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Amid the budget debate, there's one comparison you hear a lot. As House Speaker John Boehner has put it: "Every family in America has to balance their budget. Washington should, too." But just how accurate is that analogy?

Like Americans, the Swiss have an entrenched gun culture — it's not uncommon to see regular citizens out in the public with a gun slung across their back — and most are vehemently opposed to gun control. Yet Switzerland has a far lower rate of gun violence than in the U.S.

Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in the U.S., and two-thirds of the state's suicides are by firearm. Like much of the West, Wyoming's gun ownership rates are high, and gun culture is strong. The state's relationship with guns has made suicide prevention efforts tough, but that may be changing.

Plans by the Israeli government to build in E1 have been decried by Palestinian officials who claim that building a new settlement between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim would, "effectively cut the West Bank in two." Israeli officials have accused the Palestinians of exaggerating E1's importance, and pro-Israel groups have argued that alternative roads will still run through the area, connecting the northern and southern halves of the West Bank. A trip between Bethlehem and Ramallah that 10 years ago would take 15-20 minutes, will take upwards of 2.5 hours on the new roads.

Sports commentator Frank Deford wants to know: When did we stop arguing about sports in the time-honored bar-stool fashion?

Health insurers are obligated to cover pumps to help moms breast-feed. But there is a variety of equipment. Some nursing mothers prefer faster, electric models that cost more. Insurers may say a less expensive manual pump would do just fine.

According to Pentagon research, a quarter of all women who join the military are sexually assaulted during their careers. Many cases go unreported, and some victims say the perpetrator is a superior to whom they would have to report the assault.

Millions of basketball fans will fill out NCAA tournament brackets this week and try to correctly predict the outcomes of every game. The chances of succeeding are about 1 in 150 quintillion. A group of computer scientists are trying to beat those odds by writing programs that learn to pick winners.

In the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting, there's a raging public debate over placing armed guards in schools. Some say it's impractical, but about a third of American schools already have some kind of armed security. One school police officer in Stockton, Calif., finds the job is part protector, part mentor.

Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dongs will go to a pair of private equity firms. Wonder Bread will be sold to snack food maker Flowers Food. The Beefsteak brand of bread will go to a Mexican company.