A tax break for the wealthy
Taxpayers reporting less than $50,000 in income provide 19 percent of the money given to charity, but receive only 5 percent of the tax write-offs for donations, according to the Congressional Budget Office. About 70 percent of Americans do not have enough deductions to itemize on their returns, so the vast majority of charitable deductions go to the wealthy.
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Another legacy from Steve Jobs
The number of parents naming their daughters “Apple” jumped 15 percent in 2012 over the previous year, while the popularity of the name “Mac” for boys rose 12 percent. The number of people naming their baby daughters “Siri” also rose 5 percent from last year.
ABCNews.com
Hair transplants for mustaches
A growing number of Middle Eastern men are undergoing surgical hair transplants to attain thick, luxurious mustaches, which are seen as a symbol of virility and maturity. One Turkish plastic surgeon reports that he now performs about 60 of the $7,000 transplants a month, in which hair is moved from the scalp to the upper lip.
CNN.com
Lottery tickets draw in the poor
Households with incomes of under $13,000 a year spend an average of 9 percent of their income on lottery tickets.
Salon.com
Text messages, then and now
The first text message was sent 20 years ago this week. It read, “Merry Christmas.” Last year, more than 8 trillion texts were sent worldwide, or about 15 million a minute.
The Guardian (U.K.)
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Critics' choice: Outstanding new Japanese restaurantsFeature An all-women sushi team, a 15-seat listening bar, and more
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Why do Dana White and Donald Trump keep pushing for a White House UFC match?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president and the sports mogul each have their own reasons for wanting a White House spectacle
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'Quiet vacationing': a secret revolt against workplace cultureThe explainer You can be in two places at once
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Very rich and very poor in California, and morefeature California is home to 111 billionaires, yet it also suffers the highest poverty rate in the country.
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Arctic cold kills tree insects, and more
feature This winter’s arctic temperatures have had at least one beneficial impact: They’ve killed ash borers, gypsy moths, and other tree-eating insects.
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Congress's poor record, and more
feature The 113th Congress is on course to pass less legislation than any Congress in history.
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Gender differences in employment, and more
feature
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A first for West Point, and more
feature For the first time, two male graduates of West Point were married at the military academy’s chapel.
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A God given land?, and more
feature More white evangelical Protestants than U.S Jews believe that Israel was “given to the Jewish people by God.”
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Jailing the mentally ill, and more
feature American prisons have replaced state mental hospitals as a place to warehouse the mentally ill.
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Treating Internet addiction, and more
feature Treating Internet addiction; Freshman virgins at Harvard; A salary handicap for lefties; Prices for vintage automobiles soar; Gun permits for blind people