Walmart sells assault weapons but bans music that contains swear words.

That policy tells you a lot about this country.

We can guess why Walmart sells assault weapons: Its customers want them, and the company can make a lot of money selling them.

But Walmart's customers probably also want music that contains swear words, and Walmart could probably make money selling that, too.

And music with curse words is legal (First Amendment and all that), so this isn't about legality.

So why the no-cursing policy?

Based on a description on Walmart's web site, it seems that the retailer worries that some customers might find music with swear words "objectionable":


Wal-Mart does not display album or song titles that contain profanity...Wal-Mart selects 30-second sample clips such that only clips that do not contain profanity are made available to customers. However, other portions of the recordings may contain profanity, and the 30-second sample clips or the recording as a whole may be deemed by some customers to be offensive, indecent or objectionable. Occasionally, Wal-Mart may refuse to stock music merchandise that may not seem appropriate. However, Wal-Mart may carry some recordings that some customers might find offensive, indecent or objectionable.

So Walmart bans profanity on the grounds that some people might find it objectionable, but proudly sells assault weapons that can be used to slaughter people.

Isn't Walmart worried that some people might find that objectionable?  Like the parents of children who were just murdered with an assault weapon, for example? Or the parents who worry that their children might be murdered with an assault weapon? Or anyone worried that anyone might be murdered with an assault weapon?

They say money can't buy you happiness, but what about forking over some of it to the government?

Higher taxes are correlated with higher life satisfaction, according to a November study by six economists affiliated with the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany. The economists analyzed data about 25,000 Germans between 1985 to 2010, where respondents answered the question, "How satisfied ed are you with your life, all things considered?" on a scale of 0 to 10.

If only lawmakers understood as much. With the Bush tax cuts scheduled to expire at the end of the year, the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans continue to wrangle over which income groups should take the hit.

It is unclear why people who pay higher taxes are happier. But the study suggests a few reasons: People enjoy the public services higher taxes pay for, some view taxes as a social obligation and lower-income people value the protection that government can provide against poverty.

Other research also indicates public goods can make people happier. A recent study by Skandia International found that people in European countries with strong safety nets need less money to be happy.

Sachin Tendulkar has retired from ODI cricket. Tendulkar finishes an illustrious career in the 50-over format, having played 463 ODIs, scored 18,426 runs and made 49 centuries, each of them a world record. His last ODI was against Pakistan in Dhaka during the Asia Cup, where he made a half-century in India's victory.

"I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game," he said in a statement. "I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup winning Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years."

Tendulkar made his ODI debut on his first international tour, in 1989, against Pakistan in Gujranwala, where he got a duck. He scored his first half-century in his ninth ODI and made an immediate impact when promoted to open the batting in 1994, in an ODI against New Zealand in Auckland, where he smashed 82 in 49 balls. His first century took 79 ODIs to arrive but he kept piling them on with remarkable consistency.

Some of the batting highlights in his ODI career include back-to-back hundreds against Australia in 1998 in a triangular tournament in Sharjah, finishing as the highest run-getter in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, and becoming the first batsman to score a double-century in the ODI format, against South Africa in February 2010.

He was part of one of India's greatest ODI achievements over the last three decades, when they won the World Cup in 2011, beating Sri Lanka in the final on his home ground in Mumbai - it was his last ODI in India. In preparation for that World Cup, Tendulkar had curtailed the amount of ODI cricket in the year playing only four ODIs in the 12 months before the tournament. Since the end of the World Cup, Tendulkar has played 10 ODIs, seven in the CB Series against Australia and the last three of his career being played at the Asia Cup in Dhaka. His innings of 114 against Bangladesh on March 16 was his 100th international hundred in what turned out to be Tendulkar's penultimate ODI match for India.

Tendulkar's announcement of his ODI retirement came through a statement from the BCCI which stated that he had spoken to BCCI president N Srinivasan. His retirement was announced on the day the Indian selectors picked the teams to play in the five-match T20 and ODI series against Pakistan.

 From sunken steamboats to a millennium-old map engraved in rock, the drought-drained rivers of the nation's midsection are offering a rare and fleeting glimpse into years gone by.

Lack of rain has left many rivers at low levels unseen for decades, creating problems for river commerce and recreation and raising concerns about water supplies and hydropower if the drought persists into next year, as many fear.

But for the curious, the receding water is offering an occasional treasure trove of history.

