Headlines from February 12, 2013

A man…who capped his career by terminating bin Laden, has no landing pad in civilian life. #longreads
He died in custody in 1296…and was declared a saint in 1313. The popes who’ve resigned. #history
Odds that the next pope could be from Latin America, home to 40% of the world’s Catholics.
Guilt is our inner police force, but if we give it too much emotional power, we risk turning into a police state. #opinions
Working harder means working less productively.
Because mice and human physiology is so different, scientists now think decades of deadly disease research may be kaput.
Employing genetic techniques, researchers find folk tales cross borders more easily than genes.
Ant pupae can communicate by sound, and their lives depend on being heard by adults. #nature
Once spoken by more than 100,000 people, the Texas German dialect nears extinction. #audio
In a new ebook, Jonathan Gourlay spends 11 years living on the microscopic island of Pohnpei.
Also by Gourlay: “The Day Borders Got the Wobblies.” #tmn
The Labrador is the most popular breed in the U.S., but in 136 years of Westminster, it’s never won Best in Show. #dogs
Dogs understand us better than previously believed, since they’ll steal food in front of us when the lights are out. #animals
“Searchers of the dead” were corpse-examining helpers who advanced our early understanding of the causes of death.
Pitchaya Sudbanthad on the history of Pad Thai: “Thus was born the Volksnoodle for an emerging Thai nation-state.” #tmn
The NBA enters a new data-tracking era, with half the teams now using ball cameras and performance algorithms. #basketball
Ten NHL early-season surprises.
Playing [violent video] games can and does stir hostile urges and mildly aggressive behavior in the short term.
House members stake out aisle seats at the State of the Union for a chance to be seen on television by constituents.
Graphing the rhetoric of the last 12 State of the Union addresses.
They would eat penguin and seal, but that is forbidden now. Q&A with the editor of the Antarctic Sun.
UK officials blame “criminal activity” for widespread discovery of horsemeat in processed beef products. #food
Mountain Dew to launch breakfast soda packed with a lot of caffeine and a little fruit juice.
Scientists study patients who experience the little-understood phenomenon of mouth hallucinations.
The more weed drivers inhale, the worse they do at…staying in their lanes. How high is too high to drive? #drugs
Three ways to save Detroit, including Objectivists’ plan to buy an island to house a new government. #opinions
The Atlantic invites readers of every ideology to join its upcoming Atlas Shrugged book club. #reading
How long it takes to become a millionaire in different countries. #chart
The London of these new residents relies solely on big ticket regeneration as a means of evolving its history. #tmn
Everyone dressed like food at the Grammys. #photos
It’s an ear madeleine. The band Phoenix’s long, strange trip to buying the Thriller mixing board. #music
Seventeen essays by female writers that everyone should read.