Bin Laden’s bad health
The medicines recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound show he no longer suffered from kidney ailments, but he did have drugs for treating ulcers and high blood pressure, as well as Avena syrup—an extract of wild oats marketed as a “natural Viagra.” Bin Laden, 54, was living with three wives.
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Higher temperatures and the price of food
Higher temperatures in Europe, Africa, and Asia have reduced grain yields in recent years, costing consumers about $60 billion a year, according to a new scientific study. Researchers say their calculation is a conservative estimate of climate change’s impact on food prices, since it doesn’t include the impact of heat waves or flooding exacerbated by changing temperatures.
The New York Times
Beware of tatoo inks
One out of three adults under the age of 40 has a tattoo. The inks injected under the skin—including a new, “glow in the dark” variety—are not regulated by the FDA and can contain harmful chemicals that cause skin and immune-system damage. “Nobody knows for sure what’s really in them,” says dermatologist Tina Alster.
NPR.org
Detroit's illiteracy rate
Almost half the adults in Detroit (47 percent) are functionally illiterate, a new study found. Only 10 percent of those who are unable to read have made attempts to learn how.
Associated Press
Birthrates and the global population
At the current birthrate, the world’s population, now 7 billion, will reach 10 billion before the end of the century, the U.N. estimates. But if the global birthrate increases even slightly, the global population could soar to 15.8 billion by 2100.
Beijing People’s Daily
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Music reviews: Chance the Rapper, Cass McCombs, and Molly TuttleFeature "Star Line," "Interior Live Oak," and "So Long Little Miss Sunshine"
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Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
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Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitionsFeature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
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Mass shootings and mental health, and morefeature The mental health of the killer has not been an issue in most of the mass shootings that have occurred since 2009.
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The cost of health care, and more
feature America spent $2.6 trillion on health care last year.
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Aging inmates and health-care costs, and more
feature The increasing age of the nation’s inmates is causing steep rises in health-care costs for prison systems.
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The costs of prolonged exposure to combat, and more
feature In a historical first, more U.S. troops were hospitalized for mental-health disorders last year (17,538) than for battle wounds or other injuries (11,156).