Women's Mercury Levels Tied to Region, Income

Weather brr-acing from Plains to Florida

(NEWSER) - A large chunk of the US was in the deep freeze yesterday, with temperatures plunging below freezing to as low as -37 in Minnesota's hapless International Falls, the town's coldest day since 1911. Temperatures dove from the Plains, Midwest and Northeast to Florida, giving citrus growers the shivers. Jacksonville was 20 degrees colder than its average temperature this time of year. The cold snap is one of the nation's most widespread since 1985, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

(NEWSER) - Jeremy Piven was on the level when he blamed mercury poisoning for his decision to bail on a Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow last December, an arbitrator has ruled. "While we respect the decision, we strongly disagree with it," the producers of the David Mamet play said in a statement. Said the Entourage star, who blamed overconsumption of sushi for his medical condition, "I'm pleased with the outcome of the arbitration and to be completely vindicated in this matter," Playbill reports. More»

A quarter contaminated beyond EPA safety limit

(AP) - Catch a fish in one of America's streams, and there's a good chance it will have at least trace amounts of mercury. The most comprehensive survey to date from the US Geological Survey tested more than 1,000 fish from nearly 300 streams around the nation—and found mercury in every single one of them. The good news? Only about a quarter had levels exceeding what the EPA says is safe for people eating average amounts of fish. More»

Star defends decision to leave Broadway production

(NEWSER) - Jeremy Piven has taken a lot of flak since leaving the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow due to unhealthy amounts of mercury in his body—including anonymous sources who said medical reasons were a cover for the fact that he was fired—but the condition was real, the actor tells People. “I was brought to my knees by this illness,” Piven says. More»

Simple DNA test reveals fish sellers' bait-and-switch

(NEWSER) - Two New York City high school students used DNA testing to uncover a bait-and-switch scam in local restaurants and fish markets, the New York Times reports. Fish being sold as prized white tuna turned out to be the much more common—and cheaper—Mozambique tilapia, while red snapper proved to be anything from cod to endangered Acadian redfish. More»