According to the CDC, 25.5% of Arizonans are considered "obese"

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer recently announced a plan to impose $50 fines on state Medicaid enrollees who partake in what is deemed to be "unhealthy behavior." The Wall Street Journal reports that the plan would reduce the number of childless adults disqualified from Medicaid to 135,000, as opposed to Brewer's original proposal of 250,000. Federal studies have shown 25.5% of Arizonans are considered obese by the CDC, while 46% of the state's Medicaid enrollees smoke cigarettes on a daily basis. If approved the plan would take effect October 1, 2011.

Michele Bachmann leads all GOP candidates in first quarter fundraising

Beloved Minnesota Congresswoman/paranoid schizophrenic Michele Bachmann lapped the rest of the potential 2012 Republican Presidential field in early fund raising it was learned last week. According to Politico, Bachmann raised $2.2 million last quarter besting the $1.9 million raised by early favorite Mitt Romney. Neither is yet to officially announce their plans to make a run at the Oval Office, but it is probably safe to assume they aren't raising all that money for a summer road trip to Six Flags.

Rep. Anthony Weiner collected $2,180 in unpaid Capitol Hill parking tickets over the last 4 years

As we reported last week, a recent investigation by Roll Call revealed that members of Congress racked up a grand total of roughly $15,000 in unpaid parking tickets. While most members only accrued small amounts of fines, Rep. Weiner (D-NY) pulled in nearly $2,200 in citations. His office's response?  "All of the Congressman's parking tickets have been paid. He is pleased to have helped decrease the D.C. budget deficit."

The U.S. economy added 17,000 factory jobs in March 2011

While writing obituaries for the American industrial sector has become something of a cottage industry in recent years, all hope may not be lost. Last week the Labor Department released figures showing that the economy added 17,000 manufacturing jobs last month. While that might not be your cue to start buying up real estate in Detroit just yet, it certainly is some encouraging news for the lunchpail and hard hat crowd.

This year is the first Final Four in NCAA history where no #1 or #2 seeds are playing

Hooray for the underdogs! #8 Butler faces off against #3 UConn in the NCAA Championship game tonight, while #11 VCU and #4 Kentucky sit on the sidelines, having made it all the way to Houston in one of the wildest basketball tournaments yet. This marks Butler's second consecutive trip to the championship game, while UConn Coach Jim Calhoun has led his Huskies back to The Big One for the third time since 1999.