Headlines from January 29, 2014

Obama delivers modest State of the Union address, vowing solo action for remainder of his term.
The United States isn’t any less socially mobile than it was in the 1970s. Fact-checking the State of the Union.
The GOP’s replacement plan for Obamacare is actually the party’s first step away from the idea that it’s going to repeal the Affordable Care Act. #opinions
Mexico integrates vigilante groups into official forces to combat cartels in western state of Michoacan.
Axolotl, or Mexican walking fish, are most likely completely extinct; in 2003, there were 1000 per square kilometer.
UK monarchy’s household finances are at a historic low of £1 million—a loss of £25 million over the last decade.
Life expectancy in India jumps five years within a decade, a result of better healthcare and nutrition.
Political parties in India prefer candidates with criminal backgrounds because they often can fund their own campaigns.
In urban neighborhoods, McDonald’s restaurants are ready-made NORCs—Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities.
Northwestern University football players attempt to form a labor union for college athletes.
Eugenie Bouchard is the latest female athlete to experience the media’s focus on sex and the Twitter world’s misogyny.
Bruce Springsteen’s birthday tribute to Pete Seeger. #video
Allan Seager: One of America’s greatest writers ever to be forgotten, despite being Hemingway’s superior. #longreads
The $1 bill has had the same design since 1929, partly because the vending machine industry might collapse if it changed.
Mustache, ventilated. Excerpts from an 1897 Sears-Roebuck Catalog.
Digital retouching has its origins in the 1500s, with Medici court painters and El Greco modifying form for style.
Will collections of today’s authors’ correspondence include emoticons? A look at the last gasps of letter writing. #tmn