Two Canadian high school students have successfully launched a Lego man almost 80,000 feet above sea level–high enough to capture video of the plastic toy hovering above the curvature of the Earth.

Now the results of their experiment have gone viral, racking up more than 600,000 views on YouTube in just two daysand inspiring the young engineers to make their small astronaut his own Facebook page–Lego Man in Space.

The Toronto Starreports that the two teens, Matthew Ho and Asad Muhammed, were inspired to do the project about a year and a half ago when Ho saw a YouTube video of MIT students who sent a balloon to near space. Ho wanted to see if he could do it too.

The friends spent four and a half months working on the project, mostly on Saturdays. In a video interview with the Star, they said the hardest part was making the parachute, which they decided to hand-sew, even though neither of them had any sewing experience.

They also constructed a lightweight Styrofoam box to carry three point-and-shoot cameras, a wide-angle video camera and a cellphone with a downloadable GPS app. They purchased a professional weather balloon for $85 online. The helium that would lift it up came from a party supply store. For launch, they put two mitten warmers in the Styrofoam box to keep the cameras working at that altitude. The whole project cost them about $400.

After the balloon was constructed, the two waited until weather conditions would ensure that the Lego man would land in Canada and not somewhere in the US because they didnt want to take their chances with US Homeland Security, the Star reports.

Ho and Muhammed estimate that it took their balloon craft one hour and five minutes to climb 80,000 feet before it finally popped. The descent took a little more than 30 minutes.

Besides online notoriety, the two also received a congratulatory note from Lego.

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–Deborah Netburn

The Associated Press reports that lawmakers approved AB154, which would require insurers to cover the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, and AB171 for coverage of developmental disorders such as autism. They also approved legislation to cover oral chemotherapy treatments and mammograms regardless of age.

The bills still have to be approved by the Senate and signed by Governor Jerry Brown before they would become law. The deadline to pass the legislation in the Senate is this coming Tuesday.

Written by BJ Hansen

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Police officials say the 17-year-old victim had a noose placed around his neck, was threatened with a knife and was called a racial slur. Police contend the other teens attacked him on Dec. 23 because he had become friendly with one of the teens female cousins.

Authorities say the victim attends Brother Rice High School with one of the accused teens, who are white.

Police say an 18-year-old from Alsip is charged as an adult with a hate crime, unlawful restraint and misdemeanor battery. A 16-year-old and a 17-year-old were cited in delinquency petitions on the same charges.

Legislation would force disclosure of reimbursement formula, ban denial of coverage for out of network healthcare providers.

Teens, tweens and technology: Helping families manage the use of computers, devices and social media. Setting ground rules and enforcing them consistently can help, experts advise.

By Julie Weed

Special to The Seattle Times

The target of their anger is a US Health and Human Services decision last week requiring Catholic hospitals, schools and other institutions to provide employee health insurance that covers birth control and sterilization.

President Barack Obama’s administration says the rules will give millions of women access to a wide range of medical services, including cancer screenings.

But Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, Covington Bishop Roger Foys and most of their fellow bishops across the country say Catholic institutions should not be forced to participate in an activity the church considers a sin.

“We cannot – we will not – comply with this unjust law,” Schnurr wrote in a letter that will be shared at services throughout the archdiocese this weekend. “People of faith cannot be made second-class citizens.”

The church opposes the use of contraceptives, and the bishops say Catholic hospitals and schools should get the same religious exemption from the health insurance rules as churches do.

The appeal that Schnurr and the others are making this weekend is part of an aggressive campaign intended to get the region’s half-million Catholics involved in the protest against the rules.

Several local Catholic colleges and hospitals also oppose the rule and say they will lobby to change it. Failure to follow the edict, which takes effect next year, could mean those institutions face fines, lawsuits and the loss of millions of dollars in federal aid.

Officials at the College of Mount St. Joseph said they are “disappointed” in the decision and will lobby Congress to intervene. Catholic Health Partners, which owns the Mercy hospitals, issued a statement complaining that the rules “are not consistent with our religious beliefs.”

The new rules interpret a mandate in the 2010 health care reform law that requires insurers to cover “preventive health services” at no charge.

Health and Human Services says that means coverage should include birth control pills, sterilization and drugs known as “morning after pills,” which can be used immediately after conception to end a pregnancy.

Churches, mosques, synogogues and other religious organizations are exempt from the rule, but large institutions associated with religious groups are not. The bishops had lobbied hard for a broader exemption, but the administration said no.

In announcing the decision last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the rules are in line with requirements that already exist in many states. She also cited research that suggests expanded access to birth control improves women’s health, reduces the number of abortions and lowers health care costs.

