Every other weekend, MDO staff picks articles of interest to share with our readership. These articles range from serious political issues to updates on celebrity life and everything in between. We hope you enjoy these further readings!

Science

• 2014 was the hottest year on record ever. Although the rest of the world experienced lots of heat, the majority of the United States, including NJ, had lower temperatures than average.

• This article describes the difficulties that bats are having with white-nose syndrome, and what humans are doing to try and stop this syndrome from spreading.

Sports

• A source reports Sunday night that free agent pitcher Max Scherzer has signed a seven-year contract with the Washington Nationals. The club has not confirmed this deal but all signs are pointing to it being official. Scherzer spent the past five seasons with the Detroit Tigers. To read more, check out the link below.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12190547/max-scherzer-closing-new-multiyear-contract

• A girls’ basketball in Illinois is making waves while they beat the boys in their league.

Politics

• Last Friday, the Supreme Court announced it would make a decision on a landmark gay marriage case in June, determining whether or not states are constitutionally obligated to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples regardless of state law.

World News

• A Kentucky “Bonnie and Clyde” couple have been captured in Florida after a crime spree of the South. Although “Bonnie” is 13 to her counterpart’s 18, she has been repeatedly identified, both by name and photo, by various news sources, such as Fox News and USA Today.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/18/kentucky-teens-captured/21950699/

• “Flash-freezing” over the weekend in the Northeast causes multiple accidents, spin-outs and pile-ups.

http://time.com/3673102/ice-rain-northeast-philadelphia-crash-pileup/

Arts and Entertainment

• “American Sniper” starring Bradley Cooper earned an estimated $90.2 million in theaters over the weekend, giving the movie the largest ever opening in January.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/18/media/american-sniper-box-office/index.html