NFL Hands Down Saints Penalties

After the original scandal in which it came to the attention of NFL officials that the Saints front office put bounties on the heads of many of the NFL's most famous and crucial players, the NFL has finally released the punishments that their team must face. The team's defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams has been suspended indefinitely from the league. This is one of the most harsh punishments that the NFL has ever handed out. Sean Payton, the head coach, also has been suspended from the team for a year in which he is not able to have any contact with the team's office or its players. Many wonder how the Saints will do in next years season as Sean Payton no doubt has a major effect on the team's performance. The team was also fined 5 Million Dollars. The cash bounties that were offered to injure such players as Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre, not only violated the league's rules on saftey, but also put th team past its salary cap. For now, the comissioner of the NFL has yet to hand out the punishments for the 22-27 players involved, but these most likely will be some of the most severe the league has ever seen when such marquis players like Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton are involved.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/03/21/saints.discipline/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Washington Monument Shrinking

During a recent inspection of the Washington Monument, officials realized that last year's earthquake may have done more than some cosmetic damage. NGS surveyors noticed that the monument had sunk into the ground by two millimeters and shifted to one side. The monument was completed in 1884 and the obelisk has sunk 2 inches into the ground since its completion. The monument has been closed to the public since last year's 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Washington D.C. region. However, Surveyors think that the earthquake may have only caused 1mm of loss while the rest is do to the monument's natural sinking. 7.5 million dollars was donated by the Carlyle Group for the repairs of the monument to begin.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/14/us/washington-monument/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Drug Testing on Soldiers During Vietnam War

During the late 1960's some soldiers arrived to a surprise at their bases. When they were expecting to see your typical base when they arrived they saw something that looked more like a hospital. The Army took advantage of the fact that most of these medical centers were close to the soldiers home and offered them weekends at their home, an offer that many soldiers would take. The soldiers however, were not informed on what their assignment was truthfully going to be. They were told that they were going to be testing special new field jackets and weapons but drugs were never mentioned. One soldier arrived and decided that his paperwork was not affiliated with what his assignment was supposed to be. The personell were also wearing lab coats. The soldiers were told that they had volunteered, that if they tried to get out of it they would go to jail, and that they were going to Vietnam either way. It turns out that these soldiers were testing potentially lethal nerve gasses,incapitating agents, narcotics and LSD for war purposes. Many of these soldiers left the camps with addictions to these drugs and attained health problems like Parkinson's disease that would plauge them for the rest of their lives. Many of these soldiers are now suing the VA for these actions.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/health/human-test-subjects/index.html?hpt=hp_c1