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The federal government Friday called for all baby boomers to be tested for hepatitis C, which kills more Americans each year than AIDS and is the leading reason for liver transplants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the recommendation to find hundreds of thousands of people who don't realize that they have the infection, which greatly increases their chances of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus is transmitted by blood, usually through intravenous drug use or transfusions.

There are two sides to Michael Vick's athleticism. At times, his breathtaking talent conjures gains from thin air when the defense is closing in. But last season, Vick's unfailing belief in his own ability too often led to risky plays and game-changing turnovers. "He gets caught sometimes doing too much, trying to do too much, and that's where he gets in trouble," Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Pederson said Monday in advance of full-team practices that begin Tuesday. "We eliminate those and keep him within our system, and positive things are going to happen.

Just downstream from an industrial recycling operation and a stone's throw from a sewage treatment plant, a fisherman casts his line toward the passing barge traffic and watches it drop into the Delaware River. A couple eating lunch watch curiously. "No way would I ever eat anything from there," the woman says. The fishers who frequent the pier in Camden's Waterfront South neighborhood have heard it all before. That they're crazy, that they're going to grow an extra head or get sick from eating what they catch.

In the first few years of the last decade, a lot of assumptions were made about aging baby boomers, their parents, their children, and their housing needs. Boomers would begin downsizing as soon as the children flew the coop, starting at about 55. Boomers would move to communities filled with their own kind. Elderly parents would be accommodated in a casita — a part of the house — until they needed continuing care. The casita would then be converted to a crafts room.

Revel, Revel, Revel . . . . That's all the noise one hears these days coming from the Jersey Shore - especially when it concerns new prospects for dining. Granted, the gleaming $2.4 billion tower of Atlantic City's latest casino resort is hard to miss. And with more than a dozen restaurant concepts involving some very big names, its spring debut has no doubt been the biggest food news to hit this casino town since the Borgata began A.C.'s high-end remake. Jose Garces should have Philadelphians' attention right off the bat with three restaurants: an outsize version of Amada with ocean views and flamenco; a jumbo Village Whiskey clone for gourmet burgers and booze; plus Nuevo Mex concept with a Distrito Cantina serving margaritas and a replica Guapo's Taco truck.

$250 What not-attorney-general Zoe Baird paid her Peruvian nanny per week. $58,333.33 What CBS pays David Letterman per show. 12 hours, 5 minutes Duration of the July 2-3 doubleheader between the Phillies and San Diego (4:30 p.m. to 4:35 a.m.). 28,194,400 Approximate number of sandbags stacked to stem the Midwest flood. $335 million Jurassic Park's North American box-office gross. 222 Number of sit-ups Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen told a grand jury he does routinely.

So, what uniform number will Roy Halladay wear with the Phillies? He wore No. 32 with the Blue Jays, but that is Steve Carlton's number and it has been retired in Philadelphia. Halladay will wear No. 34, the same number worn by Cliff Lee, who departed yesterday for Seattle in a separate trade.  

Shoppers streamed to area stores yesterday on the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season. Retailers hope that those shoppers were buyers and that Black Friday?s numbers presage more green in their future. Here's a tally of how the day added up for consumers and store operators. 9: Number of minutes it took to get a parking space at 9:43 a.m. at King of Prussia mall. 1,000: Number of goodie bags given out to the first shoppers at Willow Grove Park mall, starting at 6 a.m. 400: Number of bananas given away at the customer-service desk at Willow Grove Park mall.

Of the dozen teams that survived the rigors of the regular season and qualified for the 1991 NFL playoffs, eight begin their sudden-death trek toward the Super Bowl this weekend. With that in mind, and taking a break between resignations, retirements and firings among the league's head coaches, here's how the playoffs shape up, by the numbers: 0. Number of playoff games won by New Orleans, ever; number of games lost by Dallas this season playing on grass-covered swards like Soldier Field; number of winning teams beaten by the Jets this season; number of fans secretly hoping to see Denver reach another Super Bowl.

Last year, in light of the rash of school killings across our country, I wrote a letter to President Clinton expressing my concern about these tragic events and offering a proposal to help our children protect themselves and their peers. I did not get a response from the White House, and now because of what has happened in Littleton, Colo., and again in Conyers, Ga., as a mother and a grandmother, I am compelled to write to you. Please do not take this lightly. I again propose a nationwide 800 number be established so children can call anonymously 24 hours a day to report rumors of possible violence against school administrators, fellow students and others.

