Don’t laugh. If things keep going like they are, this is our not to distant future you’re seeing.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha, an influential critic of the Iraq War whose congressional career was shadowed by questions about his ethics, died Monday. He was 77.

The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said.

John Murtha was a horrible politician, but he was a dedicated Marine who served his country and went on to become the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Murtha.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Papyrus Brand Greeting Cards with bracelets

Units: About 174,000

Importer: Schurman Fine Papers, of Fairfield, Calif.

Hazard: The surface paint coating on the bracelets sold with greeting cards contain excessive levels of lead violating the federal lead paint standard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves Papyrus brand children’s greeting cards sold with an attached wooden bead bracelet. The front of the card says “Happy Birthday To You” and includes an attached bead in the shape of a heart with the word “smile” printed on it. The colorful bracelet includes wooden beads with one in the shape of a butterfly. The back of the greeting card reads, “BD 63401 | © Jean Card & Gift Company” and the card insert reads, “USA $6.95 | CAN $10.50 | Made in China | © Jean Card & Gift Company” and includes UPC number 734524634013 in the lower right hand corner.

For more information visit the CPSC website.

Frank Fasi, who served as Honolulu mayor for 22 years and ran unsuccessfully for Hawaii governor five times, has died at home. He was 89.

Fasi’s son, David, issued an e-mail saying his father died peacefully of natural causes late Wednesday night surrounded by his wife and children.

Rest In Peace, Frank.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Tiny Tink and Friends Children’s Toy Jewelry Sets

Units: About 252,000

Importer: Playmates Toys, of Costa Mesa, Calif.

Hazard: A cylindrical metal connector on a charm can contain levels of total lead in excess of 300 ppm, which is prohibited under federal law.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves charms sold with the Tiny Tink and Friends toy jewelry sets. The charm is attached to a cord using a metal ring and cylinder and included with the sets as a separate accessory that children can attach to the toy necklace, bracelet or key chain.

For more information visit the CPSC website.

News broke early this morning on Twitter that Frances Reid, who portrayed Alice Horton on Days Of Our Lives since 1965, has passed away. I’ll post more when I get details, but for now, let’s remember Frances the way most of us will always remember her.

I started watching Days Of Our Lives when I was 10 years old. For thirty-five years Alice Horton has been like a third grandmother to me, and this morning I am saddened more than I could ever explain.

Rest In Peace, Frances.

David Brown, the former Twentieth Century Fox executive who partnered with Richard Zanuck in the early 1970s and produced the blockbuster hit “Jaws,” as well as “The Verdict” and “Cocoon” before launching a solo career as a film and theatrical producer, has died. Mr. Brown, 93, was the husband of former Cosmopolitan magazine editor Helen Gurley Brown. He died Feb. 1 of kidney failure at his home in New York City.

…

Mr. Brown is survived by his wife.

Rest In Peace, David.

Aaron Ruben, who produced such TV hits as “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.” and “Sanford and Son,” has died. He was 95.

His son, Tom Ruben, says the elder Ruben died Saturday at his Beverly Hills home from complications of pneumonia.

Rest In Peace, Aaron.