* Virginia's governor wants to remove the state's gas tax and begin taxing alternative-fuel cars. * The world's largest scale model of the solar system actually covers all of Sweden. * Map of the best and worst countries to be born into today. * Writer calls Richard
* This past year was the hottest ever recorded in the U.S., and the second-worst on the Climate Extremes Index. * Australia's Bureau of Meteorology adds an extra color code at the top end of the temperature scale. * Tennis players protest being forced to play in Australia'
* Photojournalist captures images of modern slavery. * If emancipation did in fact begin long before...Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, what changed on that day? * Venezuelan police raid the home of a Twitter user suspected of spreading rumors about Chávez's health. * Kuwaiti court sentences man to two years in
We’ve left off the identifying information from the below map. Try guessing what it references using only clues contained within the map. The answer is linked below.
* White House photographer Pete Souza releases a year of pictures with the First Family. * Dozens of environmental and health groups urge Obama to finally and firmly address climate change. * Forced to resign by a financial scandal, Berlusconi is running for office again, this time for finance minister, or even prime
* The White House is plotting a surprisingly broad and aggressive gun control agenda. * A society that is relying on guys with guns to stop violence is a sign of a society where institutions have broken down. * How weapon technology like biometrics and grip detection could help prevent future massacres. * Math-
* Obama to nominate counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan as next director of the CIA. * First CIA officer faces prison for a press leak—"one of an unprecedented string of six prosecutions under President Obama." * Ethical questions appear when patients with dementia find romance in nursing homes, and spouses
* As Sandy Hook students head back to class, school officials create a familiar, friendly environment. * Chris Ware on his latest New Yorker cover, inspired by Newtown and a sharp contrast to his back-to-school cover. * On Christmas Day 1945, five Fayetteville, W.Va., children went missing during a house
* Hard-line conservatives oppose or go mum during Boehner's reelection as House speaker. * Six Indian parliamentarians have charges of rape against them. * "There is no reason to think that India is destined to abuse women"—but the journey will be a long one. * Pakistani schoolgirl activist
* After nearly 30 years in the House, Rep. Gary L. Ackerman heads home. * Once thought to be eradicated, tuberculosis—now drug-resistant—is on a frighteningly sharp rise in the former Soviet bloc. * How free-market renegades fighting the "maple wars" stole six million pounds of maple syrup.
