Wild bee populations have declined significantly since 2008 in Central California and some other key areas of the United States, according to a recent study. If losses of these crucial pollinators continue, the new nationwide assessment indicates that farmers will face increasing costs — and that the problem may even destabilize the nation’s crop production.

Videos of “Stoner Sloth,” a cute but pathetic character who can’t handle life because of marijuana, are bringing in more laughs than self-reflection by cannabis advocates. When the New South Wales government decided to tackle marijuana use amongst teenagers with an ad campaign, legendary agency Saatchi & Saatchi came up with the concept of the ‘stoner sloth’ – dozy, confused …

Miss Puerto Rico has been suspended indefinitely for posting a series of anti-Muslim messages on Twitter. Miss Puerto Rico Destiny Vélez has been suspended indefinitely from her pageant duties following an anti-Muslim Twitter rant. The Huffington Post reports Puerto Rico’s official Miss America organization released a statement on Saturday in response to the firestorm of controversy her online remarks touched …

A Scoutmaster is recovering Monday after being dragged into a cave by an angry bear. Rockaway Township Mayor Michael Dachisen says the attack occurred around noon Sunday at Split Rock Reservoir in the Morris County community. The scoutmaster was flown to a hospital for treatment of injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

Another intentional car crash, this time in Las Vegas, has left one dead and 36 injured, and officials debate whether to treat it as an attack or another sign that America’s care for the mentally ill is lacking. A woman swerved multiple times onto a busy sidewalk on the famous Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, leaving police confident she crashed …

Street gangs migrating from drugs, robberies to white-collar crime like credit card fraud. The Van Dyke Money Gang in New York made off with more than $1.5 million this year — but it wasn’t in gunpoint robberies or drug running, it was a Western Union money order scheme. In New Jersey, 111 Neighborhood Crips used a machine to make dozens …

German automaker BMW has been fined $40 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failing to issue safety recalls in a timely manner to Mini owners. The fine, announced Monday in a press release, caps a year of auto industry crackdowns by the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. Regulators have come down hard on a …

Heidi Loughlin, who gave birth 12 weeks early before starting course of herceptin, announces death of Ally Louise on her blog. Heidi Loughlin was just three months pregnant when diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Doctors recommended she should start a strong course of chemotherapy, which would have been harmful to her unborn child. The 32-year-old, …

Two London clinics will perform the province’s new government-funded fertility treatments, the health ministry announced Monday. The London Health Sciences Centre’s fertility clinic at Victoria Hospital and Southwestern Ontario Fertility Technologies on Southdale Road East will both be receiving funding.

Eight people were taken to hospital, including one child, after a carbon monoxide leak at a North York restaurant late Sunday night. Around 10:30 on Sunday night, Paramedics and Toronto fire services were called to a restaurant at 101 Ravel Road near Finch and Leslie. The initial call was for the suspicion of a carbon monoxide leak. Upon crews arrival, …

A pair of American astronauts stepped out on a three-hour spacewalk on Monday to move a stalled railcar outside the International Space Station, NASA said. Tim Kopra and Scott Kelly made their way to the stuck “Mobile Transporter,” a rail car used to move supplies on the outside of the space station. Once complete, the astronauts will begin tackling other …