Air quality grows worse

Air quality grows worse

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Hundreds of lightning-sparked wildfires have turned the air of Northern California into an unhealthy stew of smoke and ash, forcing the cancellation of athletic events and other outdoor activities.

Air pollution readings in the region are two to 10 times the federal standard for clean air, Dimitri Stanich, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, said Saturday.

Some areas are experiencing the worst air quality on record, with the smoke hanging down to the ground like a fog.

Call for political activism rankles some Mormons

SALT LAKE CITY — Lester Leavitt has made a request of his family: oppose their church’s opposition to gay marriage.

Leavitt, from Pompano Beach, Fla., is asking his siblings and children on the West Coast to choose family over a call from Mormon church leaders to support a November ballot initiative to define traditional marriage California’s constitution.

A letter from Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was to be read from the pulpit in church congregations today.

Since the letter began circulating on the Web last weekend, hundreds of Mormon blog posts have expressed disbelief, disappointment and outrage at the church’s decision to wade into politics.

A lifelong Mormon who came out as a gay man in 2004, Leavitt wants his California relatives to walk out when Monson’s letter is read.

Collider raises questions

MEYRIN, Switzerland — The most powerful atom-smasher ever built could make some bizarre discoveries, such as invisible matter or extra dimensions in space, after it is switched on in August.

But some critics fear the Large Hadron Collider could exceed physicists’ wildest conjectures: Will it spawn a black hole that could swallow Earth? Or spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot dead clump?

Ridiculous, say scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French initials CERN — some of whom have been working for a generation on the $5.8 billion collider, or LHC.

“Obviously, the world will not end when the LHC switches on,” said project leader Lyn Evans.

Netherlands smoking ban

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — This city’s famed marijuana bars have weathered many challenges over the years and are still smoking.

But now they face an unwelcome blast of fresh air: On July 1, the Netherlands will be one of the last European countries to ban smoking in bars and restaurants in compliance with EU law.

The Health Ministry says the ban will apply to caf s that sell marijuana, known as coffee shops. But this being Holland, which for centuries has experimented with social liberalism, there’s a loophole: The ban covers tobacco but not marijuana, which is technically illegal anyway.

But that still leaves coffee shops and their customers in a bind. Dutch and other European marijuana users traditionally smoke pot in fat, cone-shaped joints mixed with tobacco.

Gathering of Elizabeths

ELIZABETH, Ill. — The world’s most famous Elizabeth didn’t show, but about 400 others did.

The northern Illinois community of Elizabeth tried Saturday to set a world record for the largest Gathering of Elizabeths. Women with Elizabeth in any part of their name were allowed in; one participant has Elizabeth as a last name.

The event drew women from more than 20 states. Those participating had to show a copy of a birth certificate or driver’s license.

“We did invite Queen Elizabeth II, but she politely declined,” said Susan Gordy, who helped organize the event.

Cheesy version of painting

LITTLE CHUTE, Wis. — A Wisconsin sculptor’s version of a historical painting is a bit cheesy.

Troy Landwehr has carved a version of John Trumbull’s painting “Declaration of Independence” in a 2,000-pound block of cheddar.

The artist’s painting of the historic signing hangs in the Capitol in Washington and graces the back of the $2 bill.

The cheesy version is to be displayed near Independence Mall in Philadelphia for July 4, then returned to Wisconsin to be shown at Landwehr’s Kerrigan Brothers Winery.

Associated Press