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When you hear the words bubonic plague, Black Death usually comes to mind. But the first plague pandemic happened 800 years earlier, when the Justinian plague wiped out nearly a quarter of the world's population. Scientists have decoded the bacteria responsible, which have roots in China.

Search for "Champagne, bubbles and drunk," and you'll get headlines like "Why Bubbles Make You More Giggly." But when we took a close look at the science supporting the urban legend, we weren't impressed. The effect doesn't happen to everyone, and when it does, it's just temporary.

While opponents of military action in Syria drown Congress in phone calls, the president's grass-roots organization sits on the sidelines.

The flavors may be sweet, but it's still tobacco. That's why tobacco control advocates are trying to restrict sales of candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products, which they say lure in teenagers.

Werner Herzog's latest project is a slight departure for the acclaimed filmmaker: a 35-minute public service announcement on the dangers of texting and driving. Yes, it's long, he says, but the "inner landscape" of great suffering such accidents can cause "can only be shown if you have more time."

A new poll in the Virginia governor's race reports Democrat Terry McAuliffe has a sizable lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli among female voters. That's a departure from the 2009 contest, when the Republican nominee won the women's vote by a healthy margin.

The horrific effects of chemical weapons used during World War I led to a treaty banning their use.

Even infants too young to discern the meaning of words seem better able to learn while listening to the sound of human speech than while listening to nonsense — speech run backward. Little surprise there, perhaps, but a study shows that recordings of lemur calls spark learning, too.

Speaking in Cape Town on Sunday, President Obama recalled what some say was Robert Kennedy's greatest speech — the senator's 1966 address at a South African university.

A lab in Chicago can produce particles called muons, but it needs an electromagnetic ring on Long Island to produce them. Since the 50-foot ring can't be taken apart or flown over houses, movers drove it to the shoreline and will sail it down the East Coast on a sea barge and up rivers to the Windy City.