SoutheasternOhioPreps.com

About 46,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afhanistan wars have already gone to Veterans Affairs centers seeking treatment for mental health problems


Newsday

Harvard University endowment of about $26 billion exceeds the gross domestic product of more than 100 nations and is greater than that of any nonprofit institution in the world except the Catholic Church.

Los Angeles Times

Scientists say rising temperature and longer growing seasons caused by global warming are improving the quality of certain wine vintages.Previously unheralded German wines have gotten surprisigly better,California wines are getting more alcoholic,and even wineries in the Northeastern U.S. are enjoying longer growing seasons.We oftentimes toast to global warming said Eric Miller,owner of Chaddford Winery in Chester County,Pa.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Americans spend about 30 minutes preparing dinner every day,down from two and a half hours in the 1960s, according to a new market-research study.Woman still do 80 percent of the cooking and cleanup.

The New York Times

Police officers across the country have been turning in their badges to take higher-paying jobs in the booming homeland-security industry.Their resignations have contributed to a growing shortage of police officers,with more than 80 percent of the nation's 17,000 law enforcement agencies operating with vacancies they can't fill.

The Washington Post

When Dick Cheney is on the road,according to an official memo issued by his staff,he requires that hotels put four cans of diet sprite in his suite,turn on all the lights,and preset all televisions to Fox News.

Thesmokinggun

Hoping to slow the rapid plundering of its forest,the Chinese government is imposing a 5 percent consumption tax on disposable wooden chopsticks.Officials want people to switch to reusable chopsticks made of plastic or other materials

Reuters

Thaddeus DuBois,the outgoing White House pastry chef,was paid $120,000 a year,or only $40,000 less than National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley.

The New York Times

More than a quarter-million U.S. children ages 6 and under are too fat to safely use child-safety seats,according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.Seat manufacturers are starting make bigger models.

Associated Press

The income gap between the U.S. and Mexico is the widest of any two contiguous countries in the world.

Newsweek

One -third of all American men ages 22 to 34 live with their parents,an increase of about 100 percent in the last two decades.

The Washington Post

Although the number of passengers traveling by major airlines has returned to pre-Sept.11 levels,there are now 200,000 fewer employees to serve them due to intense competition and cost-cutting.

Associated Press

Some 50 million Americans now use the internet every day to get news, nearly double the figure from 2002,a new survey by the Pew Research Center found. ---- The New York Times

Catholic dioceses in the U.S. spent $399 million last year on legal settlements with sex-abuse victims.Thus far,the church has spent about $1.5 billion settling claims by 12,500 people against 5,000 priests.

The Washington Post

Assassinations carried out by Shiite gunman against Sunnis account for about four times as many deaths in Iraq last month as did bombing and other attacks by Sunni militias,Pentagon figures show.

The Washington Post

About 200 public schools offer separate classes for girls and boys,up from just four schools in 1998.

Richmond,Va, Times-Dispatch.

To comply with federal income tax laws each year,taxpayers spend about $150 billion on accountants, lawyers,and other types of assistance--a figure roughly equal to all household spending on electricity.

Newsweek

Colleges that have cracked down on underage drinking are now confronting a new problem: "Pregaming," which refers to students' pre-party drinking binges,when they know they won't be served alcohol at official events. Schools blame pregaming for an increase in alcoholpoisoning incidents among younger students.

The Boston Globe

Men now account for 10 percent of the total cosmetics market,up from a negligible amount just a decade ago.

Reaters

Things are stupid these days that happen