If diet is destiny, then modern humans should thank our ancestors for their ability to eat just about anything.

Two new studies peek into the distant past to try to figure out just how big a role food played in human evolution. One says that eating meat made it possible for early human mothers to wean babies earlier and have more children.

A Dutch virologist is considering his full range of legal options if his government refuses to lift the restrictions it has put on his controversial bird flu research, and matters could quickly come to a head after a meeting next Monday that will be attended by U. S. observers.

Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic sextet specializing in catchy folk-pop. The group came together in 2009 when singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir began recruiting backups for her acoustic solo act. In 2010, Of Monsters and Men gained national fame when it won an annual Icelandic battle of the bands; since then, the buzz has only grown.

There's another bit of tragic news to report today: 43 people are dead after a truck crashed into a passenger bus in eastern Mexico today. Authorities told the AFP that the incident happened after a trailer came loose and hit a bus carrying agricultural workers headed to work.

The AP reports:

It's Disc 1 of this legendary 1974 live release for the Spindale Cycle, as we continue our celebration of the life of Levon Helm.  We'll air Part 2 on May 21st, as the birthdays of both Dylan and Helm are that week.  

Smoking is bad. Quitting smoking is hard. But exercising can make quitting easier, and make sliding back into smoking less likely.

That's the word from a big new study, which tracked the health and habits of 434,190 people in Taiwan from 1996 to 2008. Smokers who got just 15 minutes of exercise a day were 55 percent more likely to quit than were people who weren't active at all. And those active smokers were 43 percent less likely to relapse when they did quit.

Bluegrass SuperStar, Lou Reid, joins Dennis Jones in the Noon hour of “Goin’ Across The Mountain” Saturday April 21st, 2012.

An original of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, a member of Ricky Skaggs Country mega-hits band, working with Vince Gill, Vern Gosdin, two tours of duty with The Seldom Scene, Longview and his own fantastic group Carolina there will be much to talk about including their latest release on his own record label “Callin’ Me Back Home”.

A story and two questions on the New York state English exam taken by eighth-graders this week has stumped many — including Jeopardy! star Ken Jennings.

The story — titled The Pineapple and the Hare — was included in a New York Daily News story about the consternation the questions have caused.