The Vikings were seafaring north Germanic people who raided, traded, explored, and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia, and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th centuries. The Vikings employed wooden longships with wide, shallow-draft hulls, allowing navigation in rough seas or in shallow river waters. The ships could be landed on beaches, and their light weight enabled them to be hauled over portages. These versatile ships allowed the Vikings to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland, and as far south as Nekor. This period of Viking expansion, known as the Viking Age, constitutes an important element of the medieval history of Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland, Russia, and the rest of Europe.

On this date in 1776, rebellious colonials launched the first modern democracy, an experiment in government controlled by the people themselves. America succeeded so well that virtually the entire world later adopted democracy with its guarantee of personal rights.

Six years ago, lawyer-banker-scholar Charles Morris wrote a prophetic book - 'Two-Trillion-Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High-Rollers and the Great Credit Crunch' - that foresaw the 2008 Great Recession before it clobbered America and the world. Now Morris has reversed course and sees good times ahead. His forthcoming book, 'Comeback,' predicts that surging U.S. energy independence will bring a buoyant rise in American manufacturing and jobs.

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that began in the United States around 1870. Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Instead, pragmatists develop their philosophy around the idea that the function of thought is as a instrument or tool for prediction, action, and problem solving. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics - such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science - are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes rather than in terms of representative accuracy.

Longtime Attorney General Darrell McGraw was a fierce enforcer of state consumer protection laws, winning billions from firms and fly-by-night outfits that committed consumer violations. For West Virginia illness and death caused by cigarettes, McGraw won two lawsuit settlements from 23 tobacco firms for $1.7 billion and $200 million. In 2002, McGraw won $56 million from 15 coal companies that used "independent contractors" to duck state workers' compensation obligations.