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The article debunks five myths about America's poor in 2011 and poverty in the U.S., which is defined as a family of four having an annual income of $22,314. The myths are discussed with examples given which disprove the ideas that poverty does not occur in the suburbs, poverty is only about not having enough income, the solution to poverty is getting people out of poor communities, the key to poverty alleviation is to focus on individuals, and poverty is inevitable because of its social, geographic, and economic complexity.

The article discusses home ownership in the United States and the mythology of the American Dream. Information about home ownership, credit availability, foreclosures, and the growth of suburbs is plotted on a time line from 1900 to 2010. The concept of mass home ownership, the mortgage market during the Great Depression of 1929, and the effect of labor mobility on the economics of home ownership are discussed. Data is presented which shows a relationship between the economic output in several U.S. cities and the percentages of renters and home owners.

The article discusses recession-induced unemployment in the U.S. and the central role of job creation in economic recovery. This philosophy is said to underlie U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to call jobs his top priority in his January 2010 State of the Union address. Also noted is a job-creation bill passed by the U.S. Congress that will provide tax incentives for corporate hiring. U.S. companies, however, are said to be fearful of the economic future, especially in light of the possible costs associated with health-care and carbon-emission legislation. Charts and diagrams on job creation are presented and specific industrial sectors are discussed.

The article lists and discusses the so-called 50 best inventions of the year that include the Ares 1 rocket developed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the company Clean Seas' development of landlocked tank breeding of southern bluefin tuna in Arno Bay, Australia, and Philips Electronics' development of a 10-watt light emitting diode (LED) bulb that substitutes for a 60-watt household incandescent bulb and last 25 times as long. INSET: Flying Lessons..

The article discusses the U.S. housing market, hope for improved home sales, and the reality that it will take time for the housing industry to be restored. It discusses home buyers in Boise, Idaho who purchased a foreclosed home at a substantially discounted price. It notes signs that declining home prices have hit bottom, citing the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and the Standard & Poor's (S&P)/Case-Shiller home-price index.

The article describes the best inventions of 2008 including: the Retail DNA Test; the Tesla Roadster, an electric car; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; Hulu.com, a network TV-show hub; The Large Hadron Collider; the Global Seed Vault; the world's first moving skyscraper, in Dubai; thin film solar panels; the 46th Mersenne Prime; and the Speedo LZR Racer.

This article focuses on the company Starbucks and its chief executive officer, Howard Schultz. The article explains that Schultz again became chief executive officer of the company in January of 2008 after he relinquished the position in 2000. His return is in an effort to reposition Starbucks' focus on serving great coffee with great service. Included are the ways in which Starbucks will improve as well as biographical information on Schultz.

The article focuses on the financial crisis in the U.S. Particular attention is given to the collapse of Wall Street bank Bear Stearns. The author reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke invoked a 1930s legal provision to avoid a collapse that would cause panic in the market. Article topics include the swift sale of Bear Stearns to J.P. Morgan Chase, the economic strain experienced by shareholders, as well as statistics on the market reaction.

This introduction discusses a series of articles related to new ideas and concepts that are changing the world.

The article presents lists regarding the countries which are seeing the most growth in business and the countries which have the highest competitiveness ranking.

Charts are presented illustrating changes in United States housing prices, subprime mortgages, mortgage delinquencies and the Dow Jones industrial average.

The article utilizes metropolitan Denver, Colorado as an example of the mortgage credit crisis that has buckled U.S. home prices and shaken stock markets around the world. When housing prices began rising around 1995, great wealth and great risk were created. Subprime mortgages did away with many of the safeguards built into the usual thirty-year, fixed rate mortgages.

The author looks at mass killers and what experts believe leads certain people to commit these crimes. The profile of mass killers looks similar to that of the clinical narcissist, along with a history of other emotional turmoil such as depression, substance abuse, or childhood trauma. Over half of mass killers had documented cases of extreme depression. They tend to disengage from people around them as they plan their assault and gain a fascination with firearms and weapons.

The article presents Time's best photographs of 2006.

The article presents an excerpt from "My America," by Christopher Morris.

Focuses on the booming housing market. Soaring house prices, which is fueling a national obsession with real estate; Jump in house prices by 15% in April, 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors; Percentage increase in the price of single-family houses in various cities including San Diego, Las Vegas and Miami; Warnings from economists that the housing bubble could burst; Television programs that focus on making over and selling homes, reflecting the current housing obsession.

Discusses the mistakes that Martha Stewart made that led to her conviction on federal charges of obstructing justice and other crimes. Impact on the jury of a combination of compelling evidence from the prosecution and a curt defense testimony based on the idea that Stewart was too smart to lie; Conviction based on a series of lies to the FBI and to the Securities & Exchange Commission; List of errors, including Stewart's stock sale, questionable legal advice, and poor public relations; Inclusion of a timeline showing the highlights of her life; Affect of the trial on her company. INSETS: THE RECIPE FOR A RISE AND FALL;AN EMPIRE IN DISTRESS.

Reports on the pros and cons of exporting work from America. Possibility that short term pain will translate into long term gain; Significance of this defining issue for the 2004 presidential campaign; Goal to make the economy more efficient; Profiles of Americans who seem to be suffering from outsourcing; Potential for outsourcing to become an essential part of corporate strategy, even for small companies; Impact on companies, such as forcing them to use their resources where they count most; Importance of recognizing current business trends. INSET: WHAT'S GOING OVERSEAS.

Discusses how the cable company Comcast offered an unsolicited bid to takeover the Walt Disney Co. Negotiations between Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Disney CEO Michael Eisner about the proposed merger; Consideration of the poor financial performances at Disney's theme parks and animation business; Business strategies used by Roberts; Competition for Comcast from phone companies that will deliver video programming, phone services, and broadband Internet access through a single line; How Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. bought control of DirecTV satellite services.

Discusses how Canadian drug imports cost significantly less than the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Rise in health-care spending by 9.3 percent in the U.S. in 2002; Consideration of how the practice of importing prescription drugs across the border is illegal; Need for drugs to meet the health requirements of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); How some imports have been recalled because of manufacturing defects; Possibility that U.S. local and state governments will begin to buy drugs wholesale in Canada in order to preserve the inflated prices; Expectations for the Medicare bill to reduce the price of health care. INSET: BEHIND THE BIG PROFITS … 10 BLOCKBUSTER PRODUCTS.

THE SHOW will go on, but Marc Linder says the smoking must stop. The University of Iowa law professor is demanding that actors be barred from smoking on-stage during campus [...]

For the first time, the U.S. Department of Education has fined a college for failing to comply with the Campus Security Act of 1990. The department ordered Mount St. Clare [...]