All Society
Americans cut back on fast food, but why?American adults got 11 percent of their daily calories from fast food in 2010, down from about 13 percent four years earlier, a new study shows. Public education may have played a role, but so have pocketbook issues.- Social Security deadline: how recipients can switch over from checksWith rare exceptions, the Social Security Administration is requiring people who still get their benefits by check to switch to some kind of electronic transfer by March 1.
Cover StoryGun control: Future hangs on misunderstood majority of gun ownersGun control seen through the eyes of the misunderstood majority of gun owners is more nuanced and complex than the absolutism of America's big gun lobbies. The Obama administration is courting this breed of centrist, gun-friendly Americans on the fence about gun control.
Gun owners talk: Self protection is more complex than 'stand and fight'Gun owners – including one who is a shooting victim and one who killed in self defense – talk about the logic of their tough decision to carry a gun for self protection: Killing isn't always their first goal. Experts stress the complex responsibility involved in carrying a gun.
Why gun ownership among US women is climbingFifteen percent of America's women own guns – a small but pronounced increase from six years ago, a recent poll found. Personal safety is the motivation, but some argue that a gun at home makes women less safe.
Progress WatchIn US, big strides in reducing domestic violenceThe rate of partner-to-partner violence dropped 64 percent between 1994 and 2010, a Justice Department report has found. The trend, almost unnoticed, stems from a broad shift in attitude toward domestic violence.
FocusDrugs in sports: Who is winning the doping war?As scientists close the gap on doping detection, athletes bent on cheating can still game the system. Stricter enforcement from league authorities is critical to redeeming sports scandalized by doping – cycling, baseball, and potentially the NFL.
FocusBen Johnson to Lance Armstrong: A chronology of doping scandalAthletes accused of using banned substances threaten the integrity of sports ranging from track and field to baseball and cycling. Will the NFL be next? Here is a look at key moments in the evolution of sports doping.- Test your love IQ: Who said these romantic things?
Are you ready for Valentine's Day? Well then test your love IQ! See how well you do matching these 19 quotes on love with who said (or sang) them.
Boy Scouts delay decision on gay membership, citing 'complexity'First there was the backlash to the Boy Scouts of America membership policy that prohibited openly gay scouts or troop leaders. Then came the backlash to the backlash, from conservative groups. Now the Boy Scouts have called a timeout.
Immigration reform: Which states would feel it most? California, for one.If immigration reform is implemented, and newly documented workers start paying taxes, the money flowing into state coffers will increase, as will the demands on state social services.
FocusBehind the falling US birthrate: too much student debt to afford kids?The record-low birthrate in the US is showing no signs of bouncing back, even with the economy on the mend. Evidence is growing that huge student debt may be deterring people from starting families.
Would change on gays allow Boy Scouts to recapture role in society?The Boy Scouts has signaled it may remove a ban on gays that caused a rift within the movement. This could help improve both Boy Scout enrollment and fundraising.- Heroin: Small cities, even rural towns face growing problemsFor many communities, the extent of heroin addiction comes as a shock. Yet efforts to confront it, including town-hall meetings and support groups, are slowly gaining ground.
Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax: What deceit lurks in Internet's depthsBeing pulled into a fake Internet romance is more common than you’d think. The Manti Te'o dead girlfriend hoax, where ‘the love of his life’ who died of cancer was a fake, shows how 'catfish' prey on trust.
'Lincoln' and 'Zero Dark Thirty' up for Oscars: Does Hollywood set US agenda?Hollywood has long looked to political crises for dramatic inspiration. What is different, these Academy Award nominees show, is how much people in government are paying attention.- N.Y. newspaper's map of local gun owners: A cheat sheet for burglars?Gun owners whose names and addresses were published on a 'gun map' in a New York newspaper are angry. But a county official suggests that the map shows burglars which homes to avoid.
'Fiscal cliff' no more? Americans vote to banish the term, at least.'Fiscal cliff,' 'spoiler alert,' and 'boneless wings' all made a list of overused terms and phrases that is compiled annually by Lake Superior State University.
Polls show movement toward stricter gun control – with major caveatsA new USA Today/Gallup poll taken shortly after the Sandy Hook massacre shows 58 percent of respondents saying they now favor stricter gun laws, up from 43 percent in October 2011.
Chicago registers its 500th homicide of 2012 – the highest number since 2008Public-housing and school policies, gang activity, access to guns, and budget cuts for social programs have all been cited as factors in Chicago’s homicide rate.
