A new trend in teenage sex?
About 57 percent of girls in the U.S. between 15 and 19 have not had sexual intercourse, according to a new report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 49 percent of teenage girls who said they were virgins in 1995.
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Super PACs and negative political ads
Propelled by a huge influx of spending by Super PACs, 70 percent of the political ads aired so far in the 2012 race have been negative—defined as criticizing an opponent by name. In 2008, the share of negative ads at this point was 9.1 percent.
Los Angeles Times
Myopia in Asian children increases
The rate of myopia—shortsightedness—among schoolchildren in Japan, China, and other Asian nations has soared from 20 percent to more than 80 percent over the past generation, according to a new study in The Lancet. Researchers said the “extraordinary rise” in eye problems was caused by students spending many hours a day in class and at home studying, and virtually no time in natural sunlight.
BBC.com
Number of Mormons up by 45 percent
The number of Mormons in the U.S. grew by 45 percent to 6.1 million between 2000 and 2010, according to a new study by the Association of Religion Data Archives. The census found that the number of Catholics, the largest single faith, declined 5 percent to 58.9 million during the decade.
Reuters.com
Immigrants beat native-borns on history test
About 93 percent of immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship correctly answer six out of 10 questions about American history and government. In a survey, just 65 percent of native-born Americans could get six of 10 questions right.
USA Today
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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