National suicide rate rises, and more

National suicide rate rises

The national suicide rate rose 31 percent from 1999 to 2010, driven by a spike in suicides among baby boomers in their 50s. Mental health experts pointed to hopelessness brought on by job loss, foreclosures, and the pressures of caring for aging parents and difficult teenagers.

The Wall Street Journal

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The world's most expensive prison

At $900,000 per inmate per year, Guantánamo Bay is now the world’s most expensive prison. By comparison, super-maximum-security prisons in the U.S. spend about $60,000 to $70,000 to house their inmates, while the average annual cost across all federal prisons is about $30,000.

Reuters.com

One World Trade Center to set a record

The final two pieces of a 408-foot spire have been placed on top of One World Trade Center. Once the building is complete, it will stand at a height of 1,776 feet—the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

New York Daily News

Al Qaida's tips for lone mujahid

Shortly before the Boston Marathon bombing, al Qaida in Yemen posted on the Web the “Lone Mujahid Pocketbook,” a 64-page manual for Muslims who want to wage jihad against the “kuffar”—unbelievers. Tips include how to build a pressure-cooker bomb, which the manual says “should be placed in crowded areas.”

The New York Times

Male veterans and aggressive driving

Male veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have a 76 percent higher rate of death by car accident than non-veterans. Aggressive driving learned in war zones may be a factor.

The Washington Post