1. Democracy Rankings Around the World: U.S. Only Rated No. 15
(World/International)

The Democracy Ranking measures annually the quality of democracy in global comparison by referring to a broader conceptual understanding of democracy: http://www.democracyranking.org/en/index.htm The ...

2. Scamming N.J. insurance companies: Central Jersey couple charged with stealing nearly $1.8 million
(Money/Economy)

... Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi thanked Zurich North American Insurance Company for referring the matter to the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.  ...

3. Mocking Rednecks Isn't Commentary
(Comments/Unsorted comments)

... did pass a background check so that issue is irrelevant to this particular tragedy. If you are referring to background checks for private sales, yes I (and many other gun owners) agree that these would ...

4. Warren Buffett is right: Soak the rich but more ... 100 percent!
(Opinion/Commentary)

... from lower and middle income workers to the uber rich. So what is Buffett’s solution to the fiscal cliff? Eliminate the Bush tax cuts for high-income taxpayers, preferring a cutoff of $500,000 or so ...

5. ‘Local Planning for Terror and Disaster’: One of the most important books of the year
(Life/Style)

... communication. Professionals dealing with a disaster, as well as the general public, need good advice on what to do. There’s a phrase, “the golden hour,” referring to the small window of time after an ...

6. Cory Booker for Governor or for Senate? Newark mayor is still a wildcard
(N.J./State)

... said that both Christie and Booker will both run in 2013. Referring to Booker, one source said, “The National Party pressure will be too great for him to resist. The Bill Clintons of the world will start ...

7. 5 tax law changes in 2013 that will shake up your bank account
(Money/Economy)

You may not realize it, but your take-home pay is going to decrease significantly on Jan. 1, 2013. In fact, some are already referring to 2013 as “Taxmageddon.” According to the New York Times, new tax ...

8. Hurricane Sandy aftermath: A native Joiseyan's reluctant first-hand look at the Jersey Shore and the importance of government services
(Opinion/Commentary)

... worthless Oompa Loompa cast from MTV's Jersey Shore are sadly not what I'm referring to. After all, the coastline would be flooded with hair gel if it involved the Situation. Alas, I am referring to the ...

9. SNL hopes for one last minute special guest, but Romney is avoiding late night TV
(U.S./Nation)

... Rob Burnett said their program is willing to send a car. Both men are referring to the lack of success late night television has had in recruiting Romney as a guest. The New York Times reported that ...

10. As photography goes, so goes Bill Vandever
(Life/Style)

... shoot with film cameras and scan his images in for digital processing. “Archival digital color photograph” frequently describes a Vandever image, referring to archival paper and ink with digital processing. ...

11. N.Y. Giants vs. Cleveland Browns preview: Can Big Blue contain Brandon Weeden?
(Sports/Professional)

... get an alleviating elixir to push them ahead in the NFC East division in the form of the Cleveland Browns for Week 5. In contrast, the Jets may as well have been handed a cyanide pill. I am referring to ...

12. Rutgers provides women engineering students new living-learning community
(N.J./State)

... successful student organizations are led by women,” he said, referring to honor societies, professional societies and service activities such as Engineers without Borders. “The living-learning community ...

13. Obama shrugs off Eastwood chair skit
(U.S./Nation)

... according to EW.com, the account “Invisible Obama” appeared on Twitter. Its first post read: “When Mitt Romney says 'Mr. Chairman,' do you think he’s referring to me?” The account had nearly 68,000 followers ...

14. Webster dictionary new words 2012: 'Sexting' and 'f-bomb' make the cut
(Life/Style)

... Stephen King described earworms as "songs that burrow into your head and commence chewing on your brains" in a 2009 article on ew.com. He was referring to examples like 'Coconut,'' by Harry Nilsson,''Who ...

15. Swimmer Cameron van der Burgh a cheater? The secret that lies beneath
(Sports/Professional)

BY BOB HOLT NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM A South African swimmer decided to become one of the 99 percent in his effort at attaining Olympic gold. What he was referring to doing was breaking the rules.  ...

16. Kim G, former 'Real Housewives of N.J.' star, has no regrets
(Entertainment/Movies)

... me anyway," Kim said laughing, but says she was ready to leave anyway. "Most of that bunch don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of," Kim said referring to her former cast mates. "They ...

17. George Zimmerman
(Comments/Unsorted comments)

... running down that street"; apparently referring to Trayvon Martin. Those statements mean that Zimmerman was still pursuing Martin just before getting off of the phone with the Dispatcher. It could also ...

18. Romney's Olympic blunders may help Obama
(U.S./Nation)

... hopeful. Referring to Romney’s use of his management skills at Bain Capital to rescue the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, Cameron said, “We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, ...

19. When Obama and Romney go negative, the American voter loses
(Opinion/Commentary)

... and demeanor, generally treating those with whom he disagreed with respect and preferring to make his case with logic rather than hyperbole. The relentless attack strategy is jarringly at odds with the ...

20. Steve Balmer: Windows 8 "biggest deal" since Windows 95
(Sci/Tech/Science updates)

... smartphones and tablet PCs along with desktops and laptops. Ballmer was referring to the launch of Windows 95 with his earlier comment. According to Yahoo! News, he said, "It's the glue, it's the foundation ...