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Yahoo News reports without a lot more rain and snow, many California farmers caught in the state's drought can expect to receive no irrigation water this year from a vast system of rivers, canals and reservoirs interlacing the state, federal officials announced Friday.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its first outlook of the year, saying that the agency will continue to monitor rain and snow fall, but the grim levels so far prove that the state is in the throes of one of its driest periods in recorded history.

Farmers who rely on the federally run Central Valley Project received only 20 percent of their normal water allotment last year and were expecting this year's bad news. Some communities and endangered wildlife that rely on the federal water source will also suffer deep cuts.

The state's snowpack is at 29 percent of average for this time of year, which means that for farmers it's going to be a hard year.

"My gross sales are probably going to be cut in half," said Bill Diedrich, who farms 1,500 acres of almonds, tomatoes and other crops in the parched Central Valley community of Firebaugh. "Some farmers out here are going to lose everything they've got."

Gov. Jerry Brown last month declared California's drought emergency, and both state and federal officials have pledged millions of dollars to help with water conservation and food banks for those put out of work by the drought.

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Yahoo Newsreports a plan to divide California into six separate US states is closer to making it on to a November ballot, with organizers gaining approval to collect signatures.

The seemingly far-fetched initiative, sponsored by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper, claims "political representation of California's diverse population and economies has rendered the state nearly ungovernable."

And on Tuesday, the California Secretary of State's office gave the movement a boost, saying that proponents "may begin collecting petition signatures."

At least 807,615 voters -- representing eight percent of the total ballots cast for governor in the 2010 election -- will need to sign the petition by July 18 to make it on to the ballot.

The proposal aims to split the state -- America's most populous with around 38 million inhabitants -- into "six smaller state governments, while preserving the historical boundaries of the various counties, cities and towns."

In 2012, California was tied with Russia and Italy -- all with a GDP of approximately $2.0 trillion -- for eighth place in world GDP rankings, according to the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

The proposal would create a state out of Silicon Valley, home to tech giants Google, Facebook and Apple. It would also create South California, which would include Hollywood and the US entertainment industry.

West California, Central California, North California, and Jefferson in the most northern part of the state, would also go it alone.

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The Spokesman Review reports the Arizona Legislature gave final approval Thursday evening to legislation that allows business owners asserting their religious beliefs to refuse service to gays, drawing backlash from Democrats who called the proposal “state-sanctioned discrimination” and an embarrassment.

The 33-27 vote by the House sends the legislation to Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and puts Arizona back at the forefront of a polarizing piece of legislation four years after the state enacted an immigration crackdown that caused a national furor.

Similar religious protection legislation has been introduced in Ohio, Mississippi, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee and Oklahoma, but Arizona’s plan is the only one that has passed. The efforts are stalled in Idaho, Ohio and Kansas.

Republicans stressed that the bill is about protecting religious freedom and not discrimination. They frequently cited the case of a New Mexico photographer who was sued after refusing to take wedding pictures of a gay couple and said Arizona needs a law to protect people in the state from heavy-handed actions by courts and law enforcement.
“This bill is not about allowing discrimination,” Republican Sen. Steve Yarbrough said. “This bill is about preventing discrimination against people who are clearly living out their faith.”

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Fansided reports the United States men’s hockey team is doing incredibly well, as is the women’s team for that matter. Everyone across the country is trying to watch as much USA Olympic hockey as they can, but sometimes teachers and bosses get in the way.


One person shared a story involving his brother and a teacher who wouldn’t let him watch. The student then responded by calling the teacher a communist, three times.

The reader wrote to Barstool Sports:
My little brother goes to Walpole High School and on Thursday asked to watch the USA vs. Slovakia game during Spanish class. When his teacher said no he called her a communist. She gave him a detention for it. Attached is a picture of the detention slip she gave him. VIVA.

The note is dated 2/13 (see below), which means it was the USA’s 7-1 beat down of Slovakia.

NY Daily News reports two teenage boys apparently working on a school science project involving model rockets were seriously injured after an explosion at a Seattle home, police said late Sunday.

The boys are cousins and suffered fragmentation wounds in the blast that knocked out windows in the living room and kitchen and shot debris into the backyard, Detective Renee Witt said in a statement.

Authorities received a report of the loud explosion at the home of one of the teens just before noon Sunday.

The injured boys were taken to a local hospital. Seattle fire Lt. Sue Stangl told the Seattle Times that the boys, who weren't named, were transported in serious condition.

The father of one of the teens was sleeping in another room but wasn't injured, Witt said. Police said he told them that his son and his nephew were working on a project involving model rockets.

Witt said he told police he thought the boys were trying to start a fire in a fireplace and used some of the rocket fuel to get it going or were testing the mixture.

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