The Republican Clerk Who Wiped Thousands From The NY Rolls Just Got Very Bad News
The board may fire her as soon as Tuesday, and the New York Daily News reported that colleagues said she is being “forced out.”

The Many U.S. Presidents Before George Washington.
Schools in the United States teach children from an early age that the first president of the United States was George Washington. But teachers often forget to mention a small, kind of important detail- George Washington was the first U.S. president under the current United States Constitution, but he wasn’t the country’s first president.

Before the U.S. Constitution came into being, the Articles of Confederation served as the glue which held all thirteen states together as a single country. (See: The Articles of Confederation: The Constitution Before the Constitution) The Articles went into effect in 1781, and they established a loose alliance among the states. The Articles also defined the role of Congress to oversee the national needs, as well as the office of the president.

Due to the fear of giving too much power to one person, the office of president was extremely limited in power and scope, and was not even a paid position. Rather, the primary roles of the president at this time were simply to preside over meetings and handle various state correspondence. The president was also the one who signed official congressional documents.

The hoax article appears to legitimately originate with the Huffington Post:

The Plan to Make California Wet By Spreading Beavers Up and Down the State
Ending the drought in the West will require rain—not too much rain—and smarter ways to collect and store that water. But something else that can keep things moist? Believe it or not: Beavers.

According to a story in Water Deeply, a group of ecologists have a plan to help repopulate the Central Coast of California with Castor canadensis, the large beavers which once roamed the state in great numbers. (Not to be confused with their ancestors, giant beavers that were seven feet long.) The idea is that beavers are nature’s hydrologists, engineering the way that water travels through the landscape:

Merle Haggard Leaves Estate To Bakersfield LGBT Group
An even bigger shock came shortly after Haggard’s death when his lawyer read his last will and testament. Haggard left his entire estate to Interpride Enterprises, a Bakersfield, CA-based LGBT group that puts on Pride parades around the world. Many thought Haggard to be an ultra social conservative, but Haggard believed in equal rights.

The Scooper contacted Interpride and spoke to Raul Merman. We asked how they felt about the donation.

“It is absolutely wonderful,” said Raul. “We can do so much with this money. Research and helping us expand our various events. We plan on creating a Merle Haggard float for this year’s Pride parade in San Francisco on June 26th. It should really be something.”

Popocatepetl: Mexican volcano erupts, prompting evacuation fears

Popocatepetl Volcano in Mexico began erupting yesterday morning, spewing lava and ash from its peak. Streams of smoke and debris have been flowing from the peak for over 24 hours.

The volcano, which is more than 17,000ft tall, is the second highest peak in Mexico and lies on the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. It is the most active volcano in Mexico, having erupted 15 times since records began.

Authorities are warning local residents to cover their mouths and noses with wet cloths if they leave their homes, in a bid to protect against smoke inhalation.