Winners
Peyton Manning: The Broncos’ new QB throws his 400th touchdown pass (becoming No. 3 all time), goes 19 for 26 and has no interceptions as Denver beats Pittsburgh 31-19. Welcome back!
Portland, Ore.: The largest city in the nation not to put fluoride in its water decides to add the cavity-fighting substance to the water by 2014. The city’s water system serves one-fourth of Oregon’s population, and Portland has one of the highest rates of tooth decay in the U.S.
McDonald’s: The fast food giant posts calorie contents on its menus and will start offering seasonal fruits and vegetables, add a grilled chicken Happy Meal and offer egg whites in its McMuffins.
Flea market shopper: Virginia woman pays $7 for a box of cast-offs yielding a lost work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Auction house believes it could fetch $100,000 at sale.
Tossups
Income figures: U.S. median household income falls to $50,054 in 2011, the lowest figure since 1996, but the percentage of Americans living in poverty was unchanged since 2010 and the share of uninsured 19- to 25-year-olds fell by more than 2 percent.
Losers
Consumers, farmers: The U.S. Department of Agriculture lowers its forecast for this year’s corn and soybean crop yields – for the third time this year.
Florida A&M: Faced with much criticism, a dozen students charged in the hazing death of 26-year-old band member Robert Champion (pictured) and, more to the point, a lawsuit, the university files its legal defense in court – claiming it was the victim’s fault.
Crown Point: The mayor of this northwest Indiana city makes more than $74,000 a year, and its clerk-treasurer is paid $73,000. The city council is seriously considering giving the mayor an additional $250 for each meeting of the Board of Public Works and Safety he attends. The clerk-treasurer would get $125 for each of those meetings as well as city council meetings – even though state law requires her to be the council’s secretary. Why would the council consider paying those officials for work their salaries already include? Council members would pay themselves $50 for each council meeting on top of their $7,000 salaries.
Indianapolis: Negotiations continue in wage talks between symphony orchestra and its unionized musicians, but the first two weeks of the season have been canceled as a result of the stalemate.
Milestones
Zeus: “The Guinness Book of World Records” names this 155-pound Great Dane from Otsego, Mich., the world’s tallest dog. Measuring 44 inches from foot to shoulder, Zeus stands 7-foot-4 on his hind legs.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish joins the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports – except football. Still, the Irish will play five football games against ACC teams each season.
