In much of the country, more powerful than the government itself. Mexico’s three main drug cartels are effectively in control of swaths of the country’s Pacific Coast, industrial heartland, and tourist havens of the Gulf Coast. With their staggering incom
What is cyberbullying? Online bullying comes in many forms. Cyberbullies flood their targets with nasty e-mails or text messages. They set up websites devoted to attacking their victims or spread rumors and personal attacks via chat rooms. A clever harass
What exactly does the Fed do? It operates like a big dam, regulating the flow of money into the economy. The Fed
Why are some photographers called paparazzi? The term has its origins in the 1960 Fellini film 'La Dolce Vita,' which featured an unsavory photographer named Paparazzo
How close are scientists to cloning humans? They
Polling as we know it today began in 1936, when a young statistician named George Gallup conducted the first poll using statistical modeling. He accurately predicted that Franklin Roosevelt would trounce Alf Landon. For decades after that, the polling bus
How big is Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal? Big enough to threaten the planet, if the weapons fall into the wrong hands. Pakistan has at least 50 and as many as 120 nuclear warheads, according to U.S. intelligence sources. It also possesses missiles capable of
After more than 35 years, the FBI has reopened the case of D.B. Cooper, who pulled off the nation
Two out of three homes in the U.S. have a real tree under their roofs this month. Last year, people bought 28.6 million real trees, spending $1.2 billion. To satisfy this demand, the nation
Just how popular is Putin? Hugely so, judging from Russia
Hollywood scriptwriters are striking for a share of the money that Internet TV will generate in the future. How soon will that future of TV arrive
With some 12 million illegal immigrants already living in the U.S. and as many as 500,000 crossing the border each year, Congress recently authorized the construction of a wall at the Mexican border. Will it stem the flow? Efforts to get comprehensive imm
The owners of three merchant ships recently paid ransom to Somali pirates who had been holding the ships and crews hostage since May. When did piracy make a comeback?
Should the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill be sold in vending machines?
A Madagascar hissing cockroach named after your valentine — and more in our collection of bizarrely elite consumer products
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