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Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a method that seems to address the major hurdles — a website that supplies free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Facebook may have a lot of uses for social networking and time-wasting, but lately it's been offering a creative outlet, too. A new comic-making application called Bitstrips is popping up more and more on Facebook updates. And after just a few months, Bitstrips has turned into something that everyone seems to be talking about. "Basically, it's an app that turns you and your friends into a cast of cartoon characters," explains Jacob Blackstock, Bitstrips' chief executive and creative director.

As reporters huddled Wednesday outside the office of an attorney hired by the woman who claims to be the Baltimore County winner of last Friday's Mega Millions prize, we wanted to know a bit more about her than the fuzzy bits revealed thus far. So, we checked out her Facebook page. Fact Number One: On Facebook, she goes by the name Sheila Paraison, not Mirlande Wilson, the name she has been giving reporters for the last week. (The New York Post uncovered the Facebook page.) Wilson, a single mother from Westport, first told reporters that she had the ticket to a share of the record-breaking $656 million jackpot.

Two people were beaten outside a Baltimore County restaurant Friday night, police said, an attack that was captured on a cell phone video and shared on Facebook. Jesse Agusto, 30, and Denise Thompson, 24, both of the Baltimore area, were assaulted by a crowd outside the Windsor Inn in the Windsor Mill area of western Baltimore County, police spokesman Lt. Robert McCullough said. They sought treatment at Northwest Hospital and were released, he said. A third person was also assaulted but did not seek medical treatment, McCullough said.

After news that his partner on the popular Mix 106.5 morning show had been let go, Reagan Warfield posted an emotional tribute to Jojo Girard on Facebook. "The last 24 hours have been and emotional blur," wrote Warfield, who remains at the station. "This is tough. " Girard confirmed to The Sun Thursday that he was told immediately after his show that day that his contract would not be renewed. Girard posted on Facebook: "have joined the ranks of the unemployed at least I'm not alone.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, announced this morning that the massive social networking site had reached an awesome milestone : One billion active monthly users. "Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life," Zuckerberg said. This is a spot of good news for Facebook, which has been increasingly under scrutiny by Wall Street over how it's gonna turn all these users into profits. The company keeps talking about its potential in mobile, for one, which could be bigger than its future on the desktop Web. There are a lot of people around the world who will probably have some version of a smartphone with Facebook on it before they ever get a laptop or a desktop PC. For more from Zuck, check out Bloomberg Businessweek's Q&A with him on the billion milestone . Below, I copied and pasted a fact sheet that Facebook provided on its growing user base.

Big news today in the world of social media: Facebook plans to acquire Instagram for a whopping $1 billion in cash and shares. CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke the news himself , and wrote that Instagram will stay alive as an independent product. This is incredible news for Instagram, one of the most popular iPhone apps out there, which only just recently introduced an Android version. AllThingsD has a helpful breakdown of what an Instagram/Facebook union means , and how important the world of photo sharing is to Facebook.

Facebook may have a lot of uses for social networking and time-wasting, but lately it's been offering a creative outlet, too. A new comic-making application called Bitstrips is popping up more and more on Facebook updates. And after just a few months, Bitstrips has turned into something that everyone seems to be talking about. "Basically, it's an app that turns you and your friends into a cast of cartoon characters," explains Jacob Blackstock, Bitstrips' chief executive and creative director.

A new Facebook app called EnemyGraph hit the Web this week, and it gives Facebook users a way to express their strong dislike of people and things. The app was created by a professor at the University of Texas-Dallas, Dean Terry, and some students. Terry has said that Facebook offers a lot of information about users "likes", interests and preferences. But he wanted to build an app that helped users track things they don't like. Hence, EnemyGraph. Watch the video for a quick walk-through on how it works.

The Federal Trade Commission announced that Facebook agreed to settle a complaint that the social media site deceived consumers by promising to keep information private and then sharing it. As part of the settlement, Facebook promised to get consumers express consent before sharing their information outside of the privacy boundaries set. According to the FTC , here are some of its charges against Facebook: “In December 2009, Facebook...

Millions of people put their lives on Facebook, but thanks to the site's convoluted and ever-changing privacy policies, they often have little idea who else can see the information they provide or what the company itself is doing with all the personal data it collects. For that reason, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's effort as president of the National Association of Attorneys General to partner with Facebook on a public information campaign is welcome - so long as it doesn't give the public the impression that the problem of Facebook privacy has been solved.

