A new kind of high is being enjoyed on wedding day in Colorado and Washington, the two states that have legalized recreational marijuana use. Pot is popping up in all different ways at marriage ceremonies in these two states, from bridal bouquets to gift bags to celebratory toasts. Advocates say serving marijuana is better than alcohol. It just mellows out the crowd, they insist, making it a good time for all.   read more

An urgent manhunt is on in Northern California for a man who’s infected with tuberculosis. Law enforcement hopes to find him before he infects anyone else with what might be a drug-resistant strain of the disease. Eduardo Rosas Cruz showed up at the San Joaquin General Hospital in Stockton in March and was diagnosed with TB. He was told to stay for a health worker to administer his medication. Instead, he left. Officials got a statewide warrant for his arrest last Thursday.   read more

Another study revealed another kind of divide among the believers and non-believers of climate change: the English language. The market research firm Ipsos MORI said in its “Global Trends 2014” report that the three countries with the most climate-change deniers were the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, all English-speaking nations. All have some of their media controlled by Rupert Murdoch.   read more

The fire may have been the result of diesel oil building up on the vehicle’s engine. Shortly after that event, a container with radioactive waste sprung a leak. Regardless, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP), a $1.9 million bonus for its “excellent” work at WIPP during 2013. Included in the criteria for that bonus is safety and maintenance. The bonus was delivered five days after the truck fire.   read more

Most medicines sold in the U.S. come with instructions that call for teaspoon- or tablespoon-sized amounts. The problem with this method is that it can lead to dangerous overdosing for children. About 10,000 people each year contact poison control centers because of confusion about medicine directions. That’s why some professional organizations are now advocating for American liquid medicines to be dispensed in milliliters, which produces fewer risks of overdosing kids.   read more

The first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship and to hold a three-star rank among all the armed services, Michelle Howard was promoted last week to four-star admiral. The promotion made her the first woman, and first African American, to climb so high in the Navy. She now holds the second most important post in the Navy, as vice chief of naval operations. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said it shows “how far we have come, and how far she has helped bring us.”   read more

Federal health officials were surprised to learn that vials containing deadly smallpox virus were sitting in a vacant government lab outside Washington, DC. The virus was officially eradicated 44 years ago. At that time, “every single research lab in the world was asked to scour their facilities and submit all specimens for accounting and destruction,” said Dr. William Schaffner. It “seems curious beyond belief” that the smallpox vials were now found in an abandoned storeroom, he added.   read more

Federal prosecutors in New York City enjoyed seven long years of successfully convicting Wall Street cheats. But their streak has come to an end. Beginning in 2007, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan managed to string together 85 straight convictions involving insider trading. The winning streak, oddly enough, began and ended with hedge fund trader Rengan Rajaratnam.   read more

In New York City, a baseball fan is suing the Yankees, the baseball league and ESPN for embarrassing him on national television. When Andrew Rector fell asleep during a game, the network coverage took notice. As Rector was shown snoozing, announcers commented: “Is that guy to his left his buddy who’s just letting him sleep?” ... “Maybe that’s his buddy, and he likes him a lot better when he’s asleep.” Rector seeks $10 million in damages for defamation and emotional distress.   read more

Known as “rolling coal,” some diesel truck owners have modified their engines and vehicles so they can blow thick, black, acrid clouds of exhaust into the air while driving down the road. The EPA, meanwhile, has stated that the practice is clearly illegal, which it says is supported by two paragraphs on the enforcement page of the agency’s website.   read more

Only 25% of active-duty service members in the older age group reported feeling stress during the previous day, the lowest number in the survey. On the other end of the scale, 46% of civilians and discharged veterans in the younger age group reported feeling stress on the previous day.   read more

Project members will meet with NASA officials this week to get final permission to bring the craft into its new orbit. The group will have to prove that the craft is functional and that it has a valid scientific purpose. And just as a teen’s first stop in his new car is often a fast-food joint, the reactivated satellite will be controlled from—where else?—an abandoned McDonald’s restaurant on the site of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.   read more

Seven states experienced a drop in their median age during the same span. Some of this decline was attributed to the oil and gas rush that’s been taking place in the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and Oklahoma since hydraulic fracturing opened up previously untapped reserves. Demand for drillers and other industry workers has prompted many younger Americans, mostly men, to relocate to these states for employment.   read more

Judge Lynn Rosenthal made a spectacle of herself last month after driving drunk in a courthouse parking lot, hitting a police car and repeatedly driving into a gate. Rosenthal was the third Broward County judge in six months to be arrested for driving under the influence. Another was Judge Gisele Pollack, who was already in trouble for showing up for work drunk, twice, and was later arrested for being under the influence.   read more

The zone in front of the Supreme Court is about 252 feet long. Just a year ago, the Supreme Court issued a new regulation that banned “picketing, speech making, marching, holding vigils or religious services and all other like forms of conduct that involve the communication or expression of views or grievances, engaged in by one or more persons, the conduct of which is reasonably likely to draw a crowd or onlookers.”   read more

As the National Security Agency (NSA) examines the communications of millions of people in the United States and around the world, they had someone keeping an eye on them as well. Greenpeace on Friday flew its 135-foot blimp over the NSA’s Bluffdale, Utah, data facility. The blimp read “NSA—Illegal Spying Below” and “StandAgainstSpying.org.   read more