PressTV - 8/21/13

Los Angeles Times - 8/21/13, Tom Kington

Ex-Pope Benedict XVI is shown in 2005 shortly after his election as pontiff to succeed the late John Paul II. (Domenico Stinellis / Associated Press / April 19, 2005)

ROME --Former Pope Benedict XVI, who shocked the world by resigning in February, has reportedly revealed that God told him to do it during a "mystical experience."

The first pontiff to step down in six centuries, Benedict said, "God told me to," when asked about his decision to dedicate himself to a life of prayer instead.

More: LATimes.com

The Sofia Globe - Staff, 8/16/13

On the day that Bulgaria’s lawmakers overturned the presidential veto on the Budget revision, the National Assembly building, fittingly, found itself in between two very different crowds – one made of the pro-government supporters bussed into Sofia and another made of people demanding the government’s resignation.

As the debate inside the National Assembly drew to a close, the placement of the pro-government rally was shown to have had another goal – forming a buffer for MPs to escape the scene using the Parliament’s , in contrast to the July 23 episode in which a busload of MPs under police escort was directed into a crowd of several thousand anti-government protesters.

More: SofiaGlobe.com

Bloomberg.com - 8/13/13, By David Voreacos

No industry has felt the sting of whistle-blowing more than health care. Since 1988, whistle-blowers have helped the U.S. government recover $24.2 billion, and 75 percent of that involved medical treatment, according to the Department of Justice. The pace is accelerating. Since 2009, 91 percent of the $10.6 billion recovered has come in health-care cases.

Ven-A-Care stopped a scheme that was costing taxpayers billions of dollars a year, says Suzanne Durrell, a former U.S. prosecutor who worked on the pharmacy’s first case.

More: Bloomberg.com

National Geographic - Jane J. Lee, 7/03/13

Photograph from Fox Photos/Getty Images

Superstorm Sandy whacked the U.S. East Coast last October, flooding cities, felling trees, and tearing apart buildings. The storm knocked Lady Liberty when it charged over Liberty Island—the statue's 12-acre, oval home—causing nearly $59 million in damage.

  Photograph courtesy Jet Lowe, Library of Congress