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Anybody who bets on the Philadelphia 76ers to win the NBA title has a chance at a serious payoff. In Las Vegas, odds against them are 9,999 to 1. Asked how they came up with that figure, oddsmakers say it's just the highest number their computers can take.

Police cars in Iowa and Florida are testing a secret weapon: a small cannon embedded in the grill. It shoots "tracking" bullets — containing tiny GPS devices — that can stick to the trunk of a suspect's car. Police could then follow a suspect at a leisurely pace instead of embarking on a dangerous high-speed chase.

When Amazon revamped its publishing wing, a lot of booksellers said enough is enough: They refused to stock Amazon Publishing's books, and Barnes & Noble followed suit. Now, with the departure of a star talent and some book releases that fell flat, many say Amazon Publishing may in trouble.

For all their notoriety as wasteful "pork barrel" projects, earmarks did have one obvious benefit: They helped congressional leaders pass spending bills. A multibillion-dollar appropriations package was much easier to sell to members if they could brag about something for their home states. In recent years, with earmarks banned, spending bills have largely been replaced with "continuing resolutions," which simply keep spending levels for existing programs going for a few more weeks or months.

The bottled water industry says it uses water far more efficiently than other beverages. But water activists say that few companies in the beverage industry are calculating their total water footprint.

As the 29 lawmakers on the bipartisan budget conference committee begin discussions, they'll be led by two negotiators who seem to get along well despite many differences.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill. She can expect some heated questions about the rugged rollout of the Affordable Care Act. President Obama, meanwhile, heads to Boston to talk about health care in the afternoon.

One of the president's most famous promises — "if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan" — isn't true for everyone now that the Affordable Care Act is going into effect, say nonpartisan truth squads.

Long before there was an industry supplying athletes with high-tech energy fuel, marathoners had to make due with what they had. And what they had may disgust you.

They're everywhere — smartphone users who wander the sidewalks, and sometimes into other people, tapping away at their cellphones. Is resistance futile?