Free Republic

Scientists have confirmed the long-held suspicion that frequent heavy marijuana use damages the brain's memory and learning capacity. "Our results suggest that long-term cannabis use is hazardous to white matter in the developing brain. This was especially true for those who had started in adolescence, as we know the brain is still developing during this time," Lead researcher Dr. Marc Seal, from Melbourne’s Murdoch Children's Research Institute said in a university release. Scientists from MCRI, Melbourne University and Wollongong University compared MRI scans of the brain for 59 people who had been using marijuana for an average of 15 years...

STANFORD, Calif. - President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official said here today. It's "the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government" to centralize efforts toward creating an "identity ecosystem" for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said. That news, first reported by CNET, effectively pushes the department to the forefront of the issue, beating out other potential candidates including the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

The weight of the world may be on his shoulders but there's not much around President Barack Obama's middle. The U.S. president has invoked the concern in America after walking out of a gym looking skinnier than ever. Clutching an energy drink, Mr Obama is pictured looking cheerful as he left the gym at Fort McNair in Washington