There’s a cool story in the New York Times about making trees that glow in the dark. A group of scientists and entrepreneurs have started the project in hopes that one day glowing trees and shrubs could replace electric street lamps. The project is garnering a lot of attention not only for its ambitious end goal, but also for the DIY way it’s being run—by hobbyist scientists around the country, instead of in an academic or corporate lab.

Merry Christmas™! Disney has dropped its bid to trademark the phrase ‘Dia de los Muertos,’ reports the Arizona Republic, after outraged citizens called the company out for trying to “trademark a cultural tradition.” The Latino holiday celebrates the spirits of the dead, and has for centuries. Disney, which said it was only trying to secure the merchandising rights for an upcoming film about Dia de los Muertos, withdrew its trademark application yesterday.

The Wall Street Journal’s Katie Boehret takes a look at iTunes features you might not know about in today’s paper. The one that appeals to me is giving your kids a monthly digital allowance, ranging anywhere from $10 to $50. Boehret also tackles the difference between iCloud and iTunes Match, how to share a library with your friends or family, and how to give an iTunes gift without a giftcard.

The government is set to release the prices that hospitals charge for the first time today, says the Washington Post. And the discrepancies are pretty astounding. In New York City, prices varied about 321 percent between hospitals located just 63 blocks away from each other; at one, asthma complications racked up a $34,000 bill while the other charged only $8,000 for the same treatment. READ THE FULL REPORT

Horrible details are emerging from the house where three young women, missing for 10 years, were rescued from their captors on Monday. According to USA Today, Cleveland police received multiple calls from concerned neighbors, who reported seeing “naked women on leashes crawling on all fours” in the backyard. There are also reports that the women were beaten severely and possibly kept locked up in chains.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s “very private” decision to get Lap-Band surgery “exploded in the public eye yesterday,” says the Newark Star-Ledger. Christie had gone to great lengths to keep the surgery quiet, using fake names and secret appointments, but that fell by the wayside Tuesday after the governor held a press conference. He insists the decision was for his health and not to quell talk that he is “too fat to run for president” but political watchers aren’t convinced.

The State calls Mark Sanford the “Comeback Kid” in today’s paper. The former governor of South Carolina, who famously claimed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail while actually canoodling with his mistress in Argentina, will be heading to Washington after handily winning a seat in Congress. In his victory speech, Sanford said “I want to acknowledge a God not just of second chances, but a God of third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth chances because that is the reality of our shared humanity.”

Wisconsinites know their cheese. So it makes sense, says the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, that a Wisconsin woman was behind the winning idea for the new cheesy Lays Potato Chip flavor. The 45-year-old mother of three will take home $1 million or one percent of this year’s sales for her cheesy garlic bread flavored potato chips, whichever is higher. Karen Weber-Mendham says she’s not planning on gambling with her chip money—it’s going towards “braces and college.”

Three young women have been found alive in Cleveland almost 10 years after they disappeared, reports the Plain-Dealer this morning. The discovery came after one of the young women, Amanda Berry, managed to make a call to 911 and give police information about where she was being held. Police say they have taken three brothers, all in their 50s, into custody.

You, hear me! Give this fire to that old man. Pull the black worm off the bark and give it to the mother. And no spitting in the ashes! It sounds odd, but according to linguists, if you said that phrase to hunter-gatherers 15,000 years ago, they would understand you. The Washington Post says the words above have remain unchanged from a language that died out at the end of the Ice Age. The life span for most words is about 8,000-9,000 years.

After a 17-year hiatus, cicadas are planning their return en masse this summer, and it what a loud return it will be says the Staten Island Advance. In some places on the East Coast, entomologists predict that cicadas will outnumber humans, 600 to 1.  But have no fear, these swarms of bugs aren’t looking to suck your blood—they only have one thing in mind: sex. After they successfully mate, they will die and their offspring will return underground for another 17 years.

The Internet sales tax bill passed its Senate vote yesterday and will now move on to the House for approval. USA Today says major retailers and brick-and-mortar stores would be the big winners if the bill is ultimately successful. Online retailers say it’s too much of a hassle to compute sales tax state-by-state and say they would have to hire additional employees to deal with the policy change. eBay has been the legislation’s loudest opponent, arguing that it unfairly targets small business owners.

