Boy Dies After Refusing Cancer Treatment

Childhood leukemia victims run low on methotrexate

(NEWSER) - Bad news for Americans with childhood leukemia: A critical medicine used to treat the disease is so hard to find that hundreds or thousands of kids could die, the New York Times reports. Methotrexate, typically used to treat leukemia in children aged 2 to 5, fell into short supply after an Ohio company stopped making it due to "manufacturing and quality concerns." Says an FDA official: "This is dire. Supplies are just not meeting demand.” More»

Drew Barrymore, converting to Judaism, is the latest

(NEWSER) - Drew Barrymore is getting married , but first she's—reportedly—converting to Judaism, the religion fiance Will Kopelman practices. She follows the tradition of these seven other celebrity spouses (or not-quite-spouses) who did the same thing, notes The Frisky :

• Isla Fisher: Converted to Judaism for Sacha Baron Cohen.
• Jesus Luz: Started following Kabbalah for Madonna.

And so did the fourth-quarter television ratings

(NEWSER) - This might just be a weird coincidence, or Tim Tebow's dramatic defeat of the Steelers last night may have been a miracle in more ways than one. The polarizing Denver quarterback wound up throwing for 316 yards, which, if you toss in a colon in the right spot, mirrors the call number of a famous bible verse, John 3:16. That's a verse Tebow occasionally wrote on his face while playing at the University of Florida, Fox News reports. More»

Believers join Missionary Church of Kopimism

(NEWSER) - Sweden may not condone file-sharing—it's still illegal—but the country is officially OK with belief in the practice. Some 3,000 passionate file-sharers have gotten their beliefs recognized as an official religion. The Missionary Church of Kopimism—as in, "copy-me-ism"—has sought official status in Sweden since 2010, and it's finally won the battle, TorrentFreak reports. The decision follows a pair of rejections; authorities wanted Kopimism to define its prayer practices. More»

Singer is 'in pretty bad shape,' says manager

(AP) - Etta James' longtime manager says the terminally ill blues singer has been hospitalized after experiencing difficulty breathing. James' family is with her at a Southern California hospital where she was taken Wednesday. The singer is "in pretty bad shape" and is on a breathing apparatus, her manager says, but it remains unknown whether she will be able to be released. James' doctor recently announced that the "At Last" singer has been diagnosed with terminal leukemia . More»