An old steamboat is now visible on the Missouri River near St. Charles, Mo., and other old boats nestled on river bottoms are showing up elsewhere. A World War II minesweeper, once moored along the Mississippi River as a museum at St. Louis before it was torn away by floodwaters two decades ago, has become visible — rusted but intact.

Perhaps most interesting, a rock containing what is believed to be an ancient map has emerged in the Mississippi River in southeast Missouri.

The rock contains etchings believed to be up to 1,200 years old. It was not in the river a millennium ago, but the changing course of the waterway now normally puts it under water — exposed only in periods of extreme drought. Experts are wary of giving a specific location out of fear that looters will take a chunk of the rock or scribble graffiti on it.

"It appears to be a map of prehistoric Indian villages," said Steve Dasovich, an anthropology professor at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. "What's really fascinating is that it shows village sites we don't yet know about."

Old boats are turning up in several locations, including sunken steamboats dating to the 19th century.

That's not surprising considering the volume of steamboat traffic that once traversed the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Dasovich said it wasn't uncommon in the 1800s to have hundreds of steamboats pass by St. Louis each day, given the fact that St. Louis was once among the world's busiest inland ports. The boats, sometimes lined up two miles deep and four boats wide in both directions, carried not only people from town to town but goods and supplies up and down the rivers.

Sinkings were common among the wooden vessels, which often were poorly constructed.

"The average lifespan of a steamboat on the Missouri River was five years," Dasovich said. "They were made quickly. If you could make one run from St. Louis to Fort Benton, Mont., and back, you've paid for your boat and probably made a profit. After that, it's almost like they didn't care what happened."

What often happened, at least on the Missouri River, was the boat would strike an underwater tree that had been uprooted and become lodged in the river bottom, tearing a hole that would sink the ship. Dasovich estimated that the remains of 500 to 700 steamboats sit at the bottom of the Missouri River, scattered from its mouth in Montana to its convergence with the Mississippi near St. Louis.

The number of sunken steamboats on the Mississippi River is likely about the same, Dasovich said. Steamboat traffic was far heavier on the Mississippi, but traffic there was and is less susceptible to river debris.

Boiler explosions, lightning strikes and accidents also sunk many a steamboat. One of the grander ones, the Montana, turned up this fall on the Missouri River near St. Charles. The elaborate steamer was as long as a football field with lavish touches aimed at pleasing its mostly wealthy clientele. It went to its watery grave after striking a tree below the surface in 1884.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers urge sightseers to stay away from any shipwreck sites. Sandbars leading to them can be unstable and dangerous, and the rusted hulks can pose dangers for those sifting through them.

Plus, taking anything from them is illegal. By law, sunken ships and their goods belong to the state where they went down.

 A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an "irresistible attraction," even if the employees have not engaged in flirtatious behavior or otherwise done anything wrong. Such firings may be unfair, but they are not unlawful discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act because they are motivated by feelings and emotions, not gender, Justice Edward Mansfield wrote.

An attorney for Fort Dodge dentist James Knight said the decision, the first of its kind in Iowa, is a victory for family values because Knight fired Melissa Nelson in the interest of saving his marriage, not because she was a woman.

But Nelson's attorney said Iowa's all-male high court, one of only a handful in the nation, failed to recognize the discrimination that women see routinely in the workplace.

"These judges sent a message to Iowa women that they don't think men can be held responsible for their sexual desires and that Iowa women are the ones who have to monitor and control their bosses' sexual desires," said attorney Paige Fiedler. "If they get out of hand, then the women can be legally fired for it."

Nelson, 32, worked for Knight for 10 years, and he considered her a stellar worker. But in the final months of her employment, he complained that her tight clothing was distracting, once telling her that if his pants were bulging that was a sign her clothes were too revealing, according to the opinion.

He also once allegedly remarked about her infrequent sex life by saying, "that's like having a Lamborghini in the garage and never driving it."

Knight and Nelson – both married with children – started exchanging text messages, mostly about personal matters, such as their families. Knight's wife, who also worked in the dental office, found out about the messages and demanded Nelson be fired. The Knights consulted with their pastor, who agreed that terminating Nelson was appropriate.

Knight fired Nelson and gave her one month's severance. He later told Nelson's husband that he worried he was getting too personally attached and feared he would eventually try to start an affair with her.

