$900 billion in tax breaks, and more

$900 billion in tax breaks

The 10 biggest tax breaks will save American taxpayers more than $900 billion this year, with 51 percent of the benefits going to the richest 20 percent of households, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office. The wealthiest 1 percent—those with at least $327,000 in annual income—got 17 percent of these tax benefits.

The Washington Post

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Terrorism's death toll

In 2012, 11,098 people were killed by terrorism globally, according to a new report by the U.S. State Department. Ten were Americans.

The Wall Street Journal

Hurricane Sandy leaves a baby boom

New York City hospitals are bracing for a 10 to 30 percent increase in births in late July/early August, nine months after Hurricane Sandy left much of the city without electricity for several days. “This is just old basic physiology,’’ said Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of gynecology at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. “There’s no Internet and no cable. What else is there to do?’’

The New York Times

Global poverty rate is halved

The global poverty rate, measured by how many people live on less than $1.25 a day, has halved from 43 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2010. Economic growth in China, India, and other developing nations has driven that reduction in poverty.

The Economist

The Third Reich's “miracle drug”

Methamphetamine, or “crystal meth,’’ was first mass-produced by a Berlin pharmaceutical maker in 1938 and adopted by the Third Reich’s military as a “miracle drug” to keep weary soldiers and pilots awake. Millions of tablets were distributed to German soldiers, many of whom became addicted and debilitated.

Der Spiegel