IF THERE IS anything about this Eastern Conference semifinal series between the 76ers and Boston Celtics that makes sense, it is hiding itself better than Evan Turner's jump shot. They'll resume their head-scratching series on Monday at TD Garden, even at two games each. A few examples of the strangeness of the series: In separate games, Boston has jumped out to leads of 9-0 and 14-0, and lost. During their two wins, the Sixers have shot 39.2 percent from the floor, while they've made 42.3 percent in their two losses.

More New Jersey residents lived in poverty in 2010 than ever before, according to a report released Sunday. A record 885,0000 people in the state, nearly 300,000 of them children, lived below the poverty line, say authors of an analysis by the Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute in Edison, which is based on the most recent numbers available. Overall, the poverty rate increased from 8.7 percent in 2008 to 9.4 percent in 2009, and finally to 10.3 percent in 2010.

ELKTON, Md. - About 10 a.m. Sunday, a horse van carrying Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another north on I-95 to Belmont Park passed about 10 miles east of the Fair Hill (Md.) Training Center. The horse that will be going for the Triple Crown on June 9 in the Belmont Stakes was on his way to get familiar with the surface they call "Big Sandy. " Meanwhile, the horse whose trainer thought he might be going for the Triple Crown was in his Fair Hill stall. Union Rags is quietly getting ready, away from the madness that is sure to envelop I'll Have Another and his connections in the coming days.

Apparently Matt Kemp was seriously offended at being passed over in the National League MVP voting a year ago. The Dodgers' outfielder has Angelenos asking "Albert Who?" with one of the most torrid starts in years: 12 homers and 25 RBIs in his first 23 games. If you're playing along at home, that's 84 dingers and 176 ribbies in a full season. Oh yeah - he's hitting .417. Then there's Josh Hamilton. The Rangers' outfielder already has one MVP on his trophy shelf (along with a few substance-abuse suspensions)

WHEN DISTRICT, city and charter officials signed the Great Schools Compact last year, they signaled the direction that public education was going in - closing seats in low-performing schools, and expanding high-performing ones. Labels - whether a school is run by the district or by a charter - matter much less now. Officials said that they want to continue expanding charters, and expect that by 2017, 40 percent of the city's roughly 200,000 students will be enrolled in a charter school.

The number of interracial or interethnic married couple households rose 28 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to a U.S. Census Bureau study released today. The study said that seven percent of U.S. married householders in 2000 identified themselves as interracial or interethnic. In 2010, that number was 10 percent. The rise marks a 28 percent increase, according to the Census Bureau. The states with the highest percentages of couples of a different race or Hispanic origin in 2010 lived primarily in the west and southwest.Locally, nearly 10 percent of households in New Jersey were headed by married couples of different races or origins.

The community college is being asked to save America. But like a small-town fire department straining to contain a big-city blaze, community colleges aren't equipped to handle the huge job thrust on them, many experts say. Many millennials - a diverse demographic of 18-to-34-year-olds who make up the largest share of community-college students in the Delaware Valley - are looking to the schools to give them a fighting chance in a brutal...

WHAT WAS LORENZO Neal thinking? The former NFL player is the chief information officer for Safe Ride Solutions, a company that provides confidential transportation for intoxicated clients. That said, you would think that the four-time Pro Bowl fullback would know not to drive drunk. Think again. Neal was sentenced to 3 years of probation, and ordered to pay over $1,800 in court fees and fines after pleading no contest to a drunk driving charge in Fresno, Calif., on Monday.

If the uniform made the player, instead of vice versa, Aaron Cox could pull on that blue jersey and head straight to the South Jersey baseball Hall of Fame. After all, the last guy before Cox to wear No. 1 for Millville set a South Jersey record with 18 home runs, was a first-round draft choice by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball. But despite his close connection with Mike Trout - the gifted 20-year-old who has spent his first week in triple-A reminding the Angels that he belongs in their big-league outfield - Cox knows he has to wear his friend's old shirt in his own way. On Tuesday, Cox made that locally legendary laundry look as good as ever.

Millville coach Roy Hallenbeck has a good feeling when he sees No. 1 stride to the plate. That's because senior Aaron Cox is the first player to wear that jersey number for the Thunderbolts since Mike Trout graduated in 2009. "You retire a jersey, nobody sees it," Hallenbeck said of the decision to take Trout's jersey out of retirement this season. Trout was The Inquirer's South Jersey player of the year in 2009. He hit a South Jersey-record 18 home runs for Millville and was the No. 1 draft choice by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.