Indeed, the decay of Congo's Belgian-built roads, which in 1960 ran to over 100, 000km, must rank as one of the greatest boons to forests since the Black Death.

ECONOMIST: Seeing the wood

There is a continuum between brain death and normal awareness that patients such as Sharon fall into, Black said.

CNN: Sharon brain results not proof he'll wake up

There is supreme irony in the death of Michael Jackson the same year as the inauguration of the first black president.

CNN: Commentary: When the white glove waved

Commerce was already associated with infection during the Black Death, though it would be hundreds of years before rats were singled out as its carrier, and the first quarantines followed soon after.

ECONOMIST: Where and when will the next pandemic emerge?

The incident came as Sanford remains in the national spotlight because of the 2012 shooting death of an unarmed black teenager.

CNN: SHARE THIS

In most Asian cultures, it is actually bad luck to wear black to a wedding because it is considered as some sort of sartorial disguise for misfortune and even even death.

FORBES: Is The Kim Kardashian And Kris Humphries Nuptials America's Version Of A Royal Wedding