“I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services,” Sebelius said.

The bishops strenuously disagree. Foys called the decision “yet another assault on religious freedom in our country,” and Schnurr said it would strip Americans “of their God-given rights.”

Archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco said church officials are prepared for a court battle if they can’t convince the administration to reverse course.

“It’s unconstitutional,” he said. “This is outrageous and we’re not going to sit back and take it.”

During a Republican primary debate on Jan. 26, 2012, Rick Santorum said that the health care legislation Mitt Romney signed as governor of Massachusetts is a top-down, government-run health care system.

The former Pennsylvania senator called the issue one of fundamental freedom and criticized Romney for enacting a law similar to the one that passed nationally in 2010.

And the beat goes on.

PolitiFact has explored the Massachusetts health program extensively, considering its similarities to the federal law and examining what role the government really plays in it.

Here are a few important points:

bull; Individual mandate to buy health insurance. Everyone in Massachusetts must purchase health insurance or pay a penalty.

bull; Employer responsibilities for offering health insurance. Companies with more than 10 employees must offer health insurance or pay a penalty.

bull; Health insurance exchanges. The plan involves the use of voluntary exchanges through which individuals and small businesses may purchase private-sector health insurance. These exchanges are designed to offer a range of plans with different benefits and premium levels.

bull; Affordability subsidies. Lower-income individuals and families receive government subsidies to help pay their health insurance premiums. Subsidies are allotted on a sliding scale up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

bull; Expansion of Medicaid. The plan expands Medicaid to all children whose families earn up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

bull; Insurance market regulation. In Massachusetts, dependents up to age 25 may be covered on their parents plan.

We think Santorums use of the label top-down reflects his political opposition to both the Massachusetts plan and the national plan modeled after it. Given that opposition, a person could consider an individual mandate a top-down approach to health care, although others would disagree.

But government-run? That characterization is simply wrong.

We asked Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, to explain:

The Massachusetts plan leaves private health insurance intact, and under the Massachusetts plan, health care delivery remains predominantly in private hands, as it was before the law was enacted, he wrote in an email.

The role of government is expanded, but that is not the same as saying the government lsquo;runs the health system. The Massachusetts plan expanded Medicaid, but at the same time it expanded uninsured residents access to private insurance (through subsidies to buy coverage and the connector).

What does an actual government-run system look like? Oberlander pointed to the truly socialized system of Great Britain — as well as to one in our own backyard.

The Massachusetts plan … looks NOTHING like a true lsquo;government-run health care system… the VAs health system where the government owns the hospitals and employs doctors directly, he said.

Our ruling

Santorum called Romneys health law a top-down, government-run health care system.

The individual mandate and the requirement that employers offer health insurance might be considered top-down, though it is still a system that relies heavily on private insurance and private medical providers. But theres no case to for calling it government-run. A real government-run system has doctors on the payroll. Massachusetts does not. We rate Santorums claim Mostly False.

On Thursday, Twitter said that tweet censorship will now only take place locally instead of globally. Prior to the announcement, the only way the company could operate in certain countries was to remove offending entries on a global scale even if the comments were not offensive or prohibited elsewhere.

As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression, the company said in a blog. Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi content.

Twitter has also created a way to communicate transparently to users when content is withheld, and why. So far Twitter hasnt been forced to censor a tweet, but if the need arises within a specific country, the company will attempt to let the user know, and clearly mark when content has been withheld. Exactly how Twitter plans to alert the public of censorship is unknown, but hashtags like #censored or #nuked # or #deadbird may be used.

As part of that transparency, we’ve expanded our partnership with Chilling Effects to share this new page, http://chillingeffects.org/twitter, which makes it easier to find notices related to Twitter, the company stated. One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user’s voice. We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we cant.

The Tweets must continue to flow, Twitter said with a capitol T.

In other social networking news, teens are now taking over Google+ (+ohsnos, or #ohsnos). Seeing a potential big business, Google has decided to throw open the doors to the 13+ crowd, or as Bradley Horowitz puts it, to help them build meaningful connections online while also providing features that foster safety alongside self-expression.

Google+ Hangouts bring people together using live multi-person video, and the results range from heartwarming to awe-inspiring, reads his blog. However, we recognize that connecting face-to-face is special and serious, so if a stranger outside a teen’s circles joins the hangout, we temporarily remove the young adult, and give them a chance to rejoin.

Google has also added a number of teen favorites to the community including +Big Time Rush, +Teen Vogue, +Victoria Justice, +Ashlet Tisdale, +GLEE, and more.

