Headlines from February 7, 2012

Obama returns $200,000 linked to the family of a fugitive casino magnate.
The barbarian leader was, for the most part, a man of his word Nice things about Attila the Hun.
Notes on whether Italy can change its ways, or remain “more or less equally honored and dishonored.”
Despite the lock-out, the NBA is doing very well, with viewership going “a bit nuts.”
I wish that I had let myself be happier. Hospital nurse lists top regrets expressed prior to death.
Story of former spouses, now step-siblings (her mother married his father), as they attempt to co-care for their aging parents.
Twenty-five lessons learned from opening a bookstore. via
Colleges from Dixie State to Harvard offering bathroom-naming opportunities to donors.
Oldie but goodie: Dallas food blogger finds world’s most expensive chocolate in Plano.
Pictures from the freeze in Europe.
Last year, PWC estimated that the total weather derivatives market was $12 billion. How Wall Street profits off weather.
Tale of the 34-year-old virgin who photographs his stool, optimizes his sperm, and has fathered 15 children while angering the FDA.
Consider the perceptual challenges inherent in the robotic manipulation of unseen socks.
New OkGo video features 1,000+ instruments struck by a moving car.
Somehow we are late to this: The Collected Blurbs of Gary Shteyngart.
“Are you eating your toenail?” Cataloging the precise moment when you know a relationship is over.
After teacher arrests, LA school performs security theater for parents, temporarily replacing its entire staff.
[In 1886] a pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters gave it in a joint team photograph with the rival New York Giants. When did the middle finger become offensive?
In the U.S., an invented country freed from its past, a tough match lays ahead for soccer vs. football. #opinions
Researchers force monkeys and humans to watch Clint Eastwood to discover their brain differences.
Fake TV and movie violence is up, but real-world crime is down, and there appears to be a connection.
Doctors perform first jaw transplant created from a 3D printer.
Signature foods and slogans are so 20th century: Chattanooga is designing its own signature font.
Thousands of private banks issued their own notes. A short history of American money.
Pew findings show the difference of opinions between liberals and conservatives is greater than the gender gap.
Simpsons toys banned in Iran.
Ross may represent the final abandonment of hip-hop’s mandate to “keep it real.” SFJ profiles former corrections officer Rick Ross.
Reporter boards indie-rock cruise to Cozumel with Weezer, Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr., more.