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ANKENY, Iowa —The Ankeny School Board voted unanimously Monday to accept the resignation of a teacher who police said was intoxicated and had been in her classroom. The vote was made Monday evening. Police said they were called to East Elementary School at 710 SE 3rd St. at 2 p.m. after receiving a report that a teacher was observed with a can of beer in her classroom. Police said the teacher was taken into custody after testing positive during a preliminary breath test. A bag in her classroom had two empty cans of beer and four additional full cans of...

It was 80 on the beach Saturday. Not in degrees, though. In proof of alcoholic beverages consumed. Of about 2,000 people in the city’s 21st annual Polar Plunge, two themes emerged: This was the maiden voyage for many, and their training method of choice consisted, as one plunger phrased it, of “drinking heavily.”

These are not your Boys of Summer. These are the United States presidents born in February and perhaps we should toast them. At least that is always my inclination. Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809) and George Washington (born February 22, 1732) are the headliners. In fact, they so eclipse the rest of the presidential ranks that it seems rather unlikely that the “average guy” on the street could even name another president born in this frigid, God-forsaken, groundhog scrutinizing, heart-shaped-candy-box-buying month. But ... nevertheless ... here we go. Even most die-hard Republicans probably don’t know that Ronald Reagan—the Great...

The health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption have been exaggerated, according to new research published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal. "The prevailing message to drinkers has been don't feel guilty about drinking a few glasses of vino after work each night — a regular dose of alcohol is better for you than none at all. But this new research sheds doubt on the belief that alcohol has robust benefits and there is a 'healthy' dose," co-author Emmanuel Stamatakis of the University of Sydney said. The British and Australian researchers found that previous studies didn't adjust accordingly for factors such...

The number of people driving under the influence of alcohol on U.S. roads continues to decline, but the number of drivers using marijuana and prescription drugs that can affect road safety is climbing, according to two studies released by the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. One study found that the number of inebriated drivers has declined by nearly one-third since 2007, but that same survey found a large increase in the number of drivers using marijuana or other illegal drugs. In the 2014 survey, nearly one in four drivers tested positive for at least one drug that...

After a spate of student misbehavior that has tarnished the reputation of Dartmouth College, its president on Thursday announced a ban on hard liquor on campus, and threatened to do away with fraternities or other groups that fail “to elevate and not denigrate the Dartmouth experience.” In a speech on the Dartmouth campus in Hanover, N.H., to students, staff and alumni, Philip J. Hanlon, the president, said the college would create new spaces for social activity as alternatives to Greek houses, give faculty members more of a role in residential life and provide students more extensive training on preventing sexual...

When it comes to beverages with benefits, wine always seems to get the credit. If you're a brew lover, that might make you want to cry in your beer. But before you do, you'll be glad to learn that, like wine, beer delivers some decided perks as well. "A cold beer is the perfect way to relax at the end of the day, it tastes great and, in moderation, it can even be good for you," says Ethan A. Bergman, PhD, RD, CD, FADA, past president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Here are five ways your favorite brew...

1988 is when she crashed: “It was nonstop work. The money was rolling in. You have a lot of people relying on you. But I get it, I signed up for the job so follow through – I just couldn’t, I couldn’t follow through. And, I tried to take my life.” Babilonia hit rock bottom. “Once I was getting my stomach pumped, a little light went on saying, ‘You have a voice and you’re allowed to use it. So, girl, use it,’ ” she said. It’s an emotional subject for Babilonia, and some things are still too difficult to discuss....

A California father was arrested after throwing a party for his daughter’s 18th birthday over the weekend. The theme: “Liv’s Playboy Mansion.” San Diego County sheriff’s deputies told 10 News that 150 to 200 teens were in attendance Olivia Lake’s birthday party. Many were drinking alcohol and some girls were dressed in lingerie and wearing bunny ears. Complaints from neighbors led sheriff’s deputies to shut the party down, and Olivia’s father Jeff Lake was arrested and charged with violating the social host ordinance in Poway, Calif. According to 10 News, that ordinance makes it illegal to host a party where...

A woman who left her 1-year-old child sitting alone at a Boynton Beach bar was arrested Sunday, police said.. Concerned customers at Banana Boat Lounge and Restaurant, at 739 E. Ocean Ave., told police a woman, later identified as Ashton Krauss, 28, of Ocean Ridge, went to an outdoor bar in the back of the restaurant at about 5:30 p.m. and put the child in a high chair.

A new proposal in Oklahoma would bar drunk drivers from buying or consuming alcohol -- and already is raising concerns over how it would be enforced. Fox 25 in Oklahoma City reports that state Sen. Patrick Anderson is proposing a bill that would allow a judge to enforce the alcohol restrictions on anyone with a DUI charge for a set period of time.

Phrygians were brewing with barley before it was cool. Resurrecting ancient beers and wines is a subtle alchemy, but Patrick McGovern knows all the tricks. He directs the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Many of his ancient brews are sold by Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware. How did you start making ancient drinks? One of the first we made was the Midas beverage, based on residues in bronze vessels recovered from the Midas tomb in Turkey, which dates from 700 B.C. These pointed to an unusual drink combining wine, barley...

If global temperatures continue to rise, the taste of your favourite wine could either drastically change, or the drink could be off the menu completely. A wine expert has warned that fine wines in particular, such as Pinot Noir, are having their flavour significantly altered due to climate change. And, as a result, vineyard owners are ditching these grape varieties in favour of those that are better equipped to handle the increases in global temperature.

A man who stormed into a bonfire party with a handgun, believing his girlfriend had been raped by the men there, came out of the whole mess the worst for wear. Janos Papp, 57, ended up being viciously beaten by the men at the party - who had not raped his girlfriend, it turned out. She had made the story up after her ATV broke down and she was angry the men at the party were too incompetent to help her.

Here’s one baby name that probably won’t make it on this year’s most popular list: Jim Beam. But for one Louisiana family, baby Jim Beam will fit in quite well. His father, Jack Daniels Leathers, 31, is also named after a stiff drink. It’s somewhat of a tradition for the family, he told the Houma Courier in Houma, Louisiana, earlier this week. The day Leathers was born, his father happened to be drinking a glass of the well-known whiskey and suggested the name, Leathers told CNNMoney. His mother agreed, after calling a local store to double check the correct spelling....

You know how that guy at the karaoke bar singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " sounds a little off after he's had a few drinks? The same goes for buzzed birds, according to a team led by researchers from Oregon Health & Science University. For a study published in PLoS ONE, scientists found that when they got some unsuspecting zebra finches drunk, the birds slurred their songs. The findings could help scientists study the neural processes underlying birdsong - and shed light on human speech. While many scientists want to understand alcohol's effects on such a complex system as speech,...

Using the tools of paleogenetics, scientists have recently traced the evolutionary history of an enzyme that helps us metabolize ethanol, the principal type of alcohol found in adult beverages. Scientists believe early human ancestors evolved their ethanol-digesting ability about 10 million years ago to fortify their diet as they shifted from a tree-based lifestyle to a more ground-based lifestyle... To help narrow that range, researchers studied the genetic evolution of alcohol-metabolizing enzyme ADH4, which has been present in primates, in one form or another, for at least 70 million years. Using genetic sequences from 28 different mammals, including 17 primates,...

Pennsylvania state police were tied up for months in a sting operation that ended with a 20-hour raid in early January. As law professor Baylen Linnekin writes in Reason, the target wasn't illegal narcotics but a cellar full of rare and expensive bottles of wine. 2,447 bottles, to be exact. They are worth more than $160,000. Officers seized the bottles from the Malvern home of attorneys Arthur Goldman and Melissa Kurtzman, and state they are now planning to destroy the collection. The state's strict liquor laws led law enforcement to Goldman, who insists he was not looking to sell off...

In the month of December alcohol consumption increases as many people celebrate the festive season. But how does your drinking measure up to the average from countries around the world? Find out below if you are similar to a boozy Belarusian or a teetotal Kuwaiti.