People in Takoma Park, Md., walk toward a fallen telephone pole on June 30 after heavy overnight thunderstorms devastated the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The line of storms known as a derecho left over 1 million people without power. Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Landov hide caption

French actor Gerard Depardieu speaks outside Paris in March. He recently said he was moving to neighboring Belgium to avoid France's new top tax rate of 75 percent. The news ignited a debate in France over taxes and patriotism. Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

People visit a memorial outside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 15. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

Researchers in Australia found that when they removed mistletoe from large sections of forests, vast numbers of birds left. BSIP/UIG via Getty Images hide caption

Publishers are finding that flexible pricing on e-books can help bring in new readers. iStockphoto.com hide caption

Penguin and Random House, two of the biggest players in publishing, announced in October that they would merge. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Margaret Atwood has written 13 novels, including The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake. George Whiteside hide caption

About three-quarters of public libraries offer digital lending, but finding a book you want can be frustrating — every publisher has its own set of rules. iStockphoto.com hide caption

The ILVA steel plant in Taranto, Italy, provides some 20,000 badly needed jobs in a country with a weak economy. But it also spews carcinogens. A court has ordered a partial shutdown, which the government has rejected. Yara Nardi/Reuters /Landov hide caption

Amanda Cohen is the chef-owner of Dirt Candy, a vegetable-focused restaurant in New York City. Clarkson Potter hide caption