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New Jersey is likely to change a religious exemption with the help of which nearly 9,000 students have avoided vaccinations in the 2013-14 school year.

On Monday, a state Senate committee has approved the tightening of the rules that according to Sen. Joseph Vitale are used as an excuse by the parents.

At present, parents need to submit a letter saying that the vaccines lead to the violation of their religion.

According to the bill (S1147), the notarized letter by a parent must explain "the nature of the person's religious tenet or practice that is implicated by the vaccination and how the administration of the vaccine would violate, contradict or otherwise be inconsistent with that tenet or practice".

A latest analysis has showed that in US between the beginning of 1996 and the end of 2010, more than half of the 66,595 suicides by adolescents and young adults were enacted by firearm. It has also found that the toll was higher in the case of rural areas than the urban areas.

For a research, published in JAMA Pediatrics, the county noted down the number of suicides in the US, among the age group including all children from the age of 10 to all young adults of the age 24, and put it through a statistical analysis.

The county found that there was a higher rate in the most rural counties, by a factor of 2.05 for males, than the most urban areas in 1996-1998, and in 2008-2010, this rural differential rose to 2.69 times the rate in urban areas for male suicide deaths committed by gun.

New genes associated with breast cancer risk have been identified by researchers. They have identified 15 genes and now total count of such genes has reached around 100 markers. This would assist in better screening. These new genes have been identified by scientists from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and Cambridge University, together with the international Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC).

According to Professor Georgia Chenevix-Trench, head of QIMR Berghofer's Cancer Program, getting more information regarding the effects of these variants on the expression of nearby genes will help scientists understand the origin of breast cancer. It will also help find out how breast cancer could be prevented, she added.

McDonald's Corp is facing a lot of competition from Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, Chick-fil-A and many other burger chains. In fact, last month these 'better burger' chains affected McDonald's US sales.

Therefore, on Monday McDonald's announced that it will remake itself as a 'modern, progressive burger company'. The company that virtually invented fast food has been struggling to come up with such dishes that meet diners' expectations, as they want healthier and fresher food.

Last week, CEO Steve Easterbrook announced that McDonald's USA will only use chicken raised with fewer antibiotics. The policy is said to make McDonald's in step with Chipotle and Chick fil-A.

Qualcomm, an American global semiconductor company, announced today that its board of directors has given approval to the company to repurchase up to $15 billion of its common stock.

It has been told that the board initially gave approval for a major increase in the company's capital return program in order to deliver value for stockholders.

The company is planning to repurchase $10 billion of its common stock within twelve months of this announcement.

The company's board has also approved a 14% of increase in Qualcomm's quarterly cash dividend, which raised the annualized dividend payout to $1.92 per share of common stock.

Founder of Central Iowa Paddlers, Robin Fortney, is concerned about the declining population of painted turtles, which is the most widespread native turtle of North America. According to Fortney, she used to see the reptile lined up on logs as she paddled down Iowa rivers, but in recent years, their population has declined.

As per state wildlife officials, they have proposed limits on wild turtles' capture. They said that the step has been taken after noticing an increase in harvest of painted, smooth and spiny softshell, and snapping turtles.