The COO of the Orthodox Union’s kosher certification agency, Rabbi Elefant, has reportedly talked to several companies seeking a kosher seal of approval for medical marijuana. “Just as the OU gives out kosher certificates for vitamins or for any other medical product, after an examination of the ingredients, it is possible in principle to issue kosher certificates for cannabis, as long it is solely for medical uses and in countries where it is permitted by law,” said the Union’s CEO in Israel.   read more

An Ohio Supreme Court decision last week compelled a justice to do something few public officials do when it comes to addressing the connection between campaign contributions and political favors. After the court sided with drillers in a fracking regulation case, Justice O’Neill in his dissent wrote that “the oil and gas industry has gotten its way.” Catherine Turcer said: “What I liked about Justice O’Neill’s opinion was his willingness to point out the elephant in the room."   read more

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who often is mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for president, frequently discusses his evangelical faith in public and has gone so far as to imply that he talks to God. But when asked to show proof of that, his office said it could not provide it. “While it's on the record that the governor is communicating with higher powers like billionaire and political kingmaker Sheldon Adelson, that's where the paper trail ends,” wrote the Foundation.   read more

This year’s five Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature have something unusual in common: in none of them is the young protagonist raised by his or her birth mother. The target audience for all of the nominees (even the more sophisticated Princess Kaguya) is children.   read more

The CIA never explained why it was funding the project. But Robock became suspicious after two CIA consultants contacted him inquiring about the possibility of another country gaining control of the weather. “They said: ‘We are working for the CIA and we’d like to know if some other country was controlling our climate, would we be able to detect it?’ I think they were also thinking in the back of their minds: ‘If we wanted to control somebody else’s climate could they detect it?’”   read more

To honor the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, the government of third-generation dictator Kim Jong Un issued a collection of more than 300 new slogans. Here are some of the most noteworthy: 1. Let this socialist country resound with the Song of Big Fish Haul and be permeated with the fragrant smell of fish and other seafoods! 5. Let the wives of officers become dependable assistants to their husbands! 15. Fertilizer means rice and socialism.   read more

Brown’s sexual orientation has been known to Oregon voters for years, as she has worked her way from the state house of representatives to the state senate and was first elected as secretary of state in 2008. Her orientation appears to be a non-issue for Oregonians. In fact, the most controversial thing about Brown is actually a letter she submitted endorsing the Comcast merger with Time Warner Cable. The letter was partly written by a Comcast lobbyist.   read more

In its most recent effort to enforce the use of “authentic names” on its site, Facebook blocked the accounts of Native Americans such as Dana Lone Hill, Parmelee Kills The Enemy and Shane Creepingbear. Creepingbear’s profile was removed, ironically enough, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, also known as Columbus Day.   read more

Those who spend a lot—more than $20,000—on the ceremony get divorced 60% more often than couples with cheaper weddings. And here’s good news for the grooms—the same holds true for spending on engagement rings. Men who spent between $2,000 and $4,000 on rings got divorced 30% more often than those who spent between $500 and $2,000.   read more

The researchers offered some reasons why the benches tend to be populated with conservatives. Beginning in the early 1980s, the Federalist Society—a right-wing legal organization—started setting up on the campuses of American law schools. That effort, Joanna Penn wrote at the Journalist’s Resource, “may be paying off: Graduates of elite law schools who went on to become judges are far more likely to be conservative than their peers.”   read more

The Islamic State has been looting ancient sites in Syria and Iraq, taking antiquities from Turkish, Syrian and Iraqi heritage sites and selling them on the black market. The thefts have generated enough money that they have become the second most important source of revenue for IS after petroleum sales   read more

Commission executive director Kendra Montgomery proudly says: “We’re the only state that has a government agency that is neutral to investigate these cases." Operating since 2006, the commission has received 1,642 claims, which led to eight exonerations so far. Montgomery says she is regularly contacted by officials from other states who want to use the North Carolina commission as a model for such an agency in their own states. Lack of funding is usually what prevents that from happening.   read more

Researchers studied health statistics over a 35-year period and found more flu-related deaths among seniors in counties with teams in the Super Bowl than in counties whose teams weren’t in the game. “Having a local team in the Super Bowl causes an 18% increase in influenza deaths for the population over age 65, with evidence suggesting one mechanism is increased local socialization,” said the study. They also found that things were worse when the game occurred during a flu outbreak.   read more

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen looked at 1,098 joggers and 413 sedentary, but healthy, non-joggers. They found those who jogged lived longer than those who didn’t exercise at all. But it turned out that those who jogged too much or too fast put too much stress on their bodies and tended to live shorter lives than those who jogged at an easier pace.   read more

250 enfeebled pups, mostly around 7 months old, were rescued last month. A rehab facility in Sausalito that typically sees a dozen washed-up pups in January is treating about 108. The babies, which are usually born in the summer and stay with their mothers until April, may have become separated when the adult ventured farther out to sea in search of food.   read more

The FAA said U.S. efforts to regulate lunar activity might run afoul with international agreements on space development. Moon Express says it intends to bring moon dust or rocks back to Earth on its third mission to the satellite. “The company does not see anything, including the Outer Space Treaty, as being a barrier to our initial operations on the moon,” said Bob Richardss. That includes “the right to bring stuff off the moon and call it ours.”   read more