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Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop died Monday. He was 96. As surgeon general, Koop turned an office with little power into a mighty platform to educate Americans about AIDS prevention and the dangers of smoking.

Since the governors last met in July, some have shifted their views on the federal health care law. A few Republicans have even changed their minds about the potential benefits of the president's plan to expand Medicaid.

The debate currently raging over guns goes beyond a disagreement over policy. Advocates on both sides literally disagree on the terms of the discussion — as in, the words they use to describe it. They know that the specific phrases they use tap into deeply held values in the people who hear them.

Twenty-eight states and the federal government have enacted laws that provide for automatic DNA collection from people at the time of their arrest. The question is whether it is unconstitutional to do that without a warrant, for the sole purpose of checking the DNA against a national crime scene database.

A federal judge will hear testimony Tuesday in a civil suit over who is to blame and who should be financially liable for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, the court in New Orleans heard more than eight hours of opening statements from lawyers for the government and several defendants.

Developers paid more than $40 million for the empty space above Christ Church on Park Avenue at 60th Street. The New York Times reports zoning laws allow for a structure taller than the church to be built on its land, and the church can transfer its unused development rights to an adjoining property . The church's new neighbor is expected to be a 51-story tower, with apartments expected to fetch $8,000 per square foot.

The death toll is reported to be near 20. What caused the fire and crash has yet to be determined. Balloon rides over the ancient city of Luxor and nearby historic sites are popular among tourists. Those killed are said to have been from Japan, Britain, Belgium and France.

The Chelyabinsk meteor was part of a group of Earth-crossing objects known as Apollo asteroids, scientists believe.

Many American doctors are nurses are helping to build medical schools abroad, as funding agencies push for this collaborative style of philanthropy. Even former President Clinton is getting involved. He's launched a $15 million initiative to revamp Rwanda's health care system.

From food scientists who study the human palate to maximize consumer bliss, to marketing campaigns that target teens to hook them for life on a brand, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss' new book goes inside the world of processed, packaged goods.