Frank to file bill on legal marijuana

Representative Barney Frank said he plans to file a bill to legalize "small amounts" of marijuana. "I'm going to file a bill as soon as we go back to remove all federal penalties for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana," Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said late Friday on the HBO show "Real Time," hosted by Bill Maher. Frank said he'd filed a similar bill in the Legislature in the 1970s, but hasn't tried since he was elected to Congress. "I finally got to the point where I think I can get away with it," he said. (AP)

People should throw away cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer believed to be linked to a salmonella outbreak, the government said yesterday. The Food and Drug Administration issued the alert for the melons from Agropecuaria Montelibano. Grocers were advised to remove from their stock any cantaloupes from this company. So far, 50 people have been sickened in 16 states, and nine in Canada after eating the melons. None of the reported cases were in New England. (AP)

President Bush paid tribute to US troops in war zones overseas and asked Americans to remember those who lost their lives serving their country. "We hold in our hearts those who will be spending this holiday far from home," Bush said in his radio address. "We remember especially those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom." (Bloomberg News)

TOPEKA - After a year in which Kansas endured ice storms, killer tornadoes, and severe flooding, it seemed the state history museum carefully timed the opening of an exhibit on extreme weather. Organizers say the timing of "Forces of Nature" is a coincidence. (AP)