According to information prepared by the Government Accountability Office, individuals on the consolidated terrorist watch list, which includes the no-fly list, cleared a background check for a gun transaction in 94 percent of attempted transactions in 2013 and 2014 (455 out of 486 times). Between February 2004 and December 2014, individuals on the consolidated terrorist watch list cleared a background check in 91 percent of attempted transactions (2,043 of 2,233 times), according to GAO data.

Jill Norgren writes: For young adults, Ali Benjamin's The Thing about Jelly Fish; and Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming. For folks of all ages, Betty Caroli's Lady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President. My teen granddaughters have asked for a gift certificate to a few sessions of jazzed up stationary bike classes." We can add one crafting book and an Easy Indigo Textile Kit. Cufflinks made from watch movements from the early to mid-20th century and a portable carafe, this pour-over coffee stand adjusts to accommodate your vessel of choice should pique your interest as well as items for birders.

New York and Nevada have banned the sites, labeling the games illegal gambling — rulings that the sites are challenging. But many more states are working on legislation for upcoming sessions that would subject the games to oversight or licensing. California law has a "predominant purpose test," which determines an activity to be gambling if greater than 50 percent of the outcome is derived from luck. In New York, the state has something called the "material element test," which determines that the activity is one of chance, as long as chance plays a "material role" in the outcome.

Julia Sneden wrote: Back in my sixties, when I read the advice of those who are experts in the elderly mind, I figured that as a word puzzle addict, I was well set to keep myself mentally fit. I come from a family whose women have remarkable (and some would say dreadful) genes for living long. All my older female relatives have died in their 90’s, and both grandmothers and a great aunt came close to a hundred. If you're likely to live that long, you need to do everything you can to take care of your mental agility.

Wisdom was first banded in 1956. And because Laysan albatross do not return to breed until they are at least five years old, it is estimated Wisdom is at least 64 years old, but she could be older. Laying only one egg per year, a breeding albatross will spend a tiring 130 days incubating and raising a chick. Albatross forage hundreds of miles out at sea periodically returning with meals of squid or flying fish eggs. Wisdom has likely clocked over six million ocean miles of flight time.  Meet Wisdom, the oldest living, banded, wild bird. This 64-year-old bird returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on November 19, 2015, after a year at sea. A few days later, she was observed with her mate. Wisdom departed soon af…

Worried that bicyclists who chat, send messages or listen to music on smartphones are creating a danger, a number of cities have banned cyclists from using hand-held cellphones or texting while riding. And several states prohibit bicyclists from using headphones or earplugs.

Is it a myth that plants respond to human/plant interaction? Years ago my friend and I heard that talking to plants help them grow so we each prepared pots with the same soil and the same plants. We watered them equally. Then we talked to one plant but not to the other. After a month we noticed that the plants we spoke to flourished while the other plants were not as vibrant. Science now shows that plants interact with each other. We seem to be part of a universal communication system even if we don’t all speak the same language.

Chet Lunner, a security consultant and former official at Homeland Security (DHS) and Michael Balboni, a security consultant and former NY state senator who wrote homeland security laws for his state, say even if smaller cities and towns aren't at high risk for violence and are short on the financial resources that big cities have, they should still plan and practice for terrorist attacks. Until there is centralized information-sharing between the national and local governments, it will be difficult to get localities invested in sustained antiterrorism work, Balboni said.