This chart from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, via Business Insider's Mamta Badkar, shows that Americans are moving less than they used to:

(Bank of America Merrill Lynch)

That may be bad news for the economy. A dynamic economy requires people being able to move to wherever their most productive niche may be. Often, that can be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. So less geographic mobility tends to mean less economic dynamism. (Although in the era of telecommuting, it is possible that this is beginning to matter less.)

Now, the U.S. still has far more geographic mobility than, for example, Europe. That is helped by the fact that the U.S. has a single common language, unlike Europe. That's one reason why Europe's economy is struggling so much — a lack of a common language means it is much harder for people in a weaker economic area like Greece to move to a more prosperous area, like Germany.

The trend toward less mobility has been driven via the rise of homeownership in the 1990s. Homeowners are less like to move than renters because it is significantly more expensive for homeowners to move, thanks to various costs including broker fees, transaction costs, mortgage fees, insurance, and so on.

Things have gotten worse with the emergence of mortgages with negative equity — in which a borrower owes more on their mortgage than their home is worth — since the 2008 financial crisis. Now that housing prices have bottomed out (they did so in 2012) and are rising again, mobility stands a chance of beginning to rise again.

The next time you find yourself enjoying a Frappuccino at Starbucks, be sure to silently thank the icy beverage’s inspiration: Kenny G.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the smooth jazz virtuoso said that as an early investor in Starbucks, he convinced chairman and CEO Howard Schultz to rip off another company's drink. "At the beginning, Starbucks didn’t have anything but coffee, and there was another company, Coffee Bean, that had something called 'blended' that was a sweet drink, and people were lined up around the block," he said. "I would always call Howard and say, 'Howard, there's this thing that they do there that's like a milkshake or whatever.'"

Kenny G admits that he's never been a coffee aficionado, and became interested in Starbucks after talking with his uncle, one of the company's first investors. He was quickly impressed by Schultz, he said, and the rest is caffeinated history.

Lots of people take responsibility for crimes they didn't commit, Jimmy Kimmel said on Thursday night's Jimmy Kimmel Live, citing the Lindbergh baby kidnapping as an example. The same holds true of (much) lesser crimes, like the Patriots' (alleged) deflating of their game footballs in the AFC championship game. That's the setup for a bunch of Patriots fans (with strong Boston accents) pleading guilty to deflating the balls of their idol, quarterback Tom Brady — without his knowledge, of course. You'll recognize a lot of the personalities (we'll list them below the video). And yes, the Kimmel–Matt Damon feud lives on.

(Along with Damon, watch for Ben Affleck, John Krasinski, Steven Tyler, Chris Evans, Eli Roth, Dicky Barrett, and Bill Simmons.)

Put down that glass: A new study released Thursday says that people in their 50s and 60s who drink more than two alcoholic beverages every day have a 34 percent higher risk of stroke compared to those who don't drink as much.

The study, published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, also states that consuming more than two drinks daily can increase a middle-aged person's risk of stroke more than usual traits like high blood pressure and diabetes, NBC News reports. Researchers tracked about 11,000 sets of Swedish twins for 43 years, and came to their conclusion after looking at the lifestyle choices and health of the participants.

Dr. Shazam Hussain with the Cleveland Clinic's stroke program was not part of the study, but said along with high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity, alcohol consumption might become another stroke risk factor to look at. "We are seeing more and more people who are having strokes at younger ages and we don't necessarily appreciate how much alcohol use may be contributing to that," he told NBC News. "We know that the more you drink, the worse off you're going to be. Whether no alcohol versus a little bit of alcohol is any different, that's tough to say."

An avid soccer fan, John Oliver told David Letterman on Thursday's Late Show that he's been "brainwashed" into embracing American football's Super Bowl. "I'm on a green card, and if I don't watch the Super Bowl, I get ejected," he joked, added that he actually loves the big game, "because it's peak America, isn't it? It's when America Americanized itself to the full American extent."

After listing off all the ways America's pro football championship game embodies the American spirit, Oliver went global. "You've got to understand how intimidating the Super Bowl is to the rest of the world," he told Letterman. "Because when you beam that around the world, everyone else is thinking, 'If they are capable of this, what else can they do?'" You hear that, State Department? Peace through football? Walk softly and carry a big ball? —Peter Weber

Muslim visitors to Texas state Rep. Molly White's (R) office were greeted by an Israeli flag and a staff that was told to ask them to pledge allegiance to the United States.

Thursday was Texas Muslim Capitol Day, an event organized by the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that lets Muslims meet lawmakers and learn about the political process. White wasn't in the office, but wrote on her Facebook page that she "did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws. We will see how long they stay in my office."

That spirit spilled outside, where about two dozen protesters held signs that said "Go Home & Take Obama With You" and chanted "Islam is a lie" to the 100 Muslims, mostly children, at the event, the Texas Tribune reports. On her Facebook page, White says she continues to stand by her actions, and has ignored comments asking why she would request people swear allegiance to the U.S. when she has an Israeli flag on display and if she asks that white visitors denounce the KKK.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight ran over two men in a parking lot on Thursday afternoon, killing one of them, after a confrontation on the set of the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton. They are investigating the hit-and-run as a homicide, and Knight's lawyer, James Blatt, tells NBC News that his client is making arrangements to surrender after what he calls a "tragic accident."

L.A. Sheriff's Capt. John Corina told reporters Thursday night that after fighting with two crew members on the set, Knight followed them to Tam's Burgers 20 minutes later, backed over them in the parking lot, then ran over them again before driving away. Knight co-founded Death Row Records with Dr. Dre in 1991, and has a history of battery and hitting people with cars, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Update: Blatt told The Associated Press that Knight ran over his friends accidentally while fleeing attackers. "He was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men, and in an effort to escape he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals," Blatt said. "We are confident that once the investigation is completed, he will be totally exonerated."

A new analysis has determined that organs donated in the United States have added more than 2 million years to the lives of recipients.

Researchers looked at data collected between Sept. 1, 1987, and Dec. 31, 2012, and found that 533,329 people received a donated organ (including kidneys, hearts, livers, and intestines), while 579,506 on the waiting list did not. After comparing the outcomes for patients in both groups, they determined that 2,270,859 extra years were added — a "stellar accomplishment," the study authors said. That number will continue to increase as transplant recipients remain living.

The team determined that heart transplants were the most successful, giving patients an extra 4.9 years on average, while kidney recipients averaged 4.4 extra years and liver recipients 4.3 extra years. There is some bad news: Only 48 percent of patients who make it to the waiting list get new organs, and "the critical shortage of donors continues to hamper this field," the researchers wrote. They would like more potential donors to realize they have "tremendous potential to do even more good for humankind in the future."

After 200 years of peace and solitude, the mummified remains of a meditating Buddhist monk have been found in Mongolia.

The ash-colored man was found in the lotus position with no visible decay, the New York Daily News reports, and early estimates say he could be at least two centuries old. The remains, which were found covered in cattle skin at an undisclosed location in the Songinokhairkhan province, have been taken to the Ulaanbataar National Center of Forensic Expertise for more study.

For Joel Ifergan, seven seconds might as well be an eternity.

The Canadian man purchased two tickets for the lottery in 2008, and one printed out seven seconds after the cutoff time. That one had the winning numbers for the $27 million jackpot, and Ifergan said that since he purchased the ticket before the deadline, he was entitled to his portion of the money. He sued Quebec's lottery, and his case was rejected in provincial courts, the BBC reports.

On Thursday, Canada's Supreme Court also said it would not hear his case, leaving Ifergan out of options. He's said to have spent $100,000 in legal fees, and still stands by his assertion that Quebec's slow machines are to blame for his status as a non-millionaire. "I'm really disappointed in the decision, and it's not because it's just about the money," Ifergan told CTV News. "Had those tickets been bought anywhere else in Canada, I would have been a millionaire seven years ago."

In Israel, four women have won their suit against the city of Beit Shemesh, which would not take down signs calling for women to wear "modest" clothing on the streets.

The signs are illegal, but this is the first time a court has ruled against one, The Guardian reports. Judge David Gidoni said the signs were "hurtful, degrading, and discriminatory," and "delivered a mortal blow to the rights of women in the city." The municipality must pay each woman 15,000 shekels, or $3,813. The city says that the signs were put up without permission, but they are afraid violence will break out if they remove them.

The population of Beit Shemesh is 45 percent ultra-Orthodox Jewish, and signs call for women to stay out of certain buildings and walk on the other side of the street. One billboard stated it was "forbidden to walk on our streets in immodest dress, including slutty clothing worn in a religious style." Plaintiff Miriam Zussman said she has been spit on and called names while wearing skirts below the knee, long-sleeved shirts, and covered hair. "It is quite shocking," she told The Guardian.