In the aftermath of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, countless celebrities have joined millions of Americans in a plea for gun control -- Jesse James is not one of those celebrities.

The former reality show host took to his Facebook page to express support for the National Riffle Association, the day after it finally broke its silence on last week's shooting in Newtown, Conn -- and called for armed officers in every school.

On his Facebook page, the 43-year-old, who used to run West Coast Choppers out of Long Beach, Calif, writes that he witnessed so many shootings that having a gun was the only thing that made him feel safe.

"Since the 1980's California has led the nation with the strictest gun control laws. In the middle of this state I have seen more dead bodies than I can count," he wrote, going on to describe weekly sightings of streets closed off with yellow police tape because someone had been shot dead.

"On a weekly basis Cop friends would always check in to make sure I was carying (sic) a gun at all times. They would want to see it to make sure. They would tell me "You better be packing." For the last 20 years living in California I could never let my guard down, not even for a minute," James wrote in the lengthy message which was accompanied by a photo of himself with a large gun. "This is what living in a state with strict gun control was like."

James went on to state that he doesn't think the country needs fewer guns, and he believes America could do with few gun laws as well. According to his logic, he claims that it's because of California's strict gun control legislation that so many people have been shot and killed. He writes that since moving to Texas, where there are fewer gun laws, he feels much safer:

"I have not seen one dead body, have not experienced any drive-by shootings," he writes. "I can now relax, and live life in this free country."

He argues that enacting stricter laws nationwide will only "keep the honest people, honest," and "people that should not have guns, will still find a way to get them." He also urged others to join the NRA.

Fifty years ago, William “Billy” Jones, clad in a snowsuit as he played with his younger sister Jill outside his family’s New Jersey home, vanished in an instant, setting off a half-century search that remains alive to this day.

Federal and local authorities are now seeking the public’s help for new leads in the cold case that has spanned three generations of investigators from the Vineland Police Department and has garnered FBI interest since Jones — who would now be 53 years old — could theoretically be anywhere in the country, if not the world. Because no body was ever found, Jill Jones, who has spent a lifetime wondering what became of her big brother, believes he may have been snatched by adults who raised him as their own.

    “It’s a gut feeling for me, I know he’s still alive."


“We’re just trying to find out if anyone has any information regarding his whereabouts or if anyone might know who may have been involved in his disappearance,” FBI Special Agent John Mesisca told FoxNews.com. “Back then, he was last seen wearing a snowsuit … What we’re trying to do is get the word out and develop any new leads and resolve the case in any way we can.”

At the time of his disappearance on Dec. 17, 1962, William Ebeneezer Jones Jr. was 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 35 pounds. He had a vaccination scar on the back of his left arm that resembled a giraffe and was last seen wearing a light blue-gray snowsuit with a navy collar and silver buttons. He also reportedly had a dime in his pocket that was given to him by his mother Evelyn, who, like Billy’s father, has since died.

“There’s not a lot of the family left,” Mesisca said. “That has also impacted the investigation. Only his sister remains.”

Jill Jones, who was with her older brother in the front yard at the time of his disappearance, said she remains hopeful her big brother will one day be found alive.

“It’s a gut feeling for me, I know he’s still alive,” she told FoxNews.com. “There’s never been a body found, never been anything found. I don’t believe he’s dead.”

Jones, 52, surmises her brother was snatched by someone looking to replace a lost or deceased child.

“I really believe that,” she continued. “I don’t think he was murdered. I really believe someone lost a child and they took Billy to replace him.”

Three decades ago, a distraught and dejected Jones sought the help of a hypnotist in an attempt to unlock memories of that fateful afternoon.

“It brought back feelings and a little bit of memories,” said Jones, adding that her brother had a special bond with their dog, Babycakes.

“That was his pup,” she said. “He loved that dog.”

Jones’ disappearance reportedly led to hundreds of volunteers scouring the family’s Vineland neighborhood and included units from the New Jersey National Guard. Investigators also excavated grounds near an abandoned automobile dump, but that search was also fruitless.

In 2009, Vineland Police Department Det. Kristian Kirchner, who was not yet born when Jones disappeared, reportedly reopened the case, which is believed to be the longest unsolved case of a missing child under 5 years old in the state. Kirchner could not be reached for comment.

Jones, meanwhile, remains hopeful that this holiday season is the last one she’ll endure without her big brother.

