88: Number of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia so far this year, already surpassing the total number in 2014; Amnesty International called the increase under Saudi’s new King Salman a “macabre spike”.
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A California man has paid off a $14,000 property-tax bill using only dollar bills and loose change. Larry Gasper says he wasn’t deliberately trying to inconvenience county officials with the unorthodox payment, which he transported to county offices in a wheelbarrow—causing the clerks’ jaws to drop. It’s just that he’s very short of money, and had to scrape up the […]
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The oldest person in the world, JeraleanTalley of Michigan, turned 116 last week. The two oldest persons ever known to science, Sarah Knauss of Pennsylvania and Jeanne Calment of France, reached 119 and 122, respectively.
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A new University of Washington study has found that 2.1 billion people worldwide are overweight or obese. Here’s a snapshot of the percentage of people who fall in those categories around the world: Saudi Arabia – 69.4% U.S. – 67.4% Germany – 61.1% China – 28.3% India – 19.5%
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Shiite death squads have killed more than a dozen young Iraqis over the past month for wearing Western-style emo clothes. The Interior Ministry singled out the emo subculture—made up of youths who listen to Western emo music and wear tight jeans and long hair— last month, branding it “devil worshiping” and calling on the “moral police” to stamp it out. […]
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Estimated number of cases pending in India’s court system: 30,000,000
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• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which used to be known “being a kid”, is the most commonly diagnosed psychological “disorder”. • Nearly 10% of American children have, at one time or another,been diagnosed with ADHD. • The state with the highest incidence of ADHD is North Carolina, where some 15% of children have been diagnosed with the disorder. • ADHD […]
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Turkish leaders reacted with outrage this week after Pope Francis referred to the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as “the first genocide of the 20th century.” Turkey recalled its Vatican envoy, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the pope “not to repeat his mistake,” saying, “It is not possible for the Turkish Republic to […]
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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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THE PROBLEM Congestion caused by commuters carries an annual price tag of $121 billion in wasted time and fuel costs. The average American who drives to work wastes 38 hours in traffic each year. THE INNOVATION City planning authorities increasingly prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars. A commitment to public transportation also signals the end of the age when cars […]
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