Our newly launched Google+ Safety Center describes these and other changes in more detail, but our approach is straightforward: build awesome features that teens really want, encourage safe behavior through appropriate defaults and in-product help, and make abuse reporting tools easy to find and use, Horowitz writes.

There goes the +neighborhood.

The group at Morgantown High School is called Teens Against Abuse. Domestic violence can be a tough topic for teens to tackle, but according to experts, that#39;s where the education needs to start.

A lot of young ladies and gentlemen start dating in high school, or at least they#39;re able to date and get away from adult supervision, said Officer Troy Ball, the Prevention Resource Officer at MHS. So it#39;s important for them to become aware of what#39;s considered normal treatment between people who are dating and what is abusive, what could be a problem and what they should look out for and of course how to report it and seek help and hopefully prevent becoming a victim.

Ball is helping the group along, but initially the idea came from junior Jacklyn Lewis.

I#39;ve been really involved in the community through the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center, Lewis said, and I wanted to start a club that showed kids that it is ok to talk about it and it is ok to be open about it.

The group only has a handful of members right now, but Lewis isn#39;t worried about the group#39;s size- only that students know there#39;s someone they can talk with about the issue.

It#39;s not like you#39;re sitting in chemistry and you guys are talking about what happened with your girlfriend or boyfriend, said member Christine Arnold, but I think it should be addressed, maybe in health class or something because a lot of people don#39;t know about it and you should raise awareness about that way if it does happen you know what to do.

The group is taking that message to lawmakers on Feb. 1, which is Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Day at the state capitol.

These young people are going to go on a field trip and they#39;re going to be a part of what they#39;re going to observe, Officer Ball said. They#39;re going to be a part of the process.

Lewis and the other students coordinated the trip, with help from the school, the Morgantown Police Department, the RDVIC and with financial support from Clear Mountain Bank.

I#39;m really happy that I actually get the opportunity to have people listen to what I have to say, Lewis said, and you know, have a teenage voice be heard.

There#39;s so many bad influences in high school and everywhere around our age group,said member Hayley Stewart, and it feels good to be involved in something positive and showing people that you can really get out there and good things whenever you try.

This is just the beginning for the group. Even Officer Ball can#39;t predict how far the work of these young people will reach.

I#39;ve been involved in domestic violence work for almost 13 years now and we#39;ve always talked about how to get to people before they become adults and get arrested and have to go through those sorts of things, Ball said. We always wanted into the schools and this happened- I mean, this is a wonderful thing.

Ten students will travel to Charleston next week.

When the shooting of the Malay villagers by British troops was first revealed by the paper it suffered severe criticism from the government, assorted politicians and some readers.

The story, headlined Horror in a nameless village, was published on 1 February 1970, when Bob Edwards was editor.

It followed the brave decision by one soldier, a member of the Scots Guards, to counter the official version – that the villagers were shot while attempting to escape from detention.

After he confessed that the villagers were herded together and machine-gunned in the back, People reporters Ken Gardner and Bill Dorran persuaded several more soldiers to talk.

They had sleepless nights, Edwards later wrote in his book, and were glad to get it off their chests.

The soldiers testimonies, beginning on the front (then broadsheet) page, ran across several more pages inside. Edwards regarded it as the best issue in the papers history, and his leader was fine too. It read:

A newspaper has a simple duty to its readers which is best summed up by the biblical phrase, Ye shall know the truth.

The truth in this case illustrates… the corrupting and fearful effect of war on otherwise decent men, and what can happen when the highest standards of discipline are allowed to fall. That is the lesson, and it can never be taught too often.

But the truth was too much for the (Labour) government, which refused to hold a public inquiry. The defence minister, Denis Healey, told Edwards his behaviour had been disgraceful.

The leader of the Liberal party, Jeremy Thorpe, said Edwards should be prosecuted for criminal libel.

Although The Guardian backed The People, the story didnt get big media or political support. Edwards wrote in his memoirs, Goodbye Fleet Street: The country was shocked, I felt, but wanted the matter quietly dropped, and that is what happened.

In fact, Healey did ask Scotland Yard to investigate, but it didnt get anywhere and the inquiry was dropped by the Tory government that replaced Labour in June 1970.

In September 1992, a BBC documentary, In cold blood, revealed fresh evidence that also included the soldiers confessions plus accounts from witnesses and police officers who conducted the investigation.

Though Edwards contended that few readers complained about the story, The Peoples investigations editor, Laurie Manifold, told me during an interview in 2007 that he recalled there having been lots of cancellations.

Whatever the case, it was a tribute to all involved – Gardner, Dorran, Manifold and, most especially, Edwards – that a massacre concealed for 22 years was finally revealed.