■ A Georgia college student faked his own kidnapping to avoid telling his parents he was flunking English. After receiving the F grade, Aftab Aslam, 19, texted his parents on behalf of a group of make-believe abductors, warning them not to call police or he would be killed. He camped out for eight days but came home when the weather […]
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There’s a controversy in planetary science — some researchers propose that the Solar System has a ninth planet with a distant orbit around the Sun. In search of a ninth planet has been on astronomers minds for some time. They suggest that there is a planet nine since some strange orbits have been found in our solar system. Researchers believe […]
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Horsemeat is passing for ground beef in supermarkets all over Europe, said Hugh Camegy in the Financial Times. Claims have also been made that there are restaurants serving horse meat. It has been found in Findus’s frozen lasagna, Tesco’s frozen hamburgers, and even Burger King’s Whoppers in the U.K., France, Sweden, and beyond. The horsemeat makes its way to dinner […]
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By Evo Morales, President of Bolivia – Jan 24, 2013 Sisters, brothers: The world is being hit by a world-wide multiple crisis that is manifested in a climate, financial, food, institutional, cultural, ethical and spiritual crisis. This crisis indicates to us that we are living in the final days of capitalism and unbridled consumerism; that is, of a model […]
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They’ve left no notes behind. And it’s fairly certain they’re not doing it for the insurance money. But “suicidal deer” are apparently such a big problem in Paxton, Ill. that its county is installing signs to warn drivers. Calling the deer “suicidal,” of course, may be something of a misnomer. More likely, they just don’t know to be cautious around […]
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Tokyo ‘Silver shoplifters’: Facing cuts in welfare and pensions, Japan’s swelling ranks of the elderly are turning to crime—many of them stealing food. Shoplifters are now more likely to be over 65 than under 18. Criminal offenses by the over-65 set have doubled in the past decade, even as overall crime has dropped. “Senior citizens shoplift lunch boxes and bread […]
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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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Kiev is putting Moscow to shame, said Yulia Latynina. Even after riot police beat up protesters last week, 1 million Ukrainians took to the squares to protest their president’s foreign policy. By contrast, Moscow, a city four times as large, could only muster 100,000 people at the peak of the December 2011 protests against fraudulent elections. What makes us different […]
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Yanshi, China Dead dogs, pigs: Another sudden mass animal die-off has left many Chinese worried about their own health. Scores of pigs and dogs dropped dead overnight in Dongtun village, apparently from poisonous gas emitted from a chemical plant. “All the dogs in the village had basically died off,” one resident said. “Those that hadn’t died were in their last […]
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In America, 7 out of 10 people are on Welfare. That’s the percentage of people who receive more in gov’t benefits than they pay in taxes, according to a new Tax Foundation study. Some of these beneficiaries of Uncle Sam’s handouts are the poor; another new study, by the Cato Foundation, found that families collecting various welfare benefits, including food […]
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