The Wall Street Journal puts a surprising move by the SEC on its front page this morning. The regulator has charged the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with fraud for failing to fully disclose its financial troubles to bond investors. It is the first time the SEC has come down on a municipality and experts say Harrisburg could be the first in a long line.

The Obama administration is now formally pointing the finger at China. It had been presumed for several months that China’s military was behind cyber attacks on US government computer systems. Now the New York Times says the government has “explicitly” made the allegation. Officials believe China wanted to steal industrial technology but also wanted to get an idea about how US policy makers think.

Just because the technology exists doesn’t mean others have to like it. The New York Times has a story about the backlash against Google Glass. As one might expect, casinos in Las Vegas are not a fan. They say anyone wearing glasses with a built-in video recorder will not be welcome. And West Virginia legislators are trying to pass a law making it illegal for people to don the wearable computers while driving.

The Sun Sentinel says Florida police have a arrested a man for “truck-en driving.” After witnessing a red Mitsubishi rip through a 35-mile zone going 57 mph cops began to trail to trail the car. But when the car finally stopped, officers couldn’t see anyone inside. When the car took off again, and then stopped once more, they were even more baffled to again find no one inside. After some recon, however, they noticed something moving and realized the 28-year-old driver had been hiding in the trunk each time cops tried to bust him.

3-D printers are poised to change the way we manufacture everything—including guns, says the New York Post. A libertarian group claims that they recently “printed” a fully-functional plastic gun, one that would elude metal detectors. The Texas-based group says they plan to publish the blueprint to their “print-and-shoot” model on the Internet, available for download by anyone who wants it.

That’s five-year-old Health Bryant learning how to shoot a gun on the front page of the Houston Chronicle this morning. The NRA held a huge meeting this weekend in Houston, encouraging folks to buy memberships for their kids and capping off the festivities with a “youth safety day” and Ted Nugent. The gun-rights activist told the crowd of about 70,000 that without guns “there would be no America, no Texas.” The message seemed to resonate—NRA membership hit 5 million during the three-day event, an increase driven by outrage says USA Today.

The Daily Mail has VIDEO of a fan rushing on stage at Justin Bieber’s recent concert in Dubai and tackling the teen heartthrob. Bieber was able to free himself and rushed offstage but not before the crazed fan uprooted a piano and pushed it over. The Biebs was apparently shaken but returned to the stage after a few minutes to finish his set.

The Wall Street Journal says it’s a “buyer’s market” for college students. Colleges aren’t actually cutting their sticker price, but the amount of aid being offered is rising, which is effectively discounting tuition. It’s an attempt by schools to keep their enrollments up as tuition prices have skyrocketed over the last few years. On average, the “tuition discount rate,” which measures the savings available through scholarships and grants, hit a high of 45 percent.

Burned by the switch in iPhone connectors, accessory makes are moving away from building products that are tailor-made to Apple products. The New York Times says the switch to wireless docking will have a dramatic effect on royalties the company receives from accessory makers, and it may also encourage consumers to make the switch to other brands.

Wall Street Journal sports writer Jason Gay wonders what happened to the off season in this morning’s paper. Instead of vanishing for a few months after their loss on Saturday, the Brooklyn Nets are already back on the sports pages with the firing of coach PJ Carlesimo. And then the draft is scheduled for June 27. Says Gay: “Sports are no longer hobbies. They’ve become graduate school.”

It’s a refrain every child has heard countless times: What do you want me to do with all your old stuff in the basement? For years, Kobe Bryant was content to let all his old stuff—jerseys, trophies—sit around in his mother’s house. Until, says the Philadelphia Inquirer, she tried to put it up for auction. That’s when the Laker sent a cease-and-desist letter to the auction house. The auction house then filed a lawsuit, which seeks to figure out who actually owns the merchandise. The Inquirer notes that the suit, filed 10 days before Mother’s Day, doesn’t indicate how Kobe and his mom are getting along.

Warren Bufffett has sent his first tweet. The message was concise: “Warren is in the house.” But it rocketed around the Twitter universe, says the Omaha World-Herald. The paper says Buffett attracted followers at about 10 per second and was up to 150,000 in less than four hours. Maybe that’s because he joked that he’d send out his favorite stock, but only to his followers. SEE THE WHOLE INTERVIEW

There’s an incredible picture on the front page of the Kansas City Star this morning. That’s a Royals player throwing a snowball, instead of a fastball, after the team’s game against Tampa Bay was canceled…because of snow. So was the city’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations. The Star says the last time the city got an measurable amount of snow in May it was 1907. All over the midwest, weather in the mid-80s earlier this week has given way to snowy forecasts.

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, security is going to be extra tight at the Kentucky Derby this weekend. To get you prepared, the Louisville Courier-Journal puts together a list of dos and don’ts to keep in mind. There’s also a helpful (and funny) video version. Things to leave at home include: coolers, grills, camcorders and booze. Jeffrey Lee Puckett explains the many tried and true—and clever—methods for getting booze into Churchills Downs, all of which are verboten. SEE THE VIDEO

The New York Post did a nice job with its photos of the final piece of One World Trade Center being lifted into place. The headline on page one is “Back on Top.” Apparently there’s still some debate whether the top of the building is a spire or an antenna ...which has a different meaning on where the Freedom Tower ranks on the list of tallest buildings. MORE PHOTOS

Iron Man 3 debuts in US and Canada today after doing huge business overseas. The LA Times says the film grossed nearly $200 million in its overseas premiere, far more than “The Avengers” did last May. The question now is whether the sequel will perform as the well as “The Avengers” did domestically. The playing field is pretty wide open—no other films are opening this weekend in wide release—and of course, I have a cameo, which should bring in a few million.

A 5-year-old Kentucky boy shot and killed his 2-year-old sister yesterday using a “special, child-sized rifle” he had received for his birthday. The Louisville Courier-Journal says the .22-caliber weapon is marketed as “My First Rifle” and comes in blue and pink. The company that sells the rifle, Keystone Sporting Arms LLC, has a section on its website called the “kid’s corner,” which is dedicated to testimonials from parents.

A grisly discovery on the front page of the Washington Post this morning. Researchers say they’ve uncovered evidence that the early settlers of Jamestown resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Historians have long believed a long winter forced the settlers to turn on each other but recent archeological digs turned up the cleaved skull of a 14-year-old girl mixed in with bones from a horse, dogs and squirrels — examples of the “extreme food sources the colonists turned to that winter.”

A historical mystery has been solved, says the Arizona Republic. For decades, historians have wondered what color the train was that took Abraham Lincoln home to Illinois after his assassination. There were no color photos of the funeral procession, eyewitness accounts varied, and the actual train car had been destroyed in a fire. Then researchers tracked down a man who possessed a wooden window from the original train. After some cajoling they were able to scrape the frame, and find their answer: the train was maroon.

Photographers caught workers at One World Trade Center unloading a piece of history yesterday, says the New York Daily News. The steel spire that will atop the structure arrived at the construction site yesterday. Once in place it will put the building’s height at 1776 feet, making it one of the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. The spire will be used as a broadcast antenna, replacing the one that was destroyed during the September 11 attacks.

In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, Ralph Gardner Jr. says the act of watching a Zamboni circle the rink at Madison Square Garden “serves as metaphor for the perfectibility of the human species and the triumph of order over intergalactic chaos.” So when Gardner got the chance to inspect these great ice-smoothing machines in their natural habitat, he jumped at the chance. His description is, as usual, pretty priceless.

Going to prom is the easy part, says the New York Times. Asking someone is where it gets complicated. Kids these days aren’t satisfied with a simple check-yes-or-no notes passed during study hall. They want grand gestures—“promposals”—like designing custom Chinese fortune cookies or sky-written messages. The Times says it’s an outcrop of watching such antics on reality shows like the “Bachelor.” Let’s just hope this kids start dating some else by the time it’s time to actually propose or this could get tricky.

The LA Times points out an important anniversary in this morning’s paper. It was 20 years ago yesterday that the World Wide Web opened its doors to all. And to celebrate, Tim Berners-Lee, the British computer scientist who created the very first website has brought it back to life. The website is basically just instructions on how to use the web, but it looks exactly as it did in 1993, which is pretty cool, and undeniably significant.

The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg is at it again. In his spring laptop buying guide, the first question Mossberg tackles is the age-old, Mac vs. Windows, one. Macs aren’t cheap and they’re traditional models without touch screens, he says, but they are “high quality and far less susceptible to viruses than Windows PCs.” The newest Windows models with touch screens aren’t cheap either—be prepared to spend between $700 and $1200. If that seems too steep, Mossberg suggests waiting until the fall.

It may take some creative packing, but next time you fly trying to squeeze your running shoes into your carry on. The New York Times says more business travelers are using their layovers to make use of those long corridors and get some exercise. The Times says a surprising number of airports are adjacent to public parks, which means those who have some extra time could get their heart pumping and get some fresh air…instead of queueing up at the Cinnabon.

It’s become a “401(k) World,” says Thomas Friedman in the New York Times this morning. What he means by that is this: things that government, or your company, or your union used to do for you have become self serve. Friedman says this is great for the type of people who can’t stand boundaries, but the transition can be tough for those who like a bit more direction, since the protections we used to take for granted are pretty much gone.

The New York Daily News says Jason Collins’ announcement that he’s gay was an a-ha moment for his former fiancé. Carolyn Moos, who Collins broke it off with in 2009 after an eight-year relationship, says she had no idea he was gay until earlier this week. Moos, who played college ball at Stanford like Collins, says despite her surprise, she’s not holding a grudge: “I want Jason to be happy for a lifetime and stay true to who he really is, inside and out.”

It’s the quietest party in town. The New York Post says “quiet clubbing” is all the rage these days. Called silent discos in Europe, the idea is just what you think: a room packed full of people swaying to the beat. Except the beat is coming from headphones. Partygoers receive a pair of headphones at the door, which can be tuned to several different radio frequencies. Each station emits a different color, indicating to everyone else in the room what station you’re rocking out to. And if you want to have a conversation? Simply take off your headphones.

An Illinois company has backed off its strategy of taking University of Illinois students to small claims court after the school paper noted that 124 students had been served with outrageous fines in the last six months, included 71 fines issued in a single day. The Chicago Tribune says dozens of students reported that they had received $100 fines for using inadvertently using the wrong bus ticket on the wrong day. In some cases the fines were as high as $500, a surcharge that was tacked on to the normal 50-cent student fare.

Turns out laziness is good for the environment. According to a new study, ordering your groceries online and having them delivered is much more eco-friendly than driving to the store to shop. Researchers used Seattle to test their hypothesis, drawing a map of every home in the city and then assigning each household to the closest grocery store. But even shopping close to home expended about double the carbon dioxide than having groceries delivered, says the Post-Intelligencer.

You might as well call us the United States of Hummus. The Wall Street Journal says the country’s infatuation with the Middle Eastern spread has caused farmers in the heart of tobacco country to try their hand at growing chickpeas. The Pacific Northwest is the hub of U.S. legume production, but to meet increasing demands hummus producers are trying to cultivate growing areas in other parts of the country, like Virginia.

There’s an interesting column in today’s Washington Post about how common it is to overuse over-the-counter pain pills like Tylenol. The Post says Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is responsible for half of the country’s cases of acute liver failure every year. So how much is too much? Doctors used to say that 4,000 milligrams a day was the ceiling. But recently Tylenol has changed its labels to recommend a 3,000 mg limit—the amount found in 6 extra-strength pills.

The New York Times has a suggestion for shaving some minutes off your workout. According to new research, the “cool down” may be useless. Despite what our elementary gym coaches told us, scientists say when pitted against exercisers who either warmed up only or those who did nothing following a work-out, people who cooled down had a lower threshold for pain the next day—i.e. they were more sore.

The New York Post gives Michelle Obama credit for a 4,378 percent increase in the number of “upper arm lifts” plastic surgeons have performed over the past decade. Another reason for the surging popularity of the brachioplasty? The surging amount of people who’ve lost serious weight through traditional methods or with bariatric surgery. In a poll conducted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 31 percent of responders said they wanted arms like the First Lady’s. Jennifer Anniston came in second.

Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins says Jason Collins has “completely judo-flipped…the stigma and stereotype” of coming out as a professional athlete. The Wizards center became the first openly gay player in the NBA after he came out in a Sports Illustrated article published yesterday. Jenkins says male athletes used to fear coming out because it would be seen as a weakness. But, she writes, “Gay isn’t weak, it’s strong — just look at him. And look at his record.”

Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen writes a moving piece this morning about the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombings and what is important to remember as the event fades into history. Cullen doesn’t use the Tsarnaev brothers’ first names through his column because that’s not important to remember. He’s saving space to remember the names, first and last, of the victims and the first responders. “As for the alleged bombers, and their nutty mother, the sooner I forget them, the better.”

There’s a great look at the @HuffPo Spoilers Twitter feed in today’s New York Times. If you haven’t come across it, the whole premise is that it de-mystifies the Huffington Post’s habit of teasing tweets. So if the HuffPo sends out a link that says “3 foods that will give you amazingly smooth skin,” HuffPoSpoliers will respond with a tweet saying simply “Avocado, honey and sugar.” The Times says the feed is part of a larger trend towards media criticism in 140 characters or less.

Soap opera fans rejoice. There was chatter that ‘All My Children’ and ‘One Life to Live’ would continue online after their historic runs on TV came to end last year. And now it’s actually happening, says the New York Times. The Internet revivals started their second runs this morning at 5:00 a.m. when both Hulu and iTunes posted new episodes. The men behind the reboot say they only need about one-sixth of the original three million viewers to tune in in order to break even. GET LINKS

Following a spate of heroin overdoses in the Twin Cities, prosecutors have started charging drug dealers with third-degree murder, instead of drug dealing, in an attempt to staunch the problem. The Star Tribune says the unorthodox approach is the result of “outrage” in the prosecutor’s office. Experts trace the city’s heroin epidemic to the surging number of people who get hooked on prescription painkillers, run out, and then turn to harder drugs on the street.

There’s an oddly sweet photo of Kobe Bryant consoling teammate Pau Gasol on the front page of the LA Times this morning. The Lakers ended their season, and their chance at the playoffs yesterday, with a 102-82 loss to San Antonio. It’s the first time the team has been knocked out in the first round of the playoffs since 1967, says the Times.

If you’re looking for some new material, start saving your money. The New York Daily News says the late Milton Berle’s legendary cabinet of jokes is going up for auction in early May. The four-foot-high cabinet is full of classic one-liners and bits from Berle’s storied career. Auctioneers aren’t sure exactly how many jokes they are—or how many of them will work—but they estimate the number is at least 20,000. Opening bid? $10,000.

President Obama gave a very funny 20-minute speech on Saturday at this year’s White House Correspondants Dinner, or “nerd prom” as the Washington Post calls it. He spent his time at the podium poking fun of himself and revealing a “promo” for Steven Spielberg’s newest presidential biopic “Obama.” The Post says after the speech wrapped up is when the real party, or parties, began, giving a play-by-play of the many after-soirees and who was in attendance. WATCH THE SPEECH

Some people spin to burn calories. But the participants of SoulCycle’s 10:30 a.m. class in Union Square have a more specific goal in mind: they’re there to see Jake Gyllenhaal. The Hollywood heartthrob’s workout schedule is no longer a secret, making his favorite classes harder to get in to than an Ivy League schol, says the New York Daily News. Catching a glimpse of the actor is more than just voyeurism—it seems to be an unparalleled type of motivation for some. As one regular explains: “Having him there, I’m on my best workout behavior.”

Those shopping for a new home will notice that it’s harder and harder to find one with a master bedroom. That’s because many home builders, concerned that the term will be perceived as sexist or racist, are phasing the phrase out of their new projects. The Houston Chronicle says the more politically correct “owner’s suite” is being used instead.

The race to build the first human powered helicopter may finally reach the finish line. The Wall Street Journal says there’s a $250,000 prize for the first team to prove that they can fly for at least a minute. It’s come down to two teams—one from the US and one from Canada. Some of it is simply technology. Some of it is athletics. The Canadians are hoping their pilot, who also holds a speed record for biking, will come in handy during the final showdown. VIDEO

“All for One” is the headline in the Dallas Morning News this morning. The five living presidents gathered in the city yesterday at the opening of the George W. Bush presidential library. Despite their differing views, the former occupants of the White House all found something nice to say about the 43rd president. President Obama praised him for being a man who “takes his job seriously, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He is a good man.”

The New York Daily News expresses some outrage today, that the FBI knew last Sunday that the men who bombed the Boston Marathon were planning an attack in Manhattan next but did not share that information with officials in New York. The News says NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly was furious after learning he’d been kept in the dark, but refuses to publicly criticize the federal agency.

Miriam Tucker attended a charity event last week where, for $20, you could buy a glass of champagne. The catch, says the Tampa Tribune, was that 399 of the champagne flutes had cubic zirconia floating at the bottom, and one had a real diamond. Tucker was the lucky one to get the diamond…but she was also the only person to swallow her stone. As luck would have it,  she had a colonoscopy already scheduled for two days later, where her doctor recovered the stone and handed it over.

Can we please stop talking about TV, asks John Jurgensen in today’s Wall Street Journal. Jurgensen says you can’t go anywhere these days without someone bending your ear about the latest episode of “Game of Thrones” or asking your opinion of “Breaking Bad” leading man Walter White. He says part of the obsession is that TV dramas unfold over several seasons, “making these shows seem more ‘culturally crucial’ than stand-alone entertainment like movies or books.”

Good news for Twinkies fans in the Kansas City Star this morning. Four former Hostess snack cake bakeries are scheduled to openly in the next two months. That means you can expect to see your favorite junk food back on shelves by July. The new owners say they’re confident they can meet the supply produced by the factories when they were run by Hostess, so no need to hoard them.

According to the Washington Post, the federal government will spend almost a million dollars this year on maintenance fees for bank accounts that are empty but no one bothered to close. And it’s simply because no has done the paperwork to close them. Post writer David Fahrenthold calls the situation an example of “Washington’s waste, a rare specimen of cost untainted by any reward.”

There’s a disturbing trend rippling through the airline industry, says USA Today. More and more carriers are raising the fee for changing a ticket to $200 . US Airways made the switch yesterday, echoing a recent move by United. Delta and American have not yet raised their $150 fees but experts say not to be surprised if they do.

Women’s feet everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief to read that the New York Times has declared low-heeled shoes the “it” style of the season. Specifically, the Times is talking about low block heels, a trend that, bolstered by the return of cardigans, costume jewelry, and framed handbags, it christens as the “triumph of frump.”  Frumpy or not, the heels shown at spring fashion shows were “miraculously wearable” but still had “enough height to give your bottom a little lift.”

In a special section dedicated to energy, the New York Times asks this question: What would happen if everybody got electric cars, drove home after work and plugged them in to charge? It would be an enormous drain on the nation’s electrical grid, for one thing. Experts are trying to address the theoretical problem now, before it becomes a real threat. One idea is to introduce off-peak pricing to less the burden, another is to make power cheaper when the sun comes out or the wind is blowing.

Yesterday, People magazine named Gwyneth Paltrow the year’s “most beautiful woman.” This morning the New York Post reacts incredulously to the news with a biting story about the “insufferable elitist.” The Post takes issue with just about everything in Paltrow’s world, from her lifestyle blog, which is routinely ridiculed for giving out-of-touch advice to the masses, to her seemingly obsessive workouts and diets. As one passer by put it: “If I had money, a personal trainer and a chef, I would look that good too.”

Talk about multi-tasking. The Pioneer Press says a Minneapolis-based company has come up with a new product for “pet parents,” those who can’t bare to be away from their animals for even a moment. Part food dispenser, part nanny cam, PetChatz is describes as “a greet-and-treat videophone.” Basically it allows owners to dispense treats with the click of a computer mouse as well as checking in on their four-legged friends via streaming video.