THURSDAY NEWS:
* Good read: a foreign correspondent reflects on seven years in Iraq.
* Obama speaks out in defense of foreign aid to poorer nations.
* More bad news from Afghanistan.
* Researching income inequality? Follow the money.
* Courtesy
* Republicans outline their 'Pledge to America,' with some notable omissions. (Bonus: a history lesson from 1994.) (Double bonus: comedy.)
* I am continually astounded by the story of the survival of the Chilean miners.
* Taking another look at exercise and weight loss.
* The plants of Chernobyl.
* End of an era: DC Comics to close down Wildstorm.