Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

Also on Shine:

• 10 reasons to quit smoking

• Would you start smoking to be stylish?

• Is "Rango" bad for your kids' health?

• Avoid these 4 skin wreckers

• 4 foods to help you quit smoking (and 3 that make it harder)

NBC apologized on Sunday for cutting the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance during a video montage that they aired at the beginning of the U.S. Open.

The feature showed patriotic images set to music and to the sound of children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The network says that the omission of "under God" not once, but twice, was an editing mistake-they also trimmed the words "one nation" and "indivisible"-but viewers were outraged, and it wasn't long before the internet, and especially Twitter, was practically on fire with angry, patriotic golf fans.

The incident caused such a reaction that NBC announcer Dan Hicks came on to apologize before the broadcast was even over. He said: "We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago. When we did, it was our intent to begin our coverage of this U.S. Open championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship, held in our nation's capital for the third time. Regrettably,

Scott Jones and Alexandra Thomas got caught up in the moment as rioting mobs filled the Vancouver streets after the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals on June 15.(Photo: Rich Lam/Getty Images) As thousands of hockey fans filled the Vancouver streets in a violent reaction to the Vancouver Canuck's Stanley Cup loss to the Boston Bruins, one image stands out: A young couple lying in amid the chaos, kissing.

In an interview with NBC's Today Show, Scott Jones and Alexandra Thomas say that they weren't there to participate in the mayhem, and they certainly didn't intend to create an iconic image.

"I'd call myself a tourist," Jones, who is from Australia, told Matt Lauer and Ann Curry. "It was game seven, you know? Stanley Cup final. Something was going to happen, whether we won or lost, something big. So, I just wanted to bear witness to what was going on."


"I never felt in danger while we were down there until the riot police came along," he said. Thomas was knocked to the ground as the police chased the couple, who were trying to escape the sudden chaos around them. "They started beating us with the shields, trying to get us to move," Jones said. "I don't know why-we weren't

Rep. Anthony Weiner announces his resignation from Congress during a press conference in Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 16. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)Just three weeks after insisting that his Twitter account had been hacked-and then admitting that he'd lied-New York Representative Anthony Weiner has announced that he's giving up his congressional seat after sending lewd photos and sexual messages to at least six women online.

"I'm here to apologize for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment that I have caused," Weiner said on Thursday, speaking from the same senior center in Brooklyn where he launched his campaign for City Council 20 years ago. "I make this apology to my neighbors and my constituents but I make it particularly to my wife Huma."

"I had hoped to be able to continue the work that my constituents elected me to do-to fight for the middle class and those struggling to make it," he continued. "Unfortunately, the distraction that I myself have created has made that impossible. So today I'm announcing my resignation from Congress."

Some people at the press conference cheered; a heckler yelled "Good-bye,

Can an advertisement trigger an eating disorder? Reacting to concerns that it just may, General Mills has pulled a suddenly controversial Yoplait commercial off the air following complaints from the National Eating Disorders Association.

The commercial starts off with a thin woman standing in front of an open refrigerator, agonizing over a luscious-looking raspberry cheesecake.

"What if I just had a small slice? I was good today, I deserve it," she says. Maybe a bigger slice would be okay if she eats celery later-"they would cancel each other out, right?" she thinks. Or if she eats the cake while jogging in place?

That's when an even-skinnier coworker walks up, purrs, "Mmmm, raspberry cheesecake. I've been thinking about this all day!"-and takes a Yoplait Light cheesecake-flavored yogurt from the fridge. "Oh, you've... lost weight," the first woman notices. The confident coworker smiles, thanks her, and walks away with her Yoplait. The first woman, looking ashamed and guilty, grabs

Huma Abedin attends an event at the Upendo Women's Cooperative group on June 12, 2011 in Mlandizi, Tanzania, during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's five-day day official visit to Africa. (Photo: Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images) The internet is filling up with advice for Huma Abedin, wife of infamous Tweeter (and democratic Congressman from New York) Anthony Weiner. Last week, Vanity Fair offered up their two cents, and it seems like it came straight from the "Mad Men" era. Here's a look at their advice-and why we think it's way off base.

"Cut back on the travel. You're pregnant, for heaven's sake!" As plenty of working moms know, when business travel is part of your job, you can't just "lighten the load and stay home," as the Vanity Fair columnist advises. (Though, if she were jet-setting just for fun, we'd totally encourage her to keep doing it. World travel is much easier when your carry-on isn't a diaper bag.) Seriously, though: Women have spent decades trying to prove to their employers that pregnancy doesn't make them worth less than male employees, and now you want this high-profile professional to use her growing belly as an excuse to stay home? Really? We assume she cleared her trip with her doctor.

Graphic courtesy of the FDA via Flickr.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced new rules for sunscreen labels this week that should make it easier to figure out which product is best for you and your family.

"FDA has evaluated the data and developed testing and labeling requirements for sunscreen products, so that manufacturers can modernize their product information and consumers can be well-informed on which products offer the greatest benefit," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "These changes to sunscreen labels are an important part of helping consumers have the information they need so they can choose the right sun protection for themselves and their families."

One of most obvious changes will be in that big number displayed on the bottle or tube. Within the next year, the highest sun protection factor (SPF) that a product can claim will be 50. The reason? "There is not sufficient data to show that products with SPF values higher than 50 provide greater

You know the drill: Your toddler is tired and desperately needs to go to sleep. You are tired, and you desperately need your toddler to go to sleep. But your toddler? Isn't going to go to sleep without a fight.

What started out as a status update on Facebook and a joking comment made to friends turned into a publishing phenomenon when Adam Mansbach's new book, "Go the F*ck to Sleep," hit the top of Amazon.com's best-sellers list months before it was even published. It hits the real-life shelves today, June 14.

Don't let the gorgeous illustrations by Ricardo Cortes or Mansbach's lilting rhymes fool you. As the title makes it clear, this book is not rated G. Or even PG. A (slightly edited) sample:

The cats nestle close to their kittens now.
The lambs have laid down with the sheep.
You're cozy and warm in your bed, my dear.
Please go the f*ck to sleep.

Author Adam Mansbach (Photo: Matthew L. Kaplan)"I've been calling it a children's book for adults," says Mansbach, the father of a 3-year-old girl (whose favorite sleep-stalling