On Monday, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is expected announce a partnership with Facebook on a national campaign to educate teens and parents about safety and privacy when using social media. Gansler, president of the National Association of Attorneys General, will discuss the initiative as he kicks off the NAAG Presidential Initiative Summit, "Privacy in the Digital Age. " The summit is being held at National Harbor, in southern Prince George's County. According to a release from the attorney general's office, the goal of the summit is to bring together attorneys general and representatives of the information technology industry, government and education and others to explore privacy risks and how to limit them.

It's been more than 25 years since Douglas H. Ginsburg asked that his nomination to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice be withdrawn. The prospective high court justice nominated by Ronald Reagan, it turned out, smoked marijuana and ended up admitting to it. Such were the times that there was a vast political divide on the subject of recreational marijuana. The Reagan-Ginsburg side was squarely against it; the opposition joked that everyone knew Ginsberg had smoked marijuana, but their Ginsberg, beat poet Alan Ginsberg, was a standard-bearer of the American counter culture.

I am heading to the airport tomorrow to catch a plane for St. Louis and the seventeenth national conference of the American Copy Editors Society . While I frolic and cavort with my fellow editors, I will not be posting here, and am not likely to be present on Facebook and Twitter. Frolicking and cavorting are demanding of one's time and attention. No doubt there will be bulletins and photos at the ACES website and on Twitter and Facebook to give those of you unable to attend some flavor of the conference.

I got engaged a few of weeks ago. My fiancé took me to the park with our dog and proposed to me by rocks overlooking the Loch Raven Reservoir. This is a very special place for us, and he even laid out roses (who knew he could be such a romantic?).  After the excitement of realizing that I had just gotten engaged, I was so anxious to tell the world but I knew I couldn't just yet!  Social media is popular these days but it is so important that any important news you may have be shared with your loved ones before the Internet.  It can be hurtful for friends and family members to find out about your engagement through Facebook, although it does happen quite often.

Opening Day is quickly approaching, and we're giving away a box of Topps Baseball 2013 Series 1 cards and a Dylan Bundy rookie card to one of our loyal readers. All you need to do to enter is "like" our Orioles Insider Facebook page and then enter your contact information for the contest. CLICK HERE to get started. We'll randomly choose a winner on April 8. In addition to having a chance to win the cards, you'll get breaking news, photos and feature stories sent out from our Orioles Insider Facebook page.

Yes, even millionaires want friends. The percentage of American millionaires on Facebook jumped to 46 percent this year, up from 26 percent a year ago, according to Spectrem eZine. These are people with $1 million to $5 million in net worth, not including their house. Even 47 percent of  the ultra wealthy, those with $5 million to $25 million in net worth, are on Facebook. Spectrem, which tracks the affluent, says that nearly half of the wealthiest investors like treading blogs by trusted financial advisers.

When are people going to learn that using Facebook and other social media is just another way to get yourself into trouble ("Bel Air firefighters suspended over postings on Facebook," June 6)? Anything you say can be held against you, even if your intentions were mistaken. I don't know why we are so surprised by the consequences of posting on social media when in example after example it seems to get people into trouble. I hope this does not make citizens lose faith in our wonderful fire company because they are still there for us and are still great.

What if Facebook isn't the intrusive, all-seeing eye that we fear? What if it isn't just a place where workers waste time and young people post regrettable pictures of themselves? What if it is not just a stage for narcissists who think everything they say is funny and everything they do is important? What if isn't just a place where heartless teens wound each other? What if Facebook is an Internet bar where everybody knows your name, where you can go to feel better after a bad day?

Maryland has little idea how much it owes a mother, a lawmaker and a football player. Christine McComas, Del. Jon Cardin and Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens are the driving forces behind the proposed cyber bullying bill that will save teenagers' lives. As the founder of the national crusade, The Monster March Against Bullying, I've written the tragic obituaries of more than 100 bullied American teens who in the last three years have committed suicide. Four of them, 14-year-old Kenny Wolf, 17-year-old Aiden Schaeff, 18-year-old Zoe Hauser and 15-year-old Grace McComas, are Maryland kids.