A vote last month that makes Californians among the highest-taxed residents in the country is sparking debate about whether the Democrat-back initiative will backfire, by forcing high-earners to join a long exodus from the cash-strapped state.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown successfully pushed the tax increase by suggesting that high-earners must shoulder the largest burden in bailing out the state, particularly its debt-ridden public school system.

However, high unemployment and government debt have already sent residents fleeing in large numbers – an estimated 225,000 annually for the past 10 years.

And the recently passed tax increase for families making more than $250,000 each year could further shrink the tax base for California, whose 2012 budget deficit is projected to hit $28 billion.

Much of the debate has raged among California advocacy groups and in the editorial pages of the state’s biggest and most influential newspapers.

“More is never enough for these people,” Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assoc., said about the Democrat-backed increase. “It’s hard to believe people will not leave.”

Vosburgh said his group is not an advocate for the wealthy and argued the tax increase atop other bad economic factors – including high gas and sales taxes – also have small and large businesses packing. 

“With high taxes and heavy regulations, it’s just difficult to produce those widgets at a lower price than somebody in, say, Texas,” he told FoxNews.com on Tuesday.

Syndicated columnist Walter E. Williams wrote in The Orange County Register: “California politicians can fleece people in 2012, but there’s no guarantee they can do the same in 2013 and later years. People can leave.”

Starring in "Snow White and the Huntsman" might have negatively impacted Kristen Stewart's personal life, but that won't stop the actress from reprising her role for the sequel.

Stewart confirmed she's on board for the "Snow White and the Huntsman" sequel during an interview with Indiewire.

"Oh, it’s gonna be f**kin’ amazing," Stewart said. "No, I'm so excited about it, it’s crazy ... I'm not allowed [to talk about it]. The other day I said that there was a strong possibility that we’re going to make a sequel, and that’s very true, but everyone was like, 'Whoa, stop talking about it.' So no, I’m totally not allowed to talk about it."

When asked to clarify whether or not ideas have already been tossed around, the 22-year-old actress replied, "Oh my God. F**k, yeah. Absolutely. And we’ve got a really amazing… [smiles] So, yeah. It’s all good. [laughs]."

Although Stewart will reprise her "Snow White" role, director Rupert Sanders will not be returning for the sequel, according to ComingSoon.net.

Stewart and Sanders, the husband of model Liberty Ross and a father of two, began an intimate relationship while on the set of the first film. Rumors previously circulated that Stewart's role in the sequel had been jeopardized, but Universal denied reports that she had been dropped.

RadarOnline.com claims it boiled down to a choice between Stewart or Sanders for the sequel. "The script has already been written and production will begin late next year," a source told Radar. "However, Rupert Sanders definitely won't be a part of the project. Rupert didn't want to be a part of it to begin with because he is desperately still trying to save his marriage. The search is still on for a new director."

"Snow White and the Huntsman" grossed over $396 million worldwide.

Stewart, whose role as Bella Swan finished with the final "Twilight" installment in November, also appears in Walter Salles' "On the Road," out Friday.

Kristen Stewart's sex scenes in "On the Road" are "fairly ridiculous" to watch as isolated moments, according to the actress.

In a new interview with Indiewire, Stewart said that though those sex scenes are difficult to watch, they fit in with the film as a whole.

"To be honest, I think if you were to isolate the scenes, it’s fairly ridiculous watching yourself fake have sex," she said. "But within the movie, watching the movie, I do get so caught up in this one. I’ve seen it three times, and that’s not typical for me. I have to complete the process, I need to watch the movie at the end of it."

In the new adaptation of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," Stewart plays Marylou, a young woman who marries Dean Moriarty (played by Garrett Hedlund), and has sex with both Dean and Sal Paradise (Sam Riley). As Stewart told HuffPost Entertainment, it was imperative to keep the nudity and sex scenes in the film.

"Actresses love to stand up and say, after they've shown their t*ts in a movie, that it was done tastefully and that it was, you know, far from gratuitous," she told HuffPost Entertainment. "I mean, projects that really require it are really few and far between. And I think that in this case, it needed to be. This book celebrates being alive and it celebrates being human, and if you want to cover up and deny any aspect of that, you are denying the spirit of the book. I think that it would have been so wrong to shy away from anything in this movie. I think that I would have gotten flak for that. I think that it would have been that I was scared to disappoint my 'Twilight' fans or something."

Stewart said the experience of making "On the Road" was one that she wouldn't soon forget.