In March, offensive lineman John Urschel of the Baltimore Ravens added to his curriculum vitae by co-authoring the latest of his several peer-reviewed academic articles — "A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector of Graph Laplacians" in the Journal of Computational Mathematics. If Urschel can understand, and even advance, tangled, obtuse formulas, why is he a football player, he asked himself on the Players Tribune website. "There's a rush you get when you go out on the field … and physically dominate the player across from you." He added, "I love hitting people."

Great art

Australian "abstract expressionist" Aelita Andre began painting "professionally" at age 9 months, said her parents, by 22 months had her own exhibit at Melbourne's Brunswick Street gallery, and by age 4, the paintbrush-armed toddler had enjoyed a $24,000 sale. She has now also distinguished herself as an "artist" of another type while explaining her approach. In April, the now-8-year-old told News.com.au, "I interpret my style of painting as a magic, abstract universe. It doesn't sit in one tiny sphere in all realism; it goes out and it explores the world." She acknowledged seeing things (e.g., "rabbits") that an 8-year-old might, but pointed out that she also sees "the cosmos." "I just feel free. I don't feel locked up in a tiny world."

Wait, what?

In January, the principal of W.F. Burns Middle School in Valley, Ala., sent home a letter to parents with her suggestions on how to train students in the event an active shooter breaks into the classroom. In order not to be "sitting ducks" for the intruder, each child was asked to be armed with an 8-ounce canned food item to toss at any potential spree-killer. The can is designed to give the student a "sense of empowerment" in the face of extreme danger, the principal told WHNT-TV of Huntsville, but acknowledged that "this is a sensitive topic."

Perspective

Newly elected Alabama state Sen. Larry Stutts, in one of his first actions in office, introduced a bill to repeal "Rose's Law," a 1999 legislation that, had it been on the books the year before, might have saved the life of the then OB/GYN's patient, Rose Church. Rose's Law gave new mothers a legal right to remain hospitalized for up to 96 hours after birth, depending on circumstances, but the Republican senator calls that right just another "Obamacare-style law" in which legislators in Montgomery intrude into doctors' decisions. (Stutts also proposed to repeal the requirement for written cautions to patients whose mammograms show unusual density.) Though her daughter survived, Rose died of a heart attack, and her husband's wrongful-death lawsuit against Stutts and others reached a settlement in 2005.

Can't possibly be true

Dan Kennedy of Salt Lake City was driving to work on March 31 when a large bag fell off of the truck in front of him. For traffic safety, he stopped to move it — and discovered it contained about $22,000 in a plastic bag marked Brinks. Kennedy dutifully contacted state troopers and handed it over. He sounded perplexed when Brinks immediately sent him a $5,000 gift check. "Why would I get anything for that?" "Almost anyone," he said, would have done what he did.

Bright ideas

Elizabeth Quinn Gallagher, 23, received free around-the-world plane travel in December just for having the correct name. Jordan Axani had bought nonrefundable world-travel tickets for himself and girlfriend Elizabeth Gallagher, but they broke up. Axani decided to find a compatible "Elizabeth Gallagher" to use the ticket with him, and the 23-year-old Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia, student won out over 18 others. The trip was "strictly platonic," he said, though he acknowledged that Gallagher's boyfriend did not seem pleased.

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