Russia, the world’s second biggest cigarette consumer after China, has banned smoking in most public places as well as all tobacco advertising. Even popular Soviet-era cartoons featuring pipe smokers are to be censored. It’s unclear, though, how the ban will be enforced. Moscow police chief Anatoly Yakunin said his force has no plan to arrest violators. “We hope that they will […]
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2,500 – Number of U.S. military dogs on duty worldwide $2,000,000 – Amount the U.S. spent on developing a robotic mule
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Percentage of the current U.S. debt that was accumulated during Republican presidential terms: 71
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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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Percentage of black U.S. children under the age of five who live in poverty: 43
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In 2012, some 2.9 million adults and teens tried an illicit drug for the first time. More than 80% of them used pot. Among all pot users, 40% take the drug 20 or more days a month. Two states have legalized it for recreational use.
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Due to the high demand of the “dip season,” a national shortage of Velveeta has shoppers hunting stores for the gooey, bright-yellow “cheese product.” People planning Super Bowl parties are calling the shortage of the dip-friendly substance a “cheesepocalypse.” One fan tweeted, “If this is true, I’m going to die.”
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THE PROBLEM Flight delays, a large share of which are caused by weather, cost the U.S. economy $31 billion annually. Regulators have been slow to approve technology that could provide pilots access to weather data. THE INNOVATION Mobile technology can keep pilots abreast of the latest weather information and plan ways to avoid bad weather in advance, even if they’re […]
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A campaign to allow students and teachers to carry guns at public colleges, so they can fire back at mass shooters or defend themselves against sexual assault, is failing in 14 out of 15 states where bills have been introduced. Only in Texas does the legislation have a chance of passing this year.
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A Danish politician is trying to stand out from his rivals in national elections by appearing in X-rated campaign posters wearing nothing more than a cowboy hat, a holster, and a determined gaze. John Erik Wagner, 51, who is running for prime minister as an independent, has become known as “the naked cowboy” for the racy ads, which he’s posted […]
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