As the election year dawns, problems with the health care law have widened the narrow opening for Republicans to retake control of the Senate.

Smoking by some of the youngest Americans declined significantly in 2013, and smoking rates fell to record lows for all three grades surveyed grades 8, 10 and 12.

Previously, the companies used the Social Security Death Master File to search and stop payments for deceased annuity holders, but the database wasn't being used to identify those life insurance policy holders who had died.