Fewer smokers

The number of American adults who smoke has dropped below 20 percent for the first time on record, federal health officials said. About 19.8 percent of adults—43.4 million people—were smokers in 2007, one percentage point below the 2006 figure.

The Boston Globe

Obama's laptop

Barack Obama plans to have a laptop on his desk in the Oval Office, making him the first president to have Internet access there. But he’ll probably have to give up using e-mail, since e-mails can be hacked into and subpoenaed.

The New York Times



Presidential pardon requests

More than 100 requests for presidential pardons have poured into the White House in the past month, as convicted criminals hope President Bush will wipe their records clean at the end of his term. Among those requesting pardons are former junk-bond king Michael Milken, Olympic sprinter and steroid abuser Marion Jones, and the “American Taliban,” John Walker Lindh.

Newsweek



Atheism in Congress

Only one member of Congress, Rep. Pete Stark of California, has openly said he does not believe in God.

USA Today

New mental illnesses

The next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders may will include such new mental illnesses as “Internet Addiction,” “Parental Alienation Syndrome,” “Compulsive Buying Disorder,” and “Apathy Disorder.”

Los Angeles Times