McDonalds has been a favorite whipping boy of health buffs and nutrition experts, with its French fries and Quarterpounders being blamed for obesity among Americans. A Virginia man, however, credits the fastfood outlet for his losing about 80 pounds. But Chris Coleson, who was 278 pounds in December, did not gorge on McDonald's fattening offers. Rather, he feasted on the hamburger chain's healthy menu such as salads, wraps and apple dippers, less the caramel sauce.

It will be a hot summer in this Chicago neighbor this year, not only because of the rising temperature but a ban on window-mounted air conditioner units. The prohibition is the result of an ordinance approved by the village board in March. It specifically banned the installation of window-mounted air coolers on walls that face the street or in side windows 12 feet or less from the street.

Low thermostat settings in the office is driving up the sales of space heaters even during summer. According to Tom Flippo, manager at Bering's on Bissonnet, while the bulk of their heaters are sold during winter, an average of 100 space heaters are purchased during the hot months. Most of the buyers are office workers who find the thermostat setting too low for comfort. According to Don Young, vice president of the International Facility Management Association, the top two complaints of office workers in various countries were the office was too cold or too hot.

On a hot summer the ice cream vendor is the modern Pied Piper of Hamelin and various states are not about to let sex offenders use the trade as their way to lure children. Several states are now working on bans against allowing sex offenders. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in California, as one example, is planning to draft an ordinance that would prohibit convicted sex predators from driving ice cream trucks after one was found last summer in Perris.

Melting ice from a glacier in southern Chile has caused a glacial lake to empty suddenly, sending a sudden rush of water rolling through a river. However, no one was injured in the area. Global warming and rising world temperatures caused water to fill the Cachet Lake and increased pressure on the ice sheet. Melting water from the Colonia glacier gradually caused a 5-mile tunnel through the glacier that emptied into the Baker River on April 6, according to The Associated Press.