions, a new study has found, are directly linked to sensations in specific body parts, and the map is largely the same across different cultures. […]
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To keep out foreign extremists and refugees seeking work, Saudi Arabia is now building a 600-mile wall along its border with Iraq, and is strengthening fortifications along its 1,060- mile border with Yemen.
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