Reading, Writing and Downward Dog. A judge in California has rejected the claim that yoga is tantamount to religious instruction and should not be taught in public schools, says the LA Times this morning. The school district in question was teaching yoga as part of a health and fitness program, and is allowed to continue doing so. The judge told upset parents that all references to Hinduism had been taken out of the yoga curriculum and likened it to “other exercise programs like dodgeball.”

In a sidebar to an article about the Winklevoss twins in this morning’s paper, the New York Times explains very concisely what bitcoins are. First of all, they aren’t coins at all. The virtual currency is defined as “one type of a digital math-based asset that is issued by, and transmitted through, an open source, cryptographic protocol platform known as the bitcoin network.” Huh? Basically, it’s “digital money that you cannot hold, but can be bought and sold online in exchange for traditional currencies like dollars and yen.”

If you’ve missed seeing Regis Philbin on TV every day, you’re in luck. The New York Post says he’ll make his return next month with the launch of “Crowd Goes Wild,” a talk show on the Fox Sports Channel. Philbin, who is 81, will serve as moderator for the five other regulars, none of whom have been confirmed yet. Not sure what to picture? The Post says think “The View” but with a male twist.

The Arizona Republic names the 19 firefighters who lost their lives this weekend. Among those who died, 14 of them were still in their 20s. The Republic says many of them came from firefighting families, several more were Marines, and three were expecting children. USA Today takes another tack, investigating how those fire shelters are supposed to work. Developed in 1977, they’ve been widely adopted since 2002. They are covered in aluminum, which provides protection from temperatures up to 500° at which point the glue holding everything together starts to melt. High winds can also rip off the aluminum layer, leaving the occupant exposed.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a serious article in this morning’s paper about how to spot someone who’s drowning. The first thing to remember is that drowning doesn’t usually look like drowning—especially what you’ve see on TV. Drowning victims rarely call for help, because usually they can’t breathe. Look for someone whose head is tilted back, body is upright and is facing shore. Experts say instead of the typical swim kicks, drowning victims often appear as if they’re trying to climb stairs.

Most of us skip stones for fun. But a group of serious stone skippers exists, says the Wall Street Journal, and nothing rankles them more than “non-regulation” rocks. The latest dustup is at America’s oldest stone skipping competition, which is held every July 4th on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Purists believe that the rocks used should be sourced locally and are outraged that more and more competitors have been importing rocks to compete with in recent years.

Editorial cartoonist Bill Bramhall has a funny take on another predicament Edward Snowden is likely facing in this morning’s New York Daily News. He draws Snowden in the Moscow airport holding a sign that reads, “Please give me asylum….and some clean underwear.”

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling last week that found DOMA unconstitutional, the US government has begun to approve green cards for same sex couples. The New York Times says Immigration officials have been anticipating such a change for about two years and have kept a list of the couples who were denied because of DOMA. Those couples will now be approved without having to re-apply and new registrants will move through the system at the same pace as everyone else.

Jennifer Lopez is “Jenny From the Bloc” in this morning’s New York Post after the singer performed for Turkmenistan’s authoritarian ruler over the weekend. Lopez donned a traditional Turkmen outfit to sing a “Marilyn-JFK-esque”  rendition of “Happy birthday, Mr. President” to Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, whom the Post refers to as “one of the world’s most oppressive leaders.”

Nineteen firefighters lost their lives battling an “out-of-control wildfire” 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, reports the Arizona Republic this morning. The fire, which authorities say was started by lightning, gobbled up half of the 500 homes in Yarnell before moving on. Most of the deceased firefighters were found in fire shacks, used as a last resort by first responders as a fire overtakes them. About 400 people were expected to continue battling the fire today.

USA Today disagrees with New York Daily News’ declaration a few weeks ago that Daft Punk has this year’s Song of the Summer in the bag with “Get Lucky.” The paper says it crunched the numbers and Robin Thicke came out on top with “Blurred Lines.” Critic Brian Mansfield says the song has outsold all its competitors since Memorial Day and hasn’t peaked on the radio yet.

Italians don’t just speak with their mouths, says the New York Times in a fun feature about the role hands play in the Italian language. There’s the “classic fingers pinched against the thumb” (What are you talking about?) and the the “hand circled slowly, indicating ‘Whatever.’” And don’t forget the “what do you expect me to do about it?” gesture—two hands in prayer mode shaken back and forth. (If you’re lost, the Times has an awesome interactive guide to get you up to speed.)

It’s official—you can buy virtually everything on Amazon. The Wall Street Journal says the online behemoth will start dabbling in fine art this month, opening a new section on its site to sell “one-of-a-kind paintings, prints and other fine art.” Traditional art dealers aren’t sure it’s an idea that will work, noting that buyers like to see prospective pieces in person, not on the web.

Audience members at the MGM Grand watched as a performer fell to her death during a performance of Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka” reports the Las Vegas Journal Review this morning. Witnesses says the accident happened in the middle of a battle scene in which many other performers were falling from a vertical wall. But they knew something was wrong when other cast members started screaming and the production came to a halt.

When it comes to real estate, location, location, location is the tried and true mantra. But a new survey indicates that there’s another part of the equation. Real estate search firm Trulia says neighborhoods with large gay and lesbian populations—or “gayborhoods”—tend to see housing prices rise more quickly than others. The Houston Chronicle says ethnically diverse neighborhoods, where no group is the majority, also saw a rise in home prices last year.

The Supreme Court’s landmark decisions regarding same-sex marriage are thoroughly covered on the front page of the New York Times this morning, including some well-presented maps showing where gay marriage is and isn’t permitted in the US. Writer Adam Nagourney says the court followed the nation’s lead yesterday with its decision that DOMA was unconstitutional, noting that 30 percent of Americans now live in states where same-sex marriage is legal.

Ex-Patriots star Aaron Hernandez fills the front page of the Boston Herald. In light of the NFL star’s arrest yesterday for the alleged murder of a semi-pro football player and the loss of his $40 million Patriots contract, columnist Jerry Sullivan notes that 29 pro football players have been arrested since the Super Bowl on February 3. He admonishes those who’ve said Hernandez’s arrest is a sad day for the league, writing that it’s the victim’s family who should be the object of our sympathy, not the NFL.

The Wall Street Journal says American Airlines will save $1.2 million a year on fuel costs by having pilots carry their flight documents on an iPad instead of on heavy paper. And American isn’t the only one shedding the extra pounds. JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska all announced last week that they’ve received clearance to leave their paper maps and navigation charts at home. The pilots’ iPads will be used exclusively for mapping and won’t be able to connect to the Internet—for now.

PayPal is looking towards the final frontier for its next business venture, says the San Francisco Chronicle. The online payment company is partnering with the SETI Institute to investigate a future where payments could be made in space. Serious questions will be addressed, like how people will pay for their space hotel once galatic tourism really takes off. Or how companies will deal with “time delays as an electronic payment confirmation signal travels 238,000 miles from the moon back to Earth?”

“Showing Off the Accordion’s Hip Side” is the headline in today’s New York Times. My question: which side is hip? All sides, according to a festival going on in Manhattan this summer. The purpose of Accordions Around the World is to stage a makeover for the accordion’s image and change people’s perception that it’s just a stodgy 19th century instrument. Artists enlisted to help with the transformation are eschewing the polka for non-traditional choices like the Rolling Stones and Bob Marley.

It’s no shiitake, but the Wall Street Journal says the nameko mushroom is taking Japan by storm—and not in the way you might expect. The mushroom, usually found in miso soup, is the star of a wildly popular smartphone game. Translated as, “The Kit for Cultivating Nameko,” the idea behind the game is simple: to grow and collect different varieties of mushrooms. Though it hasn’t reached “Angry Bird” status yet, with 32 million downloads it’s definitely hit “Big in Japan” status.

YouTube has spawned many stars but South Florida has more than its share of them, which prompted the Sun Sentinel to take a look back and offer up a where-are-they-now retrospective in this morning’s paper. Some of the area’s notable alums include Joanna Rohrback, inventor of the bizarre Prancercise phenomenon and Venus the Chimera Cat. VIDEOS

The New York Post has a field day with the Snowden-in-Russia story, framing the whole saga as a B movie called “Czar Wars.” Inside, the paper superimposes Edward Snowden’s face on a pig’s body and says President Vladimir Putin told President Obama to “take a flying leap” when he refused to turn over Snowden, who has been holed up in a Russian airport for two days, over to US authorities. Said Putin: “I’d prefer not to deal with this issue at all. It’s like shearing a piglet — too much squealing, too little wool.”

Does your office have a ritual? Whether it’s hitting a gong at the start of a big project or a chest bump with a colleague, the Wall Street Journal says new research shows that people who engage in a ritual before undertaking a big task are more engaged, get less anxious and tend to perform better than those who don’t.

I.V.s are the new “it” bags, says the New York Post. Yes, that’s right. Some New Yorkers have taken to getting weekly or monthly intravenous drips to “keep up their energy, combat colds, stay youthful or simply look better.” The Post says while the treatments aren’t FDA-approved, they are becoming more and more popular. A one time treatment can cost anywhere from $130 to $1,000.

I’ll have a scoop of beer please. Never thought you’d say those words? Well, the day has arrived, says the New York Times. Yes, we’re talking beer-flavored ice cream—and even beer ice cream floats in some parts of the country. But this is not Budweiser poured over some Breyers. The Times says thoughtful dairies around the country are combining flavors like Belgian-style Tripel ale and apricot jam to make adult sweet treats with a range of alcohol percentages—a bit of a nightmare for the FDA, who has to figure out which agency to regulate the boozy treats.

Craving a pie, but not a 350-degree kitchen? The Houston Chronicle has a great article on making icebox pies in this morning’s paper. A staple of Southern cuisine, the no-bake pies are usually made with a pressed cookie or cracker crust and topped with a creamy filling. Both the recipes for Lemon Cream and Strawberry-Pretzel Icebox Pie caught my eye.

If you think looking for an affordable place to live in New York City is hard, you haven’t seen nothing yet. The New York Daily News introduces us to blogger Ryan Nethery who is the 25-year-old behind WorstRoom.com, a clearing house of photos from some of the city’s most shockingly bad deals. Like the $750 Williamsburg “apartment” that you can’t stand up in. Or the $1000 second closet in Union Square with no windows, described as the “perfect” place for a twin bed.

Forget the days of getting locked out of your apartment. The New York Daily News says a startup has come up with a way to store digital copies of your keys so when you get locked out, you just have to find a KeyMe kiosk and print a new one. Storing a key is free and printing one is only $19.99. The company has already raised about $2.3 million and is looking to expand rapidly, not great news for the neighborhood locksmith.

The trial of George Zimmerman is getting underway in Florida, and the Sun Sentinel calls the opening arguments “passionate, profane and methodical.”  The prosecution began by relaying a string of damning statements attributed to the accused, including Zimmerman’s aside to a police dispatcher that “these assholes, they always get away.”

A Florida businessman has been held hostage in his Chinese factory for two weeks, reports the Sun Sentinel this morning. The trouble started when Charles Starnes laid off 50 workers at his plant outside Beijing. He paid them each $5000 in severance, in accordance with Chinese labor laws. But when the rest of his employees heard about the severance they tried to quit as well. When Starnes said it was impossible for the company to pay everyone severance, they barricaded him in his office and refused to let him leave. US officials say militancy among the Chinese laborers is growing due to a labor shortage.

What if someone actually figured out how to make a condom that men were OK with using? That’s the question the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has posed to the world, says the New York Times. The foundation is collecting applications for its “Grand Challenge”: developing “a next-generation condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure.” One of the most promising applicants is something called the origami condom, which is made out of silicon instead of latex and comes with dozens of tiny folds for a more roomy fit.

What’s the shortest amount of time one can exercise and still have it be beneficial? The New York Times says this question, rooted in empirical evidence that about 80 percent of Americans don’t get the 150 minutes of weekly exercise that is recommended, has led to the rise of the “minimalist workout.” The idea behind short bursts of interval training is to complete about 30 minutes of strenuous activity a week, an amount that experts say will leave you in “pretty good shape.”

The city of Chicago is on fire after its Blackhawks pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win last night to take the Stanley Cup. The Tribune recounts how the Hawks, down a goal with 90 seconds remaining, managed to get two goals in the last 17 seconds, stunning their opponents from Boston and the crowd. The team touched down in Chicago this morning and has been partying, Stanley Cup in tow, ever since.

A “world-traveling cat lover” has been pegged by police as one of Florida’s most prolific shoplifters, reports the Orlando Sentinel this morning. Ignatius “Michael” Pollara is accused of stealing close to $2 million in merchandise from Toys R Us stores in all 50 states. Police say in 200 days, reward cards linked to Pollara were used in 27 states, which is eventually how he was caught. Apparently, Lego sets were his main target, which he would later sell online.

There’s an interesting story about Portugal on the front page of the Washington Post this morning. Specifically, about the country’s plummeting birthrate. The town profiled has NO resident under the age of 50. Portugal has seen a 14 percent drop in its birthrate since 2008, mostly fueled by the economic fears ricocheting across Europe.

There’s a cute family portrait on the front page of the Anchorage Daily News this morning. That’s a mother brown bear and her three cubs all perched on a piece of driftwood in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. According to the paper, the park is one of the best places in the world to see brown bears in their natural habitat.

In the wake of the Edward Snowden case, the New York Times says the role of the “system administrator” has come into hyperfocus. The NSA is the lastest organization to learn that the system administrator, who is basically privy to all information ebbing and flowing from a company, is “in the perfect position if they want to leak sensitive information or blackmail higher-level officials.”

If indecision rules most days for you, the LA Times says the latest crop of apps to hit the market might be of interest. Capitalizing on the thrill of “real-time polling and the instant gratification that comes from the approval of strangers,” several new companies have created apps that let you ask strangers if you, say, look fat in those jeans. Or whether to have steak or seafood for dinner.

More hotels are offering a “sleep late on Sunday” program, says USA Today—at least hotels in areas where weekends are busy and Mondays are slow. Different properties are approaching the rule differently. The Westin, for example, allows for free 3:00 pm Sunday checkouts at all its locations. At La Quinta, guests can push checkout until 5:00 pm in the summer, and use that time to sleep in or use the pool.

Crazy photo on the front page of the Boston Globe this morning of the “supermoon” that rose last night. The moon was as close to the Earth as it will be all year, making for a spectacular view and some excellent photographs. This particular shot was captured on Castle Island, Massachusetts. See More PHOTOS from around the world

People who can’t live without their cell phones for one minute will be relieved to read the Wall Street Journal this morning. Apparently, the FAA is planning to relax the rules governing tech gadgets on flights. It’s unclear how relaxed the rules will get, but it probably means that message about turning off and stowing your portable electronic devices will become history. Calls on your cell phone, however, will likely remain verboten.

Hey, New Jerseyans: Watch your mouth on the field. The New York Post says the state’s Interscholastic Athletic Association, which governs all high school sports, has formally banned trash talking. The new rule could even land a player in court if they didn’t remember to check their mouth. The Post says it’s all an effort to curb bullying in New Jersey schools and is in line with several other anti-bullying rules scheduled to go into effect this fall.

The New York Daily News and the New York Post put the same photo of James Gandolfini on their front pages this morning, snapped hours before the actor’s death. Tourists who caught sight of Gandolfini eating at an Italian restaurant in the hours before his fatal heart attack say he looked happy and healthy and seemed to be enjoying himself.
The Post details his last meal, which included “two orders of fried king prawns slathered in mayonnaise chili sauce and a ‘large portion’ of foie gras.” He washed all that down with “four shots of rum, two pina coladas, and two beers.”

No, this doesn’t appear to be a joke. USA Today is reporting that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have settled on a name for their baby girl: North. That would make her full name North West. There hasn’t been official confirmation but that is what’s listed on the birth certificate. Not sure what’s more shocking: the name itself or the fact that it doesn’t start with a K.

If your biggest desire is working from home don’t apply at Yahoo and, according to an article in this morning’s USA Today, get a college degree. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows people with college degrees are on better footing to work at home.  Not really a surprise I guess. Only people who were self-employed had a higher rate of working from home. One in three people with a college degree did some work from home last year—for those without a degree that number was one in eight.

The Miami Heat have done it again. Pulling off their second consecutive NBA title with a 95-88 win over San Antonio, Miami Herald columnist Linda Robertson singles out Dwyane Wade who she says “conceived the Big 3, coaxed it into existence and steered it through doubt and derision.” Wade was not only here for the Heat’s most recent championships but was here back in 2006 when they won their first. Robinson writes: “When it mattered most, Wade was serene and supreme. He showed his teammates the way by finding a way.”

The Wall Street Journal has a cool graphic illustrating how Americans spent an average day in 2012. Each square represents a minute and the smaller numbers are the totals for 2011. In 2012, Americans got about one more minute of sleep, bringing the grand total to eight hours and 44 minutes. Our next most time consuming activity was work, which, on average, we’re doing two minutes less of each day. In third place: watching TV, which the average American spends 2 hours and 50 minutes a day doing.

Actor James Gandolfini suffered a heart attack while in Italy yesterday and died at the age of 51. The Newark Star-Ledger says the news hit fans “as abruptly — as shockingly, as this-can’t-be-happening — as those famous, final few minutes of ‘The Sopranos.’” The New York Post’s Lou Lumenick says one of Gandolfini’s talents was that he could express “exasperation, amusement, puzzlement or murderous rage, or sometimes all three — with a single glance.”

An Italian judge sentenced designers Dolce & Gabbana to prison after finding them guilty of avoiding paying $265 million in taxes. The duo was given one year and eight months behind bars and will have to pay $665,000 in fines. The New York Post says the designers are appealing the decision and will avoid jail time if they win. Italy has been especially tough on tax evaders these days as it tries to pad the governments coffers in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Men’s Wearhouse has ousted its founder and spokesman George Zimmer, reports the LA Times this morning. The company didn’t give a reason for the abrupt decision, but Zimmer wasn’t keeping quiet. He said that the decision was retaliation for expressing concern to the board “about the direction the company is currently heading.” The Times says Twitter users aren’t keeping quiet either, suggesting that Jonathan Goldsmith, the actor who plays Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World, is a dead ringer for Zimmer and an obvious replacement.

After an afternoon spent at the Bergdorf Goodman shoe department, the New York Times opines that the “designer shoe industry, to some extent, relies on the willful suspension of rational thinking.” That’s the only way women can justify buying merchandise that is “patently, obscenely, even self-destructively overpriced.” These days, the price range for pumps is between $600 to $1,400 and you can’t get a pair of designer boots for under $2,000; retailers say the average purchase in the shoe department is around $850.

If you’re sick of eating peas and spinach, the Sun Sentinel has a guide to some of the stranger vegetables popping up at farmers markets this summer. You might want to try mizuna if you’re over arugula. It’s got the same peppery kick and is equally good raw or cooked. Breakfast radishes are another good addition to your greens routine. They are slightly floral, almost like an apple or pear, and taste great in a salad.

Wall Street Journal travel writer Joe Sharkey explores a terrifying alternate reality in this morning’s paper: what if the world were run like airlines? Not only would sandwich prices rise at peak hours, a half a sandwich—like a one-way ticket—would cost twice as much as a full one. Jean shopping would be a nightmare, with prices rising and falling depending on the day you wanted to wear them. And good luck squeezing through the itty bitty aisles at the grocery store.

There’s a great photo on the front page of the Miami Herald this morning showing the Heat’s Ray Allen watches his three-point shot go in as he holds on the the jersey of opponent Tony Parker. The Heat muscled their way back during overtime last night, eking out a 103 to 100 win over the Spurs and forcing a seventh game. The Herald says last night’s game will be remembered as “the night Ray Allen bailed out LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.”

Fergus Cullen uses a brilliant analogy in this morning’s Wall Street Journal to draw attention to the immigration debate now roiling in Congress.  If you watched the NHL or the NBA finals this week you saw how dependent this country is on “guest workers.” Twenty-seven of the 32 Boston Bruins players are foreign-born. And the Spurs roster boasts eight players born in other countries. But if athletes faced the same hurdles that scientists or entrepreneurs who require an H1-B visa, there would far fewer, players would have to wait years or decades to play, and teams would have to prove they tried to hire an American first.

USA Today’s Ed Baig reviews a smartwatch created with Kickstarter funding in this morning’s paper. Called the Martian Watch G2G, it claims to be the first voice-controlled model on the market. Basically it serves as a proxy for your smartphone, letting you call and text with your phone still in your pocket. But Baig says even though that’s cool, it’s “a pricey product with limited mainstream appeal, and one with some features that were either too complicated or didn’t work at all.”

On Thursday, electric carmaker Tesla will demonstrate a fast way to swap out the batteries on its Model S sedan as an alternative to pulling over and re-charging at one of the stations Tesla has been building across the country. The San Francisco Chronicle says it’s an odd move, since the company has poured so much time and money into creating a network of charging stations. But founder Elon Musk says Tesla’s batteries were designed for a quick change, in case the swap out ever became the norm.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has been working on his handwriting, reports the Washington Post. If one were to guess how to pronounce his old signature, “Oooooooo” might be as close as you could get. But that changed yesterday when Lew unveiled his new signature, which will grace $5 bills starting this fall. Although still a little scribbly, you can definitely make out a ‘J’ and an ‘L’ on his latest effort.

Most people like to cook homemade meals or rather like to think they are cooking homemade meals. The Wall Street Journal says experts have studied this to such a degree that they know if people open and add two sauce packets to a dish it feels like you’ve cooked something.  Just one sauce packet doesn’t deliver the same feeling of creation. Adding an egg to a cake mix creates the same feeling, even when a powdered egg could easily have been built in to the mix.

What better way to get kids involved in cooking than with the kids of a famous chef? The New York Times says the new cookbook by Mario Batali’s sons includes recipes by the two teenagers as well as edited-down choices from their famous pop. The book is about cooking “on a basic yet thoughtful level,” and developing a respect for food at a young age.

LA Times columnist Bill Dyre has a simple question in this morning’s paper: Why does everyone love to hate Phil Mickelson? Dyre says he’s avoided writing this column for years, hoping to gain some insight but he’s still stumped: “How can one of the most accommodating pro athletes in the world also be one of the most polarizing? What am I missing here? Whom did he bully in seventh grade?”

To wave or not to wave is the question in the Wall Street Journal this morning. Specifically, columnist Jason Gay writes about the decision to wave at your fellow bikers or runners. Gay says he operates at “about a 74 to 92% wave rate”—more when he’s biking, since bikers seem to care more than runners. If you’re not into the wave, Gay says its cousin the Nod is perfectly acceptable too.

USA Today has a story about the rise of the “celebrity lifestyle guru” in this morning’s paper. Apparently, Jessica Alba is following in Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop-y footsteps. Alba is making a name for herself hawking organic diaper cream and other products under her Honest label. Industry experts say these celebrities aren’t slowed down by a lack of traditional training in cooking and decorating:  “Martha and Rachael,” they say, “should watch the rear-view mirror.”

Those 4-inch heels may look good, but the Washington Post says they are killing your feet. Ask any podiatrist and they’ll tell you that humans are designed to walk heel to toe. When you alter that natural state “lots of bad things happen.” Like? Corns, calluses and pinched nerves aren’t uncommon for veteran heel wearers. Capsulitis, the painful inflammation of the joints, is another common side effect. Experts say if you can’t live without some height, try to limit yourself to 2-inch heels.

Women will be allow to join the Navy SEALs starting in 2016, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune this morning. The Pentagon is scheduled to announce its plan to allow female members into the last all-male combat units this morning. In addition to the SEALs, women will be allowed to Army Ranger and Navy Riverine units. Insiders say standards for admission will not be altered—that means prospective women will have to do as many pull ups as their male counterparts.

Several photos of President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8 make the papers this morning, and none of them are that flattering. In fact, in most of them the two leaders look like they’d rather be anywhere else in the world. The LA Times says the mood was tense in Northern Ireland as the conversation turned to the civil war in Syria. SEE PHOTOS

The New York Times has a very interesting story about a new way to demolish a building. The Japanese have perfected a technique called “stealth demolition” which involves the building in question being slowly jacked down instead of spectacularly blown up and knocked down. The method allows buildings to appear intact but as though they are shrinking until one day poof—they’re gone.