Take a look at a key player in the paradox: sugar growers. In Florida it is called, Big Sugar. In other states it is beets, maple syrup and most ubiquitous of all: high-fructose corn syrup extracted from an unlimited corn crop heavily subsidized by taxpayers.

“30-40 percent of healthcare expenditures in the USA go to help address issues that are closely tied to the excess consumption of sugar.” (Credit Suisse Report: “Sugar: Consumption At A Crossroads," September 2013) In Forbes Magazine, contributor Dan Monroe summarized, “Basically, the US healthcare system spends about $1 trillion per year (and possibly more) fighting the effects of excess sugar consumption.”

“Higher health spending per capita tends to be associated with lower mortality rates and higher life expectancy, but this is not the case for the United States” (“OECD: Switzerland tops 34 nations for life expectancy at 82.8," UPI, January 7, 2014). American politics are organized to protect corporate interests that make voters and taxpayers sick, and there is no better example: in a candy bar or a bowl of healthy granola, sugar is the big stake in the heart of American health.

ABC 11, January 18, 2014: Folks still have fears. “After the Japan accident and the big scare from that… this is something to be concerned about a fire at a nuclear plant power,” said Raleigh resident Brad Henningsgaard.

The fire is the latest problem at the plant. It just went back online last month after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shut it down after a flaw was found in the reactor. It was also taken offline in May, when an inspection revealed early signs of corrosion in the reactor’s vessel. “I hope that Duke pulls this together and gets this thing straight,” said Henningsgaard.

“It’s a nuclear power plant and it poses a danger to the surrounding area,” added Raleigh resident Peter Henkel. People are concerned considering how many incidents have happened within a one-year time span.

The FT reports that The Sleepwalkers by Cambridge historian Christopher Clark, 1913 by Florian Illies, and Der Grosse Krieg by German political scientist Herfried Münkler have all questioned a German-centric account of the blame for WWI — and they’ve sold very well accordingly. These sales match up with public opinion polls that show only 19 percent of Germans believe their country was “chiefly responsible” for WWI.

The question of guilt in WWI is complex, but this shift in German sentiment has more to do with underlying cultural changes in the united Berlin Republic than with millions of Germans flocking to the historical archives to make deep studies in early twentieth century history. Both Germany and Japan are becoming ‘normal countries’ again, reasserting their right to define and act in their national interest. Nationalists in Japan still welcome their close US alliance given their concerns about China.

In Germany, the situation is different. Russia is a nuisance rather than a threat in the eyes of most Germans, and it is harder to make a compelling case for a US alliance to younger Germans than to older ones. The wave of German adulation over Obama temporarily patched things over, but the NSA revelations have damaged Brand US more in Germany than just about anywhere else.

A new generation of Germans is looking at the world and at German history and is likely to see things in different ways than their parents and grandparents.

“The pope is consistent with all he said as a cardinal, and as pope he will undoubtedly make happen what he said he would do when he was a cardinal,” Argentinian Rabbi Abraham Skorka, a friend of the pope, told The (London) Sunday Times, based on conversations with Francis.

“What we said to each other was between us, but I believe that, yes, he will open the archives… The issue is a very sensitive one and we must continue analyzing it,” he said. Francis’s close ties to the Jews of Argentina is fairly well known. He and Skorka have been close friends since the days when Francis was known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.

In September 2013, in fact, Skorka spent a week at St Martha’s House, the papal residence at the Vatican. The two have also coauthored a book, On Heaven and Earth, and have prayed from each other’s pulpits. Earlier this month, the pope confirmed a much-anticipated first official visit to the Holy Land, scheduled for May 24-26, during which he will visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan.

This solar lull is baffling scientists, because right now the Sun should be awash with activity. It has reached its solar maximum, the point in its 11-year cycle where activity is at a peak. This giant ball of plasma should be peppered with sunspots, exploding with flares and spewing out huge clouds of charged particles into space in the form of coronal mass ejections.

But apart from the odd event, like some recent solar flares, it has been very quiet. And this damp squib of a maximum follows a solar minimum - the period when the Sun's activity troughs - that was longer and lower than scientists expected.

The era of solar inactivity in the 17th Century coincided with a period of bitterly cold winters in Europe. Londoners enjoyed frost fairs on the Thames after it froze over, snow cover across the continent increased, the Baltic Sea iced over - the conditions were so harsh, some describe it as a mini-Ice Age. And Professor Lockwood believes that this regional effect could have been in part driven by the dearth of activity on the Sun, and may happen again if our star continues to wane.

The report reveals some disturbing truths about the methods taken by the Waqf to remove any ties that the Jewish people have to the Temple Mount and how Israeli institutions cooperated with these actions. Kaspi said the confidential report strongly criticizes the policies of former Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, who prevented legal authorities from acting on the Temple Mount.

"The report paints a picture of incompetence, negligence and indifference of all government officials related to the most important archaeological site in the state of Israel," Kaspi fired. "The IAA, and the Israeli police, the Jerusalem Municipality - none of them have dealt effectively with the problem. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz abandoned the place to the mercy of the Muslim Waqf and stopped the ability of law enforcement agencies to address the issue."

Kaspi claims that Mazuz lied when he stated that he was unaware of the issue. "We know the police approached him and so did the IAA; we also reported the destruction and vandalism [on the Mount]," Kaspi stated. "Today there is some improvement, but there are still serious problems - the Waqf continues to destroy all archaeological finds on the Mount as a matter of policy."

Kaspi's remarks follow news earlier this month that the Waqf has been illegally drilling on Judaism's holiest site, as revealed through telling video footage. In addition to frequent vandalism, the Temple Mount is frequently closed to Jewish visitors and is often the site of anti-Jewish discrimination. Jews are prevented from praying or performing any other religious rituals, while Muslim visitors pray freely.

Muslim anger over the site has escalated since MKs have announced efforts to equalize prayer rights at the site, through legislation which would allow full religious freedom.

It is expected to be stressed to the foreign ambassadors that their stand is unacceptable and creates the impression they are only looking for a platform to blame Israel. Minister Lieberman was instructed to tell the summoned ambassadors that Israel is making great efforts in order to allow the continued dialogue with the Palestinians, and that the position taken by these countries, aside from being biased and unbalanced while ignoring reality, significantly harms the possibility of an agreement being reached.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed international critics of Israel's West Bank settlements as hypocrites. Speaking to foreign journalists, Netanyahu said Thursday that claiming settlements were an obstacle to peace was "bogus".

According to him, the EU summoned Israeli ambassadors and protested the construction in the West Bank over "a few houses", but did not summon Palestinian diplomats over Palestinian misdeeds. "I think it is time to stop this hypocrisy," he concluded, "Israel, which goes to great length in order to maintain peace and battle terror for the benefit of both Israelis and Palestinians, is always criticized."

Deep beneath desert sands, an embattled Middle Eastern state has built a covert nuclear bomb, using technology and materials provided by friendly powers or stolen by a clandestine network of agents. It is the stuff of pulp thrillers and the sort of narrative often used to characterise the worst fears about the Iranian nuclear programme. In reality, though, neither US nor British intelligence believe Tehran has decided to build a bomb, and Iran's atomic projects are under constant international monitoring.

The exotic tale of the bomb hidden in the desert is a true story, though. It's just one that applies to another country. In an extraordinary feat of subterfuge, Israel managed to assemble an entire underground nuclear arsenal – now estimated at 80 warheads, on a par with India and Pakistan – and even tested a bomb nearly half a century ago, with a minimum of international outcry or even much public awareness of what it was doing.

Despite the fact that Israel's nuclear programme has been an open secret since a disgruntled technician, Mordechai Vanunu, blew the whistle on it in 1986, the official Israeli position is still never to confirm or deny its existence. When the former speaker of the Knesset, Avraham Burg, broke the taboo last month, declaring Israeli possession of both nuclear and chemical weapons and describing the official non-disclosure policy as "outdated and childish" a rightwing group formally called for a police investigation for treason.

The declaration comes during one of the driest winters on record in California, following two dry years that already have left many reservoirs depleted. The state is facing "perhaps the worst drought that California has ever seen" since records began, Brown said during the Friday morning announcement.

"I've called for a collaborative effort to restrain our water use," Brown said. "This is a call to arms. This is not a partisan adversary, this is Mother Nature." The proclamation allows California to request a broad emergency declaration from President Barack Obama. The federal declaration would expedite some water transfers, provide financial assistance and suspend some state and federal regulations.

The US Drought Monitor has reported extreme drought conditions in central and northern California, and there has been little snowfall so far this winter. Precipitation in most of the state is less than 20 percent of normal, and reservoirs are dwindling. Forecasts suggest the dry spell could continue, exacerbating the already heightened fire danger. California is on pace for the driest January on record. The all-time low rainfall record in January occurred in 1984, when just 0.3 inches of rain fell across California.

“In the face of those who no longer see the full, visible unity of the Church as an achievable goal, we are invited not to give up our ecumenical efforts, faithful to that which the Lord Jesus asked of the Father, ‘that they may be one,’” the Pope told the delegation on January 17.

“Ecumenism is in fact a spiritual process that is realized in faithful obedience to the Father, in fulfilment of the will of Christ and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” The group, led by Kari Makinen, a bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, was on its annual pilgrimage to Rome for the feast of St Henry, their nation’s patron saint. Their trip coincides with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, held January 18-25.

The week of prayer is sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and the World Council of Churches’ faith and order commission. The week is dedicated to encouraging dialogue and spiritual unity amongst Christians. Pope Francis reflected on this year’s theme, “Has Christ been Divided?”, in his audience with the delegation, noting that the process of working for Christian unity is changing in response to an increasingly secularized culture, particularly in Europe.

As the United States relaxes sanctions against Iran in the wake of the agreement Tehran signed with Western powers, in which it promised to somewhat limit its nuclear development program, Iran's economy has gotten a major boost – without a commitment by the country to stop its production of enriched uranium.

As a result, said McFarland, Iran gets to “dance at both weddings” - improving its economy with the removal of sanctions, and continuing its nuclear development program. This, in turn, enhances the image of Iran's hardline Islamist leaders among its people, and guarantees that they will be emboldened to demand more special treatment in the future, she said.

"The deal with the Persian nation makes it clear we are leaving the region, and leaving Iran in charge,” McFarland wrote. “Iran is now poised to become the Alpha Dog of the Middle East – the dominant economic, military and political power in the region that controls the world’s exported oil. Thanks to the agreement struck by President Obama’s hand-picked Secretary of State John Kerry, it is doing so with America’s blessing.”

With the extra money coming in from oil sales that will be resumed, she said, Iran’s coffers will soon be plump enough to resume funding for terrorist groups throughout the region. In addition, “Iran’s nuclear program will continue and its neighbors will treat Iran as a de facto nuclear weapons state,” she wrote.

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, said this week that if Iran decides to resume enriching uranium to levels prohibited by the new nuclear deal, it could begin to do so in one day’s time. Araghchi spoke on January 12 to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Channel 2 following his return from Geneva, where he led the Iranian delegation to the negotiations with the P5+1 countries that resulted in an agreement to implement the Joint Plan of Action signed last November.

The interim agreement goes into effect January 20, giving both sides six months to reach a final deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Critics of the deal, especially in Congress, want any final agreement to force Iran to stop enriching uranium altogether and dismantle its enrichment program.

The interim agreement requires Iran to suspend the enrichment of uranium at 20 percent levels and downgrade their existing stockpile of highly-enriched uranium to lower levels. But Araghchi said in the interview that the enrichment suspension is quickly reversible if Iran decides to pull out of the agreement.

“We can return again to 20 percent enrichment in less than one day and we can convert the [nuclear] material again. Therefore the structure of our nuclear program is preserved,” said Araghchi, in a broadcast which was independently translated for The Daily Beast.

The file was part of Vatican data collected for a UN hearing on Thursday. It was the first time the Holy See was publicly confronted over the sexual abuse of children by clergy. Church officials at the hearing in Geneva faced a barrage of hard questions covering why they were withholding data and what they were doing to prevent future abuse.

Victims' advocates complained there was still too little transparency. The Holy See is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a legally binding instrument which commits it to protecting and nurturing the most vulnerable in society.

It ratified the convention in 1990 but after an implementation report in 1994 it did not submit any progress reports until 2012, following revelations of child sex abuse in Europe and beyond. Last month, the Vatican refused a request from the UN's Committee on the Rights of the Child for data on abuse, on the grounds that it only released such information if requested to do so by another country as part of legal proceedings.

In a homily on Thursday, Benedict's successor, Pope Francis, called abuse scandals "the shame of the Church". He announced in December that a Vatican committee would be set up to fight sexual abuse of children in the Church.

“This situation could potentially put the acceptance of the euro currency and the EU as a whole at risk." Official figures put the euro area’s annual inflation rate at 0.8 percent for December. This is well above the eurozone’s benchmark interest rate, which was set again at the record low of 0.25 percent last week. Paul Nuttall MEP, the deputy leader of Ukip, said that the European Central Bank was effectively robbing people of the value of their savings in the name of eurozone dogma.

A wide-ranging report on the EU’s crisis-fighting policies by MEPs has concluded that the ECB and European Commission need greater democratic oversight, while criticising them for “failing to correct recommendations when they proved inadequate and detrimental”.

It may be time to shift yet another conspiracy "theory" into the "fact" bin, thanks to Elke Koenig, the president of Germany's top financial regulator, Bafin, which apparently is not as corrupt, complicit and clueless as its US equivalent, and who said that in addition to currency rates, manipulation of precious metals "is worse than the Libor-rigging scandal."

We wonder how long until this particular investigation is stopped based on an "executive order" from above, because Bafin is now stepping into some very treacherous waters with its ongoing inquiry of gold manipulation: what it reveals will certainly not be to the liking of the financial "powers that be."