Secessionists petition the White House, and more

Secessionists petition the White House

Americans from at least 20 states have petitioned the White House since Election Day to let their state secede from the union. The states include Colorado, Florida, and New York—but Texas’s petition is the most popular, with more than 80,000 signatories.

Newser.com

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Veterans' high infidelity rate

Men and women who’ve served in the military have about double the infidelity rate of non-veterans, with about 32 percent admitting to extramarital sex at some point, according to a national study.

TheAtlantic.com

The growing U.S. oil supply

The growing supply of oil within the U.S., which has been made available by fracking and other new technologies, will enable America to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer by 2020. In the first six months of the year, the U.S. met 83 percent of its own energy needs.

Bloomberg.com

The GOP's favorable district boundaries

More Americans cast votes for Democratic House candidates last week than for Republicans, yet the GOP retained a 233 to 195 majority in the House—mostly because of favorable district boundaries set by Republican-controlled state legislatures. In Pennsylvania, for example, Democrats won only five of 18 House seats despite receiving 70,000 more votes in aggregate than Republicans.

PhiladelphiaWeekly.com

In Georgia, write-in votes for Charles Darwin

Nearly 4,000 voters cast a write-in vote for Charles Darwin in Athens-Clarke County, Ga., last week, to send a message to incumbent Republican Rep. Paul Broun, who labeled evolution “lies straight from the pit of hell” during his unopposed campaign.

Athens, Ga